60Hz and 120Hz monitors? What are the practical differences in fighting games?

A good few years ago, monitors were simply smaller screens than a TV you have in your living room, connected to your PC to display images. They had a huge cathode ray tube—the famous CRTs—that had that creamy-white color and, after a while, became yellowish and grimy. That was it! Nowadays, buying a new monitor seems like a simple task, but it's not. It's not just a matter of going to those stores that sell refrigerators, microwaves, and pre-built PCs, picking the coolest ones with LEDs and some red details, a very angular and modern look, and taking them home.

Today, choosing a monitor is almost as complicated as assembling a Pokémon with good IVs or adjusting your team's roster in EA Sports FC or eFootball. Knowing Hertz, latency, tearing, frame rate, and all that technical jargon just to play your fighting game? For a casual player, no problem. For those engaged in competitive play, these terms can mean winning or losing a match.

So, if you're thinking about buying a new monitor and need to understand a little more about these terms, let's talk a bit about the main differences between the two most traditional monitor models used by gamers: 60Hz for PC and 120Hz for consoles. And, if you have any questions, leave a comment.

When someone asks what the difference is between a 60Hz and a 120Hz monitor, the technical explanation is simple: it's the number of times per second the screen redraws the image. At 60Hz, the screen refreshes 60 times per second; at 120Hz, it does so 120 times. But for gamers, especially fighting game players, what matters isn't the number itself. What matters is how it changes the feeling of responsiveness in the game.

A 120Hz monitor updates everything faster. Every new piece of information—a punch, a kick, a dash, the start of a combo—appears on the screen with less lag. Even if the game runs at 60 fps, the 120Hz monitor delivers those same frames faster and more efficiently. This alone creates a much more natural sense of movement, almost as if each action were glued to what you just pressed on the controller.

For 120Hz to truly work, you need a console or PC that sends the signal at that rate. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S can do this in compatible games. On PC, any modern graphics card delivers 120Hz without difficulty. TVs and monitors also need to support the rate. In some cases, it only works at 120Hz if the cable is HDMI 2.1, especially when playing in 4K. But apart from that, there's no complication: just plug it in, adjust it in the menu, and you're good to go.

The most noticeable part of the jump from 60Hz to 120Hz is the fluidity. At 120Hz, motion blur is significantly reduced. The player can better see the exact moment when the opponent begins a fast animation. Attacks that previously seemed to "skip" from one frame to another now have a cleaner transition. Even movements like dashing, rolling, or backdash become easier to follow.

Another point is that tearing—that broken line that appears when the image doesn't follow the movement—is much less common. At 120Hz, the screen synchronizes faster, so this type of effect is less likely to appear. This makes everything more stable, especially in games full of fast lateral movements, such as Tekken and SoulCalibur.

Research on vision shows that quick responses are perceived more clearly when displayed at higher frequencies. This exactly matches the feeling that players report: seeing the beginning of an attack becomes easier, seeing the timing of a defense becomes easier, reading the opponent becomes more natural. None of this changes the speed of the game, but it does change the speed at which the screen delivers the information.

This fluidity also helps with eye strain. At 60Hz, the eye has to deal with screen breaks and blurs that, even when not consciously perceived, accumulate strain. At 120Hz, the frames arrive so quickly that the transition seems natural. In long gaming sessions, this is less of a strain on the eyes. Many people find that they can play for longer without feeling that sensation of tired eyes.

It's in fighting games that the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz really stands out. This happens for a simple reason: every millisecond matters. At 60Hz, each frame takes about 16.7ms to appear. At 120Hz, it drops to 8.3ms. This reduces the delay between the moment you press the button and the instant you see the result.

Tests done in games like Street Fighter V showed clear numbers:

– At 60Hz, the total delay could reach about 83ms.

– At 120Hz, this delay dropped to about 37ms.

That's almost half. For players, this means the punch appears faster after the button is pressed. You defend sooner. You confirm a combo sooner. You see the beginning of an opponent's attack sooner.

And this continues to happen even when the game runs at 60 fps. The internal logic doesn't change: the game continues to function at the same pace, with the same frame data. But what changes is how and when you see each frame. In a game where important decisions happen in intervals of just a few frames, this advancement has real impact.

There's also the issue of readability. At 60Hz, fast movements can seem more "stiff." The change from one frame to another is more abrupt. At 120Hz, the same frames flow more naturally. This allows you to perceive micro-details that previously went unnoticed: the beginning of an overhead, the small movement before a grab, the character's recoil after a blocked attack. It's easier to understand what's happening on the screen because the transition between frames is less abrupt.

Players who compete in tournaments are often already accustomed to this difference because almost all professional setups use 120Hz or higher monitors. This doesn't give an "illegitimate advantage", because the logic of the game remains the same, but it improves the consistency of the response. Those who have played at 60Hz their whole lives and switch to 120Hz generally describe the change as an immediate relief: the delay that previously seemed "normal" ceases to exist.

Most fighting games still run at 60 fps. Tekken 7, Tekken 8, Street Fighter V, Mortal Kombat 11, Mortal Kombat 1, and SoulCalibur VI all follow this same pattern. This ensures that all players experience the same rhythm and frame rate. Even so, 120Hz screens improve how those 60 frames reach the player.

Street Fighter 6 supports over 60 fps on PC using frame generation technologies. The animation is smoother, but the internal logic is still 60 fps. This doesn't provide a mechanical advantage, but it improves readability and reduces the feeling of weight in movements.

On consoles, the difference is mainly between generations. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S can run at 120Hz when the game allows it. PS4 and Xbox One are stuck at 60Hz. This means that if you play on an older console, changing your TV or monitor to a 120Hz model won't change anything—the console can't take advantage of it.

Gaming monitors above 120Hz have become standard on PC. Lines like Asus ROG, Dell Alienware, LG UltraGear, and Samsung Odyssey are common among competitive gamers. TVs have also evolved, especially OLED and QLED models, which, in addition to 120Hz, have lower response times. Entry-level LCD TVs may even have a "120Hz" refresh rate, but sometimes the panel is slower, which reduces the practical benefit.

Yes, especially in fighting games. The higher refresh rate doesn't change the pace of the game, but it changes how the game reaches you. Everything seems to respond faster because, objectively, it does. That feeling of "I press the button and the hit takes a while to come out" happens because the screen takes a while to show what you did. At 120Hz, this delay is cut in half.

Readability also improves. Quick hits become easier to see. Abrupt movements gain clarity. The fluidity even helps those who aren't competitive and just want to play more comfortably.

In short, the player doesn't need to understand anything about monitors to notice the difference. Just sit down, press the button, and see that the character acts almost instantly. That's what makes 120Hz so useful in fighting games: it's all about responsiveness and control.

Switching from 60Hz to 120Hz in fighting games makes a real difference in gameplay. The screen responds faster, the image becomes smoother, and the ability to read your opponent improves. The game doesn't change its internal logic, but it changes how the player sees and reacts to what's happening. For those who play Tekken, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, SoulCalibur, or any other title in the genre, this difference is clear from the first round.

Movements no longer seem "stiff," visual lag decreases, and the feeling of control increases. Even for those who play for fun, the experience becomes more natural and less tiring. Therefore, whenever the console or PC allows it, 120Hz is more worthwhile than 60Hz—not because of the number, but because the response is truly closer to what you pressed on the controller.