Refresh Rate vs Response time?

[trendx]

Can someone please tell me the difference between response time (ex. 8ms) and refresh rate (ex. 60mhz) when it comes to LCDs. Will increasing the mhz cause lower FPS? What will it do for me? Ive always kept mine around 60 but recently upped it to 75. I guess im just curious about what each of these does and what it means if i change them. I know about response time, but nothing at all about the refresh rate. Thanks!

[Know Nuttin]

refresh rate is basically how many times a screen is redrawn. For games, it will determine how many frames per second maximum your screen will show (assuming no bottlenecks from your CPU/GPU) with vsync enabled. This is in hz, and is more commonly associated with CRT's than LCD's. It also has more of an effect with a CRT than an LCD. For CRT, it should be 75hz minimum (72hz by VESA standard) to avoid flicker. Some need it higher as they can see flicker at less than 85hz.

response time is the time taken for a pixel to change colour. There are varying levels that are reported. Some report white-to-black-to-white, some report grey to grey.

For an LCD, response time is more important than refresh rate. What I have found is that the refresh rate is only required to change when there is potential interference from nearby items like lights. Some say changing it to a higher value increases the sharpness on the screen (fonts) but I can't say that I have seen that effect.