I've been looking at upgrading my TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X gaming, and I keep seeing these 144Hz models pop up. They're like $500-800 more than the standard 120Hz TVs. I'm wondering if the smoother motion is actually noticeable enough to justify spending that extra money, or if I'm better off saving it.
Right now the PS5 and Series X pretty much max out at 120fps for gaming, so you'd mostly be paying that extra $500-800 for a feature that won't get fully used. Here's what everyone's missing though: even if a game hits 120fps, your TV needs to have solid input lag and response times to make it feel snappy - some of those 144Hz sets are cheaper because they cut corners there, and you'll end up with a TV that's technically faster but actually feels sluggish compared to a well-tuned 120Hz model. If you're serious about gaming right now, I'd grab a good 120Hz TV and pocket that savings, then revisit 144Hz in a few years once developers actually start targeting those higher frame rates.
most ps5 and xbox series x games actually cap out at 120fps, not 144fps, so you'd be paying extra for a feature you can't fully use right now. the jump from 60hz to 120hz is genuinely noticable and worth it if your budget allows, but going from 120hz to 144hz is way more marginal - like the difference between butter-smooth and... also butter-smooth. save the $500-800 and put it toward better hdmi 2.1 support, lower input lag, or just keep more cash in your pocket, especially since the games you actually play probably won't hit those framerates anyway.
The real question is whether your actual games will use it - what titles are you planning to play mostly? Because yeah, most current gen stuff maxes out at 120fps, so you're paying premium money for headroom that doesn't exist yet. That said, if you're someone who notices even small differences in smoothness (and some folks really are sensitive to that), the jump from 120Hz to 144Hz is way smaller than going from 60Hz to 120Hz, so the money might be better spent elsewhere - maybe a TV with better contrast or HDR performance instead.
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