In the past, console gamers felt lucky if their games were able to display in a smooth 30fps. However, as PC gaming started to gain traction again, more and more console gamers started to demand higher frame rates from their games. Nowadays, many people aren’t happy if the game is under 60fps. Therefore, a lot of people are wondering what the maximum frame rate of the Playstation 5 is. Read on, and all of your questions will be answered.
So, does the PS5 support 144hz?
No. It doesn’t. The Playstation 5 supports up to 120hz. This does not mean that all games support it. However, the console certainly can support a refresh rate this high.
We do want to go into a little bit more depth on this. This is because we know that there are some people that may be a little bit confused on how they can activate the 120hz option on their Playstation 5 and whether their TV is able to support it. We also want to talk a little bit about whether games in the future are likely to support 120hz.
Does the PS5 Support 144hz?
The Playstation 5 does not support 144hz. The Playstation 5 supports a maximum 4K resolution with 120hz. Now, this is not to stay that Sony will not give their console a ‘refresh’ later on in the generation. However, the original units, and likely the units produced up to 2022, will not support 144hz.
So, what does 120hz mean? Well, it is the number of times that the image on the TV will refresh in a second. So, when we say that a TV is 120hz, it means that the TV will refresh 120 times in a second.
When people are talking Hz in relation to gaming, they are mostly concerned about the frame rate. On each ‘refresh’ of the screen, they want a different frame of animation to be shown. This means that, in an ideal world, on a 120hz screen, they would see 120 frames in a single fresh i.e. 120 frames per second. Although, of course, just because the Playstation 5 is able to output at a refresh rate this high, it doesn’t mean that the games you play will always be 120fps. In fact, most won’t be. We will talk about that soon, though.
Does the Xbox Series X/S Support 144hz?
Both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will support 120hz, exactly the same as the Playstation 5.
Due to their differing specifications, the option to run certain games at 120hz may not be possible if you are playing on the Xbox Series S. In that case, you are often going to be limited to backward compatibility games from older generations.
Does the Nintendo Switch Support 144hz?
No. The Nintendo Switch does not support anything over 60hz. This is because it is the least powerful of the home consoles. By all accounts, there are plans to change this with a model refresh later in 2021/early 2022, though.
Do All TVs Support 120hz?
No. In fact, at the moment it is exceedingly rare to find a TV with a refresh rate of 120hz. This is because they don’t really need it. TV shows tend to be 24fps, and movies are likely going to be 30fps or 60fps. Some sports may be broadcast in 120fps, but that is exceedingly rare.
It is only recently that there has started to be a demand for 120hz TVs, and you can thank the introduction of the latest consoles for this. It will be a long while before we start to see them introduced to the market, though.
If the TV does not explicitly say that it supports 120hz, then chances are that it doesn’t actually support 120hz.
If you do insist on 120hz gaming with your PS5, then it is suggested that you get hold of a gaming monitor designed for a computer. These have refresh rates up to 144hz. Although, of course, make sure that you check the spec of the monitor so you know what you are buying.
Will your PS5 Automatically Display 120hz On TV?
If you have a TV that supports 120hz, then your Playstation 5 will automatically recognize this. However, you may want to check the settings of the Playstation 5 just to be sure. You can do that by doing the following:
- Select ‘Settings’ from the home screen.
- Navigate to ‘Home and Video’
- Select ‘Video Output’
- If your Playstation 5 believes your TV supports 120hz, then you will see a checkbox allowing you to activate that mode.
Just because your Playstation 5 is ready for 120hz doesn’t mean that your games will be, though. In the games that support 120hz, you will need to tinker with the game settings. How you do this will be dependent on the game.
Most of the games will have an option called ‘Performance Mode’ under their graphical settings. Turn this on. Do note that the resolution of the game will be reduced in order to ensure that the game displays at a stable 120fps.
If there is no ‘Performance Mode’ in the game and you are sure that the game supports 120hz TVs, then you may need to turn on performance mode on your PS5. Do this by heading into the system settings for the PS5 and activating performance mode there.
Remember, not all games will support 120hz.
Do You Need a Special HDMI Cable for 120hz?
Not really.
Most modern HDMI cables should work.
You will need to ensure that any cable that you purchase is labeled as HDMI 2.1.
It is only the very cheap cables on the market that will support older HDMI standards.
The HDMI cable that your PS5 came with should be more than fine for 120hz.
Do all PS5 Games Support 120hz?
No. In fact, chances are that most PS5 games will never support 120hz fully. As we mentioned before, 120hz essentially means that that the console is capable of outputting 120 frames per second. In order to pump out a frame rate this high, a huge amount of pöwer needs to be dedicated to it.
Game developers, mostly, focus on getting their games to display at 60fps. They never really have 120fps as a target, not when it comes to console gaming. They want to optimize their games as much as they can to reach the 60fps target.
At the moment, only a small fraction of games have a 120hz option. These games are, mostly, older games from the PS4 that have been given a bit of a sprucing up for the PS5 (e.g. Borderlands 3). This means that the PS5 is more than capable of displaying 120fps because the games were originally designed to be played on a far less powerful console.
As the generation goes on, and we start to see more games exclusive to the PS5, then you can likely expect to see that many games will not have a 120hz option. For many game developers, it isn’t really going to be worth their time optimizing their game for 120fps. There are just not enough TVs that are capable of a refresh rate this high.
If you do see games that have a 120hz mode later on in the generation, then you can bet your bottom dollar that these will either be racing or sports games. There may be a couple of basic platformers or small indie games too. This is because these games tend to have a lot less going on at once. This means that the console has more power to dedicate towards rendering them at a higher frame rate.
- How to Pair Meta Quest 3 Controllers with Your Quest 3 Headset: A Quick Guide
- How to Charge Meta Quest 3: A Guide to Powering Up Your VR Experience
- How to Cast Meta Quest 3 to Samsung TV: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How To Factory Reset Your Meta Quest 3: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How to Power On and Off the Meta Quest 3
