As a frustrated PC gamer, I recently encountered an issue with my monitor flickering at 144hz. After some research and testing, I’m here to share the causes and fixes I discovered in order to help others who may be having the same issue. In this blog post, I will discuss the potential causes of the flickering and then provide solutions that have worked for me and other users. I hope my experience will help you get your monitor back up and running again at the full 144hz refresh rate.
However, some people might find their monitor flickering at 144Hz, which can happen for a variety of reasons, such as low speed graphics cards, outdated drivers, and hardware problems like low quality cables.
| Cause | Description | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Low Speed Graphics Card | Old graphics cards with low clocking speed might suffer frame rate drops and flickering due to the high refresh rate of 144Hz. | Upgrade to a more powerful graphics card with a faster clocking speed. |
| Outdated Graphics Card Driver | Flickering can occur if your display driver is not up-to-date. | Visit the manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA or AMD) and download the latest stable version of your display driver. |
| Problems with the Display Port | Cheap or loose cables and dirty ports can cause monitor flickering. | 1. Use a high-quality cable.<br>2. Make sure the cables are securely connected.<br>3. Clean the ports with compressed air if necessary. |
| Problems with Graphics Card Settings | Recently changed or reset settings can lead to flickering. | 1. Adjust monitor settings to “Prefer maximum performance”.<br>2. Make sure the monitor is running at the recommended (native) resolution.<br>3. Set the refresh rate to 144Hz.<br>4. Access the control panel to adjust the refresh rate, if necessary. |
| Hardware Malfunctions | Issues with graphics cards, motherboards, or power supply units can cause flickering. | 1. Isolate and test each part separately on a working setup.<br>2. Clean computer parts, especially GPU fans, to remove dust or dirt that might cause overheating and flickering. |
Table of Contents
1. Low Speed Graphics Card
This is one of the main reasons why your monitor might flicker despite having all the necessary settings for a 144Hz display.
In fact, this problem is fairly common among two monitor setups, especially if this mainly happens when you’re playing AAA games on ultra settings or using performance demanding apps.
Unlike regular 60Hz display monitors, 144Hz monitors put extra pressure on graphics cards due to their higher pixel clock. As a result, your GPU will have to continuously run at a higher speed to meet these demands.
For that reason, if you’re using a relatively old graphics card with low clocking speed, the high refresh rate of the monitor might cause the card to suffer frame rate drops and flickering far too often when the GPU downclocks.
In that case, upgrading to a more powerful graphics card with a faster clocking speed might stop the flickering.
2. Outdated Graphics Card Driver
If the screen is only flickering on a particular computer, the problem is most likely caused by the display driver.
In that case, you’ll need to make sure that your graphics card is up to date not only to avoid flickering but to increase the general performance of the card.
The easiest way to update your graphics card is by checking out the manufacturer’s website, whether it’s NVIDIA or AMD. After that, you should search for your display driver, and download the latest stable version.
3. Problems with the Display Port
If you’re using a high speed graphics card and keeping your drivers up to date with the latest stable versions but the problem still persists, you might want to take a look at the connecting ports.
Whether your monitor is using HDMI or DisplayPort for connection, make sure that you’re getting a high quality one if you want a consistent display.
In fact, cheap cables can cause your monitor to flicker, especially if they’re not built with the proper materials to handle a high refresh rate display.
For that reason, you might want to consider investing in a good quality cable to match your high end monitor.
If you’re already using a premium cable, check the connections at the back and make sure that the cables are not loose.
You might also want to check the ports for any dirt particles that might be causing the problem and clean them with compressed air.
4. Problems with Graphics Card Settings
If you’ve recently made changes to your graphic card settings, you might’ve accidentally adjusted your settings or reset them to default, which can cause your graphics card and monitor to suffer irregularities like flickering.
To solve that, here’s what you need to do:
- Start by right-clicking in any blank space on your desktop to choose your graphics card settings, whether it’s NVIDIA Control Panel or Radeon Settings.
- Navigate to the 3D Settings section, and choose Power Management to adjust your monitor to “Prefer maximum performance”.
- Click on the Display tab and choose “Change Resolution”, then make sure that your monitor is running at the recommended (native) one.
- In the same section, you should also make sure that the refresh rate is set to 144Hz and not 60Hz.
You can also adjust the refresh rate through the control panel itself. Open the “Settings” window from the search bar and choose “System”, then click on “Advanced display settings” > “Display adapter properties”.
At the new window prompt, choose the “Monitor” Tab, then adjust the “Screen Refresh Rate” to “144 Hertz”, and press “OK”.
5. Hardware Malfunctions
If all else fails, there’s a chance that your computer is having some hardware malfunctions. In fact, problems in graphics cards and motherboards can both cause monitor flickering.
Working power supply units (PSU) may also still cause noticeable monitor flickering if the unit’s wattage isn’t high enough to handle the electricity requirements of the computer.
One of the best ways to quickly identify the culprit is by isolating each one of these parts and testing them separately on another working setup.
Make sure that you also clean your computer parts and remove any dust or dirt that might accumulate on the parts, especially the GPU fans, which can increase the temperature significantly and cause flickering too.
Wrap Up
This wraps it up for this quick guide that shows you all the reasons for monitor flickering at 144Hz.
As you can see, several aspects can be the culprit behind this problem, so you might want to give each one of them a try before contacting customer support or upgrading your monitor.
