If your buddy’s screen looks butter-smooth while yours feels like molasses, the answer is usually refresh rate.
The good news is you might be able to push your current monitor further than the box says, for free.
Overclocking your monitor’s refresh rate is a satisfying little PC trick that costs nothing and can genuinely improve how your games feel.
It won’t turn a 60Hz panel into a 240Hz esports beast, but bumping a 60Hz screen to 75Hz or a 144Hz panel to 165Hz is very doable.
Here’s how to do it safely and how to know if it actually worked.
What Monitor Overclocking Actually Does
Refresh rate is the number of times per second your monitor redraws the image, measured in Hertz (Hz).
A 60Hz monitor refreshes 60 times per second, while a 144Hz monitor refreshes 144 times per second.
The higher the refresh rate, the smoother motion looks, especially in fast-paced games.
Overclocking means forcing the monitor to refresh faster than its advertised spec. You’re not changing physical hardware, just pushing more frames through the same panel.
Most monitors have a small amount of headroom built in because manufacturers spec them conservatively. That’s the wiggle room you’re trying to find.
The real-world benefit is smoother motion, slightly reduced input lag, and less perceived motion blur. Going from 60Hz to 75Hz is genuinely noticeable when panning the camera in games.
Is Your Monitor a Good Candidate?
Not every monitor overclocks well, and there’s no guaranteed result even within the same model. Two identical monitors can hit different ceilings because of manufacturing tolerances.
Gaming monitors tend to be the best candidates. Many already ship with overclock options in their on-screen display (OSD) menu.
If your monitor advertises something like “144Hz native, 165Hz with overclock,” that’s a built-in OC mode you can enable in the menu without any third-party software.
60Hz office monitors sometimes have a small amount of headroom (often 65-75Hz), but the gains are usually modest.
Cheap budget panels may not overclock at all, especially if they use older scaler chips that lock the refresh rate.
The only real way to know your monitor’s ceiling is to test it.
What You Need Before You Start
The cable you’re using matters more than people realize. Higher refresh rates need more bandwidth, and not every cable can deliver it.
For most modern setups, DisplayPort is the safest choice because it has higher bandwidth than HDMI in most versions.
If you’re on HDMI, make sure it’s HDMI 2.0 or higher for high refresh rate gaming. HDMI 2.1 is required for 4K above 60Hz at full bandwidth.
Avoid adapters whenever possible because they introduce signal degradation and can cap your maximum refresh rate.
You’ll also want your GPU drivers fully updated before you start.
Set realistic expectations: a 5-15Hz bump is common, anything more is a bonus, and some monitors won’t overclock at all.
How to Overclock with NVIDIA Control Panel
If you have an NVIDIA GPU, the entire process is built into the driver.
Right-click on your desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel. If you don’t see it, download the NVIDIA Control Panel app from the Microsoft Store.
In the left sidebar, expand Display and click Change Resolution.
Scroll down and click Customize, then check the box for Enable resolutions not exposed by the display.
Click Create Custom Resolution. Leave the resolution at your monitor’s native value and only change the refresh rate (Hz) field.
Increase it by 5Hz at a time. So if your monitor is 60Hz, try 65Hz first.
Click Test. If your screen stays on, the new refresh rate works. If it goes black, wait about 15 seconds and the previous setting will return automatically.
If the test passes, save the custom resolution and try another 5Hz bump until you find your ceiling, then back it off by a few Hz for stability.
How to Overclock with AMD Radeon Software
AMD users have a similarly clean process built into AMD Adrenalin Software.
Right-click the desktop and open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.
Click the Settings gear icon in the top right, then go to the Display tab.
Find your monitor in the list and click Custom Resolutions, then Create New.
Leave everything alone except the Refresh Rate (Hz) field. Bump it up by 5Hz, then click Save.
Once saved, go to your Windows display settings and select the new refresh rate from the dropdown to apply it.
If the screen looks normal, keep testing. If you get a black screen, wait for the system to revert, then try a smaller increment.
How to Overclock Using CRU (Custom Resolution Utility)
If you want more control, or if you’re on Intel graphics, Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) by ToastyX is the gold standard.
It works at the EDID level, so your overclock applies regardless of which GPU control panel you’re using.
Download CRU from ToastyX’s official website (it’s free) and extract the zip. There’s no installer.
Run CRU.exe as administrator and select your monitor from the dropdown.
Under Detailed resolutions, click Add. Set Timing to Automatic (PC), then enter your monitor’s native resolution and your target refresh rate.
Start with a small bump, like 5Hz over your current rate. Click OK, then OK again on the main window.
Run the included restart.exe file (or restart your PC) to apply the changes.
After the restart, go to Windows display settings and select your new refresh rate from the dropdown.
CRU has a hard limit of 8 custom entries, so use 5Hz increments to find your range, then fine-tune with 1Hz bumps near the ceiling.
Testing for Frame Skipping (The Critical Step)
This is the part most guides skip, and it’s the most important.
A monitor can appear to run at a higher refresh rate while secretly skipping frames behind the scenes. The system reports the new Hz, but the panel can’t actually keep up, so it drops frames to compensate.
The result looks smooth-ish, but you’re not actually gaining anything.
The Blur Busters UFO Test at testufo.com is the industry standard for catching this.
Specifically, use the frame skipping test on the site. It displays a horizontal pattern that looks like a continuous, evenly-spaced bar when your monitor is running cleanly.
If you take a photo of the screen with your phone (using a fast shutter speed if possible) and see missing rows or gaps in the pattern, your monitor is skipping frames and the overclock isn’t actually working.
If the bars are clean and evenly spaced, the overclock is real and stable.
If you see frame skipping, drop the refresh rate by 5Hz and test again until the pattern is clean.
This is also a great time to check for artifacts, flickering, or odd colors. If you spot any of these issues, you’re past your panel’s safe limit and need to back off. The same kind of testing approach is useful when diagnosing monitor ghosting, which can also become more visible if you push refresh rate too aggressively.
Troubleshooting and Risks
If your screen goes black during testing, don’t panic. Wait 15-20 seconds and the system will revert to your last working setting automatically.
If it doesn’t revert, restart your PC in safe mode and remove the custom resolution. For CRU, run the included reset-all.exe file to wipe custom settings.
If your monitor refuses to overclock at all, the most common culprits are an underpowered cable, an older HDMI version, or simply a panel without headroom. Try a different cable before assuming the monitor is the problem.
The realistic risks of monitor overclocking are mild. You’re far more likely to see artifacts or frame skipping than physical damage, especially if you increase in small steps.
That said, overclocking can technically void your warranty with some manufacturers.
The smart move is to find a stable overclock and leave it there. A solid 75Hz on a 60Hz panel is a real upgrade, and chasing 80Hz with frame skipping defeats the entire purpose.
If you’re already deep into PC tuning, pairing a higher refresh rate with the right mouse polling rate and stable frame pacing is what makes everything feel as smooth as the numbers suggest.
Final Thoughts
Overclocking a monitor’s refresh rate is one of the easiest free upgrades in PC gaming.
The process takes maybe 15 minutes, the worst likely outcome is a temporary black screen, and the best case is a noticeable jump in smoothness that costs nothing.
Stick to 5Hz increments, always run the UFO frame skipping test, and don’t push for the absolute ceiling. Aim for a stable, clean overclock you can leave on permanently.
Whether you gain 5Hz or 20Hz depends entirely on your specific panel, cable, and GPU, but it’s worth trying on almost any setup. Worst case, you learn your monitor is already tuned out. Best case, your games suddenly feel a little faster, a little crisper, and a lot more responsive.