All vikisMonitor Stuck at 60 Hz
We rate this tip B tier: it costs nothing and takes two minutes, and Microsoft, Nvidia and ASUS all document it. A fast monitor runs at 60 Hz until you raise the refresh rate yourself, as George Vanous found on a 165 Hz ASUS screen he had used at 60 Hz for years.
We rate this tip B tier, and we think it is the most common way to waste a gaming monitor: nothing on screen tells you it is running at 60 Hz. George Vanous's notes say of his ASUS ROG Swift PG278QR: "Manually set 165 hz refresh rate (default 60 hz as I had it for years before stumbling upon 165)." ASUS sells that screen as overclockable to 165 Hz, and its manual lists 165 Hz as a separate overclocking mode above the standard top rate of 144 Hz. The fix is free and takes about two minutes, which is why it rates B and not higher: it saves no money, only the 105 Hz he had paid for and was not using.
We think Microsoft's refresh rate page will still give separate Windows 10 steps in mid 2027, since it carries them today beside the Windows 11 ones. Confidence: Likely. Check by: Jun 2027.
Three places hold the setting
A refresh rate is agreed between the monitor, the cable and the computer, so there are three places to look. Start with Windows; go to the other two only if the rate you want is not offered.
Windows 11. Start, Settings, System, Display, Advanced display, then pick a rate beside "Choose a refresh rate" (Microsoft Support).
Windows 10. Start, Settings, System, Display, "Advanced display settings", choose the display if you have more than one, then pick under "Refresh rate" (the same Microsoft page).
Microsoft adds two details worth knowing. The list only holds rates the display reports that it supports, and a rate marked with an asterisk is not available at the current resolution, so choosing it changes the resolution too. Windows 11 also has a "Dynamic refresh rate" switch on that screen, which Microsoft says can cap the top rate in some games; it suggests turning it off if a game feels slower.
Nvidia Control Panel. This is the place George's notes name: "Nvidia control panel under Display | Change resolution". Nvidia's help gives the same path: under Display, click "Change resolution", select the display, and choose from the "Refresh rate" list. His notes give no Windows path at all, so the Windows steps above are ours, from Microsoft.
The monitor's own menu. Some screens keep their top rate behind a switch in the on-screen menu. On the PG278QR the first menu item is "Over Clocking", with one entry, "Max Refresh Rate"; the manual says to select 165 Hz, press the joystick button twice to activate it, and then enable the new rate in the Nvidia Control Panel after a reboot. That matches his notes, which say to set it "both in the OSD" and in Nvidia's panel. On ASUS's current monitors the path is Gaming, Over Clocking, ON, Max Refresh Rate (ASUS support FAQ, updated Jun 2, 2025).
If the high rate is not in the list, check the cable
The cable and port set a ceiling that no setting can lift. For George's monitor ASUS states it in a footnote on the product page: 2560 x 1440 at 165 Hz "only works with DP port", and the HDMI port carries that resolution at 60 Hz only. The manual's mode tables agree: the HDMI v1.4 input tops out at 2560 x 1440 at 60 Hz, the DisplayPort v1.2 input lists 85, 100, 120 and 144 Hz, and 165 Hz appears only under DisplayPort overclocking. So on this screen an HDMI cable means 60 Hz, whatever Windows is told. His notes do not say which cable he used during the 60 Hz years.
The general pattern, from the standards bodies: VESA's announcement of DisplayPort 1.2 on Jan 7, 2010 doubled the link to 21.6 Gbps, enough for 3840 x 2400 at 60 Hz on one screen. HDMI caught up later; the HDMI Forum's current overview describes 96 Gbps and 4K at 240 Hz with its newest cable. A port's version on both ends, and a cable rated for it, decide which rates Windows can offer. Check the monitor's manual for a table like ASUS's before buying a cable.
What can go wrong
ASUS is plain that overclocking is offered without a promise. The PG278QR manual says results depend on the graphics card and that side effects such as lower contrast are a trade-off, not a defect; it names Nvidia cards from the GTX 960 up as supported for 165 Hz. If the screen goes black after you raise the rate, the manual's remedy is to unplug the DisplayPort cable and pick a lower Max Refresh Rate in the menu. The newer ASUS FAQ gives the same remedy and tells owners to turn off G-Sync or FreeSync while changing the setting.
A second setting in the same menu is in George's notes: Blue Light Filter at "Level 3" ("not 4 which locks brightness"). The manual confirms it: brightness stays adjustable from Level 1 to Level 3, and at Level 4 it is fixed.
The resolution names in his notes
Beside the monitor entry, George kept a list of what the resolution labels mean. It earns a place here because the asterisk rule above ties rate to resolution, and because his monitor is the QHD row. The pixel totals are our arithmetic; his notes round them.
| Name | Pixels across and down | Total pixels | His notes say |
|---|---|---|---|
| HD (720p) | 1280 x 720 | 921,600 | about 1 million |
| Full HD (1080p) | 1920 x 1080 | 2,073,600 | about 2 million |
| QHD (1440p) | 2560 x 1440 | 3,686,400 | about 4 million |
| Ultrawide QHD | 3440 x 1440 | 4,953,600 | about 5 million |
| UHD or 4K (2160p) | 3840 x 2160 | 8,294,400 | about 8 million |
His notes also insist that "2K is not 1440p": the cinema format called 2K is 2048 x 1080. We did not check that against a standards body and give it as his note.
What was verified for this page
On Nov 10, 2026 we read Microsoft's refresh rate page, Nvidia's Control Panel help, ASUS's PG278QR product page and overclocking FAQ, and the PG278QR English user guide (version V1, listed on ASUS's download page with the date Aug 28, 2018). Every menu name George wrote down matches the manual. His entry is undated; the next line in the same notes is dated Nov 1, 2019. We could not confirm why his screen sat at 60 Hz, since neither Microsoft nor ASUS says what rate Windows picks when a monitor is first plugged in, and we did not test a PG278QR ourselves.
Sources
- George Vanous's notes, undated (the line after the entry is dated Nov 1, 2019)
- Change the refresh rate on your monitor in Windows, Microsoft Support, read Nov 10, 2026
- To select a screen refresh rate, NVIDIA Control Panel Help, read Nov 10, 2026
- ROG Swift PG278QR, ASUS ROG, read Nov 10, 2026
- PG278QR Series User Guide, English edition, V1, ASUS, read Nov 10, 2026 (PDF)
- ROG Swift PG278QR manuals, ASUS ROG, read Nov 10, 2026
- How to set up overclocking for LCD monitors?, ASUS Support, updated Jun 2, 2025
- VESA Introduces DisplayPort v1.2, VESA, Jan 7, 2010
- HDMI 2.2 Specification Technology Overview, HDMI Licensing Administrator, read Nov 10, 2026
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See also
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- Remove a PDF PasswordWe rate this tip B tier: open the PDF with its password, print it to Windows' built-in "Microsoft Print to PDF" printer, and the copy that comes out has no password. Our own test on Nov 10, 2026 confirmed it, and showed what the copy loses.