240fps on 360hz vs 240fps on 240hz

[Sam Ravey]

i was looking at 360hz monitors but my games cannot all run at 360fps, i was wondering if a game is only running at 240fps on a 360hz monitor, will it feel more or less smooth than 240fps on a 240hz monitor?

[DukeDice929]

More Hz = less visible tearing, especially if you have fluctuating frame rates.

[joseph_from_pilsen]

240fps at 360hz may cause worse aim (due to the fact that half of frames are stalling longer than at 240hz)

[Sam Ravey]

240fps at 360hz may cause worse aim (due to the fact that half of frames are stalling longer than at 240hz)

would it be worth capping the hz down to 240 then or would it make no difference?

[Brainlet]

i was looking at 360hz monitors but my games cannot all run at 360fps, i was wondering if a game is only running at 240fps on a 360hz monitor, will it feel more or less smooth than 240fps on a 240hz monitor?

less (assuming no VRR)

[Chief Blur Buster]

240fps at 360hz may cause worse aim (due to the fact that half of frames are stalling longer than at 240hz)

would it be worth capping the hz down to 240 then or would it make no difference?

It's a big rabbit hole, but in general:

Prioritizing esports: VSYNC OFF 240fps at 360Hz is lower lag than VSYNC OFF 240fps at 144Hz. However, some 360Hz LCDs have worse refresh compliance than 240Hz LCDs, so that's another complication. So YMMV.

Prioritizing motion quality: VSYNC ON 240fps 240Hz is smoother than VSYNC ON 240fps 360Hz. Now if you do 240Hz on a 360Hz LCD for strobing, I highly recommend using custom Quick Frame Transport modes created by ToastyX CRU's Vertical Total Calculator (240Hz with refresh cycles transmitted in 1/360sec). This reduces strobe crosstalk, and reduces strobe latency.

Common Options
1. 240fps-ish VSYNC OFF on 240Hz panel (common esports use case)
2. 240fps-ish VSYNC OFF on 360Hz panel (common esports use case), lower lag and less visible tearing
3. 240fps-ish VRR at 360Hz (fantastic if you want ultra low latency VRR lower lag than 240Hz VRR)
4. 240fps VSYNC ON at factory 240Hz signal on an 240Hz panel (easy)
5. 240fps VSYNC ON at factory 240Hz signal on an 360Hz panel (sometimes more lag than above)
6. 240fps VSYNC ON at custom QFT 240Hz signal on an 360Hz panel (less lag + less strobe crosstalk)
.....(This latter option is BEST for strobe quality; refresh rate headroom + QFT)

There are other options, but I name a few.
The first 3 options are latency-priority, while the latter 3 options are motion-quality-priority.
The VRR option (3) combines low latency and excellent motion, if you use VRR in esports (ALWAYS purchase more uncapped refresh rate range than your uncapped framerate range of your esports game, IF you ever want to use VRR in esports. Therefore always purchase more refresh rate than you need, above the maximum frame rate of your game, if you want compromises-free VRR. And make sure good refresh rate compliance too. This will get much easier in the 480Hz+ OLED era).

The latter 3 options are useful if you want the smoothest strobed motion quality (quality-priority instead of lag/esports-priority), with the latter option being the highest quality strobing (if you use a strobed panel).