How Many Hz is Xbox Series X?

As you eagerly look at the gaming potential Xbox Series X, a critical question might be buzzing in your mind: “How many Hz is Xbox Series X?”

After all, Hz, defined as the Refresh Rate, is an essential parameter for determining the frame rate of the games you can play on Xbox Series X

The short answer to the query is that Xbox Series X supports refresh rates of 30Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz.

However, the crux of the matter lies in the details. Not only do the refresh rates work at a fixed resolution (FHD, 1440P, and 4K), but the actual frame rate depends on the specific game you’re playing.

Some games are designed to leverage the full power of 120Hz at 4K, while others might only support 30Hz (30FPS) at 4K. Some may not even support 4K at any refresh rate at all!

But, what does this mean for you as a gamer? How does it impact your gaming experience? And why should you care about these numbers at all?

In the following text, I will have a detailed look at the question at hand.

Understanding the Relationship: Refresh Rate vs. Frame Rate

A common misconception among gamers is that the refresh rate and frame rate (FPS) are interchangeable terms.

However, they represent distinct yet intertwined aspects of your gaming experience.

Frame rate refers to how quickly the gaming hardware can render frames. IT refers to how capable the gaming hardware is. Refresh rate, on the other hand, refers to how frequently your display can show those rendered frames.

So, if a game supports 120FPS at 4K, and you’re using a 120Hz display, you’ll experience the full crisp details.

But, if a game only supports 30FPS at 4K, your 120Hz display will still only be able to show 30 frames per second. This would effectively underutilize the potential of the higher refresh rate monitor.

The Power Behind Xbox Series X: A Comprehensive Overview

The Xbox Series X is certainly a fairly powerful gaming console. It is rated at 12 Teraflops of raw GPU power making the the most powerful 9th-generation gaming console.

But, to fully appreciate its prowess and understand how it enhances your gaming experience, we need to look at the resolution and the frame rate it promises.

After all, we know the previous generation of consoles (Xbox One) was capped at 30 FPS on the vast majority of games, and that too at full HD in most cases.

So How Many Hz is Xbox Series X?

So in short, Xbox Series X, can support a maximum of 120Hz refresh rate.

It does not support anything higher than 120Hz. Additionally, it also supports the lower 60Hz and 30Hz refresh rates.

As far as the display modes go, the following are the exact display modes (with resolution) supported by Xbox Series X:

• 1080P at 30Hz, 60Hz, 120Hz
• 1440P at 30Hz, 60Hz, 120Hz
• 4K at 30Hz, 60Hz, 120Hz

The gaming console DOES NOT support any other refresh rate.

No Support for 144Hz, 165Hz, 240Hz or Higher Refresh Rates

Do you have your eyes set on a high refresh rate monitor to pair with your Xbox Series X? Maybe a fancy 144Hz, 165Hz, or even an ultra-fast 240Hz display?

While these monitors are certainly appealing and do cater well to the PC gamers, for Xbox Series X gamers, will not be able to use them to their maximum potential.

As mentioned, Xbox Series X supports a MAXIMUM of 120Hz refresh rate.

So while technically, these high refresh rate monitors WILL work with your Xbox Series X, they will dial down their display mode to 120Hz maximum. .

Hence, while the idea of a high refresh rate monitor sounds exciting, the reality is that it might not offer any significant benefit when used with an Xbox Series X.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you should abandon the idea. If you are getting a particularly sweet deal with a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, certainly go for them, but remember the extra refresh rate will go to waste.

Make Sure the 144Hz or 165Hz Monitor You Buy HAS 120Hz Mode

It is of paramount importance to note that the note all 144Hz or 165Hz (or beyond) monitors have a 120Hz refresh rate mode built in.

The following table shows the display modes of the 144Hz Dell S2719DGF monitor:

Take note that despite being a 144Hz monitor, it DOES NOT have the 120Hz display mode. Hence, the Xbox Series X will only interface at 60Hz display mode maximum. The games will work at 60FPS max.

All Games DO NOT Work at 120FPS By Default

Xbox Series X gamers have a misunderstanding that ALL games would work at 120 FPS by default and that too at 4K.

That is hardly the case though.

There are in fact only a handful of games that work at 4K @ 120FPS. The number increases with FHD and 1440P resolution.

But still, a vast majority of the games, particularly, the newer releases DO NOT work at 120 FPS even on FHD and 1440P resolution.

Take for instance GTA 5 on Xbox Series X, this game only works at a maximum of 60 FPS even in performance mode.

The newer titles suffer the most. Take Hogwarts Legacy. This game works at 30 FPS that too ONLY at 1800p on Xbox Series X. This is not even 4K @ 30FPS.

Techradar has a list of games that work at 120FPS on Xbox Series X. You will notice how short the list is and also that it comprises mostly of very old titles.

The point of the discussion is that the POTENTIAL MAX refresh rate supported by the Xbox Series X DOES matter, equally important is knowing whether the games support high frame rate gaming in the first place.

This will help you in making the right decision particularly pertaining to buying a new TV or a monitor.