refresh rate and monitor drivers

[Majzo]

I seem to remember reading about this in the olden days, that a CRT actually flickers, the light goes on and off as different images are drawn, rather than the light being constant, while with a LCD the light is constant.

Is this right? Why is it then possible to adjust refresh rate with a LCD? Is it just how many times per second the crystals change to draw a new image?

Also, does installing monitor drivers provide any actual improvement in performance?

[hostage67]

Depends on the monitor I suppose, but there is rarely a need to actually install Monitor drivers unless you have something unique that needs drivers as part of your monitor (ie sounds/usb connectors). Sometimes it can be necessary to install drivers to get access to full resolution, but again it just depends on the monitor. Most will work just fine by simply plugging them in and going, but if you find you are missing features, simply update your monitor drivers. Though in regards to performance (ie refresh rate, color) drivers should have little to no impact in most cases.

[digitaldd]

With older operating systems and KVM switches, properly setting refresh rates on LCDs does reduce visible flicker. Use a digital connection whenever possible and you don't need to set refresh rates.

[AruisDante]

To answer the question, yes, the refresh rate is (and always was, even in CRT days) the number of times per second the screen redraws the image on the screen.

LCD's do not go blank, however it takes varying amounts of time for a pixel to go from one color to another (the further away in the color spectrum it is going to from where it is, the longer it takes). On older (or low quality) displays, this can lead to what is called 'ghosting', which is effectively when the time it takes for a pixel to change colors is longer than the refresh time of the screen. This leads to portions of two (or more) images being on the screen at the same time.

[Majzo]

Originally Posted by digitaldd

With older operating systems and KVM switches, properly setting refresh rates on LCDs does reduce visible flicker. Use a digital connection whenever possible and you don't need to set refresh rates.

Why is that?