The rate at which a screen refreshes is important. Too low and it appears jumpy and will give you eye-strain and a headache in a matter of an hour or so. If the monitor doesn't support high enough refresh rates, certain high-performance graphics cards will burn them out. Keep in mind that flat panel monitors are typically set to 60 Hz and can't be set to any other rate. This is fine for them because they glow for a longer period of time, so the flicker isn't as noticible.
For CRT monitors, refresh rate is very important since the phosphor compounds chosen are much faster to discharge their light and go dark faster, so the screen is more prone to flicker at lower refresh rates. Select a monitor that supports the resolution you're looking for and does it at refresh rates above 70-72 Hz. Common refresh rates for CRT monitors are shown in a table below.
| 60 | Anything below this rate has a very noticible flicker |
| 65 | |
| 70 | Most people will notice a flicker at rates below this. |
| 72 | Minimum for users who are in front of their computer for long periods of time. |
| 75 | RECOMMENDED - You should make sure that the monitor supports this refresh rate or higher. |
| 80 | |
| 85 | |
| 90 | |
| 95 | |
| 100 + |