Pen display refresh rate

Overview

The VAST majority of pen displays up to 60Hz. Only a handful of pen displays support higher refresh rates such as 90Hz or 120Hz.

Tablets that support high refresh rates

As of Feb 2026, only a few tablets support high refresh rates.

Tablet	Max refresh rate
Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 (DTH- 271)	120Hz
Wacom Cintiq Pro 22 (DTH-172)	120Hz
Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 (DTH-227)	120Hz
Wacom MovinkPad Pro (DTH-A140)	120Hz
XP-Pen Artist Pro 24 GEN2 165Hz (MD240QH)	165Hz
Huion Kamvas 22 GEN3	90Hz

Effects of higher refresh rates

Pointer lag improvements

Higher refresh rates slightly improve pointer lag.

I've tested several of these high-refresh-rate pen displays. Compared to a 60Hz pen display, a 10Hz refresh fate visually seems to improve the pointer lag by maybe 10% to 20%to my eyes. This indicates to me that pointer lag is driven by other latencies and rates in the system.

Increased heat and power usage

With pen displays , I've noticed a clear pattern of warmer screens when higher refresh rates are used. They are never "hot", but it can feel much warmer than usual. Some people might not enjoy the feeling.