Question: I am unable to set the refresh rate above 60Hz, but my display's native refresh rate is 144Hz. The mouse and windows have a delay and a ghost effect when I move them around. It's hard to use the mouse accurately. Even the typing experience is slow. I am not sure if drivers are even installed.

I have a Ryzen 5 3600, a Radeon 5700 XT, and 32GB RAM. The display is a [BenQ EX3203R](https://www.benq.com/en-ca/monitor/gaming/ex3203r.html) with a native resolution of 2560x1440 @ 144Hz.

Things that I tried so far:

* Set the refresh rate to 120Hz under the settings, but it reverts back to 60Hz. 144Hz is not even an option in display settings. Setting the refresh rate to anything except 60Hz automatically reverts back to 60Hz.
* Downloaded and installed AMD drivers from their website
* Updated and upgraded all packages
* Tried to manually edit the GRUB file to add 144hz to my native resolution
* Tried with both HDMI and Displayport cables
* Tried a live session directly from the pen-drive (same issue occurs)

Downscaling the resolution from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 fixes the refresh rate issue, but I want to be able to use the native resolution.

Here is my GRUB config and my display settings:

[![GRUB config](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GSujh.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GSujh.png)

[![System Settings Menu > Display Settings](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jFVKV.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jFVKV.png)

Answer: 
Finally solved it!

The problem was related to the FreeSync technology. After reading the manual, I realized that depending if you have FreeSync enabled or not, the color profile and refresh rate are actually different. I found this information on [the user manual](https://esupportdownload.benq.com/esupport/LCD%20MONITOR/UserManual/EX3203R/EX3203R_UM_EN_201204181603.pdf) (page 44).

Since this was enabled, Ubuntu was (perhaps correctly?) not recognizing 144hz. Just make sure you restart your computer **after** disabling FreeSync on your monitor and updating the GRUB file with the desired resolution and refresh rate.

Thank you everyone who guided me to the right direction.
The BenQ EX3203R, according to the [official documentation](https://esupportdownload.benq.com/esupport/LCD%20MONITOR/UserManual/EX3203R/EX3203R_RF_EN_210104180503.pdf), p. 3 table, and confirmed by the manufacturer's Customer Service does indeed support **2560x1440 @ 144Hz** but for **consoles only**.

When used with a **PC** the monitor is limited to **2560x1440 @ 60Hz**.

This is presented in the aforementioned table as "PC timing" (PC) and "Video timing" (Console).

As tested by the OP it may show the 144Hz option in Windows or Mac but it's unclear whether it's actually using it or just reporting what was queried, or whether it can actually achieve the "official unsupported" timing in specific circumstances (e.g. when triggered by a game). Users should assume and expect 60Hz anyway.