Refresh Rate, VRR, G-SYNC, FreeSync and Frame Caps

Confirm the physical link

Use a cable and port combination that supports the target resolution, refresh rate, color depth and HDR mode. A display may offer its highest mode only over a specific DisplayPort or HDMI input. Install the monitor driver or color profile only when the manufacturer provides one for the model.

Open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display. Select the correct monitor and choose its intended refresh rate. Then verify the on-screen display reports the same active signal. Dynamic Refresh Rate is a Windows power feature for supported 120 Hz-or-higher panels; it is separate from game VRR and can be disabled if a game appears capped unexpectedly.

Enable variable refresh rate end to end

Enable Adaptive-Sync/FreeSync/G-SYNC Compatible in the monitor menu, then in the AMD or NVIDIA control panel. Check whether it applies to fullscreen only or also windowed mode. Windows windowed optimizations help compatible borderless DX10/11 games use the modern presentation path.

Choose a strategy

• Maximum throughput: uncapped rendering can minimize queue delay in some competitive scenarios but causes tearing, high power and inconsistent frame delivery.
• VRR range: cap a few FPS below the display ceiling as a starting point, then follow current vendor guidance for V-Sync/reflex/anti-lag combinations.
• Stable cadence: a cap the PC can hold consistently often feels better than oscillating between high and low rates.
• Fixed-refresh V-Sync: removes tearing but can add queue latency; low-latency modes or in-game limiters may change the result.

Prefer a high-quality in-game frame limiter when available. RTSS and driver-level limiters are useful fallbacks but can behave differently with anti-cheat or presentation APIs.

Diagnose common symptoms

Tearing means scanout and frame delivery are unsynchronized. Brightness flicker near the lower VRR boundary may be a panel behavior or low-frame-rate-compensation transition. A game stuck at 60 FPS may have a refresh, V-Sync, borderless, capture or duplicate-display limit. Record the active display mode and test one variable at a time.