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G-Sync or FreeSync not working in borderless windowed mode

Last verified August 2026Tested against Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 10 22H2Well documented

Two settings have to agree. In the GPU control panel, G-SYNC must be set to "Windowed and full screen mode" rather than full screen only. In Windows, Optimizations for windowed games must be on — that is what moves a DirectX 10 or 11 game in a borderless window onto the flip presentation model, and Microsoft says the flip model is what makes VRR possible for windowed games at all.

Start here

  1. Set G-SYNC to windowed and full screen mode
  2. Turn on Optimizations for windowed games

This is one of the few PC problems where the setting people miss is not the vendor's. Almost every guide covers the G-SYNC checkbox and stops there. The Windows-side toggle that decides whether a windowed game can use VRR is on a different settings page entirely, and it is easy to have the GPU configured perfectly while Windows is still presenting the game the old way.

Symptoms

  • The G-Sync or FreeSync indicator shows in full screen but not in a borderless window
  • Tearing or stutter appears the moment you switch a game to borderless windowed
  • VRR works in some games and not others on the same PC
  • The Variable refresh rate toggle is missing from the Windows graphics settings
  • The monitor's own refresh-rate readout sits pinned at its maximum instead of varying
  • Frame pacing feels worse on the desktop-facing monitor in a multi-monitor setup

Why this happens

G-SYNC is set to full screen only

NVIDIA's Set up G-SYNC page offers two modes: full screen only, and windowed and full screen. The first is the one NVIDIA recommends when a system has trouble with G-SYNC in windowed applications, and it is a common default. If it is selected, no amount of Windows configuration will get VRR into a borderless window.

Set G-SYNC to windowed and full screen mode

The game is not on the flip presentation model

A DirectX 10 or 11 game in windowed or borderless windowed mode traditionally presents through a path that cannot do VRR. Optimizations for windowed games is what moves it onto the flip model; Microsoft describes that as the change that both improves latency and enables VRR and Auto HDR for windowed games. Without it, a borderless window simply has no route to a variable refresh rate.

Turn on Optimizations for windowed games

The display is not the primary, or Monitor Technology is set wrong

NVIDIA requires the G-SYNC capable display to be connected, enabled and configured as the primary display, and requires Monitor Technology to be set to G-SYNC or G-SYNC Compatible under Manage 3D Settings. On a multi-monitor desk it is easy to have the VRR panel as a secondary display, or to have the per-display G-SYNC settings applied to the wrong monitor — the settings are per connected display model, not global.

Set G-SYNC to windowed and full screen mode

Dynamic Refresh Rate is capping the game

Dynamic Refresh Rate is a separate Windows 11 feature that raises and lowers the refresh rate automatically depending on what you are doing. Microsoft's own note is that it should not affect games built for VRR, but that it can limit the maximum refresh rate of other games — which looks a lot like VRR failing when it is really DRR holding the ceiling down.

Rule out Dynamic Refresh Rate capping the game

The OS VRR toggle is missing because a requirement is not met

Windows only shows the Variable refresh rate setting when all three requirements are satisfied: Windows 1903 or later, a G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync capable monitor, and a GPU on WDDM 2.6 or newer drivers that support the feature. A missing toggle is a diagnosis, not a bug — something in that list is not in place.

Turn on the Windows Variable refresh rate setting

Fixes

Set G-SYNC to windowed and full screen mode

about 5 min

The full-screen-only option is exactly what its name says, and it is the setting that silently rules out everything else you might try.

Applies to: Windows 11, Windows 10 22H2

  1. Open NVIDIA Control Panel and select Set up G-SYNC under Display in the left-hand tree.
  2. Tick Enable G-SYNC / G-SYNC Compatible if it is not already ticked.
  3. Choose Enable for windowed and full screen mode rather than Enable for full screen mode, then Apply.
  4. Check which display the settings are being applied to. They apply per connected display, so on a multi-monitor setup make sure you are configuring the VRR panel.
  5. Confirm that VRR display is set as your primary display in Windows — NVIDIA requires it.
  6. Go to Manage 3D Settings and confirm Monitor Technology is set to G-SYNC / G-SYNC Compatible rather than Fixed Refresh.
  7. On an AMD or Adaptive-Sync setup, do the equivalent: FreeSync enabled in the driver, and enabled in the monitor's own on-screen menu — many panels ship with it off.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: NVIDIA

Turn on Optimizations for windowed games

about 5 min

This is the Windows-side switch that makes VRR in a borderless window possible at all, and it is the one most guides never mention.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2

  1. Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
  2. Under Default settings, turn on Optimizations for windowed games. This covers every game that qualifies.
  3. If you would rather not change it globally, add the game under Custom options for apps and turn it on there. Per-application settings override the system-wide preference.
  4. Restart the game — the change applies at launch, not live.
  5. Note the coupling with Auto HDR: turning Auto HDR on turns this on automatically, and Windows will not let you turn it off again until Auto HDR is off first.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft DirectX Developer Blog

Turn on the Windows Variable refresh rate setting

about 5 min

It adds VRR to DirectX 11 full-screen games that never supported it. It does not replace your G-SYNC or FreeSync setup, and it will not appear at all if your hardware does not qualify.

Applies to: Windows 11, Windows 10 version 1903 and later

  1. Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics and look for Variable refresh rate under the default or advanced graphics settings.
  2. If the toggle is not there, that is the answer: one of Windows 1903 or later, a VRR-capable monitor, or a GPU on WDDM 2.6+ drivers with support for this feature is missing. Update the graphics driver first, then check again.
  3. Turn it on. It is off by default.
  4. Leave your G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync control panel settings alone — Microsoft states this toggle does not override them.
  5. If games behave oddly after enabling it, turn it back off. Microsoft's own guidance is to disable it when unexpected problems appear.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft DirectX Developer Blog, Microsoft DirectX Developer Blog

Rule out Dynamic Refresh Rate capping the game

about 5 min

DRR can hold down the maximum refresh rate of games that were not built for VRR, which reads as VRR failing.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2

  1. Open Settings > System > Display > Advanced display.
  2. Check the Display information panel — it reports whether this display supports variable refresh rate at all. If it says no, stop here; the panel is not VRR-capable on this connection.
  3. Find the Dynamic refresh rate toggle. It only exists on Windows 11 with a VRR display running at 120 Hz or higher.
  4. Turn it off and retest the game. If the ceiling lifts, DRR was the cause and you can decide whether the battery saving is worth it.
  5. While you are here, confirm the display is actually set to its highest refresh rate rather than a lower one Windows picked.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft

Known issues

  • The Variable refresh rate toggle is hidden entirely when any of its three requirements are unmet, with no explanation shown to the user. Microsoft documents the requirements but Windows does not surface which one failed.

    Affects Windows 11, Windows 10 version 1903 and later · Status: open

  • Optimizations for windowed games cannot be turned off while Auto HDR is on — Auto HDR forces it and Windows requires Auto HDR to be disabled first.

    Affects Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2 · Status: workaround only

If none of this worked

If VRR does not work in full screen either, this is not a windowed-mode problem — check the cable and port first, because VRR ranges and refresh rate ceilings differ between HDMI and DisplayPort on the same monitor, and many panels need FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync enabled in their own menu. If the picture flickers rather than tears, particularly on an OLED and particularly during loading screens where the frame rate collapses, that is panel behaviour at the bottom of the VRR window rather than a Windows setting; capping the frame rate a little below the monitor's maximum is the usual mitigation. And if the game is DirectX 12 or Vulkan, the windowed optimizations toggle does not apply to it — Microsoft scopes that feature to DirectX 10 and 11.

Common questions

Why does G-Sync work in full screen but not borderless?
Two independent reasons, and you may have both. The NVIDIA setting has an explicit full-screen-only mode that has to be changed to windowed and full screen. Separately, a DirectX 10 or 11 game in a borderless window needs Windows' Optimizations for windowed games to put it on the flip presentation model, which is what makes VRR possible for windowed games in the first place.
Does the Windows Variable refresh rate toggle replace G-Sync?
No. Microsoft is explicit that it does not override anything configured in the G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync control panels. It adds VRR to DirectX 11 full-screen games that never implemented it. Keep using the vendor control panel as normal and treat this as an extra.
The Variable refresh rate toggle is not on my Graphics settings page. Where is it?
It is hidden because a requirement is not met. All three of Windows 1903 or later, a G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync monitor, and a GPU on WDDM 2.6 or newer drivers that support the feature must be true. Updating the graphics driver from the vendor rather than Windows Update is the usual fix; if the toggle still does not appear, the monitor or the connection is the limit.
Should I turn on Optimizations for windowed games globally or per game?
Globally is simpler and is what the feature is designed for. Per-application settings exist for the cases where one game misbehaves with it, and they override the global preference — so you can leave it on everywhere and turn it off for the one title that does not like it.
Does this apply to DirectX 12 games?
No. Microsoft scopes Optimizations for windowed games to DirectX 10 and DirectX 11. DirectX 12 and Vulkan titles already present through a flip-model swap chain, so a well-behaved DX12 game in a borderless window should get VRR without that toggle. If yours does not, the problem is on the GPU control panel or monitor side.

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Related problems

Sources

  • To set up G-SYNCOfficial

    NVIDIA · Documentation · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • G-SYNC is configured from NVIDIA Control Panel > Display > Set up G-SYNC by ticking Enable G-SYNC / G-SYNC Compatible
    • Full screen mode is the option to pick when a system has difficulty using G-SYNC with windowed applications
    • Windowed and full screen mode is the option required for G-SYNC in windowed applications
    • The G-SYNC settings apply per connected display model rather than system-wide
    • NVIDIA requires the G-SYNC capable display to be connected, enabled and set as the primary display
    • NVIDIA requires Monitor Technology to be set to G-SYNC / G-SYNC Compatible on the Manage 3D Settings page
  • Optimizations for windowed games in Windows 11Official

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • Optimizations for windowed games moves DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games in windowed and borderless windowed modes onto the flip presentation model
    • The flip model is what enables variable refresh rate and Auto HDR for windowed games
    • The toggle is at Settings > System > Display > Graphics, under Default settings globally and under Custom options for apps per game
    • Turning on Auto HDR turns this on automatically and it cannot be turned off again until Auto HDR is off
  • OS Variable Refresh RateOfficial

    Microsoft DirectX Developer Blog · Documentation · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • The OS Variable refresh rate toggle adds VRR support to DirectX 11 full-screen games that did not support it natively
    • It requires Windows version 1903 or later, a G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync capable monitor, and a GPU with WDDM 2.6 or newer drivers supporting the feature
    • The toggle does not override settings already configured in the G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync control panels
    • The toggle is off by default and only appears when every requirement is met
    • Microsoft advises turning the feature off again if unexpected problems appear in games after enabling it
  • Navigating the Redesigned Graphics Settings pageOfficial

    Microsoft DirectX Developer Blog · Documentation · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • Optimizations for windowed games significantly improves latency in DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games using Windowed and Borderless Windowed presentation, and also enables Auto HDR and VRR
    • The Variable refresh rate setting covers AMD FreeSync, NVIDIA G-Sync and VESA DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync and requires compatible drivers and a VRR-capable monitor
    • Per-application settings for GPU preference, Auto HDR and windowed game optimizations override the system-wide preferences
    • Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling only appears on systems whose GPU and drivers support it
  • Change the refresh rate on your monitor in WindowsOfficial

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • Dynamic Refresh Rate is a Windows 11 feature that changes the refresh rate automatically based on what you are doing, and is not supported on Windows 10
    • Dynamic Refresh Rate requires a display that supports VRR and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz
    • Microsoft warns that DRR should not affect games designed for VRR but can limit the maximum refresh rate of other games
    • Refresh rate and the DRR toggle live at Settings > System > Display > Advanced display
    • The Display information panel reports whether the display supports variable refresh rate