For most modern PC games, use borderless. The old rule that exclusive fullscreen is always faster no longer holds, and the reason is more surprising than most guides admit: in DirectX 12 games, true exclusive fullscreen largely no longer exists. When a DX12 game offers a fullscreen option, it is usually an emulated mode that changes your desktop resolution while presenting through the same path as a borderless window.
Where the choice still genuinely matters is older games. In DirectX 11 and earlier titles, a real exclusive fullscreen path often still exists, and it can deliver lower latency, higher frame rates, or better compatibility.
So the useful question is not "fullscreen or borderless." It is "which graphics API does this game use?" This guide explains how to tell, what each mode actually does, and how to verify which presentation path you are getting rather than guessing.
Why the old advice stopped being true
For years the reasoning was sound. Exclusive fullscreen let a game take direct control of the display, bypassing the work Windows does to composite the desktop. Borderless windows had to go through the Desktop Window Manager, which added a frame of latency and forced everything into its own V-Sync rhythm. That is also why windowed games historically could not use variable refresh rate at all.
Microsoft changed this with the DXGI flip model and a mechanism called Independent Flip. When a borderless window covers the screen and meets certain conditions, Windows lets the game's own swapchain drive the display directly and bypasses the compositor entirely. The desktop composition penalty disappears.
Microsoft's own developer documentation is direct about the result, stating that flip model presents make windowed mode effectively equivalent to or better than classic fullscreen exclusive mode, and suggesting developers reconsider whether their applications need an exclusive mode at all. You can read the guidance in Microsoft's DXGI flip model documentation.
Independent Flip is also why variable refresh rate now works in borderless mode. Because the compositor is bypassed, the game can present without being locked to composition timing, which is what G-SYNC and FreeSync require.
What the display modes actually are
1. Exclusive fullscreen
The game takes direct control of the display and can change its resolution and refresh rate independently of the Windows desktop.
This is the mode people mean when they say "fullscreen is faster." It still exists in DirectX 11 and older titles. In DirectX 12 games, the fullscreen option is typically emulated: Windows temporarily switches desktop resolution, refresh rate, and colorspace to what the game requested, but the presentation behaves like a borderless window. Nothing is taking exclusive control.
2. Borderless fullscreen
The game runs in a window with no title bar or border, sized to fill the display. Windows still treats it as part of the desktop, which is what makes Alt-Tab instant.
With Independent Flip active, this mode bypasses the compositor and performs at or near exclusive fullscreen levels. Its main constraint is that the output resolution is usually tied to your desktop resolution.
3. Windowed
A conventional resizable window on the desktop. Useful for strategy and simulation games, older titles, and development work, but most players wanting a full-screen experience are deciding between the two modes above.
Fullscreen vs borderless: the real differences
| Exclusive fullscreen | Borderless fullscreen |
|---|
Presentation path | Direct display control, DX11 and older only | Independent Flip, bypasses the compositor |
Still exists in DX12? | Rarely, usually emulated | Yes, this is the native path |
Resolution independence | Yes, can differ from desktop | Usually tied to desktop resolution |
Alt-Tab | Can trigger a mode switch and black screen | Instant |
Variable refresh rate | Supported | Supported, but needs one driver setting enabled |
HDR | Game controls the HDR state directly | Depends on Windows HDR being enabled first |
Multi-monitor | Restrictive | Straightforward |
Where it still wins | DX9 and DX11 titles, custom resolutions | Everything else |
How to check which mode you are actually in
This is the step that turns guesswork into data, and almost no guide mentions it.
PresentMon, Intel's free capture and analysis tool, reports the presentation mode a game is actually using. The values you want to see are Hardware: Independent Flip or Hardware Composed: Independent Flip, both of which mean the compositor is being bypassed. If you see Composed: Flip, the desktop compositor is still involved and you are paying a latency cost.
This matters because a game labelling something "fullscreen" tells you nothing about which path Windows granted it. PresentMon tells you what is really happening. If borderless already reports Independent Flip in your game, switching to fullscreen has nothing left to give you.
Does fullscreen give more FPS than borderless?
In DirectX 12 games, usually no, because both options generally resolve to the same presentation path. Any difference you measure is more likely run-to-run variance than a real effect.
In DirectX 11 and older games, sometimes yes. A genuine exclusive path exists there, and games with poorly implemented windowed modes can perform noticeably better in fullscreen.
Two things influence this more than the mode itself. If your GPU is already pinned near 100 percent utilization, the extra compositor work in a non-optimized borderless mode has less headroom to hide in. And if the game predates the flip model, it may be using the old presentation method regardless of what you select.
Judge it properly: use a frame time overlay rather than an average FPS counter, and compare 1 percent lows and frame time consistency. A mode with a slightly lower average but tighter frame times will feel better to play.
Does borderless cause input lag?
It did. The old borderless path added roughly a frame of latency because everything went through the compositor, which is why competitive players learned to avoid it.
With Independent Flip that penalty is gone in supported titles. Where borderless still costs you latency is when the game does not qualify for Independent Flip, which is common in older DirectX 11 games that have not been updated.
For competitive shooters, this is worth actually measuring rather than assuming either way. Use PresentMon to confirm which path you are getting, and if the game reports Composed: Flip in borderless, exclusive fullscreen is likely to be genuinely faster.
How to improve borderless performance in Windows 11
Windows 11 includes a setting built specifically for this. Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics and enable Optimizations for windowed games.
The feature moves compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games from the legacy blt-model presentation to the newer flip model, which Microsoft says reduces frame latency and enables features such as Auto HDR and variable refresh rate on supported displays. Full details are in Microsoft's support documentation.
Restart the game after changing it. This setting is the single most valuable thing a borderless player can enable, because it retroactively fixes the mode for older titles that were the main reason to prefer fullscreen.
Two quirks worth knowing. If you turn on Auto HDR, this optimization is enabled automatically and greyed out, so to switch it off you have to disable Auto HDR first. And in a few games the flip model can introduce screen tearing, which Microsoft suggests addressing by matching your frame rate to your display's refresh rate or enabling V-Sync.
Two settings people forget
Variable refresh rate needs enabling for windowed mode
G-SYNC and FreeSync will not engage in borderless mode unless the driver is configured to allow it. In the NVIDIA Control Panel, open Set up G-SYNC and select Enable for windowed and full screen mode. AMD has an equivalent option in Adrenalin.
If you switched to borderless and your display stopped running at variable refresh, this is almost always why.
HDR behaves differently between modes
In exclusive fullscreen, a game can put the display into HDR itself. In borderless, the game inherits the desktop's HDR state, so Use HDR must be enabled in Windows display settings first or the game will render in SDR regardless of its own HDR setting.
If HDR looks washed out or refuses to activate in borderless, check the Windows toggle before changing anything in the game.
Which mode should you use?
Competitive shooters and esports titles
Start with borderless, then verify. If PresentMon shows Independent Flip, you already have the fast path and fullscreen offers nothing. If it shows Composed: Flip, test exclusive fullscreen and compare your 1 percent lows.
Frame pacing consistency matters more here than average frame rate, and latency reduction from NVIDIA Reflex, a high refresh display, and a stable frame rate cap will each do more for you than the display mode.
Single-player and story games
Borderless. A few milliseconds will not change your experience in an RPG or adventure game, and being able to Alt-Tab instantly into a guide, browser, or Discord is worth more than any measurable difference.
Multi-monitor setups
Borderless. This is the clearest case. Exclusive fullscreen can trigger display mode switches when you click away, while borderless leaves the game as part of the desktop so a second monitor stays usable.
Streaming and recording
Borderless. Capture software, browser sources, chat, and Discord all need to stay accessible, and exclusive fullscreen makes that workflow harder. Some capture tools also handle borderless more reliably.
Older games
Test both, starting with the Windows 11 optimization enabled. DirectX 9 and older titles are the genuine wildcard: some behave badly in borderless, others break in modern fullscreen implementations. If an old game is stuttering, black-screening, or crashing, changing display mode should be one of your first troubleshooting steps.
When you need a non-native resolution
Exclusive fullscreen, if the game offers it. Borderless is typically locked to your desktop resolution. The modern alternative is in-game render scaling or an upscaler like DLSS or FSR, which renders lower and outputs at native resolution, generally producing a better image than driver-level scaling.
Hardware that removes the tradeoff
Display mode tuning is worth a few percent. What actually determines whether you have frames to spare is your GPU, and on a laptop, whether that GPU is driving the panel directly.
This is where a MUX switch matters, and it is closely related to everything above. On many gaming laptops the integrated GPU sits between the discrete GPU and the display, adding a step to the presentation path. A MUX switch routes the discrete GPU straight to the panel, removing that hop. NVIDIA Advanced Optimus does the same thing automatically, without the reboot a manual MUX switch requires.
The Acer Nitro V 16 AI includes a MUX switch alongside an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU and a 16-inch WUXGA display at up to 180Hz, which is a sensible combination for players who want direct GPU-to-display routing without a premium price.
Stepping up, the Predator Helios Neo 16S AI pairs recent Intel Core Ultra silicon and RTX 50 Series graphics with a 16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED panel available at up to 240Hz with NVIDIA G-SYNC. The G-SYNC support is directly relevant here: with variable refresh rate handling frame pacing, the small differences between presentation modes matter even less, because the display adapts to the frame rate instead of the frame rate fighting the display.
For desktop players, the same logic applies to the monitor. Predator gaming monitors with adaptive sync remove most of the frame pacing problems people try to solve by changing display mode.
The bottom line
Use borderless as your default. In DirectX 12 games it is the native path and fullscreen is usually the same thing with a resolution change attached. In older games, enable Optimizations for windowed games in Windows 11 first, which fixes the presentation method that made fullscreen preferable in the first place.
Reach for exclusive fullscreen in three situations: an older DirectX 11 or DirectX 9 title that measurably performs better, a game where you need a resolution different from your desktop, or an old game misbehaving in borderless.
Before changing anything, check two settings that cause more problems than display mode ever will. Enable G-SYNC or FreeSync for windowed mode in your driver, and turn on Windows HDR if you want HDR in borderless. Then verify your presentation mode with PresentMon rather than trusting the label in the graphics menu.
Frequently asked questions
Is fullscreen better than borderless for gaming?
Not usually, on modern hardware. In DirectX 12 games the fullscreen option is generally emulated and uses the same presentation path as borderless, so there is nothing to gain. In DirectX 11 and older games a real exclusive path still exists and can be faster, which is where testing both is worthwhile.
Does borderless mode reduce FPS?
Not in games that qualify for Independent Flip, which bypasses the desktop compositor entirely. Older DirectX 11 and DirectX 10 titles that use the legacy presentation method can lose performance in borderless, which is what the Optimizations for windowed games setting in Windows 11 is designed to fix.
Does borderless fullscreen cause input lag?
The old borderless path added roughly a frame of latency through the compositor. Independent Flip removes that in supported games. If a game does not qualify, the latency penalty can still be present, which is why verifying your presentation mode with a tool like PresentMon is more reliable than assuming.
How do I know if I am getting Independent Flip?
Use PresentMon, Intel's free tool. It reports the presentation mode in use. Hardware: Independent Flip or Hardware Composed: Independent Flip means the compositor is bypassed. Composed: Flip means it is not, and you may benefit from exclusive fullscreen or from enabling Optimizations for windowed games.
Does G-SYNC work in borderless mode?
Yes, but it needs enabling. In the NVIDIA Control Panel, open Set up G-SYNC and choose Enable for windowed and full screen mode. Without that, variable refresh rate will only engage in fullscreen. AMD FreeSync has an equivalent setting in Adrenalin.
Why is HDR not working in borderless?
In borderless mode the game inherits the desktop HDR state rather than setting it itself, so Use HDR must be enabled in Windows display settings first. In exclusive fullscreen a game can switch the display into HDR on its own, which is why HDR sometimes works in one mode and not the other.
Why does Alt-Tab take longer in fullscreen?
Exclusive fullscreen can require Windows and the monitor to change display states when you switch away, especially if the game is running a different resolution or refresh rate than the desktop. Borderless stays part of the desktop, so switching is immediate.
Is fullscreen better for competitive gaming?
It depends on the game's API rather than the genre. For a DirectX 12 competitive title, borderless with Independent Flip is effectively equivalent. For an older DirectX 11 title, exclusive fullscreen may genuinely reduce latency. Verify which presentation path you are getting rather than assuming fullscreen is faster.
What is the difference between borderless and windowed mode?
Borderless is technically a window that fills the screen with no border or title bar, and it can bypass the compositor via Independent Flip. Standard windowed mode is a smaller resizable window with the desktop and taskbar visible around it, and it does not get that optimization.
Should I use fullscreen for a custom resolution?
Yes, if the game supports genuine exclusive fullscreen, since borderless is normally locked to your desktop resolution. A better modern approach is in-game render scaling or an upscaler such as DLSS or FSR, which renders at a lower resolution and outputs at native, usually looking better than scaling the whole display.
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