Windows 11 to Enable Dynamic Refresh Rate on the Desktop - A Hint of Support for Multi Chip Module GPUs?

Raevenlord · Jun 29, 2021

Microsoft seemingly has one more trick up its sleeve to increase attractiveness of Windows 11. Via a Microsoft blog post, the company revealed that Windows 11 will introduce support for Dynamic Refresh Rate on the Desktop, the 2-D realm of work e-mails, personal accounting, and social media. This means that Windows will be able to dynamically change your screen's refresh rate to save power consumption - scaling it to the scenario at hand.

For example: if you are reading a TechPowerUp article, Windows will dynamically reduce the refresh rate down to 60 Hz while you do so to conserve power. However, should any user interaction occur, such as a mouse movement or other input (like moving the browser window down and revealing a TechPowerUp wallpaper), Windows will automatically restore the refresh rate to its user-defined value.

This feature will naturally be more useful for battery-powered devices, but power savings should be had wherever possible, right? There are some requirements to the enablement of this feature, however: an adaptive refresh rate monitor, (FreeSync or G-Sync) with 120 Hz or greater refresh rates. Graphics cards will need to support the new WDDM 3.0 standard - another exclusive to Windows 11. There is improved graphical support for Linux apps, and adds the ability to assign different apps to different GPUs simultaneously - which sounds a bit like OS-supported, Multi Chip Module (MCM) graphics card design to me. And the feature will have to be an app-supported one to work anyway - games will only support it if they have any creative gain for it, I wager.
Anyone want to see a 120 Hz Penumbra game that scales down to 60 Hz when you're going insane?

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

King Mustard · Jun 29, 2021

It would be nice if it lowered down to 10/25 Hz on static content, like phones can.

londiste · Jun 29, 2021

There is improved graphical support for Linux apps, and adds the ability to assign different apps to different GPUs simultaneously - which sounds a bit like OS-supported, Multi Chip Module (MCM) graphics card design to me.

That sounds like a (very) long shot. Since this requires OS to be aware of different GPUs, letting OS or drivers to run the multi-GPU system does not seem like a good way forward. SLI/CF are already dead. MCM as per the current idea would present itself as single GPU to OS which does not match the use case of having different GPUs.

This is much more similar to Nvidia's Optimus and AMD's Switchable Graphics which Microsoft has been trying to natively implement - and step-by-step actually implementing - in Windows for a while now.

xtreemchaos · Jun 29, 2021

sound good to me, anything that saves power is a+ thats if it works ok. i should of said looks

.

dgrdsv · Jun 29, 2021

Have you even read the blogpost?

5. Can I use DRR on my external display?
No, DRR is only available on laptops.

It's a laptop feature, it won't be coming to desktops or externally connected monitors anytime soon.

And "MCM GPUs" have zero relation to that since GPU's power consumption changes very slightly between refresh rates. It's the LCD panel power consumption which goes up significantly.

ThrashZone · Jun 29, 2021

Hi,
So does this mean it's a baby carrot on a stick feature.

Metroid · Jun 30, 2021

I hope this is optional, I mean, you can turn it on or off because low refresh rate is bad for the eyes, the greater the refresh rate the better your eyes will feel if you spend hours and hours looking a computer screen. I have special eye glasses, the ones that block blue light and this eyeglasses have helped me a lot, however, I'm still on 4k 60hz monitor, my next purchase is a 4k 120hz or higher. So I have no idea why microsoft wants to add a dinamic refresh rate, the power saving will most likely be very small, you will end up spending 100000 times more money on a eye doctor than saving power from this feature.

Space Lynx · Jun 30, 2021

wow M$ just doesn't get it at all. high refresh just isn't for gaming. it makes EVERYTHING better. scrolling on sites just feels more fluid, etc.

eh it's whatever.

Camm · Jun 30, 2021

Does someone want to convince Dell their business line monitors should be 120hz now?

There's some great features on those, but the lack of 120hz is a little annoying, but obviously not an issue in the workplace.... but if I can now get a better desktop responsiveness, this just became an important feature for when I next do a monitor rollout.

qubit · Jun 30, 2021

Interesting for tablets and laptops, pointless for desktops. The iPad Pro has had this feature since the second gen in 2017 and it works seamlessly.

mechtech · Jun 30, 2021

True 10-bit colour on the 2D desktop would be nice also.

Ferrum Master · Jun 30, 2021

mechtech said:
True 10-bit colour on the 2D desktop would be nice also.

The new wallpaper is ugly gradient 8bit jpg...

They never learn...

Space Lynx · Jun 30, 2021

Ferrum Master said:
The new wallpaper is ugly gradient 8bit jpg...

They never learn...

perhaps its time you join us, dual boot and use Windows only 10% of the time, Linux Mint 90% of the time. You know you want to. :rockout:

I just switched to Linux Mint (latest beta release) I AM FREAKING IN LOVE!!! TAKE CARE WINDOWS 10 and 11 LMAO

So first impressions so far today... it's smooth!!! So smooth! It's very user friendly... I have already installed Steam with two clicks, updated all my drivers from the welcome window that pops up on first install, installed proprietary Nvidia driver, got gsync working. Steam has an awesome...

www.techpowerup.com

Ferrum Master · Jun 30, 2021

lynx29 said:
perhaps its time you join us, dual boot and use Windows only 10% of the time, Linux Mint 90% of the time. You know you want to.

I just switched to Linux Mint (latest beta release) I AM FREAKING IN LOVE!!! TAKE CARE WINDOWS 10 and 11 LMAO

So first impressions so far today... it's smooth!!! So smooth! It's very user friendly... I have already installed Steam with two clicks, updated all my drivers from the welcome window that pops up on first install, installed proprietary Nvidia driver, got gsync working. Steam has an awesome...

www.techpowerup.com

I do have a dual boot with linux. I have no preferred distro really. Tend to switch them around just for the lulz.

Knowing all that.. linux had dynamic rendering refresh rate FPS for years imho...

I haven't tested any of my 10bit PNGs yet. Previous Windows GUI parts were hard coded to convert anything to 8bit and having a 10 bit feature was no easy feat without rewriting everything.

Valantar · Jun 30, 2021

lynx29 said:
wow M$ just doesn't get it at all. high refresh just isn't for gaming. it makes EVERYTHING better. scrolling on sites just feels more fluid, etc.

eh it's whatever.

Did you miss the part where it dynamically ramps up refresh rates on user interaction? I.e. when scrolling, moving the mouse, etc.?

I agree that the author's take that this relates to MCM GPUs is way, way out there. This sounds specifically geared towards improving dynamic performance and battery life on laptops (and tablets) with two discrete GPUs. For MCM GPUs to work at any reasonable level of performance they would need to appear to the OS as a single GPU anyhow.

Space Lynx · Jun 30, 2021

Valantar said:
Did you miss the part where it dynamically ramps up refresh rates on user interaction? I.e. when scrolling, moving the mouse, etc.?

I agree that the author's take that this relates to MCM GPUs is way, way out there. This sounds specifically geared towards improving dynamic performance and battery life on laptops (and tablets) with two discrete GPUs. For MCM GPUs to work at any reasonable level of performance they would need to appear to the OS as a single GPU anyhow.

Something tells me its going to misread indie games when I am idle/reading text in-game... ruining the immersion. Luckily I am on Linux Mint for indie games now, so M$ can take care regardless.

Valantar · Jun 30, 2021

lynx29 said:
Something tells me its going to misread indie games when I am idle/reading text in-game... ruining the immersion. Luckily I am on Linux Mint for indie games now, so M$ can take care regardless.

How would it ruin immersion? If it ramps down the refresh rate when the screen is static and then immediately ramps it up at input or on-screen movement, how will you ever be able to tell? The entire point of a dynamic system is that it is dynamic. And there is no indication that this is only dependent on user input (like, for example, Radeon Chill).

TumbleGeorge · Jun 30, 2021

King Mustard said:
It would be nice if it lowered down to 10/25 Hz on static content, like phones can.

Static is bad for health of display matrix?

Valantar · Jun 30, 2021

TumbleGeorge said:
Static is bad for health of display matrix?

.... such a feature would obviously need displays capable of running at refresh rates that low. And given how common this is in phone LCDs and OLEDs, it's hardly a problem.

GerKNG · Jul 31, 2023

it has been two years and there is still no way to disable this .... "Feature".
it's frustrating and extremely annoying. does anybody have an idea how to permanently disable this crap?

chrcoluk · Jul 31, 2023

It sounded good until I read lowers down to 60hz, thats my daily config anyway, 120hz on desktop just feels weird.

However I still like the idea, as I dont like that when allowing higher refresh rate for games globally, it forces me to run desktop at that refresh rate, the two shouldnt be linked.

Also consider there is monitors out on the market being used by many people that run out of spec at their highest refresh rates (custom overclocked timings), not good for the components, dropping back to 60hz on desktop is good for those also.

GerKNG · Jul 31, 2023

if you are happy having the panel drop to 60hz constantly just to shoot back up to X Hz when you scroll... good for you. i want MY monitors to run at the refreshrates that i want...

chrcoluk · Jul 31, 2023

GerKNG said:
if you are happy having the panel drop to 60hz constantly just to shoot back up to X Hz when you scroll... good for you. i want MY monitors to run at the refreshrates that i want...

I dont want it up for scrolling, 60hz is plenty smooth for me (cant tell the difference between 60hz scrolling and moving a book up and down in front of my eyes). I want it locked at 60hz for the entire desktop, whilst still been able to set 120hz to be available for games if I want it, this just isnt possible, I think I would need to set it individually on games and would only work full screen as I think windowed inherits DWM. But yeah thanks for pointing out this isnt going to keep 60hz, it will go up on scrolling and stuff.

Luckily though this isnt a major issue for me as I rarely play at higher than 60hz, 60fps is fine for me, so my comment was more of a nice to have rather than I am especially bothered by it.

GerKNG · Jul 31, 2023

i still want to know how to permanently disable this. i tried so many different ways without success. it's disgusting how their eco extremism rules about my own property.

chrcoluk · Jul 31, 2023

GerKNG said:
i still want to know how to permanently disable this. i tried so many different ways without success. it's disgusting how their eco extremism rules about my own property.

You mean this new behaviour? The article says its coming but not here yet.

System Name	The Ryzening
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard	MSI X570 MAG TOMAHAWK
Cooling	Lian Li Galahad 360mm AIO
Memory	32 GB G.Skill Trident Z F4-3733 (4x 8 GB)
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti
Storage	Boot: Transcend MTE220S 2TB, Kintson A2000 1TB, Seagate Firewolf Pro 14 TB
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG270UP (1440p 144 Hz IPS)
Case	Lian Li O11DX Dynamic White
Audio Device(s)	iFi Audio Zen DAC
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ 750 W
Mouse	Cooler Master Masterkeys Lite L
Keyboard	Cooler Master Masterkeys Lite L
Software	Windows 10 x64

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASRock B650M Pro RS
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB
Memory	32 GB DDR5-6000
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Storage	Samsung 990 Pro
Display(s)	2x 42" 4K OLED (LG C4, LG C2)
Case	Cooler Master MasterBox NR400
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z906
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x (2018)
Mouse	Logitech G305
Keyboard	Tecware Phantom RGB (105-key)
Software	Windows 11

Processor	Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard	ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5-6000 CL36 (F5-6000J3636F16GX2-FX5)
Video Card(s)	INNO3D GeForce RTX™ 4070 Ti SUPER TWIN X2
Storage	2TB Samsung 980 PRO, 4TB WD Black SN850X
Display(s)	42" LG C2 OLED, 27" ASUS PG279Q
Case	Thermaltake Core P5
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 760W
Mouse	Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE
Keyboard	Corsair K100 RGB
VR HMD	HTC Vive Cosmos

System Name	1.FortySe7en VR rig 2. intel teliscope rig 3.MSI GP72MVR Leopard Pro .E-52699, Xeon play thing
Processor	1.3900x @stock 2. 3700x . 3. i7 7700hq
Motherboard	1.aorus x570 ultra 2. Rog b450 f,4 MR9A PRO ATX X99
Cooling	1.Hard tube loop, cpu and gpu 2. Hard loop cpu and gpu 4 360 AIO
Memory	1.Gskill neo @3600 32gb 2.corsair ven 32gb @3200 3. 16gb hyperx @2400 4 64GB 2133 in quad channel
Video Card(s)	1.GIGABYTE RTX 3080 WaterForce WB 2. Aorus RTX2080 3. 1060 3gb. 4 Arc 770LE 16 gb
Storage	1 M.2 500gb , 2 3tb HDs 2. 256gb ssd, 3tbHD 3. 256 m.2. 1tb ssd 4. 2gb ssd
Display(s)	1.LG 50" UHD , 2 MSI Optix MAG342C UWHD. 3.17" 120 hz display 4. Acer Preditor 144hz 32inch.z
Case	1. Thermaltake P5 2. Thermaltake P3 4. some cheapo case that should not be named.
Audio Device(s)	1 Onboard 2 Onboard 3 Onboard 4. onboard.
Power Supply	1.seasonic gx 850w 2. seasonic gx 750w. 4 RM850w
Mouse	1 ROG Gladius 2 Corsair m65 pro
Keyboard	1. ROG Strix Flare 2. Corsair F75 RBG 3. steelseries RBG
VR HMD	rift and rift S and Quest 2.
Software	1. win11 pro 2. win11 pro 3, win11 home 4 win11 pro
Benchmark Scores	1.7821 cb20 ,cb15 3442 1c 204 cpu-z 1c 539 12c 8847

System Name	Ghetto Rigs z490\|x99\|Acer 17 Nitro 7840hs/ 5600c40-2x16/ 4060/ 1tb acer stock m.2/ 4tb sn850x
Processor	10900k w/Optimus Foundation \| 5930k w/Black Noctua D15
Motherboard	z490 Maximus XII Apex \| x99 Sabertooth
Cooling	oCool D5 res-combo/280 GTX/ Optimus Foundation/ gpu water block \| Blk D15
Memory	Trident-Z Royal 4000c16 2x16gb \| Trident-Z 3200c14 4x8gb
Video Card(s)	Titan Xp-water \| evga 980ti gaming-w/ air
Storage	970evo+500gb & sn850x 4tb \| 860 pro 256gb \| Acer m.2 1tb/ sn850x 4tb\| Many2.5" sata's ssd 3.5hdd's
Display(s)	1-AOC G2460PG 24"G-Sync 144Hz/ 2nd 1-ASUS VG248QE 24"/ 3rd LG 43" series
Case	D450 \| Cherry Entertainment center on Test bench
Audio Device(s)	Built in Realtek x2 with 2-Insignia 2.0 sound bars & 1-LG sound bar
Power Supply	EVGA 1000P2 with APC AX1500 \| 850P2 with CyberPower-GX1325U
Mouse	Redragon 901 Perdition x3
Keyboard	G710+x3
Software	Win-7 pro x3 and win-10 & 11pro x3
Benchmark Scores	Are in the benchmark section

Windows 11 to Enable Dynamic Refresh Rate on the Desktop - A Hint of Support for Multi Chip Module GPUs?

Raevenlord

News Editor

King Mustard

londiste

xtreemchaos

dgrdsv

ThrashZone

Metroid

Space Lynx

Astronaut

Camm

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit

mechtech

Ferrum Master

Space Lynx

Astronaut

I just switched to Linux Mint (latest beta release) I AM FREAKING IN LOVE!!! TAKE CARE WINDOWS 10 and 11 LMAO

Ferrum Master

I just switched to Linux Mint (latest beta release) I AM FREAKING IN LOVE!!! TAKE CARE WINDOWS 10 and 11 LMAO

Valantar

Space Lynx

Astronaut

Valantar

TumbleGeorge

Valantar

GerKNG

chrcoluk

GerKNG

chrcoluk

GerKNG

chrcoluk

Processor	7800X3D -25 all core
Motherboard	B650 Steel Legend
Cooling	Frost Commander 140
Video Card(s)	Merc 310 7900 XT @3100 core -.75v
Display(s)	Agon 27" QD-OLED Glossy 240hz 1440p
Case	NZXT H710 (Red/Black)
Audio Device(s)	Asgard 2, Modi 3, HD58X
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x Gold

System Name	ATHENA
Processor	AMD 7950X
Motherboard	ASUS Crosshair X670E Extreme
Cooling	ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360, 13 x Lian Li P28
Memory	2x32GB Trident Z RGB 6000Mhz CL30
Video Card(s)	ASUS 4090 STRIX
Storage	3 x Kingston Fury 4TB, 4 x Samsung 870 QVO
Display(s)	Acer X38S, Wacom Cintiq Pro 15
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO
Audio Device(s)	Topping DX9, Fluid FPX7 Fader Pro, Beyerdynamic T1 G2, Beyerdynamic MMX300
Power Supply	Seasonic PRIME TX-1600
Mouse	Xtrfy MZ1 - Zy' Rail, Logitech MX Vertical, Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard	Logitech G915 TKL
VR HMD	Oculus Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 + Universal Blue

System Name	Quantumville™
Processor	Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro 256GB \| WD Black 4TB \| WD Blue 6TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) \| Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard	Yes
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Processor	Ryzen 5700x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aero G R1.1 BiosF5g
Cooling	Noctua NH-C12P SE14 w/ NF-A15 HS-PWM Fan 1500rpm
Memory	Micron DDR4-3200 2x32GB D.S. D.R. (CT2K32G4DFD832A)
Video Card(s)	AMD RX 6800 - Asus Tuf
Storage	Kingston KC3000 1TB & 2TB & 4TB Corsair MP600 Pro LPX
Display(s)	LG 27UL550-W (27" 4k)
Case	Be Quiet Pure Base 600 (no window)
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1220-VB
Power Supply	SuperFlower Leadex V Gold Pro 850W ATX Ver2.52
Mouse	Mionix Naos Pro
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe with browns
Software	W10 22H2 Pro x64

System Name	HELLSTAR
Processor	AMD RYZEN 9 5950X
Motherboard	ASUS Strix X570-E
Cooling	2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock.
Memory	4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX. Water block. Crossflashed.
Storage	Optane 900P[Fedora] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO+SN560 1TB(W11)
Display(s)	Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO
Audio Device(s)	SMSL RAW-MDA1 DAC
Power Supply	Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk
Keyboard	Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch
Software	FEDORA 41

System Name	Hotbox
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 110/95/110, PBO +150Mhz, CO -7,-7,-20(x6),
Motherboard	ASRock Phantom Gaming B550 ITX/ax
Cooling	LOBO + Laing DDC 1T Plus PWM + Corsair XR5 280mm + 2x Arctic P14
Memory	32GB G.Skill FlareX 3200c14 @3800c15
Video Card(s)	PowerColor Radeon 6900XT Liquid Devil Ultimate, UC@2250MHz max @~200W
Storage	2TB Adata SX8200 Pro
Display(s)	Dell U2711 main, AOC 24P2C secondary
Case	SSUPD Meshlicious
Audio Device(s)	Optoma Nuforce μDAC 3
Power Supply	Corsair SF750 Platinum
Mouse	Logitech G603
Keyboard	Keychron K3/Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro M w/DSA profile caps
Software	Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Main PC
Processor	13700k
Motherboard	Asrock Z690 Steel Legend D4 - Bios 13.02
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S
Memory	32 Gig 3200CL14
Video Card(s)	4080 RTX SUPER FE 16G
Storage	1TB 980 PRO, 2TB SN850X, 2TB DC P4600, 1TB 860 EVO, 2x 3TB WD Red, 2x 4TB WD Red
Display(s)	LG 27GL850
Case	Fractal Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster AE-9
Power Supply	Antec HCG 750 Gold
Software	Windows 10 21H2 LTSC