Stop Second Monitor From Lagging When Playing Games

How Do I Stop My Second Monitor From Lagging? · Run the game in full-screen mode · Change the monitor's refresh rate · Connect one monitor to the computer's iGPU. Skiptocontent Havingadual-monitorsetupcanbeconvenient,regardlessofwhatyou’reusingitfor.WithtwomonitorsconnectedtothesameGPU,commonlyknownasthegraphicscard,theGPUhastoworkharderinordertodisplayyourscreenonbothofthesemonitors. Now,addinacoupleofapplicationsrunninginthebackgroundandagamerunningononeofthescreens.Withallofthisgoingonatthesametime,it’sunderstandablethatsomeapplicationsmaystartlaggingorstuttering.However,there’ssomethingyoucandoaboutit. Let’sstartbytakingabrieflookattheproblemandwhatcanbedoneaboutit.Whilethere’smorethatcanbedone,I’veincludedthemostcommonfixesinthisfirstsection. DownbelowisamoredetailedsectionwhereIgointodetailandshowyouhowtoapplythesemethodstoyourcomputer. Whenusingtwoormoremonitorsatonceyoucanexperiencelagwhenplayingagameononemonitorwhilerunningotherapplicationsontheother.That’sbecausecapturingtwohigh-resolutionscreensatonceusesupalotofthegraphiccard’sresources.Youcanreduceorremovethestutteringbyrunningthegameinafull-screenwindow,settingbothmonitorstothesamerefreshrate,closingotherdemandingapplicationsinthebackground,changingthemonitor’sframerateto60fps,disablinganyoverlay,turningon/offVandG-Sync,andreplacingyourcurrentcables. IfIwasgivenadollarforeverysingletimethemonitorwasthereasonforthisproblem,Iwouldbeinseriousfinancialtrouble.Themonitorisseldomthereasonwhythestutteringappearswhentherearesomanyapplicationsrunning,andespeciallywhenthey’redemandingapplications. Well,itmightbesomeofthemonitor’ssettings,butit’srarethatthemonitorisn’tgoodenoughorthatit’smalfunctioning.Thisissuecan,mostofthetime,befixed(completelyortoacertainextent)fromwithinthecomputer. Let’sstart! HowDoIStopMySecondMonitorFromLagging? Starttroubleshootingtheproblemonestepatatime.Here’salistofsolutionsinnospecificorder.Beforewebegin,IwanttoinformyouthatsomeofthesolutionsinthelistbelowworkbetterforNvidiacardsthanAMD,andviceversa. Runthegameinfull-screenmode Runningthegameinfull-screenmodecanremovethelag.Youcansetthegametoruninborderless,windowed,orfull-screenmodefromwithinthegame’sOptions/Settingssection. Thefewgamesthatdon’tofferthissolutionareoftensmallergamesdevelopedbyindiestudios.Larger,moredemandinggames,almostalwayscomewiththisoption. Changethemonitor’srefreshrate Whenyou’rerunningatwo-monitorsetupincludingonegamingmonitorat144hzandaregularmonitorat60hzyoumayrunintoproblemswithWindows10.Theprimaryandsecondarymonitor’srefreshratesshouldbedivisiblebyeachothertohelpthemworkbettertogether. So,changingthe144hzmonitor’sfreshrateto120hzorevendownto60hz,couldmakeahugedifference. Now,Itotallyunderstandwhyyouwouldn’twanttochangeyourgamingmonitor’srefreshratefrom144hzdownto60hz.Youshouldbeabletogetthesameresultsbysettingitto120hz.Irecommendsettingthemonitorto60hzifsettingitto120hzdidn’tmakeadifference,justtoseeifthat’stheissue. Changingthemonitor’sfreshratehasproventobeoneofthemostcommonsolutionstothisproblem.That’stheconclusionthatI’vecometobyfixingoverahundredWindows10dualmonitorsetupswiththisproblem. Followthestepsbelowtochangethemonitor’srefreshrate. Right-clickonyourdesktopbackgroundandselectDisplaySettingsScrolldownandselectAdvancedDisplaySettings.SelectDisplayadapterpropertiesforDisplayx(1or2dependingonwhichoneyou’regoingtochange).GototheMonitortab.SelectScreenrefreshrateatsetitto120HertzthenclickOk. Connectonemonitortothecomputer’siGPU Connectingyourmonitortothecomputer’sinternalgraphiccardisconsideredamore“advanced”methodthatrequiresalittlebitofconfiguration. Withthatsaid,Ithinkwe’lldojustfineifwetakeitslowlyanddoonethingatatime.I’vealreadymadeitsoundmuchmorecomplicatedthanitactuallyis.Thiscan,andhas,fixedthisissueinthepast–bothformeandforothers. Yourmotherboardmusthaveanin-builtgraphicscardinorderforthistowork.Theideaistoletoneofyourmonitorsrunoffoftheonboardbuilt-incardforsmallertasks,suchasrunningChromeandotherlessdemandingapplications,whilethededicatedGPU’sresourcesareusedtorunthegame–oranyotherdemandingapplicationrunningontheprimaryscreen. Inordertodothis,youmustfirstenableyourintegratedgraphiccard.ThisisdoneintheBIOSmenu,whichcanbeaccessedbypressingoneoftheF1-12keysduringstartup.Thekeywillvarydependingonthemotherboardmanufacturer. Here’salistofeachbrand’shotkeyusedtogettotheBIOSmenuduringstartup.ThelististakenfromanarticleonHP’swebsite. Acer: F2orDELASUS: F2forallPCs,F2orDELformotherboardsDell: F2orF12HP: ESCorF10Lenovo: F2orFn+F2Lenovo(Desktops): F1Lenovo(ThinkPads): Enter+F1.MSI: DELformotherboardsandPCsMicrosoftSurfaceTablets: Pressandholdthevolumeupbutton.OriginPC: F2Samsung: F2Sony: F1,F2,orF3Toshiba: F2 WellwithintheBIOSmenu,theinterfacewilllookslightlydifferentdependingonthebrandofthemotherboard,butthedifferencesshouldn’tbeastounding.KnowingoneBIOSmenuisoftenmorethanenoughtounderstandtherestbecauseofhowsimilartheyare. InBIOS,lookforsomethingalongthelinesofIntegratedGraphicsorOnboardGraphics.WhenyoufindtheInternalGraphics,makesurethey’reEnabled/Activated.SavethenewsettingsandrebootthePC.NowyoumustforcetheApporGametorunontheDedicatedGPUortheIntegratedGPU.Here’showyoudothat. Closedemandingapplicationsinthebackground Ifyou’rerunningagame,ayoutubevideo,andabunchofotherapplicationssplitbetweentwohigh-resolutionscreensatonce,youreallywanttomakesureyou’vegotanydemandingbackgroundapplicationsclosed. HavingtoomuchrunningatthesametimewillforceboththeGPUandCPUtoworkveryhard.Thismay,inturn,causeyourcomputertostutterorlagbecauseit’sbeingsloweddownbytheabundanceofprograms. Ifthecablesareconnectedtoadockingstationorhub,tryconnectingthemdirectlytotheGPUtoseeifthatmakesadifference. Checkyourcableandtryanotherconnector Thecablescouldbewhat’scausingthelag.It’simportanttocheckthecablestomakesurethey’reintact,andthatthere’snothinginthegraphiccard’sslotspreventingthecablesfrombeinginsertedproperly. IfyourmonitorsareconnectedtothecomputerviaVGA,tryusingDisplayport,DVI,orHDMI,andviceversa.Theproblemcanbefixedbyusinganotherconnector,andsometimesitcanbefixedbymakingsurethatbothmonitorsareconnectedwiththesametypeofconnector. TurnoffHardwareAccelerationinChrome&Firefox BrowserslikeChromeandFirefoxcomewithafeaturecalledhardwareacceleration.Whatdoesitdo?Hardwareaccelerationutilizesthecomputer’sGPUtoperformdemandingtasksthatrequiremoreresources,suchasrenderingpages,playingvideos,games,andothertasks. ThesetaskswouldotherwiserequiretheCPUtoworkharder.ButbyoffloadingsomeoftheworktotheGPU,theCPUcanremaininbalance,astheworkisdivided. However,ithasturnedoutthatthisfeaturecancausemultiple-monitorsetupstostartlagging.TurningoffHardwareAccelerationwillensurethatnoneofyourGPU’sresourcesarebeingfunneledelsewhere.Instead,Chrome’srequestswillrunontheCPU’spower. Here’showyouturnoffthefeatureinGoogleChrome. InChrome,clickthethreedotsintheupper-rightcorner.SelectSettings.GotoSystemorsearchforHardwareAccelerationinthesearchbar.DisableHardwareAccelerationbyclickingtheswitchtotheright. ThisishowyouturnoffHardwareAccelerationinFirefox: InFirefox,clickthethreedotsintheupper-rightcorner.SelectOptionsSearchforHardwareAccelerationUncheckUserecommendedperformancesettingsUncheckUsehardwareaccelerationwhenavailable Done. Checkthegraphiccard’sdrivers Updatingoruninstallingandreinstallingthegraphiccard’sdriversisalsoagoodideawhileyou’reatit.Corruptoroutdateddriverscancauseanyofthecomputer’scomponentstoactstrangely. Youshouldbeabletofindtherightdriversbygoingtothemanufacturer’swebsiteandlookingforyourgraphiccard.There’salwaysaSoftwareorDriverssection. Ifyourcomputerhasthegraphiccard’ssoftwareinstalled,youcanmostlikelycheckifthedriversareuptodatethroughthedashboard.I’mnotsurehowallofthedifferentdashboardslook,butI’musingNvidiaandit’sveryeasytomaneuver. Uninstallingandreinstallingthedriverswillprovideacleanslate.SometimesIsimplyupdate,othertimesIgowithacleanslate. Capyourin-gamerefreshratebelowthemonitor’smaxrefreshrate Ifyourin-gamerefreshratehasn’tbeencappedbelowthemonitor’smaxrefreshratethegamecouldsurpassthemonitor’srefreshrateattimes.ThiscancausetearingcausedbyG-syncturningoffeverytimeyousurpassthemonitor’sthreshold.Makesuretosetthein-gamerefreshrate’scapbelowthemonitor’s. Changethegame’sMonitorTechnology ThesynchronizationtechnologiesthatarecommonlyusednowareG-Sync;FreeSyncandV-Sync.Whenthesearen’tworkingasintended,theuserwillexperiencetearing. TearingiswhatoccurswhenaGPUtransmitsaframetothemonitorbeforeithasfinisheddisplayingthecurrentframe.Themonitorwillthentrytodisplaybothframesatthesametime,givingonetheupperhalfandtheotherthelowerhalf. I’vehadgreatsuccesswithNvidiacardsbychangingthemonitortechnologyfromG-SynctoFixedRefresh.Thishasstoppedmultiple-monitorsetupsfromlaggingin-game. GototheNvidiaControlPanelClickonManage3DSettings.ClicktheProgramSettingstab.SelectyourgameunderSelectaprogramtocustomize.Clickaddandbrowsetothegame’sexefileifyoucan’tfindthegameinthelist.LookforMonitorTechnologyinthelistofitemsthatappearswhenyou’veselectedthegame.ChangefromthecurrentsettingtoFixedRefreshthenclickonApply.Restartthegame TurnoffVSyncingame V-syncorverticalsynccanbefoundwithinagame’sgraphicsettings.NotallgamescomewithV-Syncbutmanydo.Verticalsyncisatechnologythatsynchronizesthegame’sframeratewiththemonitor’srefreshratetomatchthem. Thiscanbetroublesomewhenyou’rerunningadual-monitorsetupwithtwodifferentmonitorswithdifferentrefreshrates. Ifthegameyou’replayinghasV-Sync,turnitofftoseeifthisfixesyourproblem.Thishasproventoworkbefore,andthethesisisthatV-synchasahardtimesynchronizingbecausetherearetwodifferentrefreshratestotakeintoaccount. Disablealloverlays Havingoverlaysactivewhenyou’rein-gamecancausestuttering.Regardlessofwhatoverlayitis,thereisachanceforyoutoexperiencemoreinputlagandfps-dropswhenit’sactive. ThishasbeenacommonproblemwithSteam,Discord,GeforceExperience,andNvidiaoverlays.Itseemsliketheseoverlayscausesubstantiallymoreinputlagthanonewouldexpect. Tryturningthemofftoseeiftheissuedisappears.Eveniftheissuepersists,youshouldexpectanincreaseinperformancebydisablingtheoverlays. ForanyoneusingWindows10:TurnoffXboxDVRasitcancausethesamekindofissueswhenleftturnedon. Bonus:Trydisablingalltypesof“InstantReplay”features.They’reconstantlyrecordingthegame. ChangeGPUPerformanceModetoSingleMonitorPerformance Ifyou’rerunninganNvidiacard,you’vegotaccesstoNvidiaInspector,aprogramthatcollectsinformationfromthecard’ssensorstoprovidedetaileddatatotheuser. InNvidiaInspector,there’ssomethingcalledGPUPerformanceMode.ChangingyourPerformanceModetoSingleMonitorPerformancehasturnedouttofixtheissueinsomecases. DisabletheTransparencySettinginWindows ThetransparencyeffectinWindowsiswhatmakesthetaskbartransparent,makingitpossibletoseethedesktopandotherthingsthroughthetaskbar. HavingthetransparencyoptionenabledinWindows10cancausethemonitortodropframes,anddisablingithasturnedouttobequitesuccessfulinsomeversionsofWindows10.It’sdefinitelyworthatry! SearchforPersonalizationandselectThemesandrelatedsettingsGotoColorsScrolldowntoTransparencyEffectsanddisableitSaveChanges UninstallGeforceExperience GeForceExperienceisausefulsoftwareformanagingyourGPU,however,thesoftwarehascausedinterferencebeforeandcouldbewhat’smakingyoursecondmonitorstutter.Tryremovingtheapplicationfromyourcomputerandcheckiftheissuepersists. Setthesameresolutiononbothmonitors CapturinganddisplayingtwoscreensatdifferentresolutionstranslatesintomoreworkfortheGPU.Configuringthemonitorssothey’rerunningonthesameresolutionhasfixedthisproblemformeabunchoftimes.Changingthemonitor’sresolutionisaneasytask.Here’show! Right-clickonyourdesktopbackgroundSelectDisplaySettingsClickyourprimarymonitorandmakesurethesecondmonitorhasthesameresolution CanDualMonitorCauseLag? Runningadualmonitorsetupcancauseyourcomputertolag,bothin-gameandoutofthegame.It’smoredemandingfortheGPUtodisplaytwoormoreimagesatonce. However,youshouldn’texperiencelagwhenyou’rerunningadualmonitorsetuponanaveragecomputer.Ifyouare,thenyou’reeitherrunningtoodemandinggamesandapplicationsatthesametimeorhavingsomenon-performance-relatedissues. Today,eventheaveragegraphiccardsarequitepowerful,andrunningtwomonitorsinWindowsisn’tverydemanding,it’sthegamesandotherbackgroundapplicationscombinedthatforcestheGPUintooverload. Thankyouforreading,Ihopeyoufoundthefixtoyourprobleminthelistabove.Ifyou’vefoundanotherwaytofixthisissue,pleaseleaveacommentsowecancontinuetoeducateoneanother. Hey!Roberthere.-I'vebeendealingwithcomputersforaverylongtime.Atfirst,Iwasonlydrawntocomputersbecauseoftheamusementtheyprovidedthroughgames,music,andvideos.Later,Ifoundoutthatthere'sverylittleyoucan'tdowithacomputer.MyunderstandingandpersonalinterestinthetopicleadmetopursueacareerintheITindustry. RecentPosts linktoCanAnyMonitorBeFlippedVertically? Averticalmonitorcanbeanysizeorstructure,however,theyareusuallymorespace-efficientthanhorizontalmonitors.Becauseverticalmonitorstakeuplessspacethanhorizontalmonitors,they...ContinueReading linkto15WaystoStopYourKeyboardFromTypingExtraLetters Dealingwithakeyboardthathasamindofitsownandtypesextraletterswithoutyourinputcanbeextremelyfrustrating.Thisissuecanhappentothekeyboardsthatarebuiltintolaptops,aswell...ContinueReading AboutTechServiceGuru Hey!MynameisRobertandI'mtheauthorrunningTechServiceGuru.Ihavespentyearsworkingwithcomputers,bothprofessionallyandasahobby. It'shardtokeepupwitheverythinginaworldthat'ssomassive,anditdoesn'tgeteasierwhenthatworldisupdatedonaregularbasis.ThepurposeofthisblogistospreadtheknowledgethatIhavegatheredovertheyears,alongwithnewthingsthatIpickupeverysingledayatworkandathome. Here'stoadigitalagethat'seasiertodigest-regardlessofwhoyouare. Wanttoreadmore?