System Enable or Disable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) for a display for all users in Windows 11.

The refresh rate is the number of frames per second your monitor can display. Hertz frequency is used as the measurement at which the screen is redrawn.

Dynamic refresh rate is a new feature that can be found in Windows 11 on supported devices. Like the name suggests, DRR lets your device set the refresh rate dynamically. This means that Windows 11 will seamlessly switch between a lower refresh rate and a higher refresh rate based on what you’re doing on your PC. This helps to balance performance and power consumption. For example, with a Dynamic (60 Hz or 120 Hz) mode, your display will refresh at 60 Hz for everyday productivity tasks, such as email, writing a document, and so forth to conserve battery life. It will then seamlessly switch to 120 Hz for tasks such as inking and scrolling, to provide a smoother and more responsive experience.

To use DRR, you’ll need a laptop with a display that supports Variable refresh rate (VRR) and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz.

Additionally, DRR requires a graphics driver (WDDM 3.0) that supports it (available through Windows Update). Microsoft is working with their graphics display partners to bring updated graphics drivers that support DRR to the Windows Insiders Program. Therefore, some people might need to wait a little longer to use DRR.

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Starting with Windows 11 build 25206, you can now save power by using Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on external displays. To enable this setting, you must have a 120+Hz monitor with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support, as well as a WDDM 3.1 driver installed. To select a dynamic refresh rate, go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display and make your selection under Refresh rate.

Starting with Windows 11 build 25915 (Canary), while a Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) is selected and Battery saver is also enabled, Windows will remain at the lower refresh rate and not switch to the higher rate until after Battery saver is disabled.

Starting with Windows 11 build 25941 (Canary), you may notice that there have been some changes in the advanced display settings page via Settings > System > Display > Advanced display. Dynamic refresh rate can now be enabled via a toggle. After being enabled, Windows will then dynamically adjust the refresh rate up to the selected rate to help save power. Additionally, Microsoft made small changes to help bring awareness to limitations (related to the display or the cable being used) that may not allow you to set a high refresh rate while being on a high display resolution. When selecting a refresh rate, you may notice some refresh rates will show an asterisk. That means that in order to select that specific refresh rate, the display resolution will need to be changed to one that supports the selected refresh rate. This behavior happens when there are limitations due to the cable or the display’s capabilities and is not new, but Microsoft wanted to make sure you were aware of it.







1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Display on the right side. (see screenshot below)

Open Display Settings


3 Click/tap on Advanced display on the right side. (see screenshot below)


4 If you have more than one display connected, select the display that supports DRR you want to enable or disable for. (see screenshot below)

5 Select a Dynamic refresh rate (enable) or refresh rate without "Dynamic" (disable - default) in the Choose a refresh rate drop menu for what you want. (see screenshot below)


6 You can now close Settings if you like.

Dynamic Refresh Rate Switching is available only on 10th Generation Intel Processors and newer using embedded DisplayPort (eDP).

1 Open the Intel Graphics Command Center from the Start menu.

2 Click/tap on System in the left navigational menu. (see screenshot below)

3 In the Power tab, turn On or Off (default) Dynamic Refresh Rate Switching for what you want.




That's it,
Shawn Brink