-
To enable DRR on Windows 11, open
Settings
>
System
>
Dispaly
>
Advanced display
, and choose the “Dynamic” option from the “Choose a refresh rate” setting for version 23H2. -
On version 24H2 and higher releases, open
Settings
>
System
>
Dispaly
>
Advanced display
, and turn on the
“Dynamic refresh rate”
toggle switch.
Windows 11 has a
“Dynamic Refresh Rate” (DRR)
feature, allowing laptops and desktops computers to lower their refresh rate to save battery. You will be trading off some display quality, but it will enable you to use the device longer without recharging.
In a nutshell, refresh rate describes how often the screen refreshes the content per second. It is referred to as frames per second, and the standard is 60 frames per second. However, some displays support higher refresh rates to allow content on the screen to feel smoother.
The problem is that increasing the refresh rate also increases power usage, reducing laptops’ battery life. To address this issue,
Windows 11
(via
DirectX Developer Blog
) has a Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) setting to seamlessly switch between a lower refresh rate and a higher refresh rate based on what you’re doing on the device, helping to balance performance and power consumption.
Dynamic Refresh Rate is available on laptops with displays that support
variable refresh rate (VRR)
and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz. Also, the feature requires a graphics driver (WDDM 3.0) to support it.
In this
guide
, I will teach you the steps to manage the Dynamic Refresh Rate feature on Windows 11 23H2, 24H2, and higher releases.
-
Enable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11
-
Disable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11
Enable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11
To enable DRR on Windows 11, use these steps:
Open
Settings
on Windows 11.
Click on
System
.
Select the
Display
tab on the right side.
Click the
Advanced display
setting under the “Related settings” section.
Choose the monitor from the “Select a display to view or change settings” section if you have a multi-monitor setup.
(Windows 11 23H2) Use the “Choose a refresh rate” option and select the
Dynamic
option to enable the DRR feature.
(Windows 11 24H2) Turn
on
the
“Dynamic refresh rate”
toggle switch to enable the DRR feature.
Once you complete the steps, your computer will lower the refresh rate automatically to save power, reducing the quality of your overall experience.
If the device doesn’t support the feature, you won’t find the option in the “Choose a refresh rate” setting, or the toggle switch will be grayed out.
In addition to enabling Dynamic Refresh Rate, you can also improve energy consumption while preserving battery life by turning on
“Battery Saver”
mode and
changing the system power mode
. It’s important to note that starting with
Windows 11 24H2
and higher releases, Battery Saver is being replaced by the new
Energy Saver
mode.
Disable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11
To disable DRR, use these steps:
Open
Settings
.
Click on
System
.
Select the
Display
tab on the right side.
Under the “Related settings” section, select the
Advanced display
tab.
Choose the monitor from the “Select a display to view or change settings” section if you have a multi-monitor setup.
(Windows 11 23H2) To disable the feature, use the “Choose a refresh rate” option to select another regular rate, such as 60Hz, 120Hz, or the highest rate supported by the display.
(Windows 11 24H2) Turn
off
the
“Dynamic refresh rate”
toggle switch to disable the feature.
After you complete the steps, Windows 11 will no longer automatically increase or lower the display’s refresh rate for higher performance but at the cost of higher power usage.
Update April 17, 2024:
This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.