Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

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Inputlagg3r
Posts: 11
Joined: 12 Apr 2025, 18:19

Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by Inputlagg3r » 24 Jun 2025, 18:51

This is 100% not placebo, and in my opinion this doesnt make any sort of sense. Ive had many computers, and fullscreen have always performed the best.

How come, that i have less input lag, and mouse just feels snappier and more in control, easier to track, in windowed mode, compared to fullscreen, where it feels a little bit more sluggish?

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kyube
Posts: 587
Joined: 29 Jan 2018, 12:03

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by kyube » 24 Jun 2025, 19:13

Inputlagg3r wrote:
24 Jun 2025, 18:51
This is 100% not placebo, and in my opinion this doesnt make any sort of sense. Ive had many computers, and fullscreen have always performed the best.

How come, that i have less input lag, and mouse just feels snappier and more in control, easier to track, in windowed mode, compared to fullscreen, where it feels a little bit more sluggish?
GPU arch,
GPU driver version,
Windows version (WIN+R => "winver"),
Game in question + settings tried,
PresentMon data to evaluate presentation model,
Hardware,
Peripherals,
Anything?....
This is insultingly low information.

Hyote
Posts: 513
Joined: 09 Jan 2024, 18:08

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by Hyote » 24 Jun 2025, 19:53

Normally I don't get mad at being ignored but I wrote a post that I could call groundbreaking. With that solution, you wouldn't pay any mind to bullshit like fullscreen or windowed. Fulscreen is better though if the system is set up by a person with more knowledge than a Fortnite optimizer.

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kriegsnake
Posts: 110
Joined: 06 Jan 2022, 17:50

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by kriegsnake » 25 Jun 2025, 04:43

Hyote wrote:
24 Jun 2025, 19:53
Normally I don't get mad at being ignored but I wrote a post that I could call groundbreaking. With that solution, you wouldn't pay any mind to bullshit like fullscreen or windowed. Fulscreen is better though if the system is set up by a person with more knowledge than a Fortnite optimizer.
If you are talking about the thread where u suggested to delete everything except default in mouse foulder in regedit and then plug them back after reboot, I did it and didn't feel any difference.
The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.

Hyote
Posts: 513
Joined: 09 Jan 2024, 18:08

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by Hyote » 25 Jun 2025, 04:59

kriegsnake wrote:
25 Jun 2025, 04:43
Hyote wrote:
24 Jun 2025, 19:53
Normally I don't get mad at being ignored but I wrote a post that I could call groundbreaking. With that solution, you wouldn't pay any mind to bullshit like fullscreen or windowed. Fulscreen is better though if the system is set up by a person with more knowledge than a Fortnite optimizer.
If you are talking about the thread where u suggested to delete everything except default in mouse foulder in regedit and then plug them back after reboot, I did it and didn't feel any difference.
Thanks for checking at least. It still provides me the solution for the problem I had (mouse not feeling in sync with my hand movements and enemies being unhittable).

Inputlagg3r
Posts: 11
Joined: 12 Apr 2025, 18:19

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by Inputlagg3r » 25 Jun 2025, 07:05

kyube wrote:
24 Jun 2025, 19:13
Inputlagg3r wrote:
24 Jun 2025, 18:51
This is 100% not placebo, and in my opinion this doesnt make any sort of sense. Ive had many computers, and fullscreen have always performed the best.

How come, that i have less input lag, and mouse just feels snappier and more in control, easier to track, in windowed mode, compared to fullscreen, where it feels a little bit more sluggish?
GPU arch,
GPU driver version,
Windows version (WIN+R => "winver"),
Game in question + settings tried,
PresentMon data to evaluate presentation model,
Hardware,
Peripherals,
Anything?....
This is insultingly low information.
Sorry.

CS2 and Overwatch. 3080 GPU, 10900K, Windows 11 Pro, Razer deathadder v3 with 8000hz

I asked around and got this answer: before later versions of Windows 10 and 11, windowed games used a legacy renderer (BITBLT). It had more latency and poorer performance.

But nowadays there is a new model (FLIP) that is as good or maybe in some cases better than Fullscreen mode. As Windows can have more control over how windows are rendered instead of the game taking control.

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kyube
Posts: 587
Joined: 29 Jan 2018, 12:03

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by kyube » 25 Jun 2025, 08:40

Inputlagg3r wrote:
25 Jun 2025, 07:05
CS2 and Overwatch. 3080 GPU, 10900K, Windows 11 Pro, Razer deathadder v3 with 8000hz

I asked around and got this answer: before later versions of Windows 10 and 11, windowed games used a legacy renderer (BITBLT). It had more latency and poorer performance.

But nowadays there is a new model (FLIP) that is as good or maybe in some cases better than Fullscreen mode. As Windows can have more control over how windows are rendered instead of the game taking control.
That Windows version does not tell us anything... WIN+R => "winver" and name the version
What GPU driver version were you using?
I'm assuming your system & software is in check (stability has been verified, running static clock rate & vcore etc. even though I have my doubts with anyone visiting these forums in this regard)
I'm not aware of whether CS2 employs BITBLT or a Flip model. Nobody has conducted any testing in this regard and I don't play the game anymore to care about this testing.
I do know about Valorant though, this thread might be of use: viewtopic.php?t=14040

Valorant swapped from BITBLT to Flip model at some point.
I believe both CS2 and Valorant employ DX11, so it should scale as per: https://wiki.special-k.info/Presentation_Model

In theory, FSO (alternatively called eFSE, aka "borderless fullscreen"), FSE ("fullscreen exclusive", akin to old W7-era fullscreen) should be identical in terms of performance.
This assumes the game you're playing is in HW:IFlip.
Valorant used to be in Composed:Flip (hence the severe latency impact which was reported a few years ago)

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Slender
Posts: 1673
Joined: 25 Jan 2020, 17:55

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by Slender » 26 Jun 2025, 17:21

Inputlagg3r wrote:
24 Jun 2025, 18:51
This is 100% not placebo, and in my opinion this doesnt make any sort of sense. Ive had many computers, and fullscreen have always performed the best.

How come, that i have less input lag, and mouse just feels snappier and more in control, easier to track, in windowed mode, compared to fullscreen, where it feels a little bit more sluggish?
chipsets

daemonjax
Posts: 37
Joined: 13 May 2024, 08:42

Re: Less input lag on windowed mode compared to fullscreen

Post by daemonjax » 28 Jun 2025, 13:24

I'd check to see if one or both modes are bypassing dwm.

You want it to bypass dwm.

I've seen games where, weirdly, their fullscreen mode does not bypass dwm while their borderless fullscreen mode did.

It was so much easier when games had actual fullscreen exclusive modes. You KNEW whether you were in fse mode or not. There wasn't any "sorta fullscreen" mode. There was comfort in the surety of it. I never had any problems alt-tabbing in any game, so I have no idea what everyone else is saying that it caused crashes or took too long.

If both modes are bypassing dwm, then I dunno... both modes would be working exactly the same under the hood so should be zero difference between them.

Maybe... even if they're both bypassing dwm, one is a different flip model and you're able to sense the difference? i.e. Hardware [Composed]: Independent Flip vs. Hardware: Independent Flip vs. Hardware Composed: Independent Flip? I can't think of a good reason for devs to do that, though.

You can find out using presentmon.

How much increased latency are we talking about? 1 frame's worth? 2? More?

Do you have a gsync panel? Maybe one mode works differently with gsync?

Or maybe there's some ingame graphics setting that only actually works in one of the modes (maybe due to a bug)? Like maybe its framelimiter? Or maybe you're using an external framelimiter that's only actually working/hooks properly in one of the modes?

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