Does HDR impact FPS?

WilyKit

Gawd
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I pulled the trigger on the Alienware 34" 1440p Ultra Wide QD-OLED display w/HDR and wondering if enabling HDR in games that support it impact FPS? This will be my first venture into HDR, wondering what to expect.
 
I pulled the trigger on the Alienware 34" 1440p Ultra Wide QD-OLED display w/HDR and wondering if enabling HDR in games that support it impact FPS? This will be my first venture into HDR, wondering what to expect.
Unless there is problem---HDR has no impact on FPS. PS4 has been doing HDR in games for years.
 
I'm no expert, but I remember HDR and Windows not being the best of buds
Been watching multiple reviews, not a single mention of this. Perhaps an old issue that's been resolved. I just didn't find much in the way of performance with HDR on vs off, but based on the replies, it doesn't appear to have an impact on performance.
 
Been watching multiple reviews, not a single mention of this. Perhaps an old issue that's been resolved. I just didn't find much in the way of performance with HDR on vs off, but based on the replies, it doesn't appear to have an impact on performance.
It's still a problem in Windows 11 with the latest drivers. Windows does not handle HDR well. I have to disable HDR for desktop work and then re-enable it in Windows for some games to make use of it. There are some games that can toggle the feature on independently, but they don't necessarily implement it well. As far as that goes, it's up to the game to do it well and its dependent on your monitor. Some games lack the necessary settings for tuning to your specific display. Some games there are tricks you have to employ to make it work right such as setting your brightness with the conventional brightness and contrast sliders and then enabling HDR afterwards.
 
Been watching multiple reviews, not a single mention of this. Perhaps an old issue that's been resolved. I just didn't find much in the way of performance with HDR on vs off, but based on the replies, it doesn't appear to have an impact on performance.
It is better on W11 than W10.
 
I actually have had almost no issues just leaving HDR on now in windows 11 for desktop work with my Acer x27.
 
It is better on W11 than W10.
Are we talking desktop usage, games, or both? I don't mind flipping it off for desktop usage if need be. A little inconvenient, but don't really need HDR to view the forums. Don't plan on a move to W11 until my next platform upgrade.
 
Are we talking desktop usage, games, or both? I don't mind flipping it off for desktop usage if need be. A little inconvenient, but don't really need HDR to view the forums. Don't plan on a move to W11 until my next platform upgrade.
It's better in that it causes fewer issues when switching back and forth. It's not better on the desktop. It's not necessarily better in games, although there are fewer freakouts if you tab out of a game and back in or things like that.
 
I pulled the trigger on the Alienware 34" 1440p Ultra Wide QD-OLED display w/HDR and wondering if enabling HDR in games that support it impact FPS? This will be my first venture into HDR, wondering what to expect.
It depends on your GPU/Game it can impact FPS on Pascal back in the days it did,

https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/h...-(-2)-vs-nvidia-(-10)-12-games-at-4k-hdr.html

On AMD and 3xxx series on some game it seem to have none (I imagine everything was done with HDR color amount before the sending to the display anyway)

I have to disable HDR for desktop work and then re-enable it in Windows for some games to make use of it.
If you game on your primary monitor, could you make a script that run when the game launch and after when the game close (or at least make keyboard shortcuts for those HDR/on-off scripts)
 
HDR is fine in Windows with games, press Windows key + ALT + B to enable HDR when you want to play games or watch HDR content, press it again to disable HDR when you want to use basic GUI stuff.

Some games will auto-enable HDR, but apparently HDR in an operating system is more complicated than a TV/movie/console situation, so it often doesn't just work. To simplify the process, just use the key combo mentioned when you want to use HDR, then disable with the same key combo when doing anything else.
 
It's still a problem in Windows 11 with the latest drivers. Windows does not handle HDR well. I have to disable HDR for desktop work and then re-enable it in Windows for some games to make use of it. There are some games that can toggle the feature on independently, but they don't necessarily implement it well. As far as that goes, it's up to the game to do it well and its dependent on your monitor. Some games lack the necessary settings for tuning to your specific display. Some games there are tricks you have to employ to make it work right such as setting your brightness with the conventional brightness and contrast sliders and then enabling HDR afterwards.
Shit like this is frustrating.
 
You can leave HDR enabled in Win10 and it will work just fine. The primary complaint is that non-HDR stuff can look rather drab or muted when HDR is enabled(including Windows itself). You can mitigate that by adjusting the HDR settings. I don't have an HDR display in front me at the moment to look at it right now. But I think adjustments can be made under Display Settings > Windows HD Color or something.
 
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I was running HDR with Windows 11 and did not notice any performance hits on my 3080.. that being said I have since disabled HDR. The quality left something to be desired.. It's not the same as the HDR on a nice TV.
 
I was running HDR with Windows 11 and did not notice any performance hits on my 3080.. that being said I have since disabled HDR. The quality left something to be desired.. It's not the same as the HDR on a nice TV.
Most monitors simply either don't have the contrast capability or offer HDR at a significant level of brightness to be worth a shit. I have never seen a sub-HDR1000 display that could display HDR content well at all. HDR400 is no HDR at all. HDR600 really isn't a lot better. You can tell something is happening but it's far from giving you what you want. Even many or most HDR1000 displays aren't great. TV's handle it far better than monitors do but those come with their own caveats when used as PC displays.
 
There's no performance impact, but it's definitely a little weird within Windows. Most games force you to enable it globally, while other games have an internal HDR switch. What makes it especially tricky is that in some cases, it seems like there are no HDR options at all unless you enable it globally before launching the game. My general rule of thumb is to enable it globally before launching any new game. If you do that and you see HDR options but things look washed out or excessively bright, it's one of those games that has its own. Or it's one of those games where HDR is just straight up broken. There are definitely some of those out there. The Medium via Xbox Game Pass and Mortal Shell are prime examples.
I think it looks nice when it works well. At the moment, it usually works fine in 75% of games.

Windows 11 has some different options available that aren't in 10, though. You can make non-HDR games fake it. Some look good, some don't. It's worth playing around with, though. The better option is the quick toggle, though. Win+Alt+B quick toggles it on and off quickly, which is super convenient.
 
Appreciate all the feedback. Lots of good info here that's going to save me hours of trial/error/frustration. Ultimately, even if HDR isn't as great as I would like, it was more of an icing on the cake feature of the monitor than an actual selling point. It'll be a great upgrade to the 27" 1440p TN panels I'm currently running even without HDR.
 
Most monitors simply either don't have the contrast capability or offer HDR at a significant level of brightness to be worth a shit. I have never seen a sub-HDR1000 display that could display HDR content well at all. HDR400 is no HDR at all. HDR600 really isn't a lot better. You can tell something is happening but it's far from giving you what you want. Even many or most HDR1000 displays aren't great. TV's handle it far better than monitors do but those come with their own caveats when used as PC displays.
If your HDR display isn't OLED or doesn't have a FALD then I wouldn't even bother with it at all. All those displays without that tech is just doing full frame dimming, which kills the contrast of the display in order to make it look like light sources are brighter than they really are. The image quality with HDR in those cases is a downgrade compared to SDR.
 
I've been using HDR in Windows 10 for games and desktop use (I turn it down to 6% for desktop) for 3 years now... I have had no issues or problems and it works (and looks) great. HDR gaming is amazing IMO and I could never go back at this point.
 
I dont recommend leaving HDR on for desktop use with LCD based displays.
It puts the lighting in a higher power state which will wear it out faster, create a lot more heat and use a lot more power.

I havent noticed a performance difference using HDR with a 3090.
But I remember some old cards did (I believe 1080 era or earlier). Whether the problem was resolved I dont know.

ps the Windows ALT B trick doesnt work for me.
 
Great shortcut from post above! Win + Alt + B

Anyways HDR 600 monitor here, Doom Eternal + Shadow Of The Tomb Raider + FarCry 5 -> Wow!!! very noticeable big improvement in depth, brightness, shadows etc. Other games like Red Dead Redemption looks worst no matter the adjustments. I've found you normally do have to adjust your monitor as well to get the best out of it. As for me HDR is a requirement for any Monitor or TV I buy. I too am looking at this monitor to buy, other monitors using the same screen I would expect will also come available, which might be worth waiting for.

As for impacting FPS, I would say minimally today, Nvidia 1080Ti had issues with HDR with much older drivers back in the day while AMD did not but that is then. Today performance should be about the same with or without HDR. I've havn't notice a difference.
 
Great shortcut from post above! Win + Alt + B

Anyways HDR 600 monitor here, Doom Eternal + Shadow Of The Tomb Raider + FarCry 5 -> Wow!!! very noticeable big improvement in depth, brightness, shadows etc. Other games like Red Dead Redemption looks worst no matter the adjustments. I've found you normally do have to adjust your monitor as well to get the best out of it. As for me HDR is a requirement for any Monitor or TV I buy. I too am looking at this monitor to buy, other monitors using the same screen I would expect will also come available, which might be worth waiting for.

As for impacting FPS, I would say minimally today, Nvidia 1080Ti had issues with HDR with much older drivers back in the day while AMD did not but that is then. Today performance should be about the same with or without HDR. I've havn't notice a difference.
There's a minor performance impact with HDR on versus off. If you run Shadow of The Tomb Raider benchmark and count the total frames rendered, it will be always lower with HDR on. Not noticeable though, probably 2-3% drop.
 
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