How to enable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11

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Windows 11 comes with Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR), a new feature that allows devices, such as laptops, 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 re-charging.

In a nutshell, refresh rate describes how many times per second the screen refreshes the content. This is usually referred to as frame per second, and the standard is 60 frames per second. However, there are displays that support higher refresh rates to allow movement on the screen to feel smoother.

The problem is that increasing the refresh rate also increases the power usage, which reduces battery life on laptops. 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 a display that supports Variable refresh rate (VRR) and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz. Also, the feature requires a graphics driver (WDDM 3.0) that supports it. 

In this guide, you will learn the steps to enable or disable Dynamic Refresh Rate on Windows 11.

Enable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11

To use Dynamic Refresh Rate on supported devices, use these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on System.

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3. Select the Display tab on the right side.

4. Under the “Related settings” section, select the Advanced display tab.

   

   Advanced displays settings

5. Use the “Choose a refresh rate” option and select the Dynamic option.

   

   Windows 11 enable DRR

Once you complete the steps, your computer will lower the refresh rate automatically to save power, reducing a bit of quality of your overall experience.

Disable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on Windows 11

To disable Dynamic Refresh Rate, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Select the Display tab on the right side.

4. Under the “Related settings” section, select the Advanced display tab.

   

   Advanced displays settings

5. Use the Choose a refresh rate option and select another a regular rate like 60Hz, 120Hz, or the highest rate supported by the display.

   

   Windows 11 disable DRR

After you complete the steps, Windows 11 will longer try to manage the refresh rate of the device for higher display performance but at the cost of higher power usage.