Borderless Windowed Mode: Your Ultimate Guide
Yes, borderless windowed mode is absolutely a real and widely used display option in modern gaming and applications. It offers a compelling middle ground between the immersive experience of fullscreen mode and the accessibility of a traditional windowed mode. Think of it as the best of both worlds, seamlessly blending into your desktop environment while providing a near-fullscreen view.
Understanding Borderless Windowed Mode
What It Is
Borderless windowed mode, also known as borderless fullscreen or windowed fullscreen, presents an application in a maximized window that covers the entire screen, effectively mimicking the appearance of fullscreen mode. However, unlike true fullscreen, it doesn’t relinquish control of the display to the application. It’s essentially a window without the typical window borders and title bar.
How It Works
In essence, the operating system treats the application as a regular window, even though it occupies the entire screen. This is a critical distinction because it allows for easier switching between applications and accessing other elements of the desktop without the jarring black screen and loading times often associated with alt-tabbing out of fullscreen applications.
The Advantages of Borderless Windowed Mode
Seamless Multitasking
The most significant advantage is improved multitasking. You can quickly move your mouse to other monitors without the game minimizing or pausing, making it far easier to interact with other applications, browse the web, or chat with friends while gaming.
Faster Alt-Tabbing
Switching between applications using Alt+Tab or other keyboard shortcuts is significantly faster and smoother in borderless windowed mode compared to fullscreen. The transition is almost instantaneous.
Compatibility
Borderless windowed mode generally offers better compatibility with various hardware and software configurations. Some games or applications may exhibit graphical glitches or performance issues in fullscreen mode, which can be resolved by switching to borderless windowed.
The Disadvantages of Borderless Windowed Mode
Potential Performance Impact
Historically, borderless windowed mode could introduce a slight performance penalty compared to fullscreen due to the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) compositing the application’s output with the rest of the desktop. However, with modern hardware and operating systems, this difference is often negligible or non-existent.
VSync Forced
Some systems may force Vsync when using borderless windowed mode, which can introduce input lag. While this can be beneficial in preventing screen tearing, it may not be desirable for gamers seeking the lowest possible latency. You can often override this in your graphics card control panel.
How to Enable Borderless Windowed Mode
The method for enabling borderless windowed mode varies depending on the application:
In-Game Settings
Most modern games offer a setting directly within their graphics options to switch to borderless windowed mode. Look for options like “Display Mode,” “Screen Mode,” or similar settings and choose “Borderless Windowed” or “Windowed (Fullscreen).”
Third-Party Tools
For games that lack a built-in borderless windowed option, third-party tools like Borderless Gaming can force the application into this mode. These tools typically work by detecting the application’s window and removing its borders, then maximizing it to fill the screen.
Configuration Files
Some games store their display settings in configuration files. You can manually edit these files (usually .ini or .cfg files) to change the display mode to borderless windowed. This method requires some technical knowledge and caution.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Often Alt + Enter will toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode. If your game remembers window size, you can use this key combination to switch from fullscreen, into windowed mode and force the windowed mode to the screen resolution for a borderless fullscreen.
Is Borderless Windowed Mode Right for You?
Whether or not borderless windowed mode is the best choice depends on your individual needs and preferences. If you prioritize seamless multitasking and quick access to other applications, it’s an excellent option. However, if you’re seeking absolute maximum performance and are willing to sacrifice some convenience, fullscreen mode might be preferable, though the performance difference is often imperceptible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about borderless windowed mode:
1. Is Windowed Fullscreen Borderless?
Yes, windowed fullscreen and borderless windowed are essentially the same thing. They both refer to a maximized window without borders.
2. Does Borderless Windowed Affect FPS?
Historically, yes, but with modern hardware, the impact is often minimal. However, borderless windowed can sometimes force VSync, which can affect FPS and input lag. It is important to test both fullscreen and borderless windowed modes to determine which gives better performance on your individual system.
3. How Do I Move Borderless Windows in Windows 10/11?
You can use the Shift + Win + Arrow keys to move a borderless window to another monitor. Alternatively, drag the top of the window (if visible) to the desired monitor.
4. What is the Shortcut for Windowed Borderless Fullscreen?
While there’s no universal shortcut, Alt + Enter often toggles between fullscreen and windowed modes.
5. Is Borderless Windowed Worse Than Fullscreen?
Not necessarily. Fullscreen can potentially offer slightly better performance, but the difference is often negligible. Borderless windowed provides superior multitasking capabilities.
6. What are the Downsides of Borderless Windows?
Potential forced VSync and historical slight performance impact (now often minimal).
7. Do Games Run Better in Fullscreen or Borderless Windowed?
It depends. Fullscreen can sometimes offer a small performance advantage, but borderless windowed is more convenient for multitasking. Test both to see what works best for your system.
8. Is Borderless Windowed Better Than Fullscreen DX12?
In some DX12 implementations, the difference between “Fullscreen” and “Borderless Windowed” may be purely cosmetic, with both modes essentially operating as borderless windows. Therefore, there might be no performance difference.
9. Is Fullscreen Borderless Better Than Fullscreen Exclusive?
Fullscreen Exclusive mode is designed to give the game exclusive control over the display. But it is becoming obsolete. There is no benefit from using fullscreen if there is borderless windowed.
10. Why is Fullscreen Better Than Borderless?
When an application is open in fullscreen mode, Windows grants it full control of the screen’s output, thus maximizing performance. Assuming a game is optimized for the system and display being used, fullscreen mode has the potential to boost performance when compared to borderless windowed mode.
11. Why Do Games Default to Borderless Window?
Borderless fullscreen can allow the game to render at a lower resolution but scale the graphics up using the GPU rather than change the screen’s resolution. This is useful when a display has issues at some resolutions or simply cannot handle that video resolution at all.
12. Why Do I Get More FPS in Windowed Mode?
In modern laptops, the discrete GPU can render, but it takes the completed frame and sends it to the integrated GPU to be rendered in a window.
13. How Do I Change From Fullscreen to Windowed Mode?
Try pressing the Alt + Enter hotkey when you’re playing in full-screen gaming mode. This hotkey might activate a windowed mode when pressed; however, it’s not a universal keyboard shortcut that every game supports.
14. What is Exclusive Fullscreen?
Exclusive Fullscreen Mode is a new feature available for the macOS Luna Secondary App 5.1 or newer and allows you to disable multi-tasking gestures and keyboard commands like command+tab, app switching with gestures, and more when using your secondary screen’s keyboard and mouse/trackpad.
15. How Does Borderless Fullscreen Work?
Borderless fullscreen windowed refers to a mode where the game presents the rendered image in a maximized (fullscreen) window without decorations (borderless) making it cover the whole monitor.
We hope this comprehensive guide has shed light on borderless windowed mode and its many nuances. For more information on the impact of gaming on society and learning, be sure to visit the Games Learning Society at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/. The GamesLearningSociety.org is an excellent resource for understanding the educational aspects of games and interactive media.