Fullscreen Windowed Borderless V1 2 2 Fullscreen

David Muir

2 min read

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29-12-2024

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The gaming world offers several display modes, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Among the most popular are fullscreen, windowed, and a hybrid known as borderless fullscreen. Within borderless fullscreen, there are even further variations, notably versions 1 and 2. This article will clarify the distinctions between these modes, focusing on their performance implications and user experience.

What is Fullscreen Mode?

Fullscreen mode dedicates your entire monitor to the game. This generally results in the highest performance because the operating system minimizes background processes and allocates maximum resources to the game. However, it also means you can't access other applications without alt-tabbing out, potentially interrupting gameplay or causing performance hiccups.

What is Windowed Mode?

Windowed mode runs the game within a window, allowing you to multitask and access other applications simultaneously. While convenient, windowed mode typically results in lower performance compared to fullscreen due to the operating system sharing resources with other programs.

Borderless Windowed Mode: The Best of Both Worlds?

Borderless windowed mode aims to combine the benefits of both fullscreen and windowed modes. It presents the game in a window that takes up your entire screen, eliminating the window borders, but retains some of the multitasking advantages of windowed mode. However, even within this seemingly simple mode, variations exist.

Understanding Borderless Windowed V1 and V2

The key differences between borderless windowed V1 and V2 aren't universally standardized across all games and operating systems. However, common distinctions relate to how the game interacts with the operating system and handles resource allocation.

• Borderless Windowed V1: Generally, this version maintains a closer relationship to standard windowed mode in terms of resource management. While it appears fullscreen, the underlying process might still share resources more heavily with other applications. Performance may be slightly better than pure windowed mode, but generally lower than true fullscreen.

• Borderless Windowed V2 (or improved versions): This version often involves optimizations designed to more closely mimic the performance characteristics of true fullscreen. It minimizes resource sharing with background processes, leading to improved performance and potentially smoother gameplay. These optimizations vary widely depending on game engine and implementation.

Which Mode Should You Choose?

The optimal mode depends on your priorities:

• Prioritize Performance: Fullscreen mode generally delivers the best performance, followed by borderless windowed V2 (if available), then borderless windowed V1, and finally windowed mode.

• Prioritize Multitasking: Windowed mode offers the most flexibility for multitasking but sacrifices performance.

• Balance Performance and Multitasking: Borderless windowed mode attempts to strike a balance. However, the specific performance gains of V2 compared to V1 are game-dependent. Experimentation is key.

In conclusion, while the terms "borderless windowed V1" and "V2" aren't consistently defined, they represent an attempt to improve the performance of the borderless windowed mode. The most suitable option ultimately hinges on your personal preference and the specific game's implementation. It's often worthwhile experimenting to determine which mode provides the best experience on your system.