Fullscreen vs Borderless Windowed Explained
Exclusive fullscreen is faster and less convenient. Borderless is smoother to use and adds latency. Here is when each wins.
The short answer
Exclusive fullscreen gives the game direct control of the display output, typically offering marginally lower latency and reliable variable refresh rate behaviour, while borderless windowed routes through the Windows compositor for instant alt-tabbing at a small latency cost. Modern Windows has narrowed this gap considerably through optimisations that apply automatically to borderless games. For competitive play exclusive fullscreen remains preferable, while borderless suits multi-monitor and multitasking use.
Verified and last updated August 12, 2026.
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- 3 min
Three display modes, and the choice matters less than it used to while still mattering to some people.
The short version: exclusive fullscreen is marginally faster, borderless is far more pleasant to use, and modern Windows has narrowed the gap enough that most people should pick on convenience.
The gap has closed
Borderless used to carry a real latency penalty because every frame went through the Windows compositor. Modern optimisations let borderless games bypass much of that, and the remaining difference is small.
What each mode does
Exclusive fullscreen hands the display to the game. Nothing else composites onto it, which is why alt-tabbing causes a mode change and a flicker.
Borderless windowed is a window with no border sized to the screen. It looks identical and behaves like a normal application, which is why alt-tabbing is instant and overlays work reliably.
When exclusive fullscreen wins
Competitive shooters. The latency difference is small and real, and at a high level small and real matters.
Variable refresh rate problems. If G-Sync or FreeSync is not engaging correctly, exclusive fullscreen is the first thing to test. Support in borderless has improved but is still occasionally the cause.
Older or weaker hardware. Avoiding compositor overhead helps more when there is less headroom.
When borderless wins
Multi-monitor setups. Moving the mouse to a second display without the game minimising. This alone decides it for a lot of people. The multi-display guide covers the rest of that setup.
Anything with alt-tabbing. Voice chat, browsers, guides, checking messages. Exclusive fullscreen makes each of those a mode change.
Streaming and recording. Capture software behaves considerably better with borderless.
Games that crash on alt-tab. Some titles handle the mode change badly, and borderless avoids the transition entirely.
The recommendation
Our verdict
Borderless for almost everyone, exclusive fullscreen for competitive play
The convenience difference is large and immediate. The latency difference is small and only perceptible to people who would notice it. Pick based on whether you are ranked-climbing or playing.
If you use exclusive fullscreen, disabling fullscreen optimisations on the game executable is worth doing, since Windows sometimes applies a borderless-style path to a game requesting exclusive mode. Right-click the executable, Properties, Compatibility.
The input lag guide covers where display mode sits relative to the other contributors, most of which are larger.
What works
What doesn't
Key takeaways
Frequently asked questions
Does borderless windowed add input lag?
Historically yes, noticeably, because frames passed through the Windows compositor before reaching the display. Modern Windows applies optimisations that let borderless games bypass much of that path, narrowing the gap substantially. A difference remains and it matters to competitive players, while most people will not perceive it.
Which mode should I use for variable refresh rate?
Exclusive fullscreen has historically been the reliable option for G-Sync and FreeSync, since the game controls the display directly. Borderless support has improved considerably and now works correctly in most configurations. If variable refresh appears not to be engaging, switching to exclusive fullscreen is the first thing to test.
Why do some games no longer offer exclusive fullscreen?
Because several engines now default to a borderless implementation that is close enough in performance while being far better behaved for alt-tabbing, overlays and multi-monitor setups. Developers increasingly consider the trade worthwhile. Where the option is absent, the borderless implementation is usually well optimised.
Does display mode affect frame rate?
Marginally, with exclusive fullscreen typically a little ahead because it avoids compositor overhead. The difference is small on modern systems and usually within a few percent. It is worth choosing for latency reasons rather than frame rate ones, since the latency difference is more perceptible than the throughput one.
About the author
PC Hardware & Performance Editor
Marcus has been building, breaking and repairing gaming PCs since 2011, first as a weekend favour for friends and then for eight years as a bench technician at an independent repair shop in Portland, where roughly a third of the job was diagnosing machines that "ran fine yesterday".
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