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General discussionDo folks game in fullscreen or windowed mode?(59 posts)(59 posts)
(59 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 30, 2018
Fullscreen most of the time unless I'm playing Minecraft where Windowed is best for using Wikis etc. But games can get janky in Windowed mode so I prefer fullscreen.
Posted October 30, 2018
Depends on the game. For racing games always fullscreen, for adventures a window is good.
Posted October 30, 2018
Windowed or borderless. No tacky resolution switches or full control for me.
Posted October 30, 2018
Fullscreen whenever possible. The only games that come to my mind to have ever played in windowed mode are minesweeper, solitaire, and an old RPG for Windows that used multiple windows, for inventory, character sheet, maps, etc. (I can't remember the name)
Posted October 30, 2018
Definitely fullscreen for me. Using windowed mode reduces the immersion by a LOT. Another reason as to why I'd choose fullscreen mode any day over windowed mode is because once I'm in a game, I will no longer be bothered with the temptations of opening other programs while I'm playing. As for some people, they're so used to multitasking (I guess) to a point that they've begun to develop quite the ability to equally allocate their attention to the multiple programs that they have left open in their PC/laptop.
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FrodoBaggins: It depends.

If I'm playing a game just to enjoy it, I use Full screen.
When I'm reviewing a game, I use Windowed, so I can take notes and write the Walkthrough for the game as well.
Just wondering, but do you upload videos of you reviewing PC games on YouTube?
Post edited October 30, 2018 by Vingry
Posted October 30, 2018
Windowed where possible/reasonable, but fullscreen if performance or resolution damands it.
Posted October 30, 2018
Games that only offer fullscreen are a pet peeve of mine, since I much prefer playing games on PC windowed.
Posted October 30, 2018
Don't know about folks, but personally I don't like gaming in windowed mode, unless maybe it's something simple like Minesweeper with minimal graphics and immersion that you can play on the side while you're passing time or taking a short break from work or so. Usually I always go fullscreen, or borderless window using the full screen at best. I don't like to see parts of the desktop when I'm in-game. It goes so far that I'm (unreasonably) annoyed if a game starts in windowed mode and I have to set it to fullscreen.
Post edited October 30, 2018 by Leroux
Posted October 30, 2018
I've found with windowed mode that if the game is immersive, you actually don't "see" the desktop while playing, your focus filters out everything unimportant.
It's like having a ticking clock in your bedroom. You won't hear it unless you listen for it.
Post edited October 30, 2018 by Braggadar
Posted October 30, 2018
The Activision Antholoy lets you play the games on a revolving cube.

You should all try that.
Posted October 30, 2018
Just to add, many games don't allow borderless window. That is where DxWnd and Windowed Borderless Gaming come in. I use those to force games into that mode just so that they take into account my Nvidia Control Panel settings. Many games just straight up reset any settings you make if you use fullscreen. But there are also some that have no trouble taking the settings into account. I wonder what determines that.
Posted October 30, 2018
Isn't the favored way to run games in Windows 10 now the new(?) "windowed fullscreen", which to me looks like fullscreen, without even showing window borders? It gets the same benefits as windowed mode ie. easier Alt-TABbing and handling several monitors.

While I don't play on a multi-monitor setup, I agree with your reasons. The old fullscreen mode does seem a bit finicky at times, sometimes it works fine when switching to other programs, sometimes it freezes, sometimes crashes etc., depending on the game. I don't recall if it was Deus Ex (with the GMDX mod) or Deus Ex: IW which would always crash if I tried to switch out of the game, and some game (Wasteland Classic?) even has somehow prevented one from alt-tabbing away from it.

And even if it works, there is always that small "hiccup" when the system switches back and forth from and to fullscreen mode which is not in the same resolution as your desktop. Your desktop windows get resized to the smaller resolution etc. all kinds of little annoyances.
Posted October 30, 2018
Full screen. Always full screen.
Posted October 30, 2018
Always full screen.
Posted October 30, 2018
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timppu: Isn't the favored way to run games in Windows 10 now the new(?) "windowed fullscreen", which to me looks like fullscreen, without even showing window borders? It gets the same benefits as windowed mode ie. easier Alt-TABbing and handling several monitors.

While I don't play on a multi-monitor setup, I agree with your reasons. The old fullscreen mode does seem a bit finicky at times, sometimes it works fine when switching to other programs, sometimes it freezes, sometimes crashes etc., depending on the game. I don't recall if it was Deus Ex (with the GMDX mod) or Deus Ex: IW which would always crash if I tried to switch out of the game, and some game (Wasteland Classic?) even has somehow prevented one from alt-tabbing away from it.

And even if it works, there is always that small "hiccup" when the system switches back and forth from and to fullscreen mode which is not in the same resolution as your desktop. Your desktop windows get resized to the smaller resolution etc. all kinds of little annoyances.
Definitely. If you are in fullscreen, every time you switch to a different program, the game stops rendering and upon returning, it has to be restarted which causes delays and is prone to errors. Some games are literally allergic to being minimized.

I've also had many games playing much smoother/it fixed some bugs in windowed mode compared to fullscreen.

The performance loss when not running fullscreen used to be an issue in older Windows but ever since Vista, it has been from negligible to non-existent. The added convenience far outweighs it with the instant alt-tabbing and not having to constantly wait for the game to restart the renderer/engine every time you go back to it.

The only bad thing is that older games don't usually have the borderless window option. But that can be done with 3rd party programs (see my above post).

I now use fullscreen only when games take into account my Nvidia Control Panel settings.
Post edited October 30, 2018 by idbeholdME
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionDo folks game in fullscreen or windowed mode?(59 posts)(59 posts)
(59 posts)