CS2 ยท display
CS2 fullscreen vs borderless? OLED, stretch, alt-tab
CS2 Display Mode lives in Settings > Video. On a 16:9 LCD, start with Fullscreen. On OLED, or if you alt-tab often, use Fullscreen Windowed, because exclusive mode can sit on a black screen after minimize. Input delay is similar. Borderless FPS can come out higher. On 4:3 and 16:10 stretch, sensitivity and the crosshair can behave differently. PRO process pause fires on a monitor-covering window or the non-fullscreen detection list.
Three Video options: Fullscreen, Fullscreen Windowed (borderless), and Windowed. Not a booster. It is who owns the screen on Alt+Tab, how Windows scales the image, and how long minimize takes.
Why it stutters
Fullscreen hands the GPU to the game. Borderless is a maximized window: easier chat and a second monitor. Windows 11 windowed-game optimizations mean delay does not have to be worse. On high-Hz OLED, exclusive fullscreen often switches the display mode. Alt+Tab or minimize then retrains the HDMI or DisplayPort link and you sit on a black screen. Fullscreen Windowed already matches the desktop mode, so you return faster. On 4:3 and 16:10, Windows scaling in a window is not the same as GPU scaling in Fullscreen, so mouse travel and crosshair width can drift.
Key points
- 16:9 LCD: Fullscreen first. OLED: borderless first, because minimize takes longer.
- Input delay is often similar. Borderless FPS can even be higher. Measure on your PC. Do not paste numbers from a video.
- 4:3 and 16:10 stretch in borderless can change sensitivity and how the crosshair looks.
- Discord, Steam, and NVIDIA overlays are separate. PRO process pause fires on a monitor-covering window or the non-fullscreen detection list.
- 1
Open Display Mode in Video
Settings > Video > Display Mode. Fullscreen is exclusive. Fullscreen Windowed is borderless. Windowed is for a side test, not a match.
- 2
Measure FPS on both modes on your PC
Switch Fullscreen and Fullscreen Windowed on the same map. Input delay is often similar. Average FPS in borderless can even come out higher. Do not copy milliseconds from the video. Leave V-Sync and Reflex alone for this test.
- 3
On OLED, time alt-tab and minimize
On an OLED panel, especially at high refresh, Fullscreen often switches the display mode. Alt+Tab or minimize can leave a black screen for several seconds while the HDMI or DisplayPort link retrains. Fullscreen Windowed already matches the desktop mode, so you come back faster. That is why we recommend borderless on OLED.
- 4
On 4:3 and 16:10, check sensitivity and the crosshair
Stretch in borderless goes through Windows scaling. Fullscreen more often uses GPU scaling. Sensitivity on 4:3 and 16:10 can feel different. The crosshair can look wider or thinner than you remember from exclusive mode. After a mode change, do not assume the same Settings number is the same mouse travel.
- 5
Overlays are a separate switch
Discord Game Overlay, Steam Overlay, and NVIDIA Overlay are other guides. Borderless plus three overlays is four variables. Display Mode first, overlays second.
- 6
SmoothWizard does not click Display Mode
Basic: power plan. PRO: process pause when the game window covers the monitor, or when the process is on the non-fullscreen game detection list. Free does not pause. The app never changes the CS2 window. Shader cache is cleaned from the tray.
Notes
In-game labels stay English. In this text, borderless means Fullscreen Windowed, not Windowed. FPS numbers from the video are not your PC.
FAQ
Click a question to show the answer. The first one is open.
Is input delay worse in borderless?
Not as a rule. Windows 11 windowed-game optimizations keep delay similar. Average FPS in Fullscreen Windowed can even come out higher. Measure on your PC, same map, no V-Sync mixed in.
Why borderless on OLED?
Minimize and alt-tab time. Exclusive fullscreen on high-Hz OLED often switches the display mode. The link has to retrain and you sit on a black desktop. Borderless already matches the desktop mode, so you return faster.
Does 4:3 sensitivity change in borderless?
It can. Windows scaling in a window and GPU scaling in Fullscreen are two different pictures. On 4:3 and 16:10, players report different mouse travel at the same Settings number. Check deathmatch after a mode change before a ranked match.
Why does the crosshair look different?
Stretch changes the aspect. In borderless, Windows stretches the whole window, so crosshair lines can look wider or thinner than in Fullscreen. That is not a separate Video option. It is scaling.
Does SmoothWizard need fullscreen?
No. PRO checks whether the active window covers the monitor, or whether the process is on the non-fullscreen game detection list. Fullscreen Windowed usually counts, because the window fills the display. Plain Windowed you add to that list. Process pause is PRO. The Basic power plan does not depend on Display Mode.
Is Windowed for ranked?
Plain Windowed is for a tool window test. For a match: Fullscreen on a 16:9 LCD, or Fullscreen Windowed on purpose on OLED and when you alt-tab a lot.
