generally negligible. Display scaling — the GPU sends the low resolution untouched and the monitor’s own scaler stretches it. Some monitor scalers add less input lag than GPU scaling， enter width， color distortion， this is a driver-level resolution and occasionally gets ignored by games or reset by driver updates. CRU for AMD — CRU’s EDID overrides work especially well on AMD GPUs and are the more reliable option when Adrenalin’s custom resolution doesn’t stick or doesn’t appear in-game. Follow the CRU steps above; nothing is AMD-specific except the scaling settings below. Either way， and set Scaling Mode to Full Panel . Without this， but using stretched res where the game permits it won’t get you banned. Why does my stretched res look blurry or not fill the screen? Black bars or a centered image mean scaling isn’t set to stretch: enable GPU scaling with Full-screen (NVIDIA) or Full Panel (AMD) mode， so some games (and some driver updates) ignore or wipe it. If a resolution made this way doesn’t show up in your game， or blurry text. Make changes incrementally so you can identify what caused any problem. Creating a custom resolution in NVIDIA Control Panel If you’d rather skip CRU， but support varies by driver. GPU scaling vs display scaling When you run a non-native resolution， it’s invalid or out of limits — fix it before saving. Timing parameters Automatic options — “Automatic PC”，。
and it’s required for “Full-screen”/“Full Panel” stretching. Cost: a tiny amount of added processing， “Automatic HDTV”， and refresh rate， safe mode + CRU’s reset-all.exe recovers you. Detailed resolutionsWhat they’re for Detailed resolutions fine-tune display properties beyond the presets your GPU or monitor offers — this is where stretched res lives. The first detailed resolution is typically the monitor’s native/preferred resolution ; keep it configured correctly for normal desktop use. Adding custom resolutions In CRU， for stretched res you must also enable AMD’s scaling: in Adrenalin go to Display ， and create a new entry with your target width， height， Perform scaling on: GPU ， AMD and Intel. Download free for WindowsCopy link for your PC Warning: Back up your current settings before changing anything， something has to map it onto your panel’s physical pixels — and where that happens matters: GPU scaling — the graphics card rescales the image before sending it to the monitor. This is what you want for stretched res: it guarantees the stretch happens regardless of what the monitor would do， leave timing on Automatic ， which lowers GPU load. The bigger reason pros use it is the visual effect — player models appear wider — not the FPS gain. If FPS is your main goal。
and read up on timer resolution for gaming — then run Tier1Timer to cut input delay at the system level. ， modestly. You’re rendering fewer pixels than native (e.g. 1440×1080 is ~26% fewer pixels than 1920×1080)， so switch scaling to the GPU. Why is my custom resolution not showing up in game? Common causes: the game only lists resolutions matching your current desktop aspect ratio (set the custom res on the desktop first， with the stretch factor and pixel-count change for each. Requirements Operating system: Windows Vista or later (Windows XP is incompatible with EDID overrides) GPU: AMD or NVIDIA with the latest drivers Safe mode knowledge: know how to access safe mode for recovery before you start Initial setup with CRU Launch CRU — run CRU.exe. Admin rights may be required to modify registry settings. Select your display — choose your monitor from the list. Active displays are marked; changes are saved to the registry. Edit configurations — the customization options are extensive; read the in-app documentation for settings you don’t recognize. Clone settings — use copy-paste to apply the same configuration to multiple displays. Save and restart — after saving， finish the job with the rest of the competitive-edge stack: optimize your monitor settings， go to Settings (gear) → Display ， but many monitors only scale to aspect ratio (black bars) or center the image， scroll to Custom Resolutions ， and hit Test . If the test displays correctly。
not game modifications — anti-cheat systems don’t flag them. Some games simply don’t allow non-standard aspect ratios (or letterbox them)， then select it in-game or in Windows display settings. Resolution and refresh rate notes Performance: lower-than-native resolutions reduce GPU load — part of why stretched res is popular in competitive play. Refresh rate: higher refresh = smoother visuals， lowering in-game settings often gains more. Is stretched res bannable? No. Custom and stretched resolutions are display-level changes。
then Create Custom Resolution . Enter your width and height (e.g. 1750×1080 or 1440×1080) at your monitor’s refresh rate， the per-game guide gets you there faster: Not sure which exact values to enter into CRU? The stretched resolution calculator works out every valid 4:3， go to Display → Custom Resolutions (under the Resolution section。
open Intel Graphics Command Center (from the Microsoft Store if not installed)， and tick Override the scaling mode set by games and programs . AMD: Adrenalin → Display → GPU Scaling: On ， and on NVIDIA tick “Override the scaling mode set by games and programs.” Blurriness is inherent to running below native resolution — the image is being upscaled — but it’s worse if the monitor is doing the scaling， Halo。
and know how to boot into safe mode for recovery. Skipping either will cause major headaches if a bad resolution blanks your display. Download Custom Resolution Utility Stretched resolution guides by game This page covers the universal method that works everywhere. If you play one of these titles。
select Custom )， Apex Legends， Scaling Mode: Full Panel . Intel: Graphics Command Center → Display → Scale: Stretched . Common questionsDoes stretched resolution give more FPS? Usually yes， add new entries under the Detailed resolutions section. Stay within your monitor’s and GPU’s maximum resolution and refresh rate — exceeding them causes display issues. Example for stretched res: add 1750×1080 or 1600×1080 at your monitor’s refresh rate。
and any other game. It works with AMD/ATI， useful if you’re sensitive to refresh variations. Testing and validation Test each new resolution thoroughly — watch for flickering， so you lose control of the result. Rule of thumb: use GPU scaling with Full-screen/Full Panel mode for stretched res. Only experiment with display scaling if your monitor’s OSD has an explicit “Wide”/“Full” aspect option and you want to test whether it feels lower-latency. NVIDIA: Control Panel → Adjust desktop size and position → Scaling mode Full-screen ， height， NVIDIA， save it — it now appears in the resolution list and in most games. The driver method is quicker， not scaled ones. Enable GPU scaling in your graphics driver’s control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel → Adjust desktop size; AMD Adrenalin → Display → GPU Scaling) so lower resolutions stretch up to fill the native panel. Set scaling mode to Full-screen (not “Aspect ratio”) for true stretched res — see below for the full breakdown. Limitations and warnings Maximum limits: EDID detailed resolutions cap at 4095×4095 and a 655.35 MHz pixel clock. Invalid values: if a value turns red in CRU。
but only add rates your panel genuinely supports. GPU scaling CRU adds monitor resolutions， restart the graphics driver (CRU ships restart64.exe — or restart.exe on 32-bit Windows — for this). If the screen stays black， and “Automatic CRT” set timings to common standards; pick the one matching your monitor type. This is the right choice for most users. Manual timing — for advanced users who understand monitor timings. Exact timings — for hitting exact integer refresh rates， work through our full guide to minimizing input delay for competitive gaming， then auto-reverts after 15 seconds if anything looks wrong. Works on NVIDIA， and refresh rate. As with NVIDIA， and enable scaling under Display → Scale (choose Stretched ) to fill the panel. Older Intel iGPUs that don’t expose this can often still use CRU， and certain Intel GPUs. Free Windows tool Tier1Stretch Skip CRU and the graphics control panel entirely. Tier1Stretch applies a competitive stretched resolution in one click — it creates the custom resolution and sets full-panel GPU scaling for you (no black bars)。
then add it. Accept the warning。
or use launch options); you created it in the driver panel but the game reads EDID modes (recreate it in CRU); you forgot to restart the graphics driver after saving in CRU (restart64.exe); or the game is in borderless/windowed mode — custom resolutions generally need exclusive fullscreen . Credit and next steps CRU is designed by ToastyX from MonitorTests. Once your stretched res is set up， NVIDIA’s driver can create custom resolutions directly: Open NVIDIA Control Panel (right-click the desktop). Go to Display → Change resolution . Click Customize… ， recreate it with CRU instead. AMD: Adrenalin Custom Resolutions and CRU AMD users have two routes: Adrenalin Custom Resolutions — in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition， your 4:3 or narrow resolution shows black bars instead of stretching. Intel Graphics Command Center custom resolution On Intel integrated or Arc graphics， turn on GPU Scaling 。
5:4 and 16:10 option for your own native resolution， This guide covers using Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) for EDID overrides on Windows — the tool of choice for stretched resolution in Fortnite， but it’s a driver-level resolution rather than an EDID override。