[Troubleshooting]Screen Flickers in Certain Games When Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Is Both Active
Answer
MSI notebooks equipped with a high refresh rate display support Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) by default, which lets the built-in display dynamically match its refresh rate to a game's frame rate (FPS) to reduce screen tearing. VRR requires support from both the display and the game itself to stay properly synchronized. In MSHybrid mode, some games that do not support VRR can show visible screen flickering, because VRR remains enabled by default even though the running game cannot communicate with it correctly. Refer to this article if a specific game shows flickering or unstable screen behavior while the notebook is running in MSHybrid mode.
This article applies to all MSI notebooks.
Step 1: Disable Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) in Windows Settings
1. Click the Windows icon.
2. Go to “Settings” > “Display” > “Graphics”.
3. Select “Change default graphics settings”.
4. Turn off the “Variable Refresh Rate” toggle.
Note: This setting changes the default graphics behavior for all games, not just the one showing flickering. Disabling VRR resolves the flickering in games that do not support it, but may reintroduce minor screen tearing in games that do properly support VRR.
Step 2: Disable VRR in Your Integrated Graphics Vendor's Control Software
Intel Graphics
1. Search for “Intel Graphics Command Center” from the desktop search bar and open it. (The power LED typically lights white when Intel graphics is active.)
2. Go to the “Display” page.
3. Turn off “Variable Refresh Rate”.
AMD Graphics
1. Right-click the desktop and select “AMD Software”, or search for “AMD Software” from the desktop search bar and open it.
2. Go to the “Display” tab.
3. Turn off “AMD FreeSync Premium”
Common Questions (Q&A)
What does disabling Variable Refresh Rate actually change?
Turning off VRR stops the display from dynamically syncing its refresh rate to each game's frame rate. Games render at a fixed display refresh rate instead, which resolves the flickering caused by VRR in unsupported games but may reintroduce minor screen tearing in games that do properly support VRR.
Why isn't turning off VRR in Windows Display settings enough to fully disable it?
The Windows display setting only controls VRR at the operating system's compositor level. NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel graphics drivers each maintain their own independent VRR implementation — G-SYNC, FreeSync, and Adaptive Sync/Variable Refresh Rate respectively — that operates at the driver level. Turning off only the Windows setting can leave the driver-level VRR feature active, which is why the flickering can persist until the corresponding vendor setting is also turned off.