HDR gaming: HDR10, DisplayHDR tiers, Dolby Vision, Auto HDR and why most "HDR" monitors are not
HDR (high dynamic range) lets a game display brighter highlights, deeper blacks and a wider colour range than SDR by sending 10-bit, wide-gamut, absolute-brightness (PQ) signals; on a capable display — OLED or mini-LED with 600–1000+ nits and local dimming — it is the biggest image-quality upgrade after resolution. Monitors labelled DisplayHDR 400 without local dimming cannot show a real HDR difference, and Windows Auto HDR / NVIDIA RTX HDR add HDR to SDR-only games.
HDR10 · DisplayHDR · HDR400 · HDR1000 · Auto HDR · RTX HDR · Dolby Vision
Key figures
From the FPSHQ database, as of Oct 15, 2026
Formats and certifications
Contrast, not peak brightness alone, makes HDR work — an OLED at 400 nits peak looks better in HDR than an edge-lit LCD at 600.
| Term | What it is | Gaming relevance |
|---|---|---|
| HDR10 | open baseline: 10-bit, PQ curve, static metadata | what nearly all PC games use |
| HDR10+ / Dolby Vision | dynamic metadata | few PC games (Dolby Vision on Xbox); mostly video |
| DisplayHDR 400 | 400 nits, no dimming required | not meaningfully HDR |
| DisplayHDR 600 | 600 nits, some local dimming | entry real HDR |
| DisplayHDR 1000 / 1400 | 1000+ nits, local dimming | proper HDR (mini-LED) |
| DisplayHDR True Black 400/500/600 | OLED tiers, 0.0005 nits black | excellent HDR despite lower peak |
| HGiG | console tone-mapping convention | use with PS5/Xbox for accurate HDR |
Setting it up on PC
Enable HDR in Windows Display settings, run the Windows HDR Calibration app (sets the display's min/max luminance for games using the HDR API), and set the in-game HDR peak brightness to the monitor's actual peak (e.g. 1000 nits). SDR content in HDR mode uses the "SDR content brightness" slider. Windows 11 Auto HDR converts SDR games to HDR with decent results; NVIDIA RTX HDR (RTX 20+) does it with an AI filter and more control, costing a few percent GPU time. On OLED monitors choose the HDR mode with peak 1000 for highlights or True Black 400 for a more consistent full-screen brightness.
Problems and fixes
For HDR shopping use the FPSHQ monitor picker's panel and certification filters; see panel types for which technologies deliver real HDR.
- Washed-out image: SDR shown in HDR mode with the SDR slider too high, or the game's HDR implementation is poor (RenoDX mods fix many titles)
- Raised blacks: wrong black-level/range setting (full vs limited RGB) between GPU and monitor
- Dimming in bright scenes: ABL on OLED; reduce peak mode
- Stutter or crashes with HDR: disable overlays, update drivers; HDR adds ~0 % GPU cost itself
- HDR looks worse than SDR: the monitor lacks local dimming — turn HDR off
On your PC
Enter your GPU (and CPU) — we calculate the effect of "HDR" with the unified FPSHQ model using Cyberpunk 2077 as the example.
Save your PC in the account · Detect hardware with the app · Unified FPSHQ model estimate, not a measurement.
Where to use this on FPSHQ
Forum discussions
What is HDR?
HDR (high dynamic range) lets a game display brighter highlights, deeper blacks and a wider colour range than SDR by sending 10-bit, wide-gamut, absolute-brightness (PQ) signals; on a capable display — OLED or mini-LED with 600–1000+ nits and local dimming — it is the biggest image-quality upgrade after resolution. Monitors labelled DisplayHDR 400 without local dimming cannot show a real HDR difference, and Windows Auto HDR / NVIDIA RTX HDR add HDR to SDR-only games.
- independent FPS measurements
- 105
- rows of aggregated review data
- 4,800
- GPU + game pairs with measurements or aggregated data
- 967
- games in the catalog
- 47,547
FAQ
Is HDR worth it for gaming?
Does HDR lower FPS?
What is Auto HDR?
Why does HDR look washed out on my monitor?
Sources
- VESA DisplayHDR certification (2025)
- Microsoft: HDR settings in Windows (2025)
- NVIDIA RTX HDR (2024)
FPSHQ Team · methodology · methodology · Updated
✏️ Found a mistake? Suggest an edit
Get the FPSHQ app — it detects your hardware and shows FPS in your games.
💻 Windows app