My HP Omen 16 runs newer games such as The Witcher 3 Remastered and Cyberpunk 2077 at around 60–100 FPS on ultra settings when using its built-in display. However, when I connect a 1920×1080 60 Hz external monitor through HDMI, the same games and settings drop to roughly 40–60 FPS. V-Sync is enabled, I have tried capping the frame rate at 60, and I selected performance-focused options wherever available. The image also looks noticeably sharper on the laptop's 1920×1200 144 Hz screen. Could the small resolution difference explain that, or might the HDMI output be taking a different graphics path? What troubleshooting steps should I try?
2 Answers
The sharper image is probably explained by pixel density: a 1920×1200 panel in a smaller laptop has more pixels packed into each inch than a larger 1920×1080 monitor. That does not normally explain a major FPS drop, though. V-Sync will already limit output to 60 FPS on a 60 Hz monitor, so an additional 60 FPS cap is usually redundant. For testing, temporarily disable V-Sync and compare performance, then re-enable it or use a frame limiter if tearing is distracting.
Check whether the HDMI output is routed through the integrated graphics instead of directly through the dedicated GPU. Some laptops use different graphics paths for the internal panel and external ports, and the external connection can incur a performance penalty even when games are configured to use the NVIDIA GPU. Look in the laptop manufacturer’s graphics or BIOS settings for a discrete-GPU-only, MUX switch, or external-display mode, and also verify the Windows graphics preference for each game.
There is only one HDMI port, and I already set the games to use the dedicated GPU in NVIDIA Control Panel, but I’ll check whether the port itself can be switched to a discrete-GPU mode.
With V-Sync disabled I see screen tearing, so I didn’t test for long. A 60 FPS cap with V-Sync off can reduce the tearing somewhat, but it won’t be exactly the same as V-Sync; the cap controls frame rate while V-Sync synchronizes frame delivery with the monitor.