CG437KS driving me crazy. Can't alt-tab when running games below 4k.

Liva
Liva Member Posts: 7

Tinkerer
in Monitors

I got this monitor a few weeks ago and it's mostly been great except one glaring issue. Any time I try to run a fullscreen game below 4k (usually older games that don't have good UI scaling so running it at 4k makes the UI unreadable) I can't alt-tab properly.

If I ever tab out, I can't tab back in. When I try, the screen goes black for a few seconds (I assume to adjust resolution) then I see the game flash for a split second, followed by another few seconds of black, then my desktop.

RARELY (think 1 in 30 tries) this can be circumvented by inputting a command into the game while it's focused for the split second, like selecting a menu item or something, which somehow causes the game to stay focused instead of minimizing itself again.

Basically I can't tab out of any games that I run at below 4k resolution, which is sometimes necessary. Some times have borderless window which works fine, but some older games only have window and fullscreen.

I've tried updating GPU drivers, the monitor's drivers (it only has one released in 2021), turning G-sync and various other monitor settings on and off.

Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

Answers

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,142 Trailblazer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/696003/cg437ks-driving-me-crazy-cant-alt-tab-when-running-games-below-4k

    If you’re having trouble running older games that don’t have good UI scaling on a 4K monitor, there are a few things you can try to improve the graphics. One option is to enable system-level supersampling. This renders the game at a higher resolution and then shrinks it back down to a smaller resolution while retaining much of the crispness and detail. It’s a type of anti-aliasing designed to reduce the jagged appearance of lines at the edges of objects that can be particularly noticeable at lower resolutions. Nvidia’s proprietary version of supersampling is called Dynamic Super Resolution, and an AI-driven iteration, dubbed Deep Learning Dynamic Super Resolution, also exists. You can enable this feature in Nvidia Control Panel under Manage 3D settings > DSR - Factors, then select DL scaling or Legacy scaling (original DSR). AMD has its own supersampling technique it calls Virtual Super Resolution. Find the option to toggle it on in the Display submenu in AMD Radeon Software .

    Another option is to enable system-wide anisotropic filtering. This technique improves the sharpness of faraway objects and can have a dramatic effect on the look of older games, especially those attempting to render complex 3D environments. While most modern games will include an option for enabling anisotropic filtering in the graphics settings, many older games will not. This is where the control suites of modern GPUs step in, allowing you to toggle anisotropic filtering (and decide what level to enable) at the system level. To enable it on AMD cards, find the Graphics submenu in AMD Radeon Software and click the down arrow next to Advanced. Make sure that the Anisotropic Filtering option is set to Enabled in the menu that appears. For Nvidia GPUs, open Nvidia Control Panel and click Manage 3D settings in the sidebar. Find Anisotropic filtering under the Global Settings options. You can choose to let applications control AF, toggle it off completely, or select a setting between 2X and 16X. The performance impact difference between 2X and 16X is fairly negligible, so you’re probably safe maxing it out.

    You can also try scaling the game so it fits properly on your monitor. Because older games were often designed with different aspect ratios in mind, they will frequently appear off-center or oddly stretched when played on modern displays. One quick and easy fix to improving the look of retro games is to take advantage of your GPU’s ability to scale games so they fit properly on your monitor. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • Liva
    Liva Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1245699#Comment_1245699

    Hi, thanks for your reply. I tried all the options you listed and they seem to make the older games look better. However my issue isn't that old games don't look good enough. My issue is that old games' UI don't scale up properly, as in stuff like text and menu options become relatively small and in some cases unreadable when run them at 4k resolution.

    There seems to be no fix for issues like this aside from running the game at a lower resolution. But as I said, doing so prevents the game from re-maximizing properly after I minimize it once via alt-tabbing. Do you know of a solution to this?

Categories