The Curious Case of 1440p 60FPS Lock-Out in PC Gaming
As a long-time PC gamer, I’ve encountered an unusual trend over the past decade that continues to perplex me: the scarcity of frame rate options at 1440p resolution. While it seems intuitive to expect a range of frame rate settings for this resolution similarly to what you find at 1080p and 4K, the reality has proven to be quite different.
In my experience, whenever I set the resolution to 1080p, I am greeted with plenty of frame rate options—ranging from 24 FPS to 120 FPS. The same applies when I switch to 4K (2160p); all frame rates, including 24 FPS, 30 FPS, and even 120 FPS, are readily available. However, when I shift to 1440p, the scene changes dramatically. Suddenly, my only choice is a mere 24 FPS—no additional frame rates are offered, be it 30, 50, 60, or 120 FPS. In fact, the only game I’ve discovered that permits a variety of frame rates at 1440p is Genshin Impact, leaving me to wonder why other titles limit these options.
I have tried various workarounds, including creating custom profiles in the NVIDIA Control Panel, which work seamlessly for my operating system but fail to alter the frame rate restrictions within games. It’s important to note that my setup includes a 4K monitor, fully capable of supporting these resolutions and frame rates, and I have never encountered hardware restrictions across the different gaming computers I’ve owned.
For years, I accepted this phenomenon as a norm, attributing it to some underlying technical limitations specific to gaming at 1440p. Yet, I recently discovered a burgeoning community discussing 1440p at 60 FPS, sparking my curiosity. Upon further inquiry, it became clear that this limitation is not typical and seems to plague a variety of setups equipped with differing hardware.
This raises an intriguing question: Why does this issue persist? Given that I consistently use NVIDIA graphics cards, could this be a contributing factor? I’m eager to hear from fellow gamers and tech enthusiasts—what do you think might be causing this strange behavior with 1440p frame rates? Is there something I’m missing, or is this an oversight in the gaming industry that needs addressing?
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