Top of screen flickers occasionally in certain apps

Resolving Top Screen Flickering Issue in Certain Applications on Windows 10

Experiencing screen flickering can be a frustrating hurdle, especially when it affects your most-used applications. If you’ve noticed that the top quarter of your display intermittently flickers in specific apps like Chrome, Brave, or the Discord Windows app, you’re not alone. Here’s a comprehensive overview of potential causes and troubleshooting steps to address this issue—particularly if you’ve recently upgraded your graphics hardware.

Understanding the Problem

Many users have reported a flickering of the upper portion of their screens in certain applications. Interestingly, this flickering does not always appear in screen recordings, suggesting it may be a rendering or driver-related problem rather than a display hardware failure. The issue tends to occur intermittently and often resolves temporarily when switching tabs or windows within the affected applications.

Common Context and Background

System Specifications: The problem has been observed in Windows 10 environments.
Hardware Changes: Notably, the issue began after upgrading from an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (the “thx 1660”) to an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT.
Applications Affected: Popular apps such as Chrome, Brave browser, and Discord’s Windows client.
Troubleshooting So Far: Users have attempted resetting drivers, indicating that the problem persists despite these steps.

Potential Causes

Display Driver Compatibility: The transition from NVIDIA to AMD hardware can sometimes lead to driver conflicts or compatibility issues, especially if remnants of old drivers persist or if the new driver version has bugs.
Hardware Acceleration Conflicts: Browsers and communication apps often use hardware acceleration to improve performance, which can sometimes lead to display glitches.
Refresh Rate or Resolution Mismatch: Inconsistent display settings—such as mismatched refresh rates or resolution configurations—may cause flickering anomalies.
Software Rendering Glitches: Certain apps use hardware-accelerated rendering, which can result in flickering if the GPU driver is unstable or incompatible.

Recommended Troubleshooting Steps

1. Update Graphics Drivers

Ensure you have the latest AMD Radeon drivers installed directly from the official AMD website.
Use the AMD Cleanup Utility to completely remove previous drivers and avoid conflicts before installing fresh drivers.