Starting a few months ago I noticed laggy/jittery windows within Cubase and noticed my monitor is reporting a constantly changing refresh rate when Cubase is running. For example, my refresh rate is set to 60 Hz and the monitor shows a constant 60 Hz with no apps running. Then I load Cubase and it starts dropping down to maybe 45 Hz, then back up to 60 Hz, then back down, etc. While that is happening I get laggy/jittery windows.
I have tried forcing 60 Hz via the Nvidia app but that has no effect - the refresh rate still changes when Cubase is running. I’m running Cubase 12 on Windows 11 with an i9 285k and RTX 5090 video card. All drivers are updated but the problem has been consistent across many driver versions the last 2-3 months or so.
How do I lock the screen refresh rate while Cubase is running?
A drop in the refresh rate (Hz) when loading Cubase is usually caused by the GPU’s power-saving or clock-speed behavior (C-states/2D mode)—for instance, if the software throttles display output during initialization or the GPU switches to a low P-state. While often harmless, this can also be related to driver settings or G-Sync/FreeSync.
Steps to resolve the issue
Open the Nvidia Control Panel: Go to “Manage 3D settings”.
Change power mode: Set the “Power mode” for Cubase—or globally—to “Prefer maximum performance.”
Check G-Sync: Disable G-Sync for windowed mode or completely as a test to stop refresh rate fluctuations.
A helpful video on troubleshooting and stability for RTX 5090 graphics cards:
Yeah I’ve tried every setting in the Nvidia app/control panel - frame rate, power savings, G-Sync, vertical sync, etc. They have no effect. I have a support request in to Nvidia asking why those settings are ignored.
I’ve also tried all the Windows Power Plan settings - max performance vs. power saving settings also have no effect.
I’ve been using Cubase 12 for several years and never had this issue before. There’s something about the latest versions of Windows 11 and/or Nvidia drivers that are causing issues. It’s very obvious.
I use the project video frame rate settings within Cubase but is there any kind of “UI Frame Rate” setting somewhere?
Please get the portable freeware DriverStoreExplorer and use it to remove all leftover drivers from your system. DriverStore Explorer v1.0.26
If you are using Windows, I highly recommend the portable freeware Vilm Care. It adjusts all your computer’s system settings to ensure your DAW runs smoothly. Vilm Care
I use these two freeware programs from a USB flash drive.
OK I figured it out - I was using the app-specific settings in the Nvidia app (i.e. I was changing the settings for “Cubase.exe”) because that’s what I had done in the past for issues like this. When I changed the global settings they started having an effect. Disabling G-Sync seems to do the trick.
So the Nvidia app ignores the settings when applied to “Cubase.exe” but it applies them when applied to all apps. Thanks Nvidia.
UPDATE: the fix above solved the issue with changing refresh rates but created another problem: the screen would randomly flash once a minute or so. I rolled back to driver version 595.79 and that seems to have fixed that issue.
So in the end I rolled the drivers back and disabled G-Sync in the global settings (the app-specific settings don’t do anything). That seems to be working so far.
I think there is some confusion here.
Frame Rate and Refresh Rate are not the same thing, they refer to entirely different things. Like the difference twixt watts and volts.
Frame Rate (measured in Frames Per Second) is decided by the software, especially in games and videos. Refresh Rate (measured in Hz) is the when the monitor refreshes the screen, which is continuous from the time you switch it on until you switch it off. It’s not a GPU or CPU setting, or a BIOS setting, it’s a monitor setting.
There is no “UI Frame Rate”. The UI only redraws when something changes, and not always then. If you’re sitting back not doing anything, Cubase won’t redraw itself.
To disable Multiplane Overlay (MPO) in the Windows Registry and resolve graphics issues such as flickering or stuttering, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm. There, create or modify the DWORD (32-bit) value named OverlayTestMode, setting it to 0x00000005 (decimal: 5), and restart your PC.
Alternatively, manufacturers like Nvidia offer ready-made .reg files that automatically add this entry or (via a second file) remove it again.
Also - the newer drivers seem to have gotten rid of the Nvidia Control Panel and use the Nvidia App instead. The problems I was having were with the drivers that used the App, so maybe there’s something there.
