General Discussions

[nicktl91]

When I enable FreeSync Premium Pro (VRR) in HDR mode on my ASUS PG27AQDP monitor, overall brightness drops drastically. This does not happen in SDR, nor does it occur if I disable VRR. I’ve confirmed the same behavior at multiple refresh rates (60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz, 480Hz), and another user with the same monitor has reproduced it. The issue persists across recent AMD GPU driver updates on my Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Enable HDR in Windows 10/11 Settings.

2. Enable FreeSync Premium Pro (variable refresh rate) in the monitor’s OSD.

3. Observe overall screen brightness/contrast—noticeable drop as soon as VRR is active.

4. Disable VRR and watch brightness return to normal.

The brightness drop is static, not flicker-related.

Confirmed the same drop from 60Hz up to 480Hz refresh rates.

Using SDR mode or disabling VRR in HDR restores normal brightness.

Screenshots using Windows Snipping Tool do not capture the dimness, suggesting it’s not an OS-level gamma change but rather a display/FreeSync HDR pipeline issue.

Another ASUS PG27AQDP owner confirmed they experience the same brightness drop.

Issue persists through multiple Radeon driver updates.

No immediate solution by adjusting Windows HDR Calibration settings.

It seems related to the FreeSync Premium Pro HDR pipeline or EOTF handling. The monitor locks into a particular HDR mode when VRR is active, which drastically lowers brightness. This behavior does not occur on other GPUs/VRR implementations. The consistent dimming across different refresh rates and driver versions, and the fact it only happens in HDR mode with VRR, strongly points to a bug in how AMD handles FreeSync Premium Pro HDR signals.

Expected Behavior:

Enabling VRR in HDR should not reduce brightness or compromise HDR image quality. Ideally, brightness/contrast should remain at HDR levels whether VRR is on or off.

Is this a known issue internally at AMD for FreeSync Premium Pro displays?

Are there any recommended workarounds or upcoming driver fixes to correct the HDR brightness drop in VRR mode?

Any settings in Adrenalin, Windows, or the monitor OSD that could mitigate the dimness?

[miccellomann]

This is not an AMD thing. This is a Windows thing. Calibrate your display with the HDR Tool you find in the Windows settings. 

[nicktl91]

The display has already been calibrated with the Windows HDR tool. Also this issue is not present for any HDR profile other than Freesync HDR. Put another way, brightness is as expected when using HDR without VRR. Furthermore, this does not occur when tried with an Nvidia GPU.

These all strongly point to it being an issue with how AMD handles the HDR pipeline in Freesync Premium Pro.

[Betel67]

I have the exact same problem, and like us many people. It is a known issue exclusive to AMD freesync premium pro (it has something to do with the way AMD manages the hdr pipeline). There is a thread that (kinda) fixes this https://community.amd.com/t5/general-discussions/freesync-premium-pro-affects-hdr-display/m-p/647699 . However, using CRU you can't go beyond 240hz variable refresh rate and also for me it doesn't change windows peak brightness (which affects auto hdr and some games that use that info as their peak brightness like the outlast trials).

The first time this issue was spotted was way back in 2021, but AMD hasn't done anything about it. It is kinda of a dealbreaker for me as it means I have now a fancy but useless monitor on my desk. I will have to return my new amd gpu rx 9070 xt and keep rocking my old rtx3070 ti nvidia gpu which was flawless in that regard. If after 4 years amd hasn't fixed the problem it means it will never do it... unacceptable