AMD Radeon Stretched Resolution Guide (GPU Scaling, No Black Bars)

To get stretched res on AMD, create a custom resolution in AMD Software (search “Custom” → Custom Resolution → Create New) and turn on GPU Scaling with Scaling Mode set to Full Panel. In short, you need two things: a custom resolution like 1440x1080, and GPU Scaling turned on with Full Panel mode so the image fills the entire screen instead of sitting pillarboxed with black bars. The scaling step is the one everyone gets wrong. This guide walks through both in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, and notes the FreeSync and high-refresh details. (Running NVIDIA instead? See the NVIDIA stretched resolution guide.)

Best AMD stretched resolutions

Base resolution	Stretched to	Aspect	Feel
1920x1080	1440x1080	4:3	Balanced, most popular
1920x1080	1280x960	4:3	Wider models, classic competitive
1920x1080	1280x1024	5:4	Slightly taller, less extreme stretch
1920x1080	1728x1080	16:10	Subtle stretch, mild gain

Start with 1440x1080. It gives clearly wider enemy models and renders about 26% fewer pixels than native 1080p without the image looking badly squashed.

Step 1: Create the custom resolution

If your target resolution already appears in Windows and your game, you can skip to Step 2. Otherwise create it in AMD Software. These steps follow AMD’s own support article for current versions of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition (written for 25.6.1):

1. Click Start, type AMD Software, and open it.
2. Type Custom into the AMD Software search box and click the Custom Resolution result. If you have more than one display, select your gaming monitor.
3. First use only: expand Custom Resolutions, click Read & Accept and accept the EULA.
4. Click Create New. The profile opens pre-filled with your current settings.
5. Enter your target — width 1440, height 1080 (or your chosen values) — and set the refresh rate to your monitor’s maximum (e.g. 144, 165, 240 Hz). Do not leave it at 60.
6. Click Create. AMD Software checks the resolution against your display, and the screen may go blank for a moment — that’s normal.
7. If it passes, the profile is saved under Custom Resolutions. Apply it by picking it in Windows Display settings or in your game’s video menu.

If AMD Software reports a compatibility problem instead, click OK, adjust the values (a lower refresh rate is the usual fix) and try again. On older driver versions the same feature lives under Settings (gear icon) → Display → Custom Resolutions → Create.

Step 2: Turn on GPU Scaling and Full Panel mode (the make-or-break step)

This is the step that determines whether you get a true full-screen stretch or black bars.

1. Set Windows to your monitor’s native resolution and refresh rate first — AMD supports GPU Scaling on displays set to native.
2. In AMD Software, type Display into the search box and open Display Settings (older versions: Settings (gear icon) → Display).
3. If you run more than one monitor, select your gaming display at the top.
4. Set GPU Scaling to On / Enabled. The screen goes blank for a moment — that’s normal.
5. The Scaling Mode option appears below — set it to Full Panel. It applies immediately.

Full Panel is the critical choice. The other modes — Preserve Aspect Ratio (pillarboxes the image) and Center (shows it at native size with a black border) — both leave black bars. Only Full Panel stretches the smaller image to cover the entire screen.

If you don’t see the Scaling Mode dropdown, make sure GPU Scaling is toggled On first — the mode only appears once scaling is enabled.

Step 3: Select it in-game

Launch your game, open the display/video settings, and choose your custom resolution (e.g. 1440x1080). Set the game to Fullscreen (exclusive) rather than borderless for the cleanest stretch and lowest latency. The image should now fill the entire screen with wider models and no black bars.

Custom Resolution or GPU Scaling missing in AMD Software?

If you can’t find Custom Resolution or GPU Scaling, check the install type first. AMD Software has three: Full Install (the default, all features), Minimal Install (basic controls only) and Driver Only, which AMD says provides no user interface for Radeon Software features — so neither option can appear. Check in this order:

1. Search instead of browsing. Menus move between versions; type Custom or Display into the AMD Software search box.
2. Reinstall with Full Install. Download the current Adrenalin package from AMD, open Advanced Options in the installer and set Install Type to Full Install (shown as Default in newer installers).
3. Select the right display. Both settings are per-display; on a multi-monitor setup pick the gaming monitor at the top.
4. Laptops. AMD notes some options depend on your system configuration. If they aren’t offered for the built-in screen, use the laptop routes in how to get stretched res on PC or laptop.

If you still get black bars

• Scaling Mode is on Preserve Aspect Ratio or Center. Re-check Step 2 and set it to Full Panel.
• GPU Scaling is off. The toggle resets on some driver updates — turn it back On.
• Desktop wasn’t at native when you enabled scaling. AMD supports GPU Scaling on displays set to their native resolution and refresh rate — set Windows back to native, re-enable GPU Scaling, then pick the stretched resolution in-game.
• Wrong monitor selected. On a multi-monitor setup, GPU Scaling is per-display — confirm your gaming monitor is the one selected in Display settings.
• Game is in borderless/windowed mode. Switch to exclusive Fullscreen so the GPU can stretch the output.
• Monitor’s own OSD scaling is overriding the GPU. Set the monitor’s built-in aspect/scaling option to Full.
• Wrong resolution selected in-game. Confirm you picked the custom resolution, not a built-in 4:3 one the display is letterboxing.

FreeSync and high refresh notes

A custom stretched resolution runs at your panel’s full refresh rate as long as you set the refresh rate to your monitor’s max when you create it (Step 1). FreeSync keeps working with stretched resolutions — variable refresh is tied to the panel, not the aspect ratio. If FreeSync seems inactive after switching, confirm the custom resolution’s Hz matches your native max and that FreeSync is enabled under Settings → Display. The latency added by GPU scaling is negligible for competitive play.

Performance note

Stretched resolution renders fewer pixels than native, so on a GPU-bound system you’ll see a modest FPS gain. On a CPU-bound setup already pushing very high FPS, the frame rate barely moves — the real benefit there is wider models. The full breakdown is in does stretched resolution increase FPS.

Related guides

• NVIDIA Stretched Resolution Guide
• Does Stretched Resolution Increase FPS?
• Stretched Resolution vs Native Resolution
• How To Get Custom Resolution / Stretch Res for Fortnite, Apex Legends, Halo, and any other game
• Best 4:3 Stretched Resolutions for Competitive FPS

Stretched res on AMD comes down to one setting most people miss: GPU Scaling On with Scaling Mode set to Full Panel. Create your custom resolution at your panel’s max refresh, set Full Panel, run exclusive Fullscreen, and the image fills the whole screen with wider models and no black bars. Start at 1440x1080 and test it against native on your own monitor.