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How To Get Custom Resolution / Stretch Res for Fortnite, Apex Legends, Halo, and any other game

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This guide covers using Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) for EDID overrides on Windows — the tool of choice for stretched resolution in Fortnite, Apex Legends, Halo, and any other game. It works with AMD/ATI, NVIDIA, and certain Intel GPUs.

Custom Resolution Utility interface

Warning: Back up your current settings before changing anything, and know how to boot into safe mode for recovery. Skipping either will cause major headaches if a bad resolution blanks your display.

Download Custom Resolution Utility

Requirements

  • Operating system: Windows Vista or later (Windows XP is incompatible with EDID overrides)
  • GPU: AMD or NVIDIA with the latest drivers
  • Safe mode knowledge: know how to access safe mode for recovery before you start

Initial setup with CRU

  1. Launch CRU — run CRU.exe. Admin rights may be required to modify registry settings.
  2. Select your display — choose your monitor from the list. Active displays are marked; changes are saved to the registry.
  3. Edit configurations — the customization options are extensive; read the in-app documentation for settings you don’t recognize.
  4. Clone settings — use copy-paste to apply the same configuration to multiple displays.
  5. Save and restart — after saving, restart the graphics driver (CRU ships a restart.exe for this). If the screen stays black, safe mode + CRU’s reset-all.exe recovers you.

Detailed resolutions

What they’re for

Detailed resolutions fine-tune display properties beyond the presets your GPU or monitor offers — this is where stretched res lives. The first detailed resolution is typically the monitor’s native/preferred resolution; keep it configured correctly for normal desktop use.

Adding custom resolutions

  • In CRU, add new entries under the Detailed resolutions section.
  • Stay within your monitor’s and GPU’s maximum resolution and refresh rate — exceeding them causes display issues.
  • Example for stretched res: add 1750×1080 or 1600×1080 at your monitor’s refresh rate, then select it in-game or in Windows display settings.

Resolution and refresh rate notes

  • Performance: lower-than-native resolutions reduce GPU load — part of why stretched res is popular in competitive play.
  • Refresh rate: higher refresh = smoother visuals, but only add rates your panel genuinely supports.

GPU scaling

CRU adds monitor resolutions, not scaled ones. Enable GPU scaling in your graphics driver’s control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel → Adjust desktop size; AMD Adrenalin → Display → GPU Scaling) so lower resolutions stretch up to fill the native panel. Set scaling mode to Full-screen (not “Aspect ratio”) for true stretched res.

Limitations and warnings

  • Maximum limits: EDID detailed resolutions cap at 4095×4095 and a 655.35 MHz pixel clock.
  • Invalid values: if a value turns red in CRU, it’s invalid or out of limits — fix it before saving.

Timing parameters

  • Automatic options — “Automatic PC”, “Automatic HDTV”, and “Automatic CRT” set timings to common standards; pick the one matching your monitor type. This is the right choice for most users.
  • Manual timing — for advanced users who understand monitor timings.
  • Exact timings — for hitting exact integer refresh rates, useful if you’re sensitive to refresh variations.

Testing and validation

Test each new resolution thoroughly — watch for flickering, color distortion, or blurry text. Make changes incrementally so you can identify what caused any problem.

Credit and next steps

CRU is designed by ToastyX from MonitorTests.

Once your stretched res is set up, finish the job: optimize your monitor settings and run Tier1Timer to cut input delay at the system level.