---
title: "Disabling MPO: the OverlayTestMode fix for flickering and stutter"
description: "What OverlayTestMode 5 does, which flickering, black-screen and stutter problems turning off multiplane overlay actually fixes, and what you lose with it."
url: https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/disable-mpo-multiplane-overlay
author: Frost LIVE, Founder of Frozen Tweaks
published: 2026-08-30
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "GPU"
source: Frozen Tweaks (https://frozentweaks.com)
---

# Disabling MPO: the OverlayTestMode fix for flickering and stutter

**Short answer:** Setting OverlayTestMode to 5 under SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm disables Multiplane Overlay. It is a targeted fix, not a general optimization: it resolves a well-known class of flickering, black-screen flashes and stutter that appears with certain GPU driver and multi-monitor combinations, especially with mixed refresh rates.

## In the app

- Switch: Disable DWM MPO (GPU, Pro, Advanced)
- Undo: Yes. Switching it off sets a standard Windows value, which may not be exactly how you had it.
- Game profiles that switch it on: Counter-Strike 2, Deadlock, Dota 2 and 4 more
- Catalog row: https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks#t-1014

## What it does

MPO lets the GPU composite several independent surfaces, such as a video, a game and the desktop, in hardware rather than making the Desktop Window Manager do it. It saves power and GPU time when it works.

When driver support is imperfect, particularly across monitors running different refresh rates, it produces flickering, brief black frames or stutter that looks like a failing GPU.

## When it helps

- Fixes flickering and black-screen flashes in browsers and borderless-windowed games on affected setups.
- Resolves a stutter pattern that appears specifically with mixed-refresh-rate multi-monitor configurations.
- Often the actual fix when someone is convinced their new GPU is faulty.

## When it hurts

- You lose a genuine efficiency feature. Video playback in particular becomes slightly more expensive.
- If you do not have the symptoms, disabling MPO gains you nothing and costs a little power efficiency.

## What it writes

Read from the app's source. "Switching it off" is what the app writes when you turn the tweak off again.

Registry values:

| Key | Value | With the tweak | Switching it off | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm` | `OverlayTestMode` | `5` | Not set (the value is deleted; Windows decides) | Tells the Desktop Window Manager to stop using hardware multiplane overlay planes. |

Source: Tweaks/tweaks_mpo.hpp in the app's source, app 2.0.0, checked 2026-10-08.

## The same change by hand

Run in a Command Prompt opened as administrator. Make a restore point first.

```bat
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm" /v "OverlayTestMode" /t REG_DWORD /d 5 /f
```

Put it back:

```bat
reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm" /v "OverlayTestMode" /f
```

See what it is set to now:

```bat
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm" /v "OverlayTestMode"
```

## How to undo it

Delete the OverlayTestMode value and reboot. Switching it off in Frozen Tweaks deletes the value.

## Verdict

A fix, not an optimization. Apply it if you see flickering or unexplained stutter on a multi-monitor setup. If you do not, leave it alone.

## Related guides

- [How to Fix Stuttering and Frame Drops: Diagnose Before You Tweak](https://frozentweaks.com/guides/fix-stuttering-frame-drops)
- [How to Reduce Input Lag on PC: The Whole Latency Chain](https://frozentweaks.com/guides/reduce-input-lag)
- [Best NVIDIA Control Panel Settings for Gaming in 2026](https://frozentweaks.com/guides/nvidia-control-panel-best-settings)
- [Valorant FPS Boost: Best Settings on Unreal Engine 5](https://frozentweaks.com/guides/valorant-fps-boost)

## More tweak explainers

- [MSI mode for USB and NVMe](https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/msi-mode-usb-nvme)
- [TdrDelay](https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/tdr-delay)
- [NVIDIA Low Latency Mode and power management](https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/nvidia-low-latency-mode-and-power-management)

---
Written by Frost LIVE, founder of Frozen Tweaks. Canonical version: https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/disable-mpo-multiplane-overlay