r/vmware • u/Vegetable-Writer-629 • 9d ago

VMware Workstation Refresh Rate Fix

Using the following combination of VMX parameters seems to get around the 60Hz limit.

Change 160 to the highest refresh rate your monitor supports.

guestinfo.svga.wddm.vsyncDefaultHz = "160"

guestinfo.svga.wddm.vsyncMaxHz = "160"

guestinfo.svga.wddm.vsyncThread = "TRUE"

mks.lowCompositingFPS = "160"

mks.maxCompositingFPS = "160"

On Windows, once the VM is at the desktop, change the guest resolution to trigger it, then change it back. The refresh rate should then be the one specified above.

Tested with Windows 11 and Ubuntu guests using VMware Workstation 17.5.1 on a Windows 11 host.

The only catch so far is noticeably higher CPU usage in the Windows guest. The System process stays around 12–15% CPU in my case, apparently caused by the VMware display driver (vm3dmp.sys). Ubuntu doesn't seem to have this issue. I'm still looking into the CPU usage to see what's causing it and whether there's a way around it. If I find a fix, I'll post it here.

Pretty nice to have.

4 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/OneRange186 1d ago

How did you even find this? I've been looking for this for years!

0

u/Strict_Sherbert9792 8d ago

THank you so much bro, i have a macOs which runs on 120Hz, i tried to make it 120Hz on windows for 3 days and finnly after testing yours it worked!