[Wowfunhappy]

...so this is where I'm confused, and where I think GP is confused. Why is there a separate 60 Hz mode that requires blanking the display? Why not just keep dynamic refresh enabled on the panel, and then lock it to updating 60 times per second (which it can do, since it's dynamic) for people who prefer that for whatever reason? What is the difference?

[lxgr]

No idea, but if I'd had to speculate: Probably ProMotion activates a quite different internal rendering mode, and fixed 60 Hz mode offers a way to opt out of that?

Many applications have a way of synchronizing their drawing loop to the monitor refresh rate, for example; ProMotion must be doing something clever to support them, or they'd just force the refresh rate to 120 Hz.

macOS also supports variable refresh rate external monitors these days (via both DisplayPort and HDMI); I'm not sure if that would be labeled "ProMotion" in the display settings, but in any case there are things that can go wrong there, and having a way to opt out of that at the HDMI/DisplayPort signal level (and not just fixing the frame rate at the GPU level while driving the external link under VRR) seems like a good idea.

[pmarreck]

> Why is there a separate 60 Hz mode that requires blanking the display?

I'm guessing it probably has to do with compliance with the original VESA standard, or whatever the completely basic support of multiple resolutions and refresh rates in all monitors is called.

The bootstrap of booting a system always ends up relying on the most basic supported things to start with (such as 640x480@60Hz using the VESA standard) and then upping it from there.