Are you seeing black borders around your monitor screen after upgrading your laptop, changing your graphics card, or connecting a new external display?

In this guide, you will learn how to fix black borders around the monitor screen on NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel graphics devices using simple step by step methods. This issue is very common in Windows 10 and Windows 11 and can usually be fixed in just a few minutes.

Why Do Black Borders Appear Around Your Monitor?

Black borders (also called letterboxing or pillarboxing) typically appear when there is a resolution or aspect ratio mismatch between your PC's output and your monitor's native resolution. This most commonly happens when you:

Upgrade your laptop or connect a new external monitor
Update or reinstall your graphics drivers
Change your GPU or graphics card
Switch display output modes (e.g., HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA)

The fix depends on which graphics processor you are using. Below, I have covered the steps for all three major GPU types.

▴ Fix for NVIDIA GPU Users

NVIDIA

Step 1: Update Your NVIDIA Drivers

Outdated drivers are the most common cause of display scaling issues. Start here before anything else.

Open your browser and search for NVIDIA drivers or go to nvidia.com/drivers
Enter your GPU model details and download the latest driver package
Install the driver and also install the GeForce Experience app if necessary.
Once installed, look for the NVIDIA icon in your Windows system tray (bottom right)

Step 2: Set the Correct Resolution in NVIDIA Control Panel

Right-click the NVIDIA icon in the taskbar and select Open NVIDIA Control Panel
Under the Display section on the left, click Change resolution
Make sure your external monitor is selected at the top
Under the PC section, select your monitor's native supported resolution (e.g., 1920x1080 or 2560x1440)
Click Apply and confirm the change

This fixes most screen size and resolution issues. 💡 Pro Tip: Always select the resolution under the PC tab rather than the Ultra HD tab in NVIDIA Control Panel. This gives you access to the full refresh rate options for your monitor.

Step 3: Adjust Desktop Size and Position (If Black Borders Remain)

In NVIDIA Control Panel, click Adjust desktop size and position
Under Select a scaling mode, choose Full-screen
Click Apply
If the issue persists, restart your device

▴ Fix for AMD GPU Users

AMD

Step 1: Update Your AMD Drivers

Go to amd.com/en/support/download/drivers
Download and install the latest AMD Radeon Software for your GPU model
Restart your device after installation

Step 2: Fix Scaling in AMD Radeon Software

Right-click on your desktop and open AMD Radeon Software (Adrenalin)
Navigate to Settings > Display
Find the GPU Scaling toggle and enable it
Set the Scaling Mode to Full Panel
Click Apply to save the changes

💡 What This Does: Enabling GPU Scaling tells your AMD card to stretch the output to fill the full panel rather than leaving black borders around it. Full Panel mode removes letterboxing and pillarboxing entirely.

▴ Fix for Intel GPU Users

INTEL

Step 1: Check Display Resolution via Windows Settings

This is the most common fix for Intel integrated graphics users.

Right-click on your desktop and select Display settings
Scroll down and select your external monitor from the display diagram
Under Display resolution, set it to the Recommended option (your monitor's native resolution e.g., 1920x1080 or 2560x1440)
Click Keep changes when prompted

⚠ Important: If your monitor's native resolution is lower than your laptop screen's resolution, it will cause a resolution mismatch and result in one of the screen displays being letterboxed or black borders around the screen. Always manually select the correct native resolution for the external display.

Step 2: Fix Scaling via Intel Graphics Software (Intel Arc Users)

Open the Intel Graphics Software or Intel Arc Control app (search in Start Menu)
Go to the Display section
Find Scaling Method and set it to Scale Full Screen or Maintain Display Scaling
Apply the changes

Common External Display Issue Fix for NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel

This fix works regardless of your GPU brand. As mentioned earlier, if your laptop and external monitor have different aspect ratios or resolutions, Windows may apply letterboxing or black borders when using Duplicate display mode. Here is how to resolve it:

Press Win + P on your keyboard to open the projection panel.

Go to Display Settings → Multiple Displays

Try switching between:

Extend these displays
Second screen only

💡 Recommendation: Use Extend these displays for the best experience. Each screen runs at its own native resolution, eliminating scaling issues and black borders entirely.

Final Thoughts

Black borders around your monitor are almost always caused by a resolution or scaling mismatch between your PC output and your display. Whether you are on NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel graphics, the fix is straightforward once you know where to look. Start by updating your drivers, then correct the resolution and scaling settings within your GPU's control software. If the issue persists, switching your Windows display mode to Extend or Second screen only is the most reliable universal fix. I personally ran into this issue after upgrading my laptop with RTX4060 GPU and connecting my 1920p external monitor. Within a few minutes of adjusting the settings in NVIDIA Control Panel, the black borders disappeared entirely. I hope this guide saves you the same frustration.

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How To Fix Black Borders Around Monitor Screen