diff --git a/app/backend/systemproperties.cpp b/app/backend/systemproperties.cpp
index 1140c93e..7dd54e26 100644
--- a/app/backend/systemproperties.cpp
+++ b/app/backend/systemproperties.cpp
@@ -184,9 +184,6 @@ void SystemProperties::startAsyncLoad()
         return;
     }
 
-    // Update display related attributes (max FPS, native resolution, etc).
-    refreshDisplays();
-
     testWindow = SDL_CreateWindow("", 0, 0, 1280, 720,
                                   SDL_WINDOW_HIDDEN | StreamUtils::getPlatformWindowFlags());
     if (!testWindow) {
@@ -204,6 +201,13 @@ void SystemProperties::startAsyncLoad()
         }
     }
 
+    // Update display related attributes (max FPS, native resolution, etc).
+    //
+    // NB: SDL3 will forcefully refresh displays when a window is created,
+    // so we place this after the window creation to ensure we don't pay
+    // the penalty for mode enumeration twice.
+    refreshDisplays();
+
     systemPropertyQueryThread = new SystemPropertyQueryThread(this);
     systemPropertyQueryThread->start();
 }