Even with smart tools like this indie GameHDR app, HDR gaming on PC is still an absolute clown show

I wouldn't blame you if you didn't bother with HDR. While the effect can look spectacular in the right game and on the right monitor, anyone who's regularly tried to use the feature on PC over the years will grump and grumble about manually turning it on and off, why in some games it works well and others not, and why a modern gaming PC can't seem to reliably tell a monitor that its displaying HDR content without some user prompting.

Even more frustratingly, leave HDR on and be prepared...