not supported with gsync lcd panel manufacturer

Information on this error message is REALLY sketchy online. Some say that the G-Sync LCD panel is hardwired to the dGPU and that the iGPU is connected to nothing. Some say that dGPU is connected to the G-Sync LCD through the iGPU. Some say that they got the MUX switch working after an intention ordering of bios update, iGPU drivers then dGPU drivers on a clean install.

I"m suspecting that if I connect an external 60hz IPS monitor to one of the display ports on the laptop and make it the only display, the Fn+F7 key will actually switch the graphics because the display is not a G-Sync LCD panel. Am I right on this?

If I"m right on this, does that mean that if I purchase this laptop, order a 15inch Alienware 60hz IPS screen and swap it with the FHD 120+hz screen currently inside, I will also continue to have MUX switch support and no G-Sync? The price for these screens is not outrageous.

Please note: Some Adaptive Sync monitors will ship with the variable refresh rate setting set to disabled. Consult with the user manual for your monitor to confirm the Adaptive Sync setting is enabled. Also some monitors may have the DisplayPort mode set to DisplayPort 1.1 for backwards compatibility. The monitor must be configured as a DisplayPort 1.2 or higher to support Adaptive Sync.

If your Adaptive Sync monitor isn’t listed as a G-SYNC Compatible monitor, you can enable the tech manually from the NVIDIA Control Panel. It may work, it may work partly, or it may not work at all. To give it a try:

3. From within Windows, open the NVIDIA Control Panel -> select "Set up G-SYNC" from the left column -> check the "Enable settings for the selected display model"box, and finally click on the Apply button on the bottom right to confirm your settings.

For the best gaming experience we recommend NVIDIA G-SYNC and G-SYNC Ultimate monitors: those with G-SYNC processors that have passed over over 300 compatibility and quality tests, and feature a full refresh rate range from 1Hz to the display panel’s max refresh rate, plus other advantages like variable overdrive, refresh rate overclocking, ultra low motion blur display modes, and industry-leading HDR with 1000 nits, full matrix backlight and DCI-P3 color.

At first i thought that maybe i was sent a laptop with a g-sync display but when i checked in device manager the display is listed as "generic pnp display" no mention of g-sync yet i cant seem to be able to turn off the gpu and whenever i press fn+f7 i get the following message "not supported with g-sync ips display" even though the display is not a g-sync display.

If you want smooth gameplay without screen tearing and you want to experience the high frame rates that your Nvidia graphics card is capable of, Nvidia’s G-Sync adaptive sync tech, which unleashes your card’s best performance, is a feature that you’ll want in your next monitor.

To get this feature, you can spend a lot on a monitor with G-Sync built in, like the high-end $1,999 Acer Predator X27, or you can spend less on a FreeSync monitor that has G-Sync compatibility by way of a software update. (As of this writing, there are 15 monitors that support the upgrade.)

However, there are still hundreds of FreeSync models that will likely never get the feature. According to Nvidia, “not all monitors go through a formal certification process, display panel quality varies, and there may be other issues that prevent gamers from receiving a noticeably improved experience.”

But even if you have an unsupported monitor, it may be possible to turn on G-Sync. You may even have a good experience — at first. I tested G-Sync with two unsupported models, and, unfortunately, the results just weren’t consistent enough to recommend over a supported monitor.

The 32-inch AOC CQ32G1 curved gaming monitor, for example, which is priced at $399, presented no issues when I played Apex Legends and Metro: Exodus— at first. Then some flickering started appearing during gameplay, though I hadn’t made any changes to the visual settings. I also tested it with Yakuza 0,which, surprisingly, served up the worst performance, even though it’s the least demanding title that I tested. Whether it was in full-screen or windowed mode, the frame rate was choppy.

Another unsupported monitor, the $550 Asus MG279Q, handled both Metro: Exodus and Forza Horizon 4 without any noticeable issues. (It’s easy to confuse the MG279Q for the Asus MG278Q, which is on Nvidia’s list of supported FreeSync models.) In Nvidia’s G-Sync benchmark, there was significant tearing early on, but, oddly, I couldn’t re-create it.

Before you begin, note that in order to achieve the highest frame rates with or without G-Sync turned on, you’ll need to use a DisplayPort cable. If you’re using a FreeSync monitor, chances are good that it came with one. But if not, they aren’t too expensive.

First, download and install the latest driver for your GPU, either from Nvidia’s website or through the GeForce Experience, Nvidia’s Windows 10 app that can tweak graphics settings on a per-game basis. All of Nvidia’s drivers since mid-January 2019 have included G-Sync support for select FreeSync monitors. Even if you don’t own a supported monitor, you’ll probably be able to toggle G-Sync on once you install the latest driver. Whether it will work well after you do turn the feature on is another question.

Once the driver is installed, open the Nvidia Control Panel. On the side column, you’ll see a new entry: Set up G-Sync. (If you don’t see this setting, switch on FreeSync using your monitor’s on-screen display. If you still don’t see it, you may be out of luck.)

Check the box that says “Enable G-Sync Compatible,” then click “Apply: to activate the settings. (The settings page will inform you that your monitor is not validated by Nvidia for G-Sync. Since you already know that is the case, don’t worry about it.)

Nvidia offers a downloadable G-Sync benchmark, which should quickly let you know if things are working as intended. If G-Sync is active, the animation shouldn’t exhibit any tearing or stuttering. But since you’re using an unsupported monitor, don’t be surprised if you see some iffy results. Next, try out some of your favorite games. If something is wrong, you’ll realize it pretty quickly.

There’s a good resource to check out on Reddit, where its PC community has created a huge list of unsupported FreeSync monitors, documenting each monitor’s pros and cons with G-Sync switched on. These real-world findings are insightful, but what you experience will vary depending on your PC configuration and the games that you play.

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Make sure the monitor supports Nvidia’s G-Sync technology - a list of supported monitors at the time of this article can be found on Nvidia"s website.

Make sure a DisplayPort cable is being used - G-Sync is only compatible with DisplayPort. It must be a standard DisplayPort cable using no adapters or conversions. HDMI, DVI and VGA are not supported.

Under the Display tab on the left side of the Nvidia Control Panel, choose Set up G-Sync, followed by Enable G-Sync, G-Sync Compatible checkbox. Note: If the monitor has not been validated as G-Sync Compatible, select the box under Display Specific Settings to force G-Sync Compatible mode on. See the warning NOTE at the end of the article before proceeding.

NOTE: If the monitor supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) technologies but is not on the list above, use caution before proceeding. It may still work, however there may be issues when using the technology. Known issues include blanking, pulsing, flickering, ghosting and visual artifacts.

At CES 2019, Nvidia announced its software-based version of G-Sync that extended VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support for Nvidia GPUs on AMD FreeSync monitors. However, initial impressions were a tad bit underwhelming as the company validated only a handful of FreeSync panels that can run G-Sync to its full extent, without resorting to any major compatibility issues.

To maintain exclusivity of its proprietary Adaptive-Sync solution, Nvidia"s G-Sync technology has been categorized across three different tiers: G-Sync, G-Sync Compatible, and G-Sync Ultimate. While both G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate monitors feature a dedicated module to drive VRR, G-Sync Compatible monitors are essentially FreeSync panels that have been validated by Nvidia to run G-Sync through its rigorous testing methodology.

In case you"re wondering, Nvidia"s G-Sync Compatibility program, which was introduced back in 2019, aims to certify a wide range of FreeSync monitors based on specific parameters. For starters, every G-Sync Compatible monitor should be able to deliver a baseline VRR experience without incurring any visual artifacts such as pulsing, flickering, blanking, or ghosting.

Furthermore, the retroactive program also validates whether a FreeSync display can operate across a VRR range of at least 2.4:1. Such calculations are performed by dividing the maximum refresh rate of a monitor to its minimum refresh rate within the VRR range.

For instance, if your FreeSync monitor supports a wide VRR range of 48-144Hz, which is greater than Nvidia"s recommended value of 2.4, G-Sync functionality should be enabled right out-of-the-box. However, if the minimum VRR range went up to 75Hz, which does not comply with Nvidia"s VRR threshold, the display loses an official "G-Sync Compatible" certification.

For G-Sync Compatible monitors, G-Sync should be enabled by default when FreeSync has been activated from the monitor"s OSD. However, if you are using a non-certified FreeSync display, you might need to change additional settings inside the Nvidia Control Panel. Right-click on the desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel from the drop-down menu.

Inside the NVIDIA Control Panel, go to Manage 3D settings and look for Monitor Technology under the Global Settings tab. Set G-SYNC Compatible as the preferred option.

On an additional note, check whether Preferred refresh rate has been set to Highest available. Doing so allows your FreeSync monitor to take advantage of its maximum refresh rate.

For an optimal G-Sync experience, we recommend using V-Sync along with G-Sync to eliminate screen tearing when the frame rate goes above the VRR range. Under Global Settings, scroll down to the bottom of the list and set Vertical sync to On. Click on Applyto save your changes.

To test whether G-Sync is working properly on your FreeSync display, download and install Nvidia"s G-SYNC Pendulum demo, a handy tool that can help demonstrate the benefits of Adaptive-Sync technology. Consider switching between No Vsync and G-SYNC to better understand the purpose of G-Sync in synchronizing your monitor"s refresh rate with the frame rate of your GPU.

Now, one of the major concerns for PC gamers when using V-Sync alongside G-Sync is the introduction of input lag. Not only does it contribute to additional system latency but also affects the overall experience by a significant margin.

If your game doesn"t include an internal FPS limiter, try using an external frame rate limiter such as RTSS (Rivatuner Statistics Server) or Nvidia"s Max Frame Rate option inside the Control Panel.

Despite Nvidia"s claims about a suboptimal gaming experience when running G-Sync on non-certified FreeSync panels, we found little to no difference between both variants. Besides exclusive features such as ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) and Variable Overdrive support, Nvidia GPUs tend to provide a similar VRR experience as AMD GPUs on most FreeSync monitors.

There are four different possibilities of results for this test. Each result tells us something different about the monitor, and while native FreeSync monitors can still work with NVIDIA graphics cards, there are a few extra advantages you get with a native G-SYNC monitor too.

No:Some displays simply aren"t compatible with NVIDIA"s G-SYNC technology as there"s screen tearing. This is becoming increasingly rare, as most monitors at least work with G-SYNC.

Compatible (NVIDIA Certified):NVIDIA officially certifies some monitors to work with their G-SYNC compatible program, and you can see the full list of certified monitors here. On certified displays, G-SYNC is automatically enabled when connected to at least a 10-series NVIDIA card over DisplayPort. NVIDIA tests them for compatibility issues and only certifies displays that work perfectly out of the box, but they lack the G-SYNC hardware module found on native G-SYNC monitors.

The simplest way to validate that a display is officially G-SYNC compatible is to check the "Set up G-SYNC" menu from the NVIDIA Control Panel. G-SYNC will automatically be enabled for a certified compatible display, and it"ll say "G-SYNC Compatible" under the monitor name. Most of the time, this works only over DisplayPort, but with newer GPUs, it"s also possible to enable G-SYNC over HDMI with a few monitors and TVs, but these are relatively rare.

Compatible (Tested):Monitors that aren"t officially certified but still have the same "Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible" setting in the NVIDIA Control Panel get "Compatible (Tested)" instead of "NVIDIA Certified". However, you"ll see on the monitor name that there isn"t a certification here. There isn"t a difference in performance between the two sets of monitors, and there could be different reasons why it isn"t certified by NVIDIA, including NVIDIA simply not testing it. As long as the VRR support works over its entire refresh rate range, the monitor works with an NVIDIA graphics card.

Yes (Native):Displays that natively support G-SYNC have a few extra features when paired with an NVIDIA graphics card. They can dynamically adjust their overdrive to match the content, ensuring a consistent gaming experience. Some high refresh rate monitors also support the NVIDIA Reflex Latency Analyzer to measure the latency of your entire setup.

Like with certified G-SYNC compatible monitors, G-SYNC is automatically enabled on Native devices. Instead of listing them as G-SYNC Compatible in the "Set up G-SYNC page", Native monitors are identified as simply "G-SYNC Capable" below the monitor name. We don"t specify if it has a standard G-SYNC certification or G-SYNC Ultimate, as both are considered the same for this testing.

For this test, we ensure G-SYNC is enabled from the NVIDIA Control Panel and use the NVIDIA Pendulum Demo to ensure G-SYNC is working correctly. If we have any doubts, we"ll check with a few games to ensure it"s working with real content.

When buying a gaming monitor, it’s important to compare G-Sync vs FreeSync. Both technologies improve monitor performance by matching the performance of the screen with the graphics card. And there are clear advantages and disadvantages of each: G-Sync offers premium performance at a higher price while FreeSync is prone to certain screen artifacts like ghosting.

So G-Sync versus FreeSync? Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which is the best for you (with the help of our guide below). Or you can learn more about ViewSonic’s professional gaming monitors here.

In the past, monitor manufacturers relied on the V-Sync standard to ensure consumers and business professionals could use their displays without issues when connected to high-performance computers. As technology became faster, however, new standards were developed — the two main ones being G-Sync and Freesync.

V-Sync, short for vertical synchronization, is a display technology that was originally designed to help monitor manufacturers prevent screen tearing. This occurs when two different “screens” crash into each other because the monitor’s refresh rate can’t keep pace with the data being sent from the graphics card. The distortion is easy to spot as it causes a cut or misalignment to appear in the image.

This often comes in handy in gaming. For example, GamingScan reports that the average computer game operates at 60 FPS. Many high-end games operate at 120 FPS or greater, which requires the monitor to have a refresh rate of 120Hz to 165Hz. If the game is run on a monitor with a refresh rate that’s less than 120Hz, performance issues arise.

Although V-Sync technology is commonly used when users are playing modern video games, it also works well with legacy games. The reason for this is that V-Sync slows down the frame rate output from the graphics cards to match the legacy standards.

Despite its effectiveness at eliminating screen tearing, it often causes issues such as screen “stuttering” and input lag. The former is a scenario where the time between frames varies noticeably, leading to choppiness in image appearances.

Although the technology works well with low-end devices, V-Sync degrades the performance of high-end graphics cards. That’s the reason display manufacturers have begun releasing gaming monitors with refresh rates of 144Hz, 165Hz, and even 240Hz.

While V-Sync worked well with legacy monitors, it often prevents modern graphics cards from operating at peak performance. For example, gaming monitors often have a refresh rate of at least 100Hz. If the graphics card outputs content at low speeds (e.g. 60Hz), V-Sync would prevent the graphics card from operating at peak performance.

Since the creation of V-Sync, other technologies such as G-Sync and FreeSync have emerged to not only fix display performance issues, but also to enhance image elements such as screen resolution, image colors, or brightness levels.

Released to the public in 2013, G-Sync is a technology developed by NVIDIA that synchronizes a user’s display to a device’s graphics card output, leading to smoother performance, especially with gaming. G-Sync has gained popularity in the electronics space because monitor refresh rates are always better than the GPU’s ability to output data. This results in significant performance issues.

The most notable benefit of G-Sync technology is the elimination of screen tearing and other common display issues associated with V-Sync equipment. G-Sync equipment does this by manipulating the monitor’s vertical blanking interval (VBI).

To keep pace with changes in technology, NVIDIA developed a newer version of G-Sync, called G-Sync Ultimate. This new standard is a more advanced version of G-Sync. The core features that set it apart from G-Sync equipment are the built-in R3 module, high dynamic range (HDR) support, and the ability to display 4K quality images at 144Hz.

Although G-Sync delivers exceptional performance across the board, its primary disadvantage is the price. To take full advantage of native G-Sync technologies, users need to purchase a G-Sync-equipped monitor and graphics card. This two-part equipment requirement limited the number of G-Sync devices consumers could choose from It’s also worth noting that these monitors require the graphics card to support DisplayPort connectivity.

Released in 2015, FreeSync is a standard developed by AMD that, similar to G-Sync, is an adaptive synchronization technology for liquid-crystal displays. It’s intended to reduce screen tearing and stuttering triggered by the monitor not being in sync with the content frame rate.

Since this technology uses the Adaptive Sync standard built into the DisplayPort 1.2a standard, any monitor equipped with this input can be compatible with FreeSync technology. With that in mind, FreeSync is not compatible with legacy connections such as VGA and DVI.

The “free” in FreeSync comes from the standard being open, meaning other manufacturers are able to incorporate it into their equipment without paying royalties to AMD. This means many FreeSync devices on the market cost less than similar G-Sync-equipped devices.

As FreeSync is a standard developed by AMD, most of their modern graphics processing units support the technology. A variety of other electronics manufacturers also support the technology, and with the right knowledge, you can even get FreeSync to work on NVIDIA equipment.

Although FreeSync is a significant improvement over the V-Sync standard, it isn’t a perfect technology. The most notable drawback of FreeSync is ghosting. This is when an object leaves behind a bit of its previous image position, causing a shadow-like image to appear.

A key difference between FreeSync and FreeSync 2 devices is that with the latter technology, if the frame rate falls below the supported range of the monitor, low framerate compensation (LFC) is automatically enabled to prevent stuttering and tearing.

If you want low input lag and don’t mind tearing, then the FreeSync standard is a good fit for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for smooth motions without tearing, and are okay with minor input lag, then G-Sync equipped monitors are a better choice.

It’s difficult to buy a computer monitor, graphics card, or laptop without seeing AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync branding. Both promise smoother, better gaming, and in some cases both appear on the same display. But what do G-Sync and FreeSync do, exactly – and which is better?

Most AMD FreeSync displays can sync with Nvidia graphics hardware, and most G-Sync Compatible displays can sync with AMD graphics hardware. This is unofficial, however.

The first problem is screen tearing. A display without adaptive sync will refresh at its set refresh rate (usually 60Hz, or 60 refreshes per second) no matter what. If the refresh happens to land between two frames, well, tough luck – you’ll see a bit of both. This is screen tearing.

Screen tearing is ugly and easy to notice, especially in 3D games. To fix it, games started to use a technique called V-Syncthat locks the framerate of a game to the refresh rate of a display. This fixes screen tearing but also caps the performance of a game. It can also cause uneven frame pacing in some situations.

Adaptive sync is a better solution. A display with adaptive sync can change its refresh rate in response to how fast your graphics card is pumping out frames. If your GPU sends over 43 frames per second, your monitor displays those 43 frames, rather than forcing 60 refreshes per second. Adaptive sync stops screen tearing by preventing the display from refreshing with partial information from multiple frames but, unlike with V-Sync, each frame is shown immediately.

VESA Adaptive Sync is an open standard that any company can use to enable adaptive sync between a device and display. It’s used not only by AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible monitors but also other displays, such as HDTVs, that support Adaptive Sync.

AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible are so similar, in fact, they’re often cross compatible. A large majority of displays I test with support for either AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync Compatible will work with graphics hardware from the opposite brand.

This is how all G-Sync displays worked when Nvidia brought the technology to market in 2013. Unlike Nvidia G-Sync Compatible monitors, which often (unofficially) works with AMD Radeon GPUs, G-Sync is unique and proprietary. It only supports adaptive sync with Nvidia graphics hardware.

It’s usually possible to switch sides if you own an AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync Compatible display. If you buy a G-Sync or G-Sync Ultimate display, however, you’ll have to stick with Nvidia GeForce GPUs. (Here’s our guide to the best graphics cards for PC gaming.)

G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate support the entire refresh range of a panel – even as low as 1Hz. This is important if you play games that may hit lower frame rates, since Adaptive Sync matches the display refresh rate with the output frame rate.

For example, if you’re playing Cyberpunk 2077 at an average of 30 FPS on a 4K display, that implies a refresh rate of 30Hz – which falls outside the range VESA Adaptive Sync supports. AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible may struggle with that, but Nvidia G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate won’t have a problem.

AMD FreeSync Premium and FreeSync Premium Pro have their own technique of dealing with this situation called Low Framerate Compensation. It repeats frames to double the output such that it falls within a display’s supported refresh rate.

Other differences boil down to certification and testing. AMD and Nvidia have their own certification programs that displays must pass to claim official compatibility. This is why not all VESA Adaptive Sync displays claim support for AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible.

This is a bunch of nonsense. Neither has anything to do with HDR, though it can be helpful to understand that some level of HDR support is included in those panels. The most common HDR standard, HDR10, is an open standard from the Consumer Technology Association. AMD and Nvidia have no control over it. You don’t need FreeSync or G-Sync to view HDR, either, even on each company’s graphics hardware.

Both standards are plug-and-play with officially compatible displays. Your desktop’s video card will detect that the display is certified and turn on AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync automatically. You may need to activate the respective adaptive sync technology in your monitor settings, however, though that step is a rarity in modern displays.

Displays that support VESA Adaptive Sync, but are not officially supported by your video card, require you dig into AMD or Nvidia’s driver software and turn on the feature manually. This is a painless process, however – just check the box and save your settings.

AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync are also available for use with laptop displays. Unsurprisingly, laptops that have a compatible display will be configured to use AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync from the factory.

A note of caution, however: not all laptops with AMD or Nvidia graphics hardware have a display with Adaptive Sync support. Even some gaming laptops lack this feature. Pay close attention to the specifications.

VESA’s Adaptive Sync is on its way to being the common adaptive sync standard used by the entire display industry. Though not perfect, it’s good enough for most situations, and display companies don’t have to fool around with AMD or Nvidia to support it.

That leaves AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync searching for a purpose. AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible are essentially certification programs that monitor companies can use to slap another badge on a product, though they also ensure out-of-the-box compatibility with supported graphics card. Nvidia’s G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate are technically superior, but require proprietary Nvidia hardware that adds to a display’s price. This is why G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate monitors are becoming less common.

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Last year we wrote about NVIDIA G-SYNC, the revolutionary dynamic synchronization technology which synchronizes the monitor refresh rate with the refresh rate of the GPU in order to get rid of so-called “screen tearing” and other artifacts like stutter and input lag.

As we already know, NVIDIA’s G-SYNC requires a special module that gets embedded into the control board of the display panel and manages the synchronization between the graphics card and the monitor. The advantage of this approach is that the technology relies only on the G-SYNC module inside the monitor and is independent from the GPU’s integrated display controller, which makes it compatible with older graphics cards. The downside of this is the additional hardware (G-SYNC module), which is not cheap. NVIDIA also requires that the monitor manufacturers pay a licensing fee in order to integrate this technology in their monitors, which also adds to the cost.

AMD’s FreeSync approach is different. It is based on the Adaptive Sync open standard that’s already embedded into DisplayPort and, in addition, on the integrated display controller inside AMD’s GPUs. FreeSync supports a wider range of FPS – 9 to 240 Hz against NVIDIA’s 30-144Hz. Of course, the implementation of such support is entirely up to the monitor manufacturer – they can make monitors with any range in mind that falls between 9Hz-240Hz. Another important advantage of FreeSync is the ability to support the standard monitor features and that won’t influence the gaming process performance. Not to mention that Displayport supports transmission of audio in parallel with video, whereas the G-SYNC monitors only support DisplayPort outputs and do not allow for anything other than the most basic monitor features with the G-SYNC module supporting very preliminary color processing and without supporting any audio output.

The bottleneck of the FreeSync technology is that it is compatible only with the most recent AMD GPUs and does not support the previous generations of their graphics cards. It may be seen as a potential problem for users who would have to invest into a newer graphics card, but AMD says that all future GPUs from the company will support the technology anyway.

Both FreeSync and G-SYNC function pretty much the same when your game’s FPS falls in the variable refresh rate range of the monitor and apart from a very minor (~2%) performance penalty with G-SYNC, both technologies would be almost the same when inside the variable refresh window. However, if a game’s FPS falls down below the minimum refresh rate of the monitor G-SYNC and FreeSync handle the situation quite differently.

Earlier versions of monitors with FreeSync would revert back to a fixed refresh rate that matches the lowest refresh rate that it is capable of. However, user will be able to choose manually whether he wants to enable V-Sync in order to avoid tearing (in exchange for input latency, though) or continue to play without V-Sync and get screen tearing.

G-SYNC deals with the situation in pretty much the same way, with the only difference being that the monitor will revert back to a maximum fixed refresh rate, which also will result in an increase of input lag, but not as severe as FreeSync. What is disappointing with G-SYNC in this case is that it doesn’t give the user an opportunity to switch V-Sync on or off – it would always stay on and will not allow users to get rid of that latency in exchange for screen tearing. Nevertheless, having a monitor fixed at the maximum refresh rate is still a better solution rather than at the minimum.

In 2015, AMD has officially announced that they made an effort to update the drivers in order to enable FreeSync behavior at the maximum refresh rates when the FPS drops below the FreeSync operating range, which, basically, eliminated that difference with NVIDIA’s G-SYNC.

As we can see, G-SYNC and FreeSync do not have any critical differences between each other. Both solutions are great in providing a smooth image when playing games on the PC and both have their pros and cons. So, there is no simple answer to a question “Who is the best?”

The big news from Nvidia might be the release of the GTX 980 Ti, but the company has also announced some updates for G-Sync. The variable refresh rate technology, which synchronizes the refresh rate of a compatible monitor to the frame rate of a game, is finally making the jump from desktop to laptop. Upcoming laptops from Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, and Clevo are all set to support the technology, and will feature 75Hz panels from 1080p all the way up to UHD (4K).

Desktop users aren"t being forgotten either: There are some new monitors—including a lust-worthy 34-inch 21:9 75Hz IPS Acer X34 panel—featuring an updated G-Sync module that finally contains more than just a single DisplayPort input.

Interestingly, G-Sync for laptops makes use of the embedded DisplayPort (eDP) standard, a standardised interface for hooking up display panels directly to internal graphics cards. On the desktop, G-Sync can only be used with compatible monitors that contain Nvidia"s G-Sync module.

According to Nvidia, the reason desktop displays need a G-Sync module is that it provides a much more controllable end-to-end solution for consistent performance. However, for G-Sync laptops, there"s no module. Instead, the display is directly controlled by the GPU, which pulls double duty as both scaler and graphics card. G-Sync exploits this connection and the variable timing and panel self-refresh functionality built into eDP, effectively implementing G-Sync in software.

The more technically minded out there will note that this is very similar to how AMD"s FreeSync works on the desktop, the tech being based DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync, which was in turn based on eDP.

While the underlying tech differs, Nvidia claims that G-Sync will be able to drive laptop displays in exactly the same way as it does in desktops, except by using standardised eDP features rather than any proprietary hardware. The end result should be the same: smooth gameplay without the input lag and judder of v-sync, or the screen tearing that occurs when v-sync is turned off. Advertisement

While G-Sync on laptops is based on an open standard, not every laptop will bear the G-Sync compatible moniker. Naturally, the laptop will need an Nvidia GPU, but more importantly, the display has to be directly hooked up that Nvidia GPU. Nvidia"s Optimus graphics solution, which allows the laptop to switch between an integrated GPU and the discrete GPU to save power, is not currently compatible with G-Sync. Nvidia is also implementing a qualification process for all manufacturers wishing to use the G-Sync brand, with individual components going through an optimisation process that looks at refresh properties and pixel response times in order to set the appropriate G-Sync timings.

The question is, if Nvidia can implement G-Sync on laptops using the open eDP standard, why can"t it do the same thing with G-Sync on the desktop? It"s an important question, given the company has decided to reveal some of the secret sauce behind G-Sync, particularly in comparison to FreeSync, and that all of it will work on laptops.

While FreeSync has had a positive reception, many reviewers (myself included) noted that there was some ghosting that wasn"t present in G-Sync, as well as flickering issues at lower frame rates. The folks over at PC Perspective did an analysis of G-Sync and FreeSync a while back, looking at what happens at lower refresh rates, and it turns out their findings were nearly spot on about the underlying tech differences between G-Sync and FreeSync.

Nvidia has confirmed that the desktop versions of G-Sync, and the upcoming laptop version, make use of variable overdrive. The tech adjusts the amount of overdrive applied to a pixel—that is, driving pixels faster in order to get them to reach the desired colour sooner—in order to make them compatible with variable refresh timings. Overdrive was originally designed with a fixed refresh rate in mind. The display knows that if it pushes a pixel harder at exactly the right time, when the next refresh rolls around that pixel would gradually fade back down to the desired colour in a timely fashion, thus increasing the perceived response time. Advertisement

Unfortunately, with variable response technology, the monitor no longer knows exactly when the next refresh window is going to be. In this situation, if overdrive continues to work in the same fashion, the pixels don"t line up with the timing of the data coming from the graphics card, causing visible ghosting. According to Nvidia, this is what"s happening with FreeSync, and G-Sync"s variable overdrive tech solves it. Variable overdrive tries to predict when the next frame will arrive, and adjusts the timing of the overdrive to compensate. While this system will never be 100 percent accurate, causing a reduction in colour accuracy, it does help reduce ghosting, as evidenced by how well G-Sync works on the desktop.

In addition to variable overdrive, Nvidia also confirmed at a recent event what happens in a situation where the frame rate of a game drops below the minimum refresh rate of the monitor. Instead of reverting to v-sync on or off as FreeSync currently does, complete with its associated issues, G-Sync instead inserts duplicate frames. So, for example, while your system might be pushing a frame rate of 25 FPS, the G-Sync monitor actually doubles this to 50 FPS, pushing the game back into the variable refresh rate window.

Despite Nvidia"s gentle prodding of AMD"s FreeSync technology, the company did pick up a feature from its rival. G-Sync users now have the option of turning v-sync on or off when a game"s frame rate rises above the maximum refresh rate of a monitor. While this isn"t a particularly common occurrence if you"re running a 144Hz TN panel, those with IPS panels that top out at 75Hz may find having the option useful. G-Sync now also works with games running in a window, which may be useful for those intent on getting in a sneaky bit of Dota 2 at the office, but won"t settle for the judder-filled foibles of v-sync.