When buying a computer monitor for gaming, you need to distinguish between G-Sync and FreeSync technology. Both of these technologies help improve gaming performance by synchronizing the refresh rate between the monitor and the graphics card. Each technology has different advantages and disadvantages: Monitors using G-Sync technology provide the most optimal performance at a much more expensive price, while FreeSync monitors are cheaper but vice versa have lower performance, and sometimes users will still see image blur.
So should you choose a monitor that uses G-Sync or FreeSync technology? This will depend on your needs and finances. Join ViewSonic to learn more about the historical process of formation and the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of screen technology below.
Previously, monitor manufacturers relied on the V-Sync standard to ensure consumers and professionals could use their displays without problems when connecting to high-performance computers. However, as technology becomes more and more developed, at the same time, new display standards are also born – those two standards are G-Sync and FreeSync.
Before diving into G-Sync and FreeSync technology, let’s learn a little about V-Sync technology, one of the previous standards created to fix screen tearing.
What is V-Sync? How does this technology work?
V-Sync stands for “vertical synchronization”. This phrase is used on older CRT monitors, which are designed to synchronize the number of frames per second in the game with the vertical scanning frequency of the screen. The purpose is to eliminate screen tearing.
The phenomenon of horizontal streaks on the computer screen often appears when users play games. According to GamingScan’s report, computer games usually operate at 60 FPS. Some high-end games will operate at 120 FPS or higher, so will also require a screen with a refresh rate of 120Hz to 165Hz. If the screen has a refresh rate lower than 120Hz, users will experience screen tearing when playing these high-end games.
The way V-Sync technology works is quite simple imposing a frame rate limit, limiting the maximum FPS equivalent to the screen’s scan frequency. This will help prevent tearing as the GPU will not display more frames than what the display can display.
Limiting the frame rate will reduce the frames displayed on the computer screen. The downside of V-Sync is that it can cause some games to drop frames to too low a level in case the GPU cannot stably display 60 frames per second. At this point, the moving images will no longer be smooth and lag may occur.
This is the limitation of V-Sync as this technology only works well with popular graphics cards. For high-end graphics cards, this technology will not allow the graphics card to operate at peak performance. That is the reason why computer monitor manufacturers have created screens with higher refresh rates such as 144Hz, 165Hz, or even 240Hz.
G-Sync and FreeSync screen technology has appeared. These technologies not only have the ability to fix display performance issues but also improve form factors such as screen resolution, color, and brightness.
Now we will learn more about G-Sync and FreeSync screen technology to choose a suitable screen.
Table of Contents
What is G-Sync?
G-Sync is an adaptive synchronization technology developed exclusively by Nvidia to eliminate screen tearing. G-Sync technology was introduced in 2013 to overcome the shortcomings of previous V-Sync. The solution that Nvidia offers is to integrate an additional module into the screen. This module is a bridge between the graphics card’s GPU and the computer screen to replace the VBLANK of the screen panel.
The monitor is equipped with G-Sync technology that is capable of creating a VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) that continuously adapts to the frame rendering rate of the Nvidia GPU. That’s why the GPU’s frame rendering rate never exceeds the monitor’s refresh rate, eliminating FPS drops and reducing input lag.
For example, if the graphics card is outputting 50 frames per second (FPS), the computer monitor will change the refresh rate to 50Hz. The effective operating range of G-Sync technology is from 30Hz up to the maximum refresh rate of the computer screen.
The biggest advantage of G-Sync technology is that it eliminates screen tearing, reduces input lag, and solves existing problems of V-Sync. G-Sync device allows flexible adjustment of the screen’s scanning frequency according to the work intensity required by the graphics card.
To keep up with technological changes, NVIDIA has upgraded G-Sync to the G-Sync Ultimate version. With this new version, NVIDIA integrates the R3 module to allow 4K image quality display at 144Hz refresh rate and support for HDR image content.
Besides providing outstanding performance, G-Sync technology has the disadvantage of high cost. In addition, to take full advantage of the performance of this technology, users also need to own a graphics card and monitor equipped with G-Sync. Another point to note is that the user’s graphics card must have a DisplayPort port to connect to the monitor.
If devices possessing G-Sync technology are aimed at high-end users, then for mid-range customers there will be a new option, G-Sync Compatible, with a more reasonable price.
What is FreeSync?
AMD FreeSync technology was developed by AMD and launched in 2015. The method of operation is similar to G-Sync; This technology allows synchronization of the screen’s scanning frequency with the system’s graphics card. This helps prevent screen tearing while playing games or watching videos.
This technology uses the integrated Adaptive Sync standard on the DisplayPort 1.2a connection. That’s why monitors equipped with this connection port are compatible with FreeSync technology. This also means that FreeSync technology will not work with older connection ports like VGA and DVI.
The word “free” in FreeSync means an open standard, so manufacturers can integrate this technology into devices without paying any fees to AMD. That’s why devices with AMD FreeSync technology have a much lower price than G-Sync devices.
Although FreeSync technology greatly improves the limitations of the V-Sync standard, the technology is still not perfect. The most significant limitation of FreeSync is that image blur still exists.
The primary cause of image blur in FreeSync devices is incorrect power management. If there is not enough power for the pixels, the image will show gaps due to slow motion. On the other hand, when too much power is used, image blurring will occur.
The Next Generation of FreeSync
To overcome these limitations, AMD released an upgraded version of FreeSync called FreeSync 2 HDR in 2017. Monitors that meet this standard must support HDR; low frame compensation (LFC) and the ability to toggle support between standard dynamic range (SDR) and high dynamic range (HDR).
The main difference between FreeSync and FreeSync 2 devices is low frame compensation (LFC). When the frame rate drops below the monitor’s support range, this feature is automatically activated to prevent screen “lagging” and “tearing”.
FreeSync technology is an open standard, so users will have more choices of FreeSync monitors than monitors with G-Sync technology.