The Impact of G-Sync on P3D

[ssair1 92]

I will appreciate any advice on G-Sync and its impact on P3Dv5. I recently purchased an "LG UltraGear 38GL950G-B 38" 21:9 Curved 144 Hz G-SYNC IPS" Gaming Monitor and have "overclocked" the refresh rate to the maximum 175Hz. Besides being aware of G-Sync's apparent ability to reduce screen "tearing," I really don't know much else about how it all comes together. One thing that I am noticing is that even when I have the maximum refresh rate set of 175Hz, the refresh rate syncs with whatever FPS P3D puts out, i.e., 30 to 90 FPS, depending on scenery and aircraft. Is this how it's supposed to work? Can you not set it up to always run at 175Hz? Also, is it beneficial to enable V-Sync on the P3D "Graphics" menu itself, or the Nvidia Control Panel? For my full system specs, please see my signature notes below. 

[roesti 71]

1 hour ago, ssair1 said:

I really don't know much else about how it all comes together

Then let me try to explain it 🙂

1 hour ago, ssair1 said:

One thing that I am noticing is that even when I have the maximum refresh rate set of 175Hz, the refresh rate syncs with whatever FPS P3D puts out, i.e., 30 to 90 FPS, depending on scenery and aircraft

That's basically almost all of the "magic", yes.

The purpose of G-Sync is to continously adapting your monitors refresh rate to your games FPS. So yes, when you are getting 41 FPS in P3D, your monitor will run at 41 Hz. And yes, you want it that way, because this is how G-Sync gets rid of tearing and adds smoothness.

G-Sync works in a certain range, usually from 30Hz up to your monitors maximum refresh rate. Some monitors may go even down to 24Hz. But regardless of this, the technique even works with 15 FPS for example, the monitor will then use "FPS * 2" (= 15 FPS * 2 = 30 Hz in this example). This comes with issues at the same time.. on some screens it can cause some weird "flickering", but I think it's clear why this happens. Imagine FPS are dipping around the lowest refresh rate the monitor is able to deliver (lets take 30Hz), then you constantly are switching around for example 30Hz = 30 FPS and 58 Hz = 29 FPS.. And yes, you can notice this.
 

1 hour ago, ssair1 said:

Can you not set it up to always run at 175Hz?

No, because that would mean your P3D needs to be running at 175 FPS all the time. Then you don't need G-Sync, because V-Sync could do the same on a 175Hz monitor. But I can't imagine that it is possible to run P3D at 175 FPS while using some add-ons, a demanding airliner while maintaining visual "quality" that's bearable enough to use the sim. 😉

1 hour ago, ssair1 said:

Also, is it beneficial to enable V-Sync on the P3D "Graphics" menu itself, or the Nvidia Control Panel?

Depends. Enabling V-Sync with G-Sync enabled doesn't do anything but acts like a frame limiter. You only need if you play High FPS Shooters like Counter-Strike in a competitive environment maybe. Because in those titles, FPS can go as high as several hundreds like 500 FPS, which is for those type of players desirable. But if you are using G-Sync, that would be counterproductive. Enabling V-Sync just limits the FPS to the monitors maximum refresh rate, simple as that.
But yeah.. I guess importance of this topic in our simulator environement is not that big 😄 .. so just ignore V-Sync, you can leave it off.

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by roesti

[Jac_49 35]

 

1 hour ago, ssair1 said:

I will appreciate any advice on G-Sync and its impact on P3Dv5. I recently purchased an "LG UltraGear 38GL950G-B 38" 21:9 Curved 144 Hz G-SYNC IPS" Gaming Monitor and have "overclocked" the refresh rate to the maximum 175Hz. Besides being aware of G-Sync's apparent ability to reduce screen "tearing," I really don't know much else about how it all comes together. One thing that I am noticing is that even when I have the maximum refresh rate set of 175Hz, the refresh rate syncs with whatever FPS P3D puts out, i.e., 30 to 90 FPS, depending on scenery and aircraft. Is this how it's supposed to work? Can you not set it up to always run at 175Hz? Also, is it beneficial to enable V-Sync on the P3D "Graphics" menu itself, or the Nvidia Control Panel? For my full system specs, please see my signature notes below. 

through this link you will find information:

https://blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101-input-lag-tests-and-settings/

[ssair1 92]

1 hour ago, roesti said:

Then let me try to explain it 🙂

That's basically almost all of the "magic", yes.

The purpose of G-Sync is to continously adapting your monitors refresh rate to your games FPS. So yes, when you are getting 41 FPS in P3D, your monitor will run at 41 Hz. And yes, you want it that way, because this is how G-Sync gets rid of tearing and adds smoothness.

G-Sync works in a certain range, usually from 30Hz up to your monitors maximum refresh rate. Some monitors may go even down to 24Hz. But regardless of this, the technique even works with 15 FPS for example, the monitor will then use "FPS * 2" (= 15 FPS * 2 = 30 Hz in this example). This comes with issues at the same time.. on some screens it can cause some weird "flickering", but I think it's clear why this happens. Imagine FPS are dipping around the lowest refresh rate the monitor is able to deliver (lets take 30Hz), then you constantly are switching around for example 30Hz = 30 FPS and 58 Hz = 29 FPS.. And yes, you can notice this.
 

No, because that would mean your P3D needs to be running at 175 FPS all the time. Then you don't need G-Sync, because V-Sync could do the same on a 175Hz monitor. But I can't imagine that it is possible to run P3D at 175 FPS while using some add-ons, a demanding airliner while maintaining visual "quality" that's bearable enough to use the sim. 😉

Depends. Enabling V-Sync with G-Sync enabled doesn't do anything but acts like a frame limiter. You only need if you play High FPS Shooters like Counter-Strike in a competitive environment maybe. Because in those titles, FPS can go as high as several hundreds like 500 FPS, which is for those type of players desirable. But if you are using G-Sync, that would be counterproductive. Enabling V-Sync just limits the FPS to the monitors maximum refresh rate, simple as that.
But yeah.. I guess importance of this topic in our simulator environement is not that big 😄 .. so just ignore V-Sync, you can leave it off.

 

Thank you so much for the clear answers, much appreciated. You're right on point, whenever my frames drop past 30 FPS, I sometimes notice studders, which is perhaps my monitor's minimum refresh rate getting hit. I hope with the RTX 3090 (TI?) (after digging into my future offspring's college funds), I can get 175 FPS with the PMDG 737 at Fsdreamteam KLAX and Orbx Southern Cali with all the P3D graphics sliders to the max. 🙂 

[ssair1 92]

1 hour ago, Jac_49 said:

 

through this link you will find information:

https://blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101-input-lag-tests-and-settings/

Thank you, it's a really good guide. 

[michaelray 236]

7 hours ago, roesti said:

Then let me try to explain it 🙂

Great post Roseti. Thank you for the explanation.