Gsync or Freesync support?

[GodAtum 69]

Now that AMD have announced their new GPUs, which tech is better, gsync or freesync (specifically for MSFS 2020). Or are both good? I ask because the Samsung Q80T only has Freesync, while the LG CX has both.

[Tektolnes 184]

Gsync has been superior though you've had to pay a premium for it when it came to getting a monitor. Freesync quality was more variable and originally I don't think it had the Low Framerate Compensation that Gsync offered which extends the frame rate window that the syncing operates in. LFC is good for flight sims I think as we often struggle for framerates with everything cranked up. If you want LFC with Freesync you need to make sure the monitor supports either Freesync Premium or Freesync Premium Pro if you also want to support HDR with Freesync. AMD summarises the differences below:

FreeSync™ Certified Tear free Low latency

FreeSync™ Premium Certified At least 120 Hz at minimum FHD resolution Low framerate compensation Low latency

FreeSync™ Premium Pro (previously known as FreeSync 2 HDR) Meticulous color and luminance certification HDR capabilities and game support At least 120 Hz at minimum FHD resolution Low framerate compensation Low latency with SDR or HDR

So if for example you had a monitor that supported FreeSync Premium (not Pro) and you also wanted to play with HDR on then you wouldn't be able to have VRR on - you'd have to choose one or the other.

With GSync you have 3 standards:

I think with Gsync (non Ultimate) you can have both VRR and HDR on but the HDR won't look as good obviously as Gsync Ultimate.

If it was a straight choice of standard Freesync or standard Gsync I'd go with Gsync. But with the option now of Freesync Premium & Pro I think they're both pretty similar so it boils down to having to weigh up what GPU you want, what monitor you want, whether HDR is important to you or not, your budget as obviously monitors that have either Freesync Premium Pro or Gsync Ultimate are going to cost more, etc.

With the RDNA 2 reveal yesterday I'm definitely thinking about getting the 6800XT. I've also been thinking about getting an ultrawide monitor for a while now but I'll need to shop around as, for me, having HDR support would be a nice-to-have so I'll need to see what options there are for Freesync Premium Pro before I can make a decision on the 6800XT.

[Poppapete 13]

So I have a G-Sync (Asus ROG PG279Q). Does this mean I must buy a Nvidia 3000 series and not and AMD 6000 series if I want the G-Sync to work?

[Tektolnes 184]

56 minutes ago, Poppapete said:

So I have a G-Sync (Asus ROG PG279Q). Does this mean I must buy a Nvidia 3000 series and not and AMD 6000 series if I want the G-Sync to work?

Yes. The PG279Q only supports G-Sync and full G-Sync only works with Nvidia cards.

Assuming you want to use VRR your choice is either get an Nvidia card or get an AMD card and a new monitor that can support Freesync or Freesync + G-Sync compatible.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Tektolnes

[Poppapete 13]

So this begs the question that if I am using G-Sync then V-Sync best turned off or is just irrelevant!

[Tektolnes 184]

8 hours ago, Poppapete said:

So this begs the question that if I am using G-Sync then V-Sync best turned off or is just irrelevant!

If you're using G-Sync there's no need for you to have V-Sync switched on as G-Sync will stop tearing across the full G-Sync range without you having to get V-Sync to also stop tearing, limit the FPS to 60 max while also creating input lag.

Technically to get the most out of G-Sync you should turn global Vsync on in the Nvidia Control Panel (NCP -> Manage 3D Settings -> Global Settings -> Vertical Sync set to ON). 

Make sure you always have Vsync switched off in-game.

Then use Rivatuner to limit your max fps to say 3 less than the max refresh rate of your monitor. This makes sure you are always within your G-Sync range and don't get any tearing if you hit your maximum refresh rate and G-Sync turns on/off.

For me though with the games I play and settings I use I don't get that near to my monitor max refresh rate of 144MHz so I don't bother and just leave G-Sync on and V-Sync off in game. 

[GodAtum 69]

Mmm annoying. Need a new TV but have to wait until the AMD performance tests come out.

Does Gsync/Freesync actually make a difference in MSFS at 30 fps?

Edited November 1, 2020 by GodAtum

[Tektolnes 184]

1 hour ago, GodAtum said:

Does Gsync/Freesync actually make a difference in MSFS at 30 fps?

It's a must have for me as a TrackIR user - without some form of VRR screen tearing will very visibly happen when looking about. G-Sync will stop screen tearing from 0MHz up to the monitor max refresh rate. If the FPS goes below 30 G-Sync kicks in with the Low Framerate Compensation functionality. 

Standrad Freesync doesn't have LFC but Freesync Premium and above does. 

For MSFS I think some people have said V-Sync is a bit buggy and causes stutters but I don't know for sure. But if you didn't have G-Sync or Freesync you could just switch that on to remove tearing. Caps you at 60fps max and there's some small input lag apparently but for MSFS that doesn't matter at all really. 

[harpsi 8]

On 11/1/2020 at 2:09 PM, Tektolnes said:

It's a must have for me as a TrackIR user - without some form of VRR screen tearing will very visibly happen when looking about. G-Sync will stop screen tearing from 0MHz up to the monitor max refresh rate. If the FPS goes below 30 G-Sync kicks in with the Low Framerate Compensation functionality. 

Standrad Freesync doesn't have LFC but Freesync Premium and above does. 

For MSFS I think some people have said V-Sync is a bit buggy and causes stutters but I don't know for sure. But if you didn't have G-Sync or Freesync you could just switch that on to remove tearing. Caps you at 60fps max and there's some small input lag apparently but for MSFS that doesn't matter at all really. 

Can Freesync monitors be used with a RTX 3090 gpu?

[Tektolnes 184]

6 hours ago, harpsi said:

Can Freesync monitors be used with a RTX 3090 gpu?

Should work OK but you should probably check around just to make sure - just do a Google search for freesync with nvidia cards. Think you just switch it on in nvidia control panel. I'm not 100% sure but think the monitor might have to be listed as gsync compatible for it to work (or it'll work better at least). You'll also need to use Display Port and not HDMI to connect but that's what everyone uses so shouldn't be an issue. 

[harpsi 8]

5 minutes ago, Tektolnes said:

Should work OK but you should probably check around just to make sure - just do a Google search for freesync with nvidia cards. Think you just switch it on in nvidia control panel. I'm not 100% sure but think the monitor might have to be listed as gsync compatible for it to work (or it'll work better at least). You'll also need to use Display Port and not HDMI to connect but that's what everyone uses so shouldn't be an issue. 

Yes, and probably I need to pay a lot because the list of those compatible monitors is not too big... 

[Tektolnes 184]

4 hours ago, harpsi said:

Yes, and probably I need to pay a lot because the list of those compatible monitors is not too big... 

For real Gsync you pay a premium. But gsync compatible monitors are quite common now and shouldn't really be paying much extra for. 

[harpsi 8]

45 minutes ago, Tektolnes said:

For real Gsync you pay a premium. But gsync compatible monitors are quite common now and shouldn't really be paying much extra for. 

But as I was searching some hours ago, not all freesync monitors can be used with nvidia cards via NVidia Control Panel.

[harpsi 8]

After some days of search, I found these options below:

LG 27GN800-B
LG 27GL850-B
LG 27GL83A-B
ASUS ROG Strix XG279Q 27"
ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q 27"
Asus Rog Strix XG27AQ 27"
Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ1A 27"
Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM IPS 27"

For MSFS 2020 everyone is suggesting OLED with HDR. However these type of monitors from known companies are too expensive.

Are the IPS HDR monitors mentioned above good for MSFS with NVidia RTX 3090 GPU?

[harpsi 8]

Anyone to answer this question? 

My option at the moment is Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ1A 27" because it has a very good price. Some people said that it is a problem due to 48-144 Hz of RR when MSFS has fps between 20 a 60. Is it really a problem?