News AMD updates FreeSync minimum requirements — 144Hz or higher refresh rate needed for 1080p and 1440p displays

[Admin]

After nine years, AMD is finally updating its FreeSync requirements spec sheet. The new requirements are substantially greater than what they were previously, now AMD is enforcing a 144Hz refresh rate limit for 1080P and 1440P monitors.

AMD updates FreeSync minimum requirements — 144Hz or higher refresh rate needed for 1080p and 1440p displays : Read more

 

[vanadiel007]

That is unfortunate. Now nobody will know if Freesync on a monitor is the old Freesync or new Freesync.
They should have given it a new name, like Freesync 144 or something like that.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

And yet it doesn't include the most important thing for an adaptive display: a minimum refresh rate. While especially true for notebooks if the cell phone type adaptive refresh rate will be brought to them for battery life improvements,
what good is a Freesync monitor that can't handle dramatic dips? As we know with entry level cards like the 4060 and 4060 Ti, and their AMD equivalents, they can't handle 1920x1080 144fps or barely half that without drastic detail cutting or "AI frame generation". What's to prevent a manufacturer from using a garbage TN panel with a 144hz refresh rate and a minimum adaptive sync floor of, say, 120hz?

 

[DougMcC]

That is unfortunate. Now nobody will know if Freesync on a monitor is the old Freesync or new Freesync.
They should have given it a new name, like Freesync 144 or something like that.

I presume starting with 2025 models you can assume that the trademark requirements mandate the update. So accept that 2024 models are already baked and buy a 2025 if you care.

 

[digitalgriffin]

This creates confusion.

Old monitors like my Dell 32" which were freesync premium pro certified 1440 HDR 165 HZ are barely Freesync now. So vendors will have to update ALL their websites

They should have created a new tier...like Free Sync Tier 4

 

[wcbhkids]

This has no impact on the functioning of existing monitors, right? My monitor is 3400x1440 but only 100hz. The variable refresh rate feature is very nice.

 

[DougMcC]

This creates confusion.

Old monitors like my Dell 32" which were freesync premium pro certified 1440 HDR 165 HZ are barely Freesync now. So vendors will have to update ALL their websites

They should have created a new tier...like Free Sync Tier 4

But they don't want a new tier. They want to raise the bar for the lowest tier.

 

[DougMcC]

This has no impact on the functioning of existing monitors, right? My monitor is 3400x1440 but only 100hz. The variable refresh rate feature is very nice.

Your monitor is unchanged. But it would not qualify for freesync trademark branding any more, the manufacturer would have to improve it or stop selling it with 'freesync' on the box.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

There is also nothing stopping manufacturers from staying "VESA Adaptive Sync Capability" or "VESA Variable Refresh Rate" either, so it just makes more confusion for the low end.

 

[2Be_or_Not2Be]

And yet it doesn't include the most important thing for an adaptive display: a minimum refresh rate. While especially true for notebooks if the cell phone type adaptive refresh rate will be brought to them for battery life improvements,
what good is a Freesync monitor that can't handle dramatic dips? As we know with entry level cards like the 4060 and 4060 Ti, and their AMD equivalents, they can't handle 1920x1080 144fps or barely half that without drastic detail cutting or "AI frame generation". What's to prevent a manufacturer from using a garbage TN panel with a 144hz refresh rate and a minimum adaptive sync floor of, say, 120hz?

This standard is to identify that the monitor has to meet the 144Hz standard, not in how many frames the video card sends to it. So a 144Hz monitor can meet the new Freesync standard, even if the video card is sending a paltry 30 fps to it.

 

[thestryker]

And yet it doesn't include the most important thing for an adaptive display: a minimum refresh rate. While especially true for notebooks if the cell phone type adaptive refresh rate will be brought to them for battery life improvements,
what good is a Freesync monitor that can't handle dramatic dips? As we know with entry level cards like the 4060 and 4060 Ti, and their AMD equivalents, they can't handle 1920x1080 144fps or barely half that without drastic detail cutting or "AI frame generation". What's to prevent a manufacturer from using a garbage TN panel with a 144hz refresh rate and a minimum adaptive sync floor of, say, 120hz?

Minimum refresh has always been an annoyance as there's little transparency on the refresh ranges. I don't think it necessarily needs to be part of the spec, but they should absolutely mandate the range be clearly part of the specs if they want a Freesync approval.

 

[Notton]

AMD has been uniquely bad at marketing this kind of open standard "certification" for years.

For instance, nvidia has 3 tiers of G-sync for monitors. The baseline G-sync requires the monitor go +300 tests to get that certification.

Intel has "Evo", which I know is for laptops, but it spells out that the laptop meet certain requirements to get that certification.

And then there is AMD.
AMD let's manufacturers do whatever they want with their chips. They also don't have any kind of certification or validation criteria either.
You never fully know if a product using AMD parts is tofu-dreg or pure gold, until after you do a physical inspection and run some tests.
This applies to freesync monitors, AMD laptops, etc.

 

[digitalgriffin]

Minimum refresh has always been an annoyance as there's little transparency on the refresh ranges. I don't think it necessarily needs to be part of the spec, but they should absolutely mandate the range be clearly part of the specs if they want a Freesync approval.

It's max frame rate / 2,5
(So yes it is specd)

 

[Joseph_138]

So will Freesync still work if you have an older monitor?

 

[thestryker]

It's max frame rate / 2,5
(So yes it is specd)

You have a citation for that or is it just something you saw someone say?

I'm mostly curious where you got it because it's obviously inaccurate. It varies by display and the only place I'm aware of that shows the range is the AMD Freesync database. The manufacturers do not show the range on their specs pages that I've seen.

 

[Gillerer]

You have a citation for that or is it just something you saw someone say?

I'm mostly curious where you got it because it's obviously inaccurate. It varies by display and the only place I'm aware of that shows the range is the AMD Freesync database. The manufacturers do not show the range on their specs pages that I've seen.

I think the ≥2.5 max/min ratio is required for FreeSync Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) to work - that's the only mention of it I've found.

 

[Albert.Thomas]

And yet it doesn't include the most important thing for an adaptive display: a minimum refresh rate.

They are all required to support LFC, so that's not an issue anymore.

 

[digitalgriffin]

You have a citation for that or is it just something you saw someone say?

I'm mostly curious where you got it because it's obviously inaccurate. It varies by display and the only place I'm aware of that shows the range is the AMD Freesync database. The manufacturers do not show the range on their specs pages that I've seen.

To be freesync compatble if has to have LFC (Low Frame Compensation). LFC is defined as max frame rate / 2.5 (Or min frame rate * 2.5 = max frame rate)

So a monitor with 60-75 range would not work obviously to be LFC.

AMD Low Framerate Compensation (AMD LFC) explained – Digital Masta

digitalmasta.com

Also:
https://www.amd.com/en/products/graphics/technologies/freesync.html

 

[headloser]

After nine years, AMD is finally updating its FreeSync requirements spec sheet. The new requirements are substantially greater than what they were previously, now AMD is enforcing a 144Hz refresh rate limit for 1080P and 1440P monitors.

AMD updates FreeSync minimum requirements — 144Hz or higher refresh rate needed for 1080p and 1440p displays : Read more

How long now DO i have to wait until the NEW and IMPROVED Gaming Monitor that is Certify by AMD>

 

[DougMcC]

How long now DO i have to wait until the NEW and IMPROVED Gaming Monitor that is Certify by AMD>

Basically 2025 models since AMD already allowed 2024 models out the door with the old branding.