Question Does my laptop support G-Sync monitor? EDIT: What kind of DP should I buy?

[PatriksP]

Hello, everyone!

So basically I have a new laptop - Legion 5 17ACH6H (https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sy...on_5_17ACH6H/Lenovo_Legion_5_17ACH6H_Spec.pdf) with AMD Ryzen 7 and RTX 3060.

I want to buy a new external monitor for the laptop but I am not sure what kind of specs should I get for the monitor. My main idea is to get a 144hz 1ms monitor (not sure of the res I should pick) but then came the G-sync option. I've been reading guides and threads of forums but I just can't get to a solution for my situation - so much information and it's starting to confuse me a lot. I saw people talking about G-sync and Freesync and it really confused me because as I remember back in the day G-sync was for Nvidia GPU's and Freesync for AMD GPU's but now it's different?
So I was wondering if someone who is good and has knowledge in this field could help me!
If you have any monitor recommendations - I look for 1440p budget/midrange monitor.

EDIT: I got the answer for the G-Sync, now I want to understand if I can buy USB-C to DP 1.2 or I need to get USB-C to DP 1.4, because the price difference in my country is big (DP 1.4 costs 3x as DP 1.2). I plan on buying a monitor with DP 1.4.
I'm looking at a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1x1 to DP 1.2 cable, will it work?

Thank you for the answers in advance!

 

[Wayfall]

Hello, everyone!

So basically I have a new laptop - Legion 5 17ACH6H (https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sy...on_5_17ACH6H/Lenovo_Legion_5_17ACH6H_Spec.pdf) with AMD Ryzen 7 and RTX 3060.

I want to buy a new external monitor for the laptop but I am not sure what kind of specs should I get for the monitor. My main idea is to get a 144hz 1ms monitor (not sure of the res I should pick) but then came the G-sync option. I've been reading guides and threads of forums but I just can't get to a solution for my situation - so much information and it's starting to confuse me a lot. I saw people talking about G-sync and Freesync and it really confused me because as I remember back in the day G-sync was for Nvidia GPU's and Freesync for AMD GPU's but now it's different?
So I was wondering if someone who is good and has knowledge in this field could help me!
If you have any monitor recommendations - I look for 1440p budget/midrange monitor.

Thank you for the answers in advance!

I honestly don't see why not as long as you have Display Port cable. Not sure about HDMI.

 

[Karadjgne]

G-sync and G-sync compatible are not the same thing.

G-sync monitors have an extra bit of hardware inside them, certified by nvidia. So what you see on the screen in g-sync mode, is hardware refreshed.

G-sync compatible monitors do not have that hardware, they rely on the gpu and software to create a g-sync refresh.

Freesync is somewhat the same idea as g-sync compatible, so if you have a g-sync compatible monitor and a nvidia card, it'll use g-sync compatibity, if you had a amd card it'd use freesync. Same affect.

One is significantly cheaper than the other. Extra hardware = higher costs.

Nvidia tests different monitors and maintains a list of nvidia Certified Compatible monitors, but as with anything, if it's a 'thing' ppl will cheat and claim compatibility, nvidia really can't combat that because it may or may not be compatible, they didn't test it, yet, so dont know for sure.

 

[hotaru.hino]

It depends on if the display outputs are directly connected to the NVIDIA GPU. I'm sure at least one of the ports does, but since I don't see which ports are connected to the NVIDIA GPU, you'll have to do some experimentation.

 

[Karadjgne]

I think you need display port for them, not sure if hdmi is supported fully yet.

 

[PatriksP]

I think you need display port for them, not sure if hdmi is supported fully yet.

It depends on if the display outputs are directly connected to the NVIDIA GPU. I'm sure at least one of the ports does, but since I don't see which ports are connected to the NVIDIA GPU, you'll have to do some experimentation.

G-sync and G-sync compatible are not the same thing.

G-sync monitors have an extra bit of hardware inside them, certified by nvidia. So what you see on the screen in g-sync mode, is hardware refreshed.

G-sync compatible monitors do not have that hardware, they rely on the gpu and software to create a g-sync refresh.

Freesync is somewhat the same idea as g-sync compatible, so if you have a g-sync compatible monitor and a nvidia card, it'll use g-sync compatibity, if you had a amd card it'd use freesync. Same affect.

One is significantly cheaper than the other. Extra hardware = higher costs.

Nvidia tests different monitors and maintains a list of nvidia Certified Compatible monitors, but as with anything, if it's a 'thing' ppl will cheat and claim compatibility, nvidia really can't combat that because it may or may not be compatible, they didn't test it, yet, so dont know for sure.

I honestly don't see why not as long as you have Display Port cable. Not sure about HDMI.

Thank you all for the answers and the knowledge!
So I have a "USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (support data transfer and DisplayPort 1.4 only)" - that's how it's called in the laptop manual. I should buy a USB-C to DisplayPort cable and theoretically I should be fine with the G-Sync right? I've my eyes on a monitor with DP 1.4. Does the cable need to be USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 or I can have it DisplayPort 1.2?

I'm looking at a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1x1 to DP 1.2 cable, will it work?

 

[Wayfall]

So you need a Gysnc monitor and the correct cable.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Thank you all for the answers and the knowledge!
So I have a "USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (support data transfer and DisplayPort 1.4 only)" - that's how it's called in the laptop manual. I should buy a USB-C to DisplayPort cable and theoretically I should be fine with the G-Sync right? I've my eyes on a monitor with DP 1.4. Does the cable need to be USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 or I can have it DisplayPort 1.2?

I'm looking at a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1x1 to DP 1.2 cable, will it work?

The version listed on the cable only means it's (hopefully) tested to work at that version. If it's well built, it can work at higher versions. But even then, the version only matters depending on which resolution and refresh rate you want. DP 1.2 is good for up to 1440p 120Hz or 1080p 144Hz.

 

[PatriksP]

The version listed on the cable only means it's (hopefully) tested to work at that version. If it's well built, it can work at higher versions. But even then, the version only matters depending on which resolution and refresh rate you want. DP 1.2 is good for up to 1440p 120Hz or 1080p 144Hz.

Thank you for the answer! This is what I've been looking for!