FPS v Hz

[Duncan_94]

Hello all,

So I have been using a 144Hz monitor since about 2012. I am extremely used to how games play on at this refresh rate/fps and am becoming more and more interested in bumping up to a 200/240Hz monitor.

My question is about how games might look if I am not able to keep a solid 240 fps.

As far as I am aware, if your GPU is creating more frames than your monitors refresh rate, you get screen tearing. The more 'extra' frames your GPU creates the worse the tearing becomes.

Is there anything negative associated with your GPU creating LESS frames than your monitors refresh rate (apart from choppiness simply sue to a low fps). For example, if I end up buying a 240Hz monitor but my 1080 Ti can only create say... 180 fps, will this also cause screen tearing or any other negative effect?

From my time using a 144Hz monitor, and playing games that are badly optimised, I do not think I have ever experience anything visual wrong - again, apart from just a lower fps.

The reason I ask is because I have seen posts about people claiming you get screen tearing on a high Hz monitor if you cannot match the monitors refresh rate.

Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts!

Cheers!

 

[rustigsmed]

in my experience you get screen tearing below the refresh rate (not when doing more). but really bad when it is close to the set hz. i wouldn't get one without g/free sync.

 

[Glenwing]

Screen tearing happens when your GPU is not synchronized with the monitor's refreshes. It doesn't matter whether you are above or below the refresh rate of the monitor, or even the same.

 

[rustigsmed]

i nearly always play battlefront 1 and 2 with substantially higher frame rates without vsync with absolutely no tearing.

 

[Duncan_94]

Screen tearing happens when your GPU is not synchronized with the monitor's refreshes. It doesn't matter whether you are above or below the refresh rate of the monitor, or even the same.

But as far as I am aware, the reason screen tearing occurs is because the GPU is creating 2 frames within a single refresh of the monitor - the bigger the difference the worse it gets. How would you get screen tearing with a frame rate lower than the refresh rate?

 

[Glenwing]

Screen tearing happens when your GPU is not synchronized with the monitor's refreshes. It doesn't matter whether you are above or below the refresh rate of the monitor, or even the same.

But as far as I am aware, the reason screen tearing occurs is because the GPU is creating 2 frames within a single refresh of the monitor - the bigger the difference the worse it gets. How would you get screen tearing with a frame rate lower than the refresh rate?

Screen tearing isn't created specifically by creating 2 frames within a single refresh. It's caused by the GPU finishing a new frame while the monitor is in the middle of the refresh process. For example if the GPU is working on frame #2 while sending data from the completed frame #1 to the display, the displays has refreshed half the screen when the GPU finishes frame #2 and starts sending pixel data from that frame instead.

This can happen any time the GPU finishes a frame. Even if the GPU has a very low framerate, maybe frame #1 was finished a really long time ago and the display has refreshed 5 times since then, repeating frame #1 over and over because no new frame is ready, when frame #2 is ready, if the display is midway through a refresh, tearing will occur.

Higher framerate = more opportunities for a tear to occur, so tearing is more common, but it can happen at any framerate.