Question G-Sync vs Freesync ranked/tier, how can i get detailed info on both and all their versions?

UKTone

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Feb 24, 2015
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I would think G-Sync Ultimate is the best, but for the order of everything else, i have no clue. What would you order the versions of freesync, freesync premium, freesync premium pro, g-sync compatible, g-sync, and g-sync ultimate from worst to best?

Where can i find detailed info on all of them, to understand why x is better than x?

https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/free-sync and https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/g-sync-monitors/ (scroll down until you see check marks) these show the differences between their own technologies, but not too much detail.

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/g-sync-monitors/specs/ and https://www.amd.com/en/products/freesync-monitors show which monitors are certified with their versions of technologies.

Is there a way to tell what tests the monitors passed?

A lot of the information i look up, pretty much say g-sync is better than free sync, but a lot of them seem to be outdated and they don't really talk about the different versions. They compare g-sync ultimate to freesync premium pro, but not premium pro vs g-sync or fpp vs g-sync compatible. That's why i want a tier list of them all.

Any other information would be greatly appreciated as well.
 
I will let someone with better knowledge than me answer your main question.

However, I recently saw a review that claimed G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate have a limitation. These 2 use the G-Sync module and the claim is the main chip in the module only supports HDMI 2.0 and not 2.1. Therefore if you wanted a monitor that could also support say a modern console with HDMI 2.1 you won’t find one that is G-Sync or G-Sync Ultimate as they cannot support it. I have a PG279QM and this is why it only supports 2.0 and not 2.1 while being a top end monitor.
 
I would rate the variable sync technologies in the following manner:
  • FreeSync Premium Pro
  • G-Sync Ultimate
  • FreeSync Pro
  • G-Sync
  • FreeSync
The only reason why I put it like this is because FreeSync:
  • Is compatible with both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs
  • Does not add additional cost for the manufacturer (though they may pass the buck onto the consumer anyway on higher end models because they're "gaming" models)
  • G-Sync requires DisplayPort usage. FreeSync can be done over HDMI
However, I put the baseline FreeSync spec below G-Sync because its syncing range is narrower and it tends to just be slapped on cheap monitors to add some more features.

As far as which monitors pass G-Sync compatibility, see: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/g-sync-monitors/specs/. Note that NVIDIA GPUs can enable G-Sync compatibility on any FreeSync monitor, even if it wasn't certified or tested by NVIDIA. Whether or not it actually works is another story.
 

UKTone

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Feb 24, 2015
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Wait I was already kinda mad the 40 series didn't go with displayport 2.1, are you sure about this? I googled and can't find anything specifically on the 40 series not being able to use g-sync through hdmi 2.1.
 
Wait I was already kinda mad the 40 series didn't go with displayport 2.1, are you sure about this? I googled and can't find anything specifically on the 40 series not being able to use g-sync through hdmi 2.1.
What I mean is FreeSync is usable through HDMI or DisplayPort, regardless of the GPU vendor. Actual G-Sync (not an NVIDIA GPU talking to a FreeSync monitor) only works over DisplayPort. If the GPU vendor wants to restrict where variable syncing happens, that's on them. Also note I didn't put "G-Sync Compatible" in the list, because it's just FreeSync in the end.

The link I posted shows which port you can use G-Sync/FreeSync out of. Some displays allow FreeSync over HDMI 2.0, but it's mostly TVs.
 

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