Help understanding the many types of syncs (v-sync, g-sync) and their worth

[Xenoraiser]

Suppose I'll start by saying that I'm just now jumping on board PC gaming and have come to hear about various sync technologies, which I feel I have a flimsy grasp on, which gets a little trickier to feel confident about when various people on all sides have such strong and divisive opinions on them. From what I can gather, v-sync is primarily meant to eliminate screen tearing and maybe provide a more stable framerate, but with input lag being the main compromise due to the GPU and monitor struggling to keep up or remain "in sync," if you will. To that end, g-sync sounds like an answer to said input lag since from what I've read, g-sync monitors can freely vary their refresh rate to better match the GPU. Please correct me if I have this or anything else wrong.

Now I've also heard that if you turn off v-sync and limit your game's framerate to 60 FPS you'll reap the benefits of a smoother overall experience, but have yet to test it myself. Just based on first impressions (and as a primarily single player gamer), v-sync seems more appealing since it simplifies things and really helps with screen tearing. For reference, Witcher 3 was the first game I tried with my recently assembled PC (settings maxed out) and if I turned v-sync off, the screen tearing was more than just a bit noticeable, so the effective elimination of it with v-sync makes it (and g-sync, by extension) more appealing.

Now I've been using my HDTV as a stand-in for an actual computer monitor (I know some will raise their pitchforks at this idea, but again, it's a placeholder), which has refresh rate of 60 hz. To that end I suppose one question I have is if buying a monitor that simply has a higher refresh rate will help alleviate my current screen tearing predicament with v-sync turned off, since it is quite distracting? Or would going for a g-sync monitor be a potentially worthwhile avenue (I found one for $400, and I figure I'll wait till the holidays in case there's a sale)? Here are my system specs if it helps at all:

i5-7600k (OC'd to 4.5 ghz)
GTX 1060 6GB OCV1
8 GB RAM DDR4 @ 2400 (getting another 8 GB stick will likely be my next upgrade)

Thank you to anyone who answers!

 

[Lucky_SLS]

all adaptive sync aims to prevent screen tearing. but the way in which they implement them is different.
v sync dumps frames all together thus reducing the fps and v sync with triple buffering has 2 back buffers for the gpu to write them. the monitor can then draw from the buffer. so this doesnt reduce fps, but this brings input latency cuz the frames r drawn from the buffer instead of gpu.
free sync and g sync r improvements on triple buffering with importance given to reduce input lag. and that is y u can see users saying free sync and g sync gives a super smooth gameplay compared to v sync. or ppl say the gameplay is choppy with v sync.
and i am one of them, having experienced g sync first hand.

g sync and free sync r much more noticeable if the frame time variance high. meaning when u dont get consistent frame rates g sync/free sync can help. but here is the catch. for these kinds of situations, having a 60hz monitor and turning on radeon chill in AMD cards is sensible for those with a budget. nvidia is also bringing something similar soon. that makes g sync look more premium than it already is. while free sync gives u super smooth gameplay and also conserves power by scaling down its clock speeds in unnecessary cases.

now to answer ur question, u can get away with a 75hz or a 60hz monitor if u play AAA titles. witcher 3 gives abt 80fps in 1080p maxed out i guess. so v sync triple buffering will do. only a 1070 and above can take full potential for AAA games now. not even rx580[~1060] can do that.
so if u play CS GO, overwatch, Dota 2 a 144hz monitor can be worth it. otherwise, a 60hz monitor will do.