on a 144hz monitor, can i set it at 60hz

[raknarius]

in two days ill be getting my new benq 144hz monitor, had a simple question, if I wanted to could I set it to 60hz, would it really be functioning at 60hz, what other hz can I set it to, 80 100 120 etc.

reason I ask is some people say running your fps closest to the hz of the monitor gives you the best image, so I was wondering say im getting 100fps, if I set my monitor to 100hz would that work. also when you use vsync they say it does 144hz, if that's not stable it drops to 72hz, well if I adjusted my monitor to 100hz would vsync put me at 100fps if not then to 50fps, same for 80 to 40 etc.

 

[Cons29]

hmn, i have not checked for other in-between refresh rate (i have a 120)
but yes since 60 is standard, you can set it. not sure about the others though.

what i do is lower the settings a bit, if i want to have 120fps (or close to it). i rarely use v-sync, or anything similar

 

[raknarius]

so perhaps their is only full refresh and half. so 144hz or 72hz?

 

[Cons29]

don't worry, you will find out in a few days
i cannot answer since i am still at work right now

 

[hypergon]

If you use vsync it will only take 144fps -> 72fps -> 48hz etc. If you run @100fps on a 144hz screen you'll get tearing. You could underclock your monitor to 100hz and then lock the frame rate to that.

 

[cookybiscuit]

It will work at 60Hz. You can also set it to work at any refresh rate you like under 144Hz in the Nvidia control panel, assuming you have an Nvidia card. Theres no reason to drop it down from 144Hz though, more is always better.

 

[raknarius]

cool, so we agree if Im geitng 100fps I should turn vsync on and set monitor refresh rate to 100?

 

[cookybiscuit]

No, because vsync has a performance impact, so while you may get 100FPS without it, you'll get less with it. Generally you don't need vsync on a 144Hz display, as the refresh rate is high enough to get rid of most of the tearing.

Also the point of displays like that is that they have minimal input lag, turning vsync on is going to disrupt that. You may also want to think about Gsync, don't know if or not you've bought the Benq or not yet though.

 

[cookybiscuit]

Yes, you can adjust the refresh rate at w/e you like on your BenQ 144hz TN panel(I own the 2420TE -Best 24inch gaming monitor of 2013).
Most games alike the Crysis franchise/Skyrim will not allow you to run at 144hz in game, which totally sucks! So I just disable V-sync when playing those older games. All newer games being released should have the higher 144hz refresh rates in the video options menu(hell I have 3-4 yr old games that have the option).
LOL@the poster above me.... V-sync will not cause less performance when enabled, it simply aligns the frames vertically which causes no performance change whatsoever.
G-sync is another Nvidia flub just like Adaptive V-sync was. Will look no different or perform any different than with the regular V-sync enabled, benchmarks are available that prove this.

lol at you thinking Skyrim and Crysis wont run at that refresh when I've done it myself, lol at you not knowing what Gsync does.

 

[raknarius]

lol for me too! thanks cookybuiscuit, so that helps a lot the whole vsync thing, so ill leave vsync off, get the best fps I can and leave it at 144hz, thanks much. simplifies things for me.

 

[hypergon]

Sorry op but the biscuit guy has no idea what vsync does...
In simple words: frame refresh rate gets aligned to the monitor refresh rate and has no impact on performance if your GPU can run more than that anyway.
Gsnyc is no option unless you are a) too rich b) input lag fanatic c) extreme fanboy (=stupid) or all 3 at once, what it does can be found with Google (short: any frame rate can be synced to monitor refresh rate -> monitor follows gpu)

 

[raknarius]

I think he ment input lag

 

[cookybiscuit]

Sorry op but the biscuit guy has no idea what vsync does...
In simple words: frame refresh rate gets aligned to the monitor refresh rate and has no impact on performance if your GPU can run more than that anyway.
Gsnyc is no option unless you are a) too rich b) input lag fanatic c) extreme fanboy (=stupid) or all 3 at once, what it does can be found with Google (short: any frame rate can be synced to monitor refresh rate -> monitor follows gpu)

When you're using vsync, the second your framerate drops below whatever your monitors refresh rate is, it takes a nosedive.

I really don't understand your criticisms of Gsync but sure thing.

 

[bystander]

I don't know if I should jump in here, but there is some clear misunderstandings of tech going on here.

V-sync:
There are a few different scenarios with Vsync:
1) With triple buffering and DX (the most common scenario)
a) Below your refresh rate, your FPS hold strong, just like if you didn't have V-sync on, but you get varying latency between the frames
being displayed.
b) At your refresh rate, your frames get backed up, and you will always see one frame behind the most recently created one. This adds the most latency.

2) DX without triple buffering:
a) If you cannot maintain your refresh rate, your FPS takes a nose dive. You may find it wants to stay near half your refresh rate.
b) If you can maintain your refresh rate, you do not get the problems you do with triple buffering, where the older of 2 created frames is always displayed first. This has less latency than the triple buffering scenario.

3) OpenGL with triple buffering:
Unlike DirectX, OpenGL does not force every frame to be displayed, so when you reach your refresh rate, you don't gain additional latency beyond having to wait for the next refresh rate, unlike DX.

All forms of V-sync force frames to wait for the monitor to be in vertical blanking mode before they get displayed. That means there is always some latency and if your FPS cannot maintain your refresh rate, you will have frame times that jump between 1, 2 or 3 refresh times. That means your frame times will jump between 16.7ms, 33.3ms and if really bad, 40ms. This causes some stuttering.

Adaptive V-sync - is well liked by many, because it is a compromise between the good of V-sync and the good of not having V-sync. V-sync is good when you can maintain your refresh rate. V-sync causes stuttering when you can't. Adaptive V-sync turns V-sync off when you fail to reach your refresh rate, preventing stuttering, and turns it on when you are, removing tearing.

G-sync - is new, and changes everything. Instead of the GPU having to wait to send frames to the monitor to prevent tearing, or just sending it at any time, causing tearing. G-sync makes the display wait for the GPU. This means when the GPU finishes a frame, it sends it directly to the monitor, and the monitor shows it without delay, and without tearing. It removes tearing, stutter and latency.

 

[Cons29]

what i usually do is turn off vsync, i only try to turn it on if i see tearing

 

[bystander]

G-sync is exactly the same as V-sync, but a improved version that is all, meaning their will be less frame latency, and smoother frames, unfortunately testing failed to show any major improvements, this is another marketing ploy to convince lesser's to buy their new gimmick.

If it is improved, then it is not exactly the same, now is it?

V-sync is horrible for the exact problems you state G-sync fixes.

 

[Kari]

and dont forget amds free-sync. 😀D

 

[bystander]

V-sync is very, very old, but it still works. G-sync is a update to the older V-sync, that's it..... nothing incredibly special about it.

Yes, V-sync is old. G-sync is an update to it, but it is special, because in the decades before, we had to live with stutter, judder and latency issues as a result. Now we don't have to.

 

[raknarius]

I don't know if I should jump in here, but there is some clear misunderstandings of tech going on here.

V-sync:
There are a few different scenarios with Vsync:
1) With triple buffering and DX (the most common scenario)
a) Below your refresh rate, your FPS hold strong, just like if you didn't have V-sync on, but you get varying latency between the frames
being displayed.
b) At your refresh rate, your frames get backed up, and you will always see one frame behind the most recently created one. This adds the most latency.

2) DX without triple buffering:
a) If you cannot maintain your refresh rate, your FPS takes a nose dive. You may find it wants to stay near half your refresh rate.
b) If you can maintain your refresh rate, you do not get the problems you do with triple buffering, where the older of 2 created frames is always displayed first. This has less latency than the triple buffering scenario.

3) OpenGL with triple buffering:
Unlike DirectX, OpenGL does not force every frame to be displayed, so when you reach your refresh rate, you don't gain additional latency beyond having to wait for the next refresh rate, unlike DX.

All forms of V-sync force frames to wait for the monitor to be in vertical blanking mode before they get displayed. That means there is always some latency and if your FPS cannot maintain your refresh rate, you will have frame times that jump between 1, 2 or 3 refresh times. That means your frame times will jump between 16.7ms, 33.3ms and if really bad, 40ms. This causes some stuttering.

Adaptive V-sync - is well liked by many, because it is a compromise between the good of V-sync and the good of not having V-sync. V-sync is good when you can maintain your refresh rate. V-sync causes stuttering when you can't. Adaptive V-sync turns V-sync off when you fail to reach your refresh rate, preventing stuttering, and turns it on when you are, removing tearing.

G-sync - is new, and changes everything. Instead of the GPU having to wait to send frames to the monitor to prevent tearing, or just sending it at any time, causing tearing. G-sync makes the display wait for the GPU. This means when the GPU finishes a frame, it sends it directly to the monitor, and the monitor shows it without delay, and without tearing. It removes tearing, stutter and latency.

That is a boat load of information, thanks man.

Ps: it would be great if you put a opitimal scenario for each type of vsync. such as . if your fps is faster then your monitors hz, then you would want to use this type of vsync.
If your fps is half your monitors hz youd want to use this type of vsync. etc.

your description is great and a lot of info we don't normally see but to newbs like me it still leaves me guessing what settings I should use in certain situations.

 

[bystander]

That is a boat load of information, thanks man.

Ps: it would be great if you put a opitimal scenario for each type of vsync. such as . if your fps is faster then your monitors hz, then you would want to use this type of vsync.
If your fps is half your monitors hz youd want to use this type of vsync. etc.

your description is great and a lot of info we don't normally see but to newbs like me it still leaves me guessing what settings I should use in certain situations.

To answer your questions:

DX with V-sync, when your FPS is able to consistently maintain your refresh rate, it is best when triple buffering is OFF.

DX with V-sync when you cannot maintain your refresh rate. Triple buffering ON is best if you stay with V-sync. Adaptive V-sync is a good alternative, and is best with Triple buffering turned OFF.

With OpenGl, there is no downsides to having triple buffering on. Leave it on in all scenarios.

Most games don't give you the option. It is built into the game engine. There are exceptions (Far Cry 3 for example).

Of course with G-sync, it doesn't matter, but you will want to put a FPS limiter on at ~10 FPS below your refresh rate.