Report: VESA Accepts AMD FreeSync, the G-Sync Alternative

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Rumor has it that VESA has accepted AMD's proposal to implement FreeSync.

Report: VESA Accepts AMD FreeSync, the G-Sync Alternative : Read more

 

[rolandzhang3]

Sweet, a little competition never hurts

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Yup, this is what I predicted.

Standards FTW.

 

[doomtomb]

Read about this two days ago. Can always count on Tom's if I want a flashback to the week that was.

 

[David Dewis]

Its funny, Alot of people are saying directx 12 will kill mantle, but had it not been for mantle pushing for lower level APIs, DX12 may never have happened as it is. I can see this being a similar situation. If Freesync is widely adopted and standardized, it could kill G-Sync, but if G-sync hadn't been announced, then chances are AMD never would have pushed FreeSync. I love this type of competition, bouncing off each other to further the technology, often leading to the best and simplest solution.

 

[knowom]

Eye for a eye?

Mantle more or less got countered in a variety of different ways I guess it's only natural that G-sync would as well more or less.

 

[shogunofharlom]

A rare win for the consumer and a nod to AMD once again keeping the big guys in check.

 

[Mathos]

Its funny, Alot of people are saying directx 12 will kill mantle, but had it not been for mantle pushing for lower level APIs, DX12 may never have happened as it is. I can see this being a similar situation. If Freesync is widely adopted and standardized, it could kill G-Sync, but if G-sync hadn't been announced, then chances are AMD never would have pushed FreeSync. I love this type of competition, bouncing off each other to further the technology, often leading to the best and simplest solution.

The big problem with Dx12 is, M$ will probably pull another DX10 where you have to have Windows8 or Windows9 to use it. They did that with Dx10 where you had to have Vista or better to take advantage of it, because of the driver model change. OpenGL's biggest problem on the PC is, limited adoption or use due to Windows using Dx10+. I applaud AMD, they seem to be doing a good job at acting as a catalyst to get things moving forward again.

 

[ocilfa]

@Mathos: Ah, "catalyst"! I see what you did there.

 

[David Dewis]

Its funny, Alot of people are saying directx 12 will kill mantle, but had it not been for mantle pushing for lower level APIs, DX12 may never have happened as it is. I can see this being a similar situation. If Freesync is widely adopted and standardized, it could kill G-Sync, but if G-sync hadn't been announced, then chances are AMD never would have pushed FreeSync. I love this type of competition, bouncing off each other to further the technology, often leading to the best and simplest solution.

The big problem with Dx12 is, M$ will probably pull another DX10 where you have to have Windows8 or Windows9 to use it. They did that with Dx10 where you had to have Vista or better to take advantage of it, because of the driver model change. OpenGL's biggest problem on the PC is, limited adoption or use due to Windows using Dx10+. I applaud AMD, they seem to be doing a good job at acting as a catalyst to get things moving forward again.

I'm already on windows 8.1 and would never go back. Once you adapt to it, its by far the best OS i've ever used. It uses so little resources and runs smoother than any other OS i have ever used. I dont miss the start bar at all, and if you do, its returning soon anyway. The recent Update fixed nearly all the issues i had with windows 8.1 and update 2 is said to top off the final issues. I can't wait to see what Windows 9 offers.

 

[Zepid]

Its funny, Alot of people are saying directx 12 will kill mantle, but had it not been for mantle pushing for lower level APIs, DX12 may never have happened as it is. I can see this being a similar situation. If Freesync is widely adopted and standardized, it could kill G-Sync, but if G-sync hadn't been announced, then chances are AMD never would have pushed FreeSync. I love this type of competition, bouncing off each other to further the technology, often leading to the best and simplest solution.

The big problem with Dx12 is, M$ will probably pull another DX10 where you have to have Windows8 or Windows9 to use it. They did that with Dx10 where you had to have Vista or better to take advantage of it, because of the driver model change. OpenGL's biggest problem on the PC is, limited adoption or use due to Windows using Dx10+. I applaud AMD, they seem to be doing a good job at acting as a catalyst to get things moving forward again.

Considering the date for feature support for Windows 7 ends is Fall of 2015, it is more than reasonable for Microsoft to restrict this to Windows 8 and newer. Also DX12 is all about scaling to multiple cores (rather than just one) which is something 8 does infinitely better than 7 on a basic level. What with aggressive core parking and terrible scaling in Windows 7 - it is a wonder why any gamer would ever intentionally gimp themselves by not upgrading.

Especially when the upgrade was only 40USD.

But apparently gamers are afraid to minor cosmetic changes that take 20ms to adjust to, and would rather run on an inferior platform and lock themselves out of performance - I mean Activision still manages to sell COD. I guess the bank on stubborn people terrified of change.

 

[Bondfc11]

Have we even see FreeSync yet? I have read a bunch about it, but has there actually been a monitor PCB designed that implements this tech? I remain guarded until a monitor is actually shown to work as good as GSync with this tech.

 

[coolitic]

Nvidias problem was that it didnt make it standard

AMDs problem is that it will probably full of bugs and other flaws.

 

[abimocorde]

Looking at how Android flipped them all (proprietary stuff); Open Source is on wheels and looking pretty good. Guess AMD is going with the flow. We win.

 

[abimocorde]

Its funny, Alot of people are saying directx 12 will kill mantle, but had it not been for mantle pushing for lower level APIs, DX12 may never have happened as it is. I can see this being a similar situation. If Freesync is widely adopted and standardized, it could kill G-Sync, but if G-sync hadn't been announced, then chances are AMD never would have pushed FreeSync. I love this type of competition, bouncing off each other to further the technology, often leading to the best and simplest solution.

The big problem with Dx12 is, M$ will probably pull another DX10 where you have to have Windows8 or Windows9 to use it. They did that with Dx10 where you had to have Vista or better to take advantage of it, because of the driver model change. OpenGL's biggest problem on the PC is, limited adoption or use due to Windows using Dx10+. I applaud AMD, they seem to be doing a good job at acting as a catalyst to get things moving forward again.

I'm already on windows 8.1 and would never go back. Once you adapt to it, its by far the best OS i've ever used. It uses so little resources and runs smoother than any other OS i have ever used. I dont miss the start bar at all, and if you do, its returning soon anyway. The recent Update fixed nearly all the issues i had with windows 8.1 and update 2 is said to top off the final issues. I can't wait to see what Windows 9 offers.

OS is like music, everyone defends its favourite band. You will not see me quit on Ubuntu to work and Win 7 to play a few games.

 

[Fierce Guppy]

Just where is AMD's FreeSync demo? I want to run it on my laptop.

 

[IndignantSkeptic]

Just where is AMD's FreeSync demo? I want to run it on my laptop.

You probably need hardware to be specially built to support it.

 

[BranFlake5]

I don't know about this. G-Sync has proven itself to work. Nvidia is strong with their software. They got the head start, AMD is going to have to catch up.

 

[David Dewis]

Just where is AMD's FreeSync demo? I want to run it on my laptop.

You probably need hardware to be specially built to support it.

I'm under the impression that if VESA makes this a standard for the new Displayport, then most monitors in the future could (and should) support it. But i'm sure i read an interview with AMD stating they were looking into adding it to older monitors with a software patch. Only time will tell.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Just where is AMD's FreeSync demo? I want to run it on my laptop.

You probably need hardware to be specially built to support it.

I'm under the impression that if VESA makes this a standard for the new Displayport, then most monitors in the future could (and should) support it. But i'm sure i read an interview with AMD stating they were looking into adding it to older monitors with a software patch. Only time will tell.

How does one patch a monitor?

There's no easy reprogramming access to most without opening them up and using debug headers...

 

[David Dewis]

But unlike the Gsync, its not the monitor doing the work, its the GPU. Thats my understanding anyway. I know that the monitors have to support vblank, and chances are AMD were just theorizing (probably to get at Nvidia) but the slightest chance it could be added would be nice.

 

[aisalem]

AMD already demoed the tech on the standard laptop, which screen had vblank implemented.
Normal PC monitors does not have this old standard implemented as it was created for power saving purposes but now that it could be used for FreeSync it should be more common on new screens but definitely you can find few laptops with vblank compatible displays.

 

[aisalem]

AMD already demoed the tech on the standard laptop, which screen had vblank implemented.
Normal PC monitors does not have this old standard implemented as it was created for power saving purposes but now that it could be used for FreeSync it should be more common on new screens but definitely you can find few laptops with vblank compatible displays.

 

[alextheblue]

I know that the monitors have to support vblank

AMD already demoed the tech on the standard laptop, which screen had vblank implemented.
Normal PC monitors does not have this old standard implemented <snip> definitely you can find few laptops with vblank compatible displays.

Variable VBLANK. That's the issue. But if it becomes part of VESA and Displayport 1.2a, we'll see a lot more support, and probably at minimal cost. It has the potential to become very popular, I'll be waiting for these monitors to hit the market!

Looking at how Android flipped them all (proprietary stuff); Open Source is on wheels and looking pretty good. Guess AMD is going with the flow. We win.

Actually the open source parts of Android that Google wrote are mostly outdated and/or very basic. In other words by itself AOSP is all but useless for building a modern platform. You need a lot more stuff on top of it. To get all of the stuff you need to build a useful Android device you either have to build it all yourself (Amazon et al) or comply with Google requirements and produce a Google-compliant device using Google's closed source bits. That includes Google Play access. So forks don't get very much from Google, and Google is pretty openly hostile to forks or major modifications at this point.

Basically the best parts of Android are now part of their closed source code, although in some ways this is actually a good thing. Makes developers lives easier, for one. Either way Google isn't the big open source advocate people seem to think they are.

 

[xyriin]

FreeSync is still somewhat flawed. First as mentioned already it works on laptops which have a different display architecture than normal GPUs and panels. The key difference is that virtually EVERY monitor has a scalar ship in between the GPU output and the actual panel which means that FreeSync simply doesn't work. To date AMD still hasn't made it work on normal panels with existing technology.

FreeSync will require an ASIC on panels just like G-Sync. FreeSync will be an option in the DP 1.2a standard and not required. As such the only displays that will be FreeSync enabled will be panels that support the 1.2a option AND have an extra FreeSync ASIC. So is an 'open' option better? Sure in that it's open, but to date FreeSync is still a sub-prototype level product for desktop panels.