Should You Care if Your Monitor is Certified G-Sync Compatible?

wr3zzz

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Dec 31, 2007
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The article says G-sync cannot be ran over HDMI but according to Nvidia/LG their G-sync compatibility is certified for LG 2019 TV onward which only have HDMI ports.
 
Jan 8, 2021
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The article says G-sync cannot be ran over HDMI but according to Nvidia/LG their G-sync compatibility is certified for LG 2019 TV onward which only have HDMI ports.
I'm running g-sync over hdmi in my 2019 samsung TV, using a RTX 3060 ti, I've got some flickering issues, but now I have solved them. The only thing missing is that this TV is hdmi 2.0 so it only goes to 48-60hz at 4k, but it goes to 48-120 at 1440p and seems to double the frame if it goes below the 48hz
 

SethNW

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Jul 27, 2019
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Yeah, if you get an option to turn it in and your monitor supports adaptive sync, just go for it. Both gSync and FreeSync are standards and generally as long as they are implemented properly, it shouldn't matter if monitor is certified or not. Some failed certification just because FreeSync is off by default on monitor, one if nVidias certification requirements. But this doesn't really influence whether it will work as long as you turn it on in monitors settings. And thee is good 95%+ chance it will work. All failures nVidia has shown feel more like exaggeration to make it seem like gSync is better. Though especially with early FreeSync implementations, since AMD had much looser quality control, you can get few bad apples. It won't kill monitor, it will just cause issues so you will have to turn it off.

As for connection, as far as I know it should work with DP, HDMI might depend on version, since early on FreeSync over HDMI was AMD only feature. But I think HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 baked in adaptive sync to HDMI standard. Got older FreeSync monitor and it won't do gSync over HDMI, it doesn't even give me an option. But it will with Radeon card.
 

cknobman

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May 2, 2006
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I run GSync just fine on my $170 AOC 32' 1440p FreeSync monitor.
Sure it does not have the refresh range of a Nvidia certified monitor, but then again its less than half the cost.
And Nvidia says its not pay to play? YEAH RIGHT, the same model with GSync certification was $100 more.
 

When GSync compatible certification first started (^) there was one BIG caveat:
"They also validate that the monitor can operate in VRR at any game frame rate by supporting a VRR range of at least 2.4:1 (e.g. 60Hz-144Hz), and offer the gamer a seamless experience by enabling VRR by default. "

Yup, the last part of the sentence: "enabling VRR by default". Which means VRR needs to be enabled on the monitor "out-of-the-box". At least initially, that prevented a LARGE number of FreeSync displays from getting certified, even though their performance was on-par.
 
Jan 9, 2021
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This article seems to be misleading. Consumers are not interested in paying the Gsync "tax" and only having a small number of monitors to choose from if they want adaptive sync. Nvidia seems to have realized this and decided they can profit more from adding some monitors that fall into the "compatible" category. If there's too few nobody will buy them, if there's too many then what's the point of the Gsync compatible tag?
“One of the key requirements was to have FreeSync enabled by default"-- Nvidia is rejecting perfectly good monitors because they are too lazy to take the 5 seconds needed to turn on FreeSync? How does this keep the consumers best interests in mind?
All Gsync compatible does is piggyback on AMD's signal over the display port cable.

The best way to see if a FreeSync monitor works with your Nvidia card is to get a review on the monitor from a reputable site or video. They usually test adaptive sync.
 
Good news - at least FreeSync monitors are now supported by NVIDIA in GSync Compatibility mode. With a catch - DisplayPort input in monitor is mandatory. FreeSync monitors with only HDMI input will not qualify, I'm afraid.

Different question. Does Freesync/G-Sync add anything when running both FPS and Hz at or greater than 100? From my experience it adds nothing.
Lack of tearing overall and consistent frame representation without lagging feeling when FPS drop to 40..50 still is worth enough.