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G-SYNC 101: Hidden Benefits of High Refresh Rate G-SYNC

Published Jun 20, 2017 by in: G-SYNC

Bonus Points

Often overlooked is G-SYNC’s ability to adjust the refresh rate to lower fixed framerates. This can be particularly useful for games hard-locked to 60 FPS, and has potential in emulators to replicate unique signals such as the 60.1Hz of NES games, which would otherwise be impossible to reproduce. And due to the scanout speed increase at 100Hz+ refresh rates, an input lag reduction can be had as well…

Blur Buster's G-SYNC 101: Input Lag & Optimal Settings

The results show a considerable input lag reduction on a 144Hz G-SYNC display @60 FPS vs. a 60Hz G-SYNC display @58 FPS with first on-screen reactions measured (middle screen would show about half this reduction). And while each frame is still rendered in 16.6ms, and delivered in intervals of 60 per second on the higher refresh rate display, they are scanned in at a much faster 6.9ms per.

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3140 Comments For “G-SYNC 101”

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taef
Member
taef

so I have 540hz monitor but it’s 500hz bc I’m using windows 10, I’m playing fortnite and for so long I struggled with drop frames, even with low settings and low usage of both cpu and gpu, I’ve tried your method gsync+vsync and capped frames. the game running soo much better. thanks to you. but I’m still experiencing some drop frames but not as much as before, what should I do at this point. and what to cap my frames at?

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1 day 3 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

I’m still experiencing some drop frames but not as much as before, what should I do at this point. and what to cap my frames at?

No amount of tinkering will prevent all frametime spikes, or what I assume you’re referring to as “dropped frames,” so if you have the game set to the lowest graphical settings and are using G-SYNC + V-SYNC + framerate within the refresh rate, you’re achieving the lowest possible tear-free latency and the highest possible performance on your particular system in that game, at least.

As for what to cap your frames at in Fortnite, if you’re seeking the highest possible consistency, you’d limit it a few frames below your system’s lowest achievable average framerate (I.E. the number at which the framerate drop and stays at for more than a few seconds in a given match), which would then ensure a near constant fixed average.

The rest is down to variance in session-to-session performance and general engine/netcode limitations like amount of players and effects on-screen in any given scene, your ping and connection to the server and your ISP, etc.

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22 hours 2 minutes ago
voicon
Member
voicon

If my screen is 165Hz, and I play Pugb Moblie on Gameloop at only 120 Fps, how do I optimize the latency?
Currently I still have lag when shooting

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2 days 23 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

Properly configured G-SYNC removes tearing artifacts while preventing the added latency and stutter standalone V-SYNC does at the same framerates within the refresh rate.

G-SYNC does not directly improve frametime or framerate performance or reduce system-side latency unrelated to sync latency.

Feel free to create a new topic in our forums, as your question is unrelated to G-SYNC operation:
https://forums.blurbusters.com/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=77532be1528ba4ee6097b26f2403b5ca

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2 days 13 hours ago
voicon
Member
voicon

Sorry for the lack of writing but I have turned on NVCP G-Gsync on and NVCP V-Sync but still stuttering and lagging, for emulation should I turn on G-Sync + V Sync or turn them all off?

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2 days 21 minutes ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

G-SYNC will not fix the performance, stuttering, or lag issues you’re describing, it will only fix tearing.

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1 day 21 hours ago
Skirtap
Member
Skirtap

Some poeple recommend 141 fps, some 142 fps, which one should I choose? Have you noticed any screen tearing etc. with the 142 fps option?

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3 days 3 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

There won’t be screen tearing with the recommended G-SYNC + V-SYNC configuration, regardless of FPS limit.

That said, you’re commenting in the very article that found a -2 FPS limit was low enough to keep G-SYNC active, with a -3 FPS limit ultimately recommended as a general starting point for “safety” reasons.

Anything at or below -2 FPS is generally fine for 240Hz and below refresh rates, especially when, say, RTSS is used, as it limits by frametime.

Higher refresh rates (360Hz+) may or may not require a lower limit due to the lower tolerances and higher frametime jitter at those frame/refresh rates, but it can depend on the game and/or limiter.

If you want to be excessively safe at 144Hz, you can use a 138 FPS limit; anything lower at that refresh rate will just be wasting frames, at least where keeping the framerate within the G-SYNC range is concerned.

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3 days 1 hour ago
Aikera
Member
Aikera

Is there a difference in latency between 142 fps and 141 fps?

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2 days 2 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

The difference between the two isn’t latency, it’s frametime; each frame at 142 FPS averages a render time of 7.04ms, whereas each frame at 141 FPS averages a render time of 7.09ms, for a minuscule average frametime difference of 0.05ms.

So no, there isn’t a difference in actual input latency where 141 vs. 142 FPS at 144HZ with G-SYNC is concerned.

To be clear, the minimum -3 over -2 FPS recommendation is to better account for the frametime variance across different limiters.

For instance, even limiters such as RTSS, which limits by locking frametime, can drift slightly, and those that drift more may even oscillate as much 1-2 frames. I.E. set a limiter to 142 FPS, and it can potentially bounce between 141 and 143, and so on.

If perfect frametime were achievable, one could hypothetically set the limiter a fraction of a frame below the refresh rate and remain within the G-SYNC range, but tolerances in this scenario are not viable, hence the need for “padding.”

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1 day 21 hours ago
Skirtap
Member
Skirtap

Thank you!

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2 days 15 hours ago
claulo
Member
claulo

Hello
I acquired a Samsung G6 OLED monitor, with 360Hz. My pc has the following components: 4080s tuf, 78003dx, asrock 650m pg wifi, xflare ddr5 16×32 cl32 6000mhz, thermalright 850w platinum. I’ve noticed that in some games, there are some jumps between fps that are annoying to look at. For example, in a plague tale requiem, all ultra in 2k, I range between 95 and 130. It’s not stuttering, but it is annoying. I wanted to know what type of configuration I use, and if it is necessary to cap the fps in the nvidia panel.

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4 days 5 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

See my first response to @Zehdah’s comment below yours…

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3 days 11 hours ago
Zehdah
Member
Zehdah

Hey, so I have a 3080, playing on a 240hz G sync monitor, I followed this guide (G sync on, V sync on in Nvidia control panel, off in game, cap FPS to 3 below monitor) and it has worked smoothly for every game. But in unoptimised games like recent releases such as The First Descendant, what do you do to optimise the game? My GPU is running at max, 300-320W, 70 degrees, 99% load, in these games, in other games I’ve never reached such power draw even at 200+ FPS. Wondering if I should cap at like 120 since the game reaches around 125 max.

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7 days 8 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

Properly configured G-SYNC prevents tearing artifacts, and that’s about the extent of it.

Framerate limiting in the cases the system can’t reach the refresh rate for increased consistency is down to the individual game and user preferences and not directly related to G-SYNC operation.

I personally prefer consistency over maximum possible framerate, so if a game can only average, say, 130-150 FPS, I limit it to 120, if it can only reach 65-80 FPS, I limit to 60, and so forth.

This will typically ensure the GPU usage isn’t maxed (preventing additional render queue-level latency), as well as increase perceived frametime/framerate consistency, but again, how, when, and at what number the limiter is set to can be situational and down to user preference.

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3 days 11 hours ago
claulo
Member
claulo

Should i limit via game, or NVCP?

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3 days 8 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

That’s also situational; in-game limiters are typically lowest latency, RTSS typically has steadier frametime performance at the expense of 1/2 to 1 frame higher latency than in-game, Nvidia Max Frame Rate is similar to RTSS.

Further, some games react differently to each limiter, so experimentation may be required.

See my optimal G-SYNC settings for if/else FPS limiter recommendations (prioritizes lowest latency):
https://blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101-input-lag-tests-and-settings/14/

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3 days 4 hours ago
wpDiscuz

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