G-SYNC 101: Control Panel


G-SYNC Module

The G-SYNC module is a small chip that replaces the display’s standard internal scaler, and contains enough onboard memory to hold and process a single frame at a time.

The module exploits the vertical blanking interval (the span between the previous and next frame scan) to manipulate the display’s internal timings; performing G2G (gray to gray) overdrive calculations to prevent ghosting, and synchronizing the display’s refresh rate to the GPU’s render rate to eliminate tearing, along with the delayed frame delivery and adjoining stutter caused by traditional syncing methods.

G-SYNC Demo

The below Blur Busters Test UFO motion test pattern uses motion interpolation techniques to simulate the seamless framerate transitions G-SYNC provides within the refresh rate, when directly compared to standalone V-SYNC.

G-SYNC Activation

“Enable for full screen mode” (exclusive fullscreen functionality only) will automatically engage when a supported display is connected to the GPU. If G-SYNC behavior is suspect or non-functioning, untick the “Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible” box, apply, re-tick, and apply.

Blur Buster's G-SYNC 101: Control Panel

G-SYNC Windowed Mode

“Enable for windowed and full screen mode” allows G-SYNC support for windowed and borderless windowed mode. This option was introduced in a 2015 driver update, and by manipulating the DWM (Desktop Windows Manager) framebuffer, enables G-SYNC’s VRR (variable refresh rate) to synchronize to the focused window’s render rate; unfocused windows remain at the desktop’s fixed refresh rate until focused on.

G-SYNC only functions on one window at a time, and thus any unfocused window that contains moving content will appear to stutter or slow down, a reason why a variety of non-gaming applications (popular web browsers among them) include predefined Nvidia profiles that disable G-SYNC support.

Note: this setting may require a game or system restart after application; the “G-SYNC Indicator” (Nvidia Control Panel > Display > G-SYNC Indicator) can be enabled to verify it is working as intended.

G-SYNC Preferred Refresh Rate

“Highest available” automatically engages when G-SYNC is enabled, and overrides the in-game refresh rate selector (if present), defaulting to the highest supported refresh rate of the display. This is useful for games that don’t include a selector, and ensures the display’s native refresh rate is utilized.

“Application-controlled” adheres to the desktop’s current refresh rate, or defers control to games that contain a refresh rate selector.

Note: this setting only applies to games being run in exclusive fullscreen mode. For games being run in borderless or windowed mode, the desktop dictates the refresh rate.

G-SYNC & V-SYNC

G-SYNC (GPU Synchronization) works on the same principle as double buffer V-SYNC; buffer A begins to render frame A, and upon completion, scans it to the display. Meanwhile, as buffer A finishes scanning its first frame, buffer B begins to render frame B, and upon completion, scans it to the display, repeat.

The primary difference between G-SYNC and V-SYNC is the method in which rendered frames are synchronized. With V-SYNC, the GPU’s render rate is synchronized to the fixed refresh rate of the display. With G-SYNC, the display’s VRR (variable refresh rate) is synchronized to the GPU’s render rate.

Upon its release, G-SYNC’s ability to fall back on fixed refresh rate V-SYNC behavior when exceeding the maximum refresh rate of the display was built-in and non-optional. A 2015 driver update later exposed the option.

This update led to recurring confusion, creating a misconception that G-SYNC and V-SYNC are entirely separate options. However, with G-SYNC enabled, the “Vertical sync” option in the control panel no longer acts as V-SYNC, and actually dictates whether, one, the G-SYNC module compensates for frametime variances output by the system (which prevents tearing at all times. G-SYNC + V-SYNC “Off” disables this behavior; see G-SYNC 101: Range), and two, whether G-SYNC falls back on fixed refresh rate V-SYNC behavior; if V-SYNC is “On,” G-SYNC will revert to V-SYNC behavior above its range, if V-SYNC is “Off,” G-SYNC will disable above its range, and tearing will begin display wide.

Within its range, G-SYNC is the only syncing method active, no matter the V-SYNC “On” or “Off” setting.

Currently, when G-SYNC is enabled, the control panel’s “Vertical sync” entry is automatically engaged to “Use the 3D application setting,” which defers V-SYNC fallback behavior and frametime compensation control to the in-game V-SYNC option. This can be manually overridden by changing the “Vertical sync” entry in the control panel to “Off,” “On,” or “Fast.”



3195 Comments For “G-SYNC 101”

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BanTheRobot
Member
BanTheRobot

Did something recently change? I have a 240hz 4K monitor, when I set V-Sync on inside NCP with V-Sync off in game, my FPS gets capped at 120hz. Any ideas? I dont have anything else capping it, if I disable V-Sync in NCP my FPS returns to normal.

BAL4NCE
Member
BAL4NCE

Hi, I dont know why I got unstable FPS like 200~357(I limited FPS to 357) in Varolant when I turn Gsync+Vsync+FPS-3 limited. When I turn off Vsync , FPS become stable like 340~357. Can you give me some suggestion plz!

Ghokury
Member
Ghokury

Should this guide work for a laptop with Vesa Adaptive Sync and Nvidia GPU?
Haven’t tried using Reflex yet, but I suppose it won’t limit the FPS like with G-Sync, but the rest should work.

Ghokury
Member
Ghokury

Yes, Reflex doesn’t limit FPS in this case like with G-Sync.

vastoa
Member
vastoa

I applied all of the appropriate settings on this page and there’s an issue with how my fps is capped.

The problem:
No matter what I do, my FPS won’t go above 158. There are very very very rare cases where it (for a short time) will go to a stable 162, but as soon as I tabbed out and back in, it went back to 158. (I think this has happened maybe 3 times and I’ve been using these settings for about 7 months now.)

My specs:

Monitor: 165hz 1440p (G-SYNC compatible)
GPU: RTX 2080 Super
CPU: i7-9700k

In this example I’m gonna use Rocket League but it happens in all of my other games too.

These are my settings:

Windows:
Powerplan > High performance

NVCP:
G-SYNC > Enable for full screen mode
Vsync > On
Low Latency Mode > On

Ingame:
Vsync > Off
FPS Limit > 162

To make clear I’ve already tried and hasn’t worked:
– Set the FPS Limit through NVCP
– Set LLM to Ultra
– Remove FPS Limit (still stays at exactly 158)

To make something else clear:
My pc runs Rocket League with over 500 FPS without these settings, so it’s definitely not a hardware issue.

I don’t really know what else I could do and any help is appreciated.

finaltidus
Member
finaltidus

Hi Jorimt! Glad to see this article is still active!

I recently got to know this feature in Windows 10 called Multi Plane Overlay aka MPO.

I googled heavily and it seems that it is generally recommended to disable this feature as it sometimes causes some stutter problems. Although it seems that on the latest drivers the problems seems to be fixed.

My current settings on NVCP are as follows on my i5 8600k and RTX 4070:

Set up G-SYNC > Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible > Enable for full screen mode.
Manage 3D settings > Vertical sync > On
LLM> Off

I have a Dell G3223Q 4k 144hz monitor connection via Displayport 1.4. This is a 10 bit monitor capable of HDR600. But I ONLY use SDR as I feel HDR is too bright for my eyes.

I have 2 questions but not sure if you are able to help:

Do I enable or disable MPO? What are your views?

Do I enable 10bit color for SDR n NVCP? Does this affect the performance on the monitor or games in general and introduce performance overheads for the GPU?

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