nvidia unlocks future gsync for amd gpus

[spartaman64]

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It looks like good things do come to those who wait. A recent TFT Central report reveals that Nvidia is finally opening up its G-Sync technology, which fights screen tearing on gaming monitors but has been reserved for PCs running an Nvidia graphics card, to AMD graphics card owners.

Choosing between a G-Sync and FreeSync monitor used to be straight-forward. You were basically confined to the first if you owned a Nvidia graphics card and to the latter if you had an AMD graphics card. However, Nvidia in January added Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support to its GeForce graphics cards, so people could use G-Sync with monitors lacking Nvidia's proprietary chip, as long as it complied with VESA's DisplayPort Adaptive Sync standard and Nvidia validated it. They call these monitors G-Sync Compatible. We've even found that some FreeSync monitors not certified as G-Sync Compatible can run G-Sync if you follow our instructions on how to run G-Sync on a FreeSync monitor. 

However, AMD graphics card owners have still been unable to use a monitor's G-Sync feature. Now, six long years after G-Sync's introduction, Nvidia has finally decided to welcome the Red Team.

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TFT Central confirmed with Nvidia that future G-Sync monitors will support HDMI-VRR and Adaptive Sync over HDMI and DisplayPort. Naturally, a new firmware will be required to bring the two new features to the G-Sync displays, and one for both the G-Sync v1 and v2 hardware modules is already in the works. Basically, this means that AMD graphics card and console owners will be able to use a G-Sync monitor with their setup. 

"So if you have an AMD graphics card, you could still enjoy the VRR experience and other additional benefits that the G-sync module brings even from a native G-sync screen, which was previously out of reach to those users," TFT said. However, it's uncertain if users will be able to reap G-Sync's full benefits. 

But there is a caveat. The new firmware will only be compatible with future G-Sync displays, such as the Acer Predator XB273 X. Nvidia told TFT Central that the new firmware will not work with existing G-Sync monitors on the market.

source: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/gsync-monitor-with-amd-graphics-card-nvidia

 

Great move by nvidia its nice to see companies working together on standards in ways that will benefit consumers. Now when is nvidia going to open up rtx :P. It will be interesting to see whether monitor manufacturers will go for the new g sync modules or just try to make g sync compatible adaptive sync monitors.

[Fasauceome]

Nvidia:

"Oh shoot, locking our special display technology off makes people less likely to buy our graphics cards for adaptive sync"

Nvidia, later:

"Oh shoot, enabling the open standard Freesync on our GPUs has made people stop buying our really expensive monitors"

[GoldenLag]

Finally we have Freesync compatible monitors!

 

and dont worry about Nvidia finally doing a good thing. People will somehow make it seem like a bad thing

[Princess Luna]

So when they finally brought support to Freesync pretty much everyone stop buying G-Sync monitors to save up those 200 dollars while retaining the same experience? You don't say!

[LAwLz]

28 minutes ago, Princess Luna said:

So when they finally brought support to Freesync pretty much everyone stop buying G-Sync monitors to save up those 200 dollars while retaining the same experience? You don't say!

I still haven't seen anyone actually prove that the G-Sync module just adds an extra 200 dollars to the monitor.

All the comparisons I've seen are G-Sync monitors vs significantly worse FreeSync monitors. Of course inferior products are cheaper than good ones.

[porina]

I think I saw somewhere that VRR technology on the transport (HDMI or DP) was going mandatory, and no longer optional. If so, nvidia has no choice but to support it or be cut off from future versions of the standards. Anyone know different? If what I wrote is correct, that kinda implies VRR also has to be supported, which doesn't necessarily make sense on all displays.

 

That doesn't mean G-sync has no value. It is still going to be the premium VRR technology. You want the best, you can still pay for it. If G-sync compatible is good enough, you can go for that. You can go lower if you accept the limitations that go with it. Not everyone has best everything.

[Drak3]

36 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

People will somehow make it seem like a bad thing

Nvidia's so evil! They're doing something that doesn't fit into my worldview of Nvidia being evil!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy now?

[GoldenLag]

4 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Happy now?

Something -something GeForce Partner Program

 

 

 

 

Now im happy. 

[MageTank]

12 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

I still haven't seen anyone actually prove that the G-Sync module just adds an extra 200 dollars to the monitor.

All the comparisons I've seen are G-Sync monitors vs significantly worse FreeSync monitors. Of course inferior products are cheaper than good ones.

I've tested and used both G-Sync and FreeSync panels. Like all products, there are going to be good and bad implementations of both technologies. G-Sync in my opinion offers a better experience on average, but that doesn't mean it's perfect either. The Acer XB273K (first gen) that I own using the new G-Sync 2 (Ultimate) module sacrificed Lightboost for FALD, which feels poorly implemented as it can cause random blanking when used, especially when watching videos that change from light to dark backgrounds. I'd much rather have Lightboost for the less graphically demanding games that I play.

 

Cheap FreeSync monitors are basically worthless in my opinion, especially when paired with an Nvidia GPU. Some panels I've tested will randomly lose their input and swap between DP and HDMI when Freesync is enabled, and others had issues with half of the screen outright disappearing on the budget ultrawides. They also suffer from a very limited VRR range, severely reducing their effectiveness. Now with that being said, some of the premium Freesync panels feel absolutely smooth, just as good as Freesync. I can't vouch for how it would feel if one were to dip too low in framerates, but for the most part, I cannot tell the difference between a good Freesync panel and good G-Sync panel.

 

I am happy to see that Nvidia opened the standard up to everyone and made VRR tech more accessible, I just wish this would translate over to the mobile scene. Mobile is arguably the most important market for VRR tech as they typically have hardware that would be of more dire need for it. Right now, G-Sync on mobile is sketchy at best, as you can buy a panel directly from a G-Sync laptop and pair it with a compatible GTX or RTX card, but because your cards VBIOS didn't whitelist the panel, it will not work. I'd rather see it implemented the way things are on desktop systems, and simply let laptop users roll the dice as to whether or not they want to enable VRR tech.

 

This concludes my mini rant.

 

EDIT: Added a part about Freesync's limited VRR range on cheaper panels.

[JZStudios]

1 hour ago, GoldenLag said:

Finally we have Freesync compatible monitors!

 

and dont worry about Nvidia finally doing a good thing. People will somehow make it seem like a bad thing

Well it is very unlike them. Usually they do whatever they can the fuck AMD over.

But considering the Freesync is an open standard that costs less there's still going to be more of those monitors.

[Morgan MLGman]

That's great to hear, from a customer standpoint it wasn't an easy decision to choose which "ecosystem" one should join.

[DrMacintosh]

I bought the Dell S2719DGF for $280. I don't need Nvidia handouts to get adaptive sync. 

 

Nvidia is not the good guy here, they went "Adaptive refresh is ours" to "well I guess we should let other people have it" only because AMD made Freesync FREE and nobody wanted to pay double for their monitor because it had a BS GSync module. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

2 hours ago, spartaman64 said:

Now when is nvidia going to open up rtx

The only RTX feature that's closed is DLSS, which honestly is more trouble than it's worth until a more generic algorithm can be made.

[Zando_]

4 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

I bought the Dell S2719DGF for $280. I don't need Nvidia handouts to get adaptive sync. 

 

Nvidia is not the good guy here, they went "Adaptive refresh is ours" to "well I guess we should let other people have it" only because AMD made Freesync FREE and nobody wanted to pay double for their monitor because it had a BS GSync module. 

As far as I know, AMD didn't make Freesync free, they took an open (already free) standard and slapped a cool name on it. 

 

From what I've seen, G-Sync displays are usually higher quality panels to begin with, and g-sync overall is a better experience. Being an open standard, Freesync has a lot of leeway in implementations, so some are shitty and others are nice, but it varies by monitor. G-Sync panels are held to a higher standard of quality because OEMs have to go through Nvidia to be approved. 

[Rune]

2 hours ago, Princess Luna said:

So when they finally brought support to Freesync pretty much everyone stop buying G-Sync monitors to save up those 200 dollars while retaining the same experience? You don't say!

As someone with both gsync and freesync monitors, the gsync ultimate experience is still better than gsync on freesync. Is it worth the extra money? Eh.

[DrMacintosh]

11 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

G-Sync panels are held to a higher standard of quality because OEMs have to go through Nvidia to be approved. 

That's not a good thing imo.

[spartaman64]

10 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

As far as I know, AMD didn't make Freesync free, they took an open (already free) standard and slapped a cool name on it. 

 

From what I've seen, G-Sync displays are usually higher quality panels to begin with, and g-sync overall is a better experience. Being an open standard, Freesync has a lot of leeway in implementations, so some are shitty and others are nice, but it varies by monitor. G-Sync panels are held to a higher standard of quality because OEMs have to go through Nvidia to be approved. 

I think it's more like they made the standard and then gave it to vesa. Amd was the first to showcase the technology

[Rune]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

That's not a good thing imo.

Sounds like Apple.

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Rune said:

As someone with both gsync and freesync monitors, the gsync ultimate experience is still better than gsync on freesync. Is it worth the extra money? Eh.

I own an Acer X34 with G-Sync and a Viotek GN34CB with Freesync, testing on a 2080 Ti both Adaptive Sync works the same for me ':x

 

Sure it depends greatly on implementations but high end Freesync panels are still cheaper than high end G-sync panels... this isn't about buying the cheapest monitor with Freesync and expecting it to be the same of a high end monitor featuring G-Sync.

[Drak3]

6 minutes ago, Rune said:

Sounds like Apple.

Now you stop that. You stop pointing out that irony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

Because that’s my job.

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

10 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

That's not a good thing imo.

So the developer of a standard shouldn't be allowed to enforce a minimum quality?

 

No wonder USB is so fucked.

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

That's not a good thing imo.

Makes for a more consistent experience for consumers. There's a price bump but that's pretty normal for a more premium product. Basically:

1 hour ago, porina said:

That doesn't mean G-sync has no value. It is still going to be the premium VRR technology. You want the best, you can still pay for it. If G-sync compatible is good enough, you can go for that. You can go lower if you accept the limitations that go with it. Not everyone has best everything.

Same as people reeing about the 5700 XT vs the 2070 Super, the 2070 Super does actually have reasons to cost more and it is indeed the better card. 

Or:

9 minutes ago, Rune said:

Sounds like Apple.

MacOS/iOS supported hardware goes through Apple. Results in a price premium (and less choices overall), but usually makes for a better, more consistent experience for consumers. 

 

Also yes:

1 minute ago, Mira Yurizaki said:

So the developer of a standard shouldn't be allowed to enforce a minimum quality?

 

No wonder USB is so fucked.

 

[FlappyBoobs]

13 minutes ago, Rune said:

As someone with both gsync and freesync monitors, the gsync ultimate experience is still better than gsync on freesync. Is it worth the extra money? Eh.

Thats what I was wondering (so thank you for saying it). I've just upgraded my old monitor to one that supports gsync over freesync and the experience with it on compared to my old non vrr panel is outstanding. Everything feels smoother now, even at 60fps, and I can't imagine gsync would have been worth either the extra cash, or the downgrade in specs I would have taken if I went with that instead. 

[MageTank]

40 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

I bought the Dell S2719DGF for $280. I don't need Nvidia handouts to get adaptive sync. 

 

Nvidia is not the good guy here, they went "Adaptive refresh is ours" to "well I guess we should let other people have it" only because AMD made Freesync FREE and nobody wanted to pay double for their monitor because it had a BS GSync module. 

To be fair, FreeSync isn't entirely "free", especially FreeSync 2 panels which now require a certification process similar to Nvidia's. Sure, it does not require additional hardware like Nvidia's expensive FPGA, but that certification does cost money, and can be passed off to the consumers in some way.

 

The G-Sync module isn't entirely worthless either. The first generation module included support for backlight strobing (lightboost) which was fantastic at alleviating motion blur assuming you could maintain an even framerate (120hz). The G-Sync 2 module provides a requirement for FALD when used in conjunction with HDR, which can be amazing for more accurate black color and shadows, but pretty awful when the image is rapidly changing from light to dark. 

 

Having had access to several G-Sync and FreeSync panels, I still chose to pay the G-Sync premium. There is a peace of mind with the certification process, and some of the added features can be useful depending on what I am doing. Whether or not it's worth it, that's entirely subjective. The real question is whether or not Nvidia is going to truly expand on this and let laptops with AMD and Intel iGPU's use their G-Sync certified panels. So far, their artificial limitations for mobile GPU's is wearing thin on consumers.

[pas008]

1 hour ago, spartaman64 said:

I think it's more like they made the standard and then gave it to vesa. Amd was the first to showcase the technology

co created? maybe?

vesa does have many members though

dp1.2a had adaptive sync protocol in jan 2013?

freesync 2014

 

curious myself now you talk about it