Am I Using G=Sync Correctly? (Stutters)

[Omie]

So I just built my new PC: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dNhpVY

 

I installed all the latest drivers and everything. I also made sure to setup Gsync in the NCP.

 

So I launch my first game with my new system: Marvel Heroes 2016.

 

As I'm moving around I notice that I get stutters when my fps drops from the 200's down to the 130's and 90's. I thought G-sync removed these? I also tried enabling V-sync in-game to cap my fps at my monitors refresh rate which is 144Hz. I still notice stutters when my fps drops to like the 120's and 90's during fights. My CPU temps are normal, never reaching past 60 degrees. Is this supposed to happen?

[Majestic]

No, at 200 fps your g-sync is not working.

No, vsync will cut the refreshrate to 72hz when it dips below 144hz, causing stutters.

 

You're doing it wrong

[ivan134]

7 minutes ago, Majestic said:

No, at 200 fps your g-sync is not working.

No, vsync will cut the refreshrate to 72hz when it dips below 144hz, causing stutters.

 

You're doing it wrong

Wait, why would vsync cut his frames in half?

[Omie]

1 hour ago, Majestic said:

No, at 200 fps your g-sync is not working.

No, vsync will cut the refreshrate to 72hz when it dips below 144hz, causing stutters.

 

You're doing it wrong

How am I supposed to do it "right" and eliminate the stutters? lol

[Megah3rtz]

G-Sync is Anti Screen Tearing tech is it not?

[HungryHamster]

I have a g-sync monitor (pg279q) and can confirm that it does not eliminate stuttering.

[Majestic]

1 hour ago, ivan134 said:

Wait, why would vsync cut his frames in half?

Because that's how Vsync works, if your monitor is operating at 144hz, then only 144fps will give you 0 tearing. 143fps means somewhere there will be an incomplete scan.

This means that this frame will not meet the correct refresh period and instead the GPU will send out the last rendered frame. Causing a double scan and effectively cutting the framerate in half. If v-sync can't maintain 144hz, it will go down by multiples. (72->36->18). Just like it does with 60hz (30fps->15fps).

 

1 hour ago, Megah3rtz said:

G-Sync is Anti Screen Tearing tech is it not?

That's extremely over simplified. It lets the screen communicate with the GPU to dynamically alter it's scanning frequency. Instead of adjusting the framerate to suit the monitor's static frequency. This tech only functions when within the operating parameters (between min. and max. frequency). Otherwise you end up with the same problems as v-sync.

1 hour ago, HungryHamster said:

I have a g-sync monitor (pg279q) and can confirm that it does not eliminate stuttering.

Depends on what is the underlying cause of them. If the engine halts for a brief period for whatever reason (HDD/CPU bottleneck) then no. But if it stems from the double scanning of the framebuffer then it sure as hell will eliminate it.

1 hour ago, Omie said:

How am I supposed to do it "right" and eliminate the stutters? lol

 

Haha, this is why Nvidia is having such a hard time selling it. People don't fucking get it, even if they buy it. You don't "eliminate the stutters" without understanding how the tech works. Why did you even fork up the +$100-200 for tech you don't even understand.

 

Read or watch video's explaining g-sync, and you'll understand why you're having issues.

 

 

[Darkseth]

4 hours ago, ivan134 said:

Wait, why would vsync cut his frames in half?

It doesn't cut the fps in half the whole time.

 

Your fps counter will NOT show 72 fps, when you dop to <144 fps.

 

What exactly happens is:

The GPU is synced to the Monitor --> it will NOT show multiple pictures at the same time (Tearing), only 1 full Picture.

The Monitor runs at fix 144 Hz, which means, it's refreshing the displayed Picture every 6,944 ms.

As long the GPU can deliver 144 fps, you can fit 144 fps into 144 Hz pretty easy. 6.944 ms time for each Picture displayed. Super smooth, perfectly even frametimes.

 

Now, what happens when you dip to 143 fps:

How do you fit 143 fps into 144 Hz? You can't. You won't strech them all.

What happens is, when the GPU is just a TAD too slow for the next picture, your Monitor will display the previous Picture for another Cycle.

 

The Monitor will show 142 Pictures normally with 6.944 ms for each, but then the last Picture needs to fill not 6.944 ms, but double of that: 13,88 ms.

This one Picture remains on the Screen for twice the Duration, which is a small stutter.

 

Technically, the fps ARE halfed, but only for this one Frame.

And if you drop to much lower in fps, you won't get 1 doubled Frame per second, but many more. Those "double frames" are all over the place, and this is what you percieve as "Stuttering".

 

Of course, 1 Stutter on a 144 Hz monitor (which lasts 13,8 ms instead 6,9), is much shorter/smaller, than 1 Stutter on a 60 Hz Monitor (33,4 ms instead 16,67 ms).

 

 

What you can do with a 144 Hz GSync monitor:

If you play a light game like LoL, CS:GO etc, where you are far over 144 fps: 

1. Just use VSync and cap at 144 Hz (If you use Gsync, it will use VSync over 144 anyway).

2. Use GSync, but activate FAST SYNC (this works especially, when your fps are much higher than your Monitor Hz

 

GSync comes into play, whenever you can NOT hold 144+ fps at all times.

 

 

And again to above: Stutter is caused, when the GPU is synced to the Monitor, and you can NOT hold the Hz as fps.

In that Case: V-Sync OFF eliminates stutter completely (but might cause Tearing). This is where GSync comes in, and syncs the monitor TO your GPU. The opposite of VSync.

 

If Stuttering is much worse for you than Tearing, then use Fast Sync above 144 Hz, and GSync below.

[Omie]

7 hours ago, Darkseth said:

It doesn't cut the fps in half the whole time.

 

Your fps counter will NOT show 72 fps, when you dop to <144 fps.

 

What exactly happens is:

The GPU is synced to the Monitor --> it will NOT show multiple pictures at the same time (Tearing), only 1 full Picture.

The Monitor runs at fix 144 Hz, which means, it's refreshing the displayed Picture every 6,944 ms.

As long the GPU can deliver 144 fps, you can fit 144 fps into 144 Hz pretty easy. 6.944 ms time for each Picture displayed. Super smooth, perfectly even frametimes.

 

Now, what happens when you dip to 143 fps:

How do you fit 143 fps into 144 Hz? You can't. You won't strech them all.

What happens is, when the GPU is just a TAD too slow for the next picture, your Monitor will display the previous Picture for another Cycle.

 

The Monitor will show 142 Pictures normally with 6.944 ms for each, but then the last Picture needs to fill not 6.944 ms, but double of that: 13,88 ms.

This one Picture remains on the Screen for twice the Duration, which is a small stutter.

 

Technically, the fps ARE halfed, but only for this one Frame.

And if you drop to much lower in fps, you won't get 1 doubled Frame per second, but many more. Those "double frames" are all over the place, and this is what you percieve as "Stuttering".

 

Of course, 1 Stutter on a 144 Hz monitor (which lasts 13,8 ms instead 6,9), is much shorter/smaller, than 1 Stutter on a 60 Hz Monitor (33,4 ms instead 16,67 ms).

 

 

What you can do with a 144 Hz GSync monitor:

If you play a light game like LoL, CS:GO etc, where you are far over 144 fps: 

1. Just use VSync and cap at 144 Hz (If you use Gsync, it will use VSync over 144 anyway).

2. Use GSync, but activate FAST SYNC (this works especially, when your fps are much higher than your Monitor Hz

 

GSync comes into play, whenever you can NOT hold 144+ fps at all times.

 

 

And again to above: Stutter is caused, when the GPU is synced to the Monitor, and you can NOT hold the Hz as fps.

In that Case: V-Sync OFF eliminates stutter completely (but might cause Tearing). This is where GSync comes in, and syncs the monitor TO your GPU. The opposite of VSync.

 

If Stuttering is much worse for you than Tearing, then use Fast Sync above 144 Hz, and GSync below.

Thanks. I'm going to probably just use Gsync and Vsync so I'm capped at 144 fps and then Gsync handles everything below that.

 

At first when I had Gsync to on and Vsync to off in both the Nvidia control panel and in-game settings, I was still stuttering. I'm not sure if that was because my fps was all over the place from 200fps down to 120's and 90's during intense fights.

 

Regardless, I hear that Gsync on + Vsync on in NCP but Vsync off in the in-game settings is the most commonly used pairing.

[AngeleJR]

I wouldn't recommend turning VSYNC on as it defeats the purpose of lowering the input lag of your monitor in games. I would recommend in game frame limiters before you try out RivaTuner from MSI afterburner as they will limit your FPS while still benefiting from Nvidia's GSYNC and low input latency.

[agenericusername]

Teraring and stuttering are different and there are different reasons you could be getting stuttering.

 

I thought I had read that Nvidia's recommendation is to enable gsync AND vsync in the NCP, and disable it in the actual game. The game's implementation of vsync is probably not aware you have gsync, while NCP is and will essentially serve to cap you at the monitor refresh rate but let you move smoothly when you're under, allowing gsync to do it thing.

Edited July 26, 2017 by agenericusername
Formatting

[storyr]

http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101/

 

TL:DR

Optimal G-SYNC Settings

Nvidia Control Panel Settings:

• Set up G-SYNC > Enable G-SYNC > Enable G-SYNC for full screen mode.
• Manage 3D settings > Vertical sync > On.

In-game Settings:

• Use “Fullscreen” or “Exclusive Fullscreen” mode (some games do not offer this option, or label borderless windowed as fullscreen).
• Disable all available “Vertical Sync,” “V-SYNC” and “Triple Buffering” options.
• If an in-game or config file FPS limiter is available, and framerate exceeds refresh rate:
  Set 3 FPS limit below display’s maximum refresh rate (57 FPS @60Hz, 97 FPS @100Hz, 117 FPS @120Hz, 141 FPS @144Hz, etc).

RTSS Settings:

• If an in-game or config file FPS limiter is not available and framerate exceeds refresh rate:
  Set 3 FPS limit below display’s maximum refresh rate (see G-SYNC 101: External FPS Limiters HOWTO).