The real difference between "Free-Sync" vs G-Sync

[Ashaira]

Am i right to say that no 4K display that was announced so far has support for DP 1.3?

[afa7336]

Am i right to say that no 4K display that was announced so far has support for DP 1.3?

 

As far as I am aware correct, and to be fair, no G-Sync 4k Monitors have been announced either. Asus did mod a G-Sync module onto their expensive one, but no plans to sell it from what PCPer was told.

 

Edit: I want to clarify this, Displayport 1.3 standard has NOT been adopted yet, so there technically is NO official DP 1.3 standard. Its expected to be finalized in Q2 2014, with no exact timeframe of pushout of monitors or firmware updates.

[Poocannon]

The question really becomes, a. When will this standard come out? b. how many monitors forward will adopt it in new designs? c. How many will make their older models compatible with firmware and to a lesser extent how many monitors can have their firmware updated? d. how many monitors can be made backwards compatible? e. How long will it be before it comes to homes near you? f. Lots of people will still have to buy new monitors as some won't support the standard and others don't have displayport.

 

The thing is, how long are people willing to wait and see what the 1.3 standard adopts and when it comes out. As PCPer noted, Displayport hasn't always been the quickest standard to be adopted to say the least. Would you be willing to wait till say November/December 2014 before it becomes a reality? I know several people I've talked to that said if it ain't out soon, they're selling their cards and buying a G-Sync monitor and a Nvidia card. That would actually hurt AMD more then anything. In all honesty it was pretty dumb yet smart for AMD to do this at CES. It was really done to take a stab at G-Sync with no real substance. If AMD waits too long, they're going to shoot themselves in the foot and drive people to Nvidia.

 

If I don't have to buy into a proprietary system, and the monitor doesn't cost 150~bugs extra for a little pcb with a chip on it that costs maybe 10$ to manufacture, then yes, it's worth the wait.

[bluedyguard]

so...

G-Sync = Desktop elitist (Thanks to Nvidia for actually thinking of us)

Free-Sync = Laptop paddy (Because AMD wanted to help out all the newbies with their first Gaming computer)

 

i like it

"desktop elitist", *hanging myself*.

[Kyle Waitforit Gorter]

Sweet lord buddy!!! We haven't tested it out ourselves yet! Even I want to see which does better for free!

[Kuzma]

You haven't heard of PC Per? The main guy Ryan has been on the WAN show before.

 

They came up with the whole frame-rating thing a while back which forced AMD to update their drivers (it's a much more accurate way of capturing the FPS in a game). That's when I discovered them anyway. It's one of my favourite hardware news/reviews sites (& podcast) now. 

 

I've seen them linked often on here. 

I've seen them linked here a lot and I've known about them (i missed that WAN show) but I've never really seen them in that form (having a nice intellectual debate).

[leipero]

so...

G-Sync = Desktop elitist (Thanks to Nvidia for actually thinking of us)

Free-Sync = Laptop paddy (Because AMD wanted to help out all the newbies with their first Gaming computer)

 

i like it

Absolutely incorrect statement.

 

G-Sync = nVidia (closed) implementation of dynamic refresh rates.

Free-Sync = AMD implementation of dynamic refresh rates, not limited to AMD (from what i did read and understanded).

 

It is very clear to me what will be industry standard used by AMD and both nVidia and Intel, because it should bring dynamic refresh rate "technology" to where it belongs (display manufacturers). That is what should have been available for at least 5 years now (since worldwide "complete" adoption of LCD's).

[mr moose]

A lot of assumption in this thread, really guys. Some of you are posting like you know how much it costs to implement the Gsync scaler and that there is no "new product" markup, others seem to think they know how long it will take to implement Vblank and when the standard will be adopted and that everyone will have it and that its free and that worst case scenario you only have to flash the monitors firmware. Don't about you guys but I can't flash any of the firmware in the 5 monitors in my house.

[Torand]

@exyia

 

I've added an edit to the original thread, forwarding people to come here before commenting.

 

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/98712-amd-freesync-amds-free-g-sync-alternative/

[El_indian]

You talking about the fan speeds for the 290/290X in press vs. retail? I think that issue popped up first in an article on Tom's Hardware, then other sites checked it out (some saw the same thing, some didn't.)

 

But yeah, the PC Perspective podcast is great and one of my favorites to listen to.

 

No this was much earlier. Here are a few articles:

 

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-New-Graphics-Performance-Metric

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-Dissected-Full-Details-Capture-based-Graphics-Performance-Testin

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-Catalyst-138-Brings-Frame-Pacing-AMD-Radeon

[Tam3n]

Free sync will come sooner or later, it's just matter of the monitor makers updating their specs.

[iisshaun]

When they were explaining this is in the demo it was quickly apparent that this was only for laptops.

[TheCanadianGamer16]

So it's now even more not amazing... and Linus said this would change the mobile industry  <_<

 

AMD, make your move!

it WILL change the mobile industry, a laptop is considered mobile, so yes, for the mobile side of things, it will happen, but not until desktop monitors no longer have the limits that the current ASIC scaler has holding it back

[TheCanadianGamer16]

When they were explaining this is in the demo it was quickly apparent that this was only for laptops.

not only for laptops, it could theoretically be possible for tablets and smartphones as they have similar ways of transmitting display info from the graphics chip to the display

[TheCanadianGamer16]

It's just Nvidia down-playing FreeSync as it poses a serious threat to a bullet-point "feature" and possible source of revenue.

The fact remains that FreeSync utilizes VBLANK which is supported in DisplayPort 1.3 and can simply be added with a firmware update to any compliant monitor.

This includes a number of desktop monitors available today.

 

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Variable-Refresh-FreeSync-Could-Be-Alternative-NVIDIA-G-Sync

technically speaking, it can't just be patched in through a firmware update, the statement clearly says it is limited by the ASIC scaler chip in current displays

[TERAFLOP]

technically speaking, it can't just be patched in through a firmware update, the statement clearly says it is limited by the ASIC scaler chip in current displays

 

Finally, as a last minute stirring of the pot, I received an email from AMD's Koduri that indicated that there might be some monitors already on the market that could support variable refresh rate TODAY with just a firmware update.  This would be possible if a display was shipping with a controller that happened to coincidentally support variable refresh, perhaps in an early stage of development for the upcoming DP 1.3 standard.  We are trying to find a list of these monitors so we can talk with them and ask for these necessary changes.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Variable-Refresh-FreeSync-Could-Be-Alternative-NVIDIA-G-Sync

[X1XNobleX1X]

Mantle is open source. AMD also gave Nvidia TressFX. Nvidia just needs to adopt Mantle, although not entirely sure how.

Is it really?

Interesting.

[Kuzma]

Is it really?

Interesting.

The fanboy is strong in this one. And this one too *points at self*. I'm not gonna lie I'm quite an AMD fanboy but I give respect to Nvidia for what they do and I think you should for AMD too .

[Thecrazyswede]

Is it just me or does the free sync and display port option seem to make more sense for manufacturers?

[A/C]

Scr*w that, give us Oculus Rift.

[kinkywink]

I read it, chill out. My point was it was an Nvidia guy defending his company's decision to licence out tech. Defending by telling us why doing it free is not possible. 

 

Your ability to comprehend what the word "defend" means in its application to what I wrote baffles me. He defends it by arguing against a non propitiatory  standard. Do you understand what I just said?

 

You seem asshurt some how by AMD's showcase. Chill with the generalized blanket critique in your opening and maybe you might get people to have a civilized discussion. 

he never "defended" his company

nothing was said that it couldnt be done for "free"

come to think of it money wasnt even mentioned

 

all that was said amd demo was show cased on a laptop. this is DIFFERENT to a desktop monitor.

for the reason that a laptop is different and that desktops use other video transfer methods (I.E cords - hdmi, dvi, etc -) That is why nvidia decided to develope G-sync.

 

so to you, i say Chill Out, stop being asshurt and, naive.

theres nothing wrong with this "discussion" he was merely trying to avoid people like you

[Neddamka]

These were the sections that stood out to me:

 

AMD interest was validation of Nvidia's work in this area.

 

Nvidia's intent in building the G-Sync module was to enable this capability and thus to nudge the industry in the right direction.

 

Nvidia and AMD do seem to agree on some of the key issues here. Both firms have told us that the technology to support variable refresh rates exists in some cases already. Both have said that the biggest challenge to widespread adoption of the tech on the desktop is support among panel (and scaler ASIC) makers.

 

As well as the author's opinion:

 

My sense is that AMD will likely work with the existing scaler ASIC makers and monitor makers, attempting to persuade them to support dynamic refresh rates in their hardware. Now that Nvidia has made a splash with G-Sync, AMD could find this path easier simply because monitor makers may be more willing to add a feature with obvious consumer appeal.

 

G-Sync is still everything Nvidia said it would be, and while Free-Sync is not a real competitor (yet), there is now definite support from both firms that variable refresh needs to be addressed. In the near future we will likely see panel manufacturers come out with variable refresh scalars that aren't proprietary, by which point Nvidia is probably hoping to have recouped their costs so they can drop G-Sync and focus on other projects. While I would love to get a G-Sync monitor, my current monitor is still too new (and awesome) to consider replacing, but hopefully by the time it goes Nvidia and AMD will have succeeded in pushing panel manufacturers to make variable refresh a standard.

[Kamina]

Is it just me or does the free sync and display port option seem to make more sense for manufacturers?

Displayport is the future!

[X1XNobleX1X]

The fanboy is strong in this one. And this one too *points at self*. I'm not gonna lie I'm quite an AMD fanboy but I give respect to Nvidia for what they do and I think you should for AMD too .

I guess we are all fanboys in one way or another. We are human, once we like something we will always stick with it and criticize the opposition to make us feel better . 

[Guest]

Just buy a monitor with G-sync - turn on free sync