What is FreeSync Technology? Instructions to run FreeSync with Nvidia card

No one likes screen tearing when playing games. While Vsync partially solves this problem, we need a better solution that won’t affect game performance. Nvidia’s G-Sync technology is a great choice if you don’t mind investing in a monitor that integrates this technology. However, the investment price for G-Sync is quite expensive. Meanwhile, AMD’s FreeSync technology costs nothing more.

In the past, choosing a G-Sync monitor meant you had to be loyal to the Nvidia ecosystem, while FreeSnyc had to be loyal to AMD. That made it very difficult to swap video cards between the two tycoons – but that’s no longer the case.

Fortunately, Nvidia is gradually opening up the G-Sync technology to allow owners of FreeSync monitors to exploit the Adaptive Sync method with Nvidia video cards. And yet, AMD GPUs can now take advantage of Nvidia’s proprietary technology. We will go into detail.

The main question people ask is can you use an AMD video card on a G-Sync monitor or an Nvidia card on a FreeSync monitor. The answer is that any video card will still work fine and the picture won’t make any difference. But if using the variable refresh rate provided by G-Sync or FreeSync to avoid screen tearing, the answer is a bit more complicated.

WHAT IS SCREEN TEARING?

Everyone wants smooth and stable gameplay, that’s why many people want to increase the fps as high as possible. When the amount of frame (frame rate) of the device exceeds the refresh rate of the screen, you may see an image in the game like in the comparison picture above. It’s called screen tearing.

WHAT IS FREESYNC TECHNOLOGY?

FreeSync, G-Sync and Vsync (or vertical snyc) technologies are used to handle screen tearing by synchronizing frames with the monitor’s refresh rate.

Vsync is an early technology, approached using software to synchronize. This way is the most widely supported. Anyone can use Vsync by going to the game menu and turning it on, but it also has its own problems. If your frame rate is lower than your monitor’s refresh rate when Vsync is on, this feature will cause the screen to stutter.

FreeSync and G-Sync use adaptive sync technology built into the monitor, making the communication between the video card and the display consistent at all times. While G-Sync has been a proprietary technology and has been available almost exclusively to Nvidia GPUs since its launch in 2013, FreeSync has always been free (hence the word Free in the name).

CAN AMD DISPLAY CARD USE G-SYNC?

It took 6 years since 2013, when Nvidia announced they were extending support, allowing AMD video cards to use G-Sync from now on. However, it only applies to new G-Sync monitors and most older G-Sync monitors currently on the market will not be supported for AMD users.

The good news is that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X owners will find it easier to shop for monitors, while AMD PC users can consider premium G-Sync Ultimate monitors, which support refresh rate, resolution, and more. High, HDR1000, etc. The sad news is that Nvidia still doesn’t say which monitors are fully supported and which are not, making shopping quite difficult.

WHAT IS G-SYNC COMPATIBLE?

G-Sync Compatible technology, or ‘Nvidia FreeSync’ as the community calls it, was first announced at CES 2019. It launched with the RTX 2060 and updated driver support for this feature. Now, any Nvidia 10 series or higher video card can support G-Sync on FreeSync monitors by enabling it in the monitor configuration.

Nvndia is still expanding the list of certified monitors – monitors that are awarded the ‘G-Sync Compatible’ medal when the monitor meets Nvidia’s requirements.

If your monitor isn’t on the list, don’t get upset. The GPU company said “it may work, partially work, or not work at all”, which doesn’t sound very confident. In the worst case scenario, you may see screen stutter or blur when G-Sync Compatible is turned on.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ON G-SNYC COMPATIBLE FOR FREESYNC TECHNOLOGY SCREEN

First you need to connect the DisplayPort port (or HDMI 2.1 if using a GTX 16 series/RTYX 20 card), because older HDMI standards do not support variable refresh rate with this feature. You also need to be running the latest version of Windows 10.

Once you’ve properly connected and installed the latest driver, you may need to enable FreeSync technology in your monitor’s configuration. Most likely it is in the image section of the screen configuration. If the Nvidia logo does not show up in the clock on Windows, click the up arrow to show hidden icons and right-click Nvidia. Select ‘Nvidia Control Panel’ and select ‘Change Resolution’.

Select the FreeSnyc monitor (it’s usually the one with the Nvidia logo on it) and set the refresh rate to as high as possible. On the Asus ROG Strix XG32VQ monitor, it pushes back the highest refresh rate from 144Hz to 120Hz with this driver for support, so be careful.

Now select the ‘Set up G-Sync’ tab under ‘Display’ in the Nvidia Control Panel and make sure ‘Enable G-Sync, G-Sync Compatible’ is ticked.

Select the FreeSync monitor, same as above, it will be the one with the Nvidia logo, and check ‘Enable settings for the selcted display model’. In the right corner of the Nvidia Control Panel window, click ‘Apply’ and the monitor will reconnect to G-Sync Compatible.

If all goes well, you will be able to play your favorite games without tearing, at the smoothest refresh rate with Nvidia cards. Nvidia has created a G-Sync test demo since 2013, and the Pendulum Demo is a useful tool to check if G-Sync/FreeSync is working properly.

If you’re unlucky, you may experience blur and stutter on some monitors that FreeSync doesn’t fully support.

FIX FREESYNC ERRORS

There are several guidelines to help you reduce FreeSync errors by extending the lower frequency range on your monitor using the Custom Resolution Utility (CRU). Some monitors have a very limited range and that affects their effectiveness – some cannot operate beyond this limit.

To check if your monitor can use the lower frequency range, you can download the CRU software and experience the FreeSync range extension.

With the CRU app installed, you need to click the Edit button at the top of the main screen, next to your FreeSync monitor name and add a lower frequency.

Reach this frequency range by adding an Extension Block. If there is no FreeSync range block displayed on the next screen, you can add it and click OK.

Then reboot the machine and test the new scope with Penddulum demo. If you get a black screen or something like that, when the demo starts, you need to increase the lower frequency in the CRU, start the machine and try again and again.

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