When looking for a new monitor for gaming, you’ll likely see some displays promoting Nvidia’s G-Sync. These monitors typically incorporate features that lend themselves to gaming, such as a high refresh rate and a past response time.
Basically, G-Sync is a refresh technology designed to help prevent screen stuttering and tearing. The best portable monitors with G-Sync technology provides smoother motion for gaming, even when at higher refresh rates.
Screen tearing results when the game’s framerate fails to match the monitor’s refresh rate. A G-Sync display has a Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and is capable of syncing its minimum and maximum rates within the graphic card’s system framerate. That framerate can reach the monitors maximum refresh rate. This allows you to see images as they’re rendered while also having to deal with the delays that occur from when you use your mouse to when you see the cursor move on the screen.
The Three Types of G-Sync
Along with the standard G-Sync, there’s also G-Sync Ultimate, which targets users with HDR content, along with the lower-priced G-Sync Compatible. The lower price tag is due to the fact that display makers aren’t required to buy or incorporate Nvidia’s hardware. Many of the G-Sync Compatible displays are FreeSync-certified.
G-Sync Ultimate
While G-Sync is compatible with HDR content, you’d get a better look if the monitor features G-Sync Ultimate (or G-Sync HDR). While Nvidia doesn’t certify standard G-Sync, it does so with G-Sync Ultimate for multi-zone backlights, ultra-low latency, and more with Nvidia G-Sync. Bear in mind that these displays tend to be Big Format Gaming Displays (BFGD), which is reflected in the price.
NVIDIA developed G-Sync Ultimate as a response to changes in technology. Its core features are the ability to display 4K quality images at 144Hz, High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, and its R3 module.
G-Sync Compatible
Back in 2019, Nvidia began testing specific displays to run G-Sync, which included those with other Adaptive-Sync technologies like FreeSync. A G-Sync Compatible display can run G-Sync successfully with the right driver and a small number of caveats, even though they lack the chips of G-Sync or G-Sync Ultimate displays.
Among those things that Nvidia confirms G-Sync Compatible can’t offer that standard G-Sync can include variable overdrive, overclocking, and ultra-low motion blur. While the performance that G-Sync provides is excellent across the board, the one big downside is the cost. To make full use of native G-Sync technologies, a graphics card and G-Sync equipped monitor is required. If that doesn’t suit your budget right now, you can make use of G-Sync Compatible equipment.
How G-Sync Compares with FreeSync
FreeSync is a G-Sync alternative from AMD, and like G-sync, uses VESA’s Adaptive-Sync protocol. Just as a Nvidia graphics card is required to use G-Sync, an AMD graphics card is needed for FreeSync.
While we could provide an in-depth analysis of the differences between G-Sync and FreeSync, here we’ll mention one particular key difference. One of the most prominent features of FreeSync is that it works over DisplayPort and HDMI, whereas G-Sync only works with DisplayPort. Nvidia is working on changing this, however.
G-Sync System Requirements
There aren’t many computing accessories and other gadgets you need here. There’s one major caveat when it comes to G-Sync’s system, requirements, however, and that’s a Nvidia graphics card. While a Nvidia GPU is needed to make full use of G-Sync, more recent displays provide HDMI variable refresh rate support under a banner termed “G-Sync Compatible”. This means that a variable refresh rate can be used in conjunction with an AMD card, although that isn’t the case with Nvidia’s full G-Sync module.
