http://www.anandtech.com/show/7582/nvidia-gsync-reviewAnand Shimpi said:After spending a few days with G-Sync, Im just as convinced as I was in Montreal. The technology, albeit a relatively simple manipulation of display timing, is a key ingredient in delivering a substantially better gaming experience.
In pathological cases the impact can be shocking, particularly if youre coming from a 60Hz panel today (with or without v-sync). The smoothness afforded by G-Sync is just awesome. I didnt even realize how much of the v-sync related stutter I had simply come to accept. Id frequently find a scene that stuttered a lot with v-sync enabled and approach it fully expecting G-Sync to somehow fail at smoothing things out this time. I always came away impressed. G-Sync also lowered my minimum frame rate requirement to not be distracted by stuttering. Dropping below 30 fps is still bothersome, but in all of the games I tested as long as I could keep frame rates north of 35 fps the overall experience was great.
Interesting stuff. I assume nVidia owns a patent on this technology? Licensing to AMD/Intel? Or each with their own proprietary version 10 years from now?
Interesting stuff. I assume nVidia owns a patent on this technology? Licensing to AMD/Intel? Or each with their own proprietary version 10 years from now?
Since when single card stuttering is noticeable? I thought frame time variance with single cards is so small, that it requires special monitoring tools to tell the difference.:hmm:The smoothness afforded by G-Sync is just awesome. I didnt even realize how much of the v-sync related stutter I had simply come to accept
It seems easy to implement. So easy, that I smell a simple driver on AMD could make it work. Or maybe RadeonPro (but I dont think so).
Since when single card stuttering is noticeable? I thought frame time variance with single cards is so small, that it requires special monitoring tools to tell the difference.:hmm:
Reading Anand's review it sounds like gsync is only helpful if you are sitting at sub 60fps, so for someone like me who generally never sees framerates lower than 60 it won't do much for me. Seems a little counter-intuitive; be running a mid-range video card and spending another $400+ to get a gsync enabled monitor and smooth out your low frame rate gaming instead of just buying a top end card or multiple mid-tier cards and run your games at 60fps.
I think where this could be helpful is at 4K, where even if you have a high end GPU setup, 4K still plays abysmally at high settings. This could help to make 4K gaming feel decent rather than crap using good settings, plus you'd be using a decent display panel by default rather than a crappy 1080p TN.
At 1080P it seems pointless and your money would be better spent on moving up to a GPU setup that runs your games at 60fps minimums, a pretty easy feat these days with all the GPU power available. Or better yet getting yourself a decent monitor instead of a 1080p TN screen. They say IPS screens will come with it eventually, but it's one of the universal complaints I see reviewers mention and I echo myself. TN is a woeful compromise to use something intended to improve IQ that comes at the cost of one of the most detrimental display techs, TN, to the quality of your image.
Is your FPS drops also always above 60?
Indeed,ill pass on gsync 1080p TN panels and wait for higher res ips panels with gsync,could be a long wait though?,not sure havent a clue.
If you are asking me, my FPS drops are sometimes below 60, but I have a 120hz display, so G-Sync should help with anything below 120fps I would think? I don't know, I'm a little confused and would have to try a monitor myself to see. Also, I'm not excited about paying a premium for another TN panel. I did that with the 3D vision 2 monitor I have now.
The question is how long of a wait?
There is far more to it than a buffer. They also have to have a scaler on the monitor to adjust to different refresh times. That is why it requires special monitors, and not just anything with a displayport.I dont think you can patent what is essentially just a buffer. I dont see any special technology involved.
Your problem is the exact same as for 60hz displays. Even if you got 120hz. Desynced frames.
Reading Anand's review it sounds like gsync is only helpful if you are sitting at sub 60fps, so for someone like me who generally never sees framerates lower than 60 it won't do much for me. Seems a little counter-intuitive; be running a mid-range video card and spending another $400+ to get a gsync enabled monitor and smooth out your low frame rate gaming instead of just buying a top end card or multiple mid-tier cards and run your games at 60fps.
I think where this could be helpful is at 4K, where even if you have a high end GPU setup, 4K still plays abysmally at high settings. This could help to make 4K gaming feel decent rather than crap using good settings, plus you'd be using a decent display panel by default rather than a crappy 1080p TN.
At 1080P it seems pointless and your money would be better spent on moving up to a GPU setup that runs your games at 60fps minimums, a pretty easy feat these days with all the GPU power available. Or better yet getting yourself a decent monitor instead of a 1080p TN screen. They say IPS screens will come with it eventually, but it's one of the universal complaints I see reviewers mention and I echo myself. TN is a woeful compromise to use something intended to improve IQ that comes at the cost of one of the most detrimental display techs, TN, to the quality of your image.
It is less noticeable with 120hz though, due to you have more "synced" frame rates. On a 60hrz, 40FPS would desync, but if I understand it correctly, on 120hz, it won't be.
This technology sounds promising, but it really has to come out on better monitors for me to give it a try. I currently have a 120hz, but I have been eyeing some other monitors and looking to upgrade. I wouldn't go with anything less than 1440p right now. 4K is most likely my next upgrade if the Dell monitors are actually well performing.
Do you use V-sync? Because if not, you still get tearing, which is a quality issue (though not a performance issue).
Personally, I almost always use V-sync where my games run above 60fps, and I don't have an issue with it. From the description of Gsync, I don't think it will be an improvement over a system locked at 60fps with Vsync.
By the way, Tom's has a very good write-up on it too: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/g-sync-v-sync-monitor,3699.html