Exclusive Fullscreen + Vsync works very well, Borderless Windowed + Vsync doesn't

[g67575]

After trying a ton of different Gsync / Vsync combinations to try to get rid of screen tearing and what I call 'frame delay' in WD: Legions, I found that the best combination was simply Exclusive Fullscreen + Vsync enabled in the Nvidia Control Panel. This seemed to completely get rid of any screen tearing and produced smooth images during gameplay.

I tried borderless windowed mode and other modes and none of them seemed to use the same Vsync as Fullscreen Exclusive (In this case set in NV control panel). Has anyone else experienced this?

The in game Vsync didn't seem to fix the problem either, in borderless windowed mode.

 

[Poneros]

Worked fine for me on AMD, like any normal triple buffered vsync does (only in-game, AMD doesn't have it in their CP), both fullscreen & borderless. Normally DX12 games don't have "fullscreen" versions anymore, they're all borderless, but I think Ubi still does the workaround and provides an actual fullscreen version still for some of their games in DX12. Maybe that has something to do with it and how Nvidia's drivers interact with it.

 

[Rroff]

Windows does all kinds of silly stuff in borderless window mode and also other applications running can impact on how it behaves. Sadly a lot of games these days it is hard to get a proper fullscreen mode.

 

[g67575]

So, is it just a problem with some DX12 games? Or, should I run most (fast paced) games in exclusive Fullscreen to avoid Vsync problems?

I couldn't really see much / any difference between Gsync ON and OFF (with Vsync enabled). What should I be noticing?

I also noticed that the framerate appeared smoother, running at 60hz, rather than 70hz (monitor refresh overclocked in Custom Resolution Utility). Maybe, this is because the framerate was falling to 60 FPS sometimes?

It's true that a lot of games don't offer a proper exlcusive fullscreen mode. Sometimes, this can cause some quite annoying problems, like if some games are set to run at 4K resolution, they will just downscale to whatever the desktop resolution is. I've seen this in both Solasta and Phoenix point and the only way to fix it is changing the desktop resolution.

 

[g67575]

I found this:

Nvidia suggests "Turn on Exclusive Fullscreen - If possible, always be in Exclusive Fullscreen mode. This will bypass the windows compositor that adds latency".

I wonder if this is what I have been noticing (mostly while driving in Watch Dogs Legion, if there is a lot of motion / camera movement in a scene).

Nvidia also recommends that gamers "Enable your maximum refresh rate" to improve monitor latency. Optionally, players can disable Vsync, but personally, I think screen tearing is too detrimental in many games and Vsync does a good job of dealing with this.

From here:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/guides/system-latency-optimization-guide/

 

[HangTime]

That's all correct, you should be running max refresh with vsync disabled for best latency. If you are worried about tearing try capping framerate a couple of fps below your refresh rate and enable Gsync.

 

[pp111]

What is your monitor. It is a G-Sync or G-Sync Compatible or Freesync?

These problems I found with a Freesync monitor that wasn't completely G-Sync Compatible. It would work in certain modes but not others and didn't work at all with some games. It was best it borderless window, didn't work at all in fullscreen window. But this was my monitor, not yours, which is why I asked the question, what is your monitor? I know use a G-Sync monitor and all the problems have gone away.

 

[g67575]

The cheapest 4k + Gsync monitor I found recently was priced over £700. Apparently, the Gsync module puts the price up, so I suppose that's why Gsync never became mainstream and Nvidia enabled VRR on some non certified Nvidia monitors.

The impression I get is that Gsync is useful if a game's framerate varies a lot (because it syncs the monitor's refresh rate with the framerate), rather than being being 'locked' at 60 fps for example. With my monitor, I didn't see a reduction in screen tearing after enabling it (Freesync enabled via the monitor + gsync enabled in NV Control Panel).

The AOC 4k 60hz monitor I have cost me about £250 a few years ago. Gameplay looks smooth with vsync + fullscreen mode enabled. I can't see a difference between Vsync on vs off, in terms of latency.