GSYNC - What Did I Miss?

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Soldato
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25 Apr 2007
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A few months ago I did a full PC overhaul. The only difficult component to buy was the monitor. I ordered a TN ROG Swift, loved the 144hz, didn't get on with TN in that size and sent it back. My conundrum was that for the life of me I couldn't see the difference between GSYNC on and GSYNC off. It was definitely enabled, but it seemed like a very subtle thing.

Since then, I've read thread after thread of people proclaiming GSYNC to be the most game changing technology ever. I've now got the Phillips 40" VA 4K and while I love it for most things, I'm aware that fast paced games aren't going to be great on it. My resolve is gradually getting whittled away every time I read a GSYNC ROOLZ thread.

I'm looking for suggestions as to why I might not have noticed a difference (it was definitely enabled). The only thing I can think of is that my 980ti was able to push big frames on a 144hz monitor, so tearing wouldn't have been too noticeable anyway. I didn't really have any games that would cause it to drop below 60fps at 1440p.

Is GSYNC just for the fps player?
 
IMO yes. I've only EVER noticed tearing on FPS games. And only when you turn really quickly (i.e. almost never in normal gameplay).

Some monitors are probably more prone to tearing than others but I don't have any evidence to back that up. I have a ROG Swift and love it just for the 144hz smoothness, the moment you can get 120hz on a 4K panel I'll be making the switch, with or without Gsync as TBH it doesn't benefit me in the slightest.
 
it's particularly important for games and systems where frame rate varies a lot so that could be one reason you might not have seen the benefits as much as other people. Also, it tends to come in to its own more at the lower end of the range around 45 - 60 fps for example so if you are constantly outputting more than that for the games you play, you may not have seen the benefits there too
 
Definitely not just for FPS's.

As noted above it's really at it's best at the lower end to smooth things out. An example of this is in MMO's such as ESO where in heavily populated areas the frame rate drops because of all the extra data about other characters the server has to grab. In less populated areas my PC holds a steady 100fps but in cities it drops into the 40's.

For me G-Sync is second only to SSD's as the biggest improvement to gaming in the modern PC era.
 
The thing is I only play Diablo 3 at the moment, which remains at a solid 60fps, but I can't help thinking that if I ever wanted to play something like Doom 3 when it comes out or BF 4 my enjoyment would be hamstrung. It's all about the mental what ifs and since I recently spent so much on my PC I can't really justify forking out for a GSYNC IPS. It's just bugging me :p

Or I could wait for 16nm, flog the 980ti, flog the monitor and get AMD and Freesync.
 
Yep, for me gsync is right up there in technological leaps forward. It's quite a subtle thing for some people though, I think it depends how picky you are about stutter, tearing and overall smooooothness. I'm borderline ocd about all these things, so for me it has been a revelation.
 
wunkley said:
Yep, for me gsync is right up there in technological leaps forward. It's quite a subtle thing for some people though, I think it depends how picky you are about stutter, tearing and overall smooooothness. I'm borderline ocd about all these things, so for me it has been a revelation.
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What games do you notice it on though?

I leave Gsync on, because why not. But I'm not convinced I notice the difference when it's not on other than playing BF4 and shaking the mouse violently (when I would expect massive tearing).

I currently play HoN, MGSV and sometimes a space sim. When I played BF4 I did notice the difference, but it wasn't night and day.

I also bought 2 monitors some time ago (the Acer 4K Predator and the Asus ROG Swift). Other than no tearing on the Predator, I didn't like the low FPS I would get in busy situations, so I really don't agree with people when they say Gsync makes 30fps look like 60. It doesn't.
 
It's certainly the way I'm going next. Been told it makes a big difference in the games I love FPS! Hopefully will stop me feeling sick after hours of playing.
 
Best way I can describe the biggest benefit of G-Sync for me has been when in Fall Out 4, for example, in the graphically intense Boston City where fps tends to fluctuate. I only actually realised just how much (40 - 75 fps) when switching out to the desktop and seeing the graph Afterburner was plotting for fps.

Otherwise if you'd have asked me I would have guessed it was very occasionally dropping maybe 10 fps or so when loading in the background.

For me the higher the average sustained fps the lesser the benefit of G-Sync is apparent plus I tend to cap everything to 75 fps anyway.
 
Diablo 3 you say ? That game had horrendous tearing with vsync off and horrendous input lag with v sync on. Probably the game I have appreciated GSYNC most since getting the monitor :p
 
stooeh said:
Diablo 3 you say ? That game had horrendous tearing with vsync off and horrendous input lag with v sync on. Probably the game I have appreciated GSYNC most since getting the monitor :p
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Fair play, I haven't got any tearing at all in it. Maybe I have VSYNC on or maybe I have the fps capped at 60. I can't recall.

Anyway, I just waggle the mouse around and press 1-4 so it seems ok for me :)
 
Depends a bit person to person - like stooeh said there are some games especially those where you need to cap the framerate for various reasons where I found them a horrid experience trying to juggle input lag and tearing in the past - with G-Sync they are incredibly smooth and responsive without a hint of tearing so that aspect has been huge for me.

For faster paced FPS stuff where I'm running 120+ fps, etc. the impact is a lot less - I only really notice it in that it makes things slightly smoother and cleans up the view a bit on fast panning which is a benefit but not a huge one.

To be honest though my first impression of it while mostly playing BF4 was "thats nice" but not really being convinced of the benefit of it - it was only when I had to go back to my XL2420 while my first Swift was RMA'd that I really realised how much I missed it. (The benefits with 60fps gaming, etc. I only really started to notice a bit later when I went back to try some older games I could never force myself to play through at the time due to the above issues).
 
Another good way to describe Gsync, as someone once sang... "you don't know what you've got, til it's gone"

They also "paved paradise and put up a parking lot" though so make of that what you will.
 
Mulps, you might notice it at all. If your games are running at a pretty consistent frame rate the effects are very subtle. Likewise if you are running games at a high fps and even the dips stay above 60 fps you will find it hard to see the difference between Gsync on and off.

But, if you turn up the settings on your games or play a more demanding game so your frame rates are jumping between 40 and 90 (roughly) Then you will notice a huge difference between Gsync on and off.
 
I think that as the games increase in complexity and so my 980Ti will start to struggle, then Gsync will start to come into its own. I saw it as a little tiny bit of future proofing.
 
I tend to set my settings so the game doesnt go below 80fps... Even then I can tell straight away if gsync has managed to turn itself off (which it does from time to time when my PC has been to sleep instead of properly off)
 
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