This article will discuss what adaptive sync is and how it can benefit your PC gaming experience. What is adaptive sync?
In a nutshell, it’s a technology that minimizes screen tearing and reduces input lag for games running at less than 60 frames per second (fps).
What are the benefits of using Adaptive Sync? What kind of monitors support Adaptive Sync? What graphics cards support Adaptive Sync? These questions and more will be answered in this article!
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What is Adaptive Sync?
One of the difficulties in game design is deciding on a consistent framerate for all scenes. Graphics-heavy or physics-driven games may have different framerates, but other types only need 10 fps.
One tricky part about making an online multiplayer game is syncing players’ refresh rates. It sometimes happens when someone has laggy connections to other players because they don’t match upright.
VESA has created a technology called Adaptive Sync. It ensures that you experience no lag, screen tearing, or stuttering in your games.
What’s more that this new feature can now enjoy videos at higher framerates without them being jerky because VESA will automatically adjust the video graphics rates to whatever they are outputting.
It includes even refresh rates of up to 60Hz if necessary. It does this by automatically adjusting refresh rates on supported devices with AMD GPUs, eliminating those pesky glitches caused by mismatched refresh rates and frame rates.
V-Sync VS Adaptive Sync: What’sWhat’s the Difference?
In contrast to V-Sync, which caps your GPU’sGPU’s frame rate at a fixed number that matches the refresh rate of displays in use today (60Hz), Adaptive sync changes this dynamic dynamically adjusting monitors based on required fps.
It means it eliminates tearing and jerkiness. It also takes care of when your computer has a slower frame rate. Old technologies limited the frame rate in games to avoid lag and dropped frames in games.
Display A will be updated as soon as Display B is done. This will help to reduce the lag that people see.
The refresh rate for this screen can change depending on how fast or slow it needs to update itself concerning what’s going on in-game (so no screen tearing!).
Finally, Adaptive sync helps avoid any jittering caused by inconsistent framerates. If one second is behind another because you hit pause, there will be one extra redraw after every other millisecond. It preserves smoothness even during gameplay.
AMD FreeSync VS NVIDIA G-Sync: What’sWhat’s the Difference?
AMD’sAMD’s FreeSync is just like VESA’sVESA’s Adaptive Sync. And it has one problem. AMD loses this control, unlike the monitor manufacturer, which can customize frame rates and max refresh rates for each display device.
If you are using different graphics cards, you might not get the best experience at all times because you are giving up some control to AMD.
Maintaining these customizable options will make people like your monitor. It is because they know it will work better than other monitors without too much guessing. Adaptive sync will work properly on this monitor if you have the proper hardware.
G-Sync is a type of Nvidia technology. It uses the same principle as Adaptive Sync. But G-Sync monitors are better than other displays because they have stricter quality control and are more expensive compared with generic TVs or computers screens without this feature at all!
If you have a GPU that supports G-Sync or FreeSync, this will enable a smooth gameplay display. A variety of compatible monitors are available for purchase, depending on your preference and hardware setup.
AMD has also released open standards with their DisplayPort interface to allow anyone to enjoy these technologies using competing devices like NVIDIA’sNVIDIA’s cards!
What graphics cards support Adaptive Sync?
NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync support Adaptive Sync. The graphics card can be used in a PC that has at least one DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync video output.
These include some models of AMD Radeon R9 295X2, R9 290X, R9 290, R7 260X, Radeon 200 series, or Radeon 300/Fury X/400 Series graphics cards.
You must have an AMD Catalyst 15.5 Beta Driver installed for your monitor to support Adaptive Sync. You can download these drivers from AMD’s website here.
How does it work?
When you play a game and your FPS (Frames per Second) is low, the monitor will only show every other frame.
It means that when two consecutive frames are displayed on the screen, one immediately follows another without waiting for the next V-Sync to kick in. These delayed images cause stuttering, which makes games look bad!
The graphics card can produce 60 fps. But, if it cannot, the display device reduces the frequency and the refresh rate so that each new frame is right in time with what you set- between 16ms.
It’s like Gsync technology, but you have more choices on what works for you.
Why do you need it?
Adaptive-sync ensures that you get the best quality gameplay with reduced input lag, screen tearing, and much smoother animations.
It could cost you anywhere between $20 to $100 for this technology, but it’s worth every penny because it guarantees reliable use across all games!
FreeSync monitors are now available at affordable prices. You can buy them if you have games that don’t work well with G-Sync, but you still want high-performance hardware support.
AMD has also released open standards with their DisplayPort interface to allow anyone to enjoy these technologies using competing devices like NVIDIA’s cards!
Finally, Adaptive sync helps avoid any jittering when you’re playing games on your PC monitor. What this means is that there’s no more stuttering or tearing!
What Causes Screen Tearing or Game Stuttering?
The most common cause of screen tearing is a lack of video memory. It can happen if you have an old computer or one with less than 2GB of RAM (Random Access Memory).
If your graphics card has less than 1GB of dedicated video memory, it will not be able to display the game smoothly.
If you are experiencing stuttering in games, this could also be caused by having too little video memory.
If you are running out of video memory, try upgrading your system to 4GB of RAM. It should solve the problem.
Another reason why you might experience stuttering or tearing is due to driver issues. Make sure that you update your drivers regularly.
In addition, make sure that your monitor supports the resolution you are trying to run. For example, if you are trying to run a 1080p game on a 1920×1080 monitor, you won’t see anything until you upgrade your monitor to a higher resolution.
FreeSync vs. G-Sync: Who Wins?
Both FreeSync and G-Sync offer similar benefits to gamers. They both eliminate tearing and stuttering, and they both improve image quality.
However, FreeSync provides an advantage over G-Sync in terms of compatibility. While G-Sync requires specific GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD, FreeSync works with most graphics cards.
However, G-Sync does provide a few advantages over FreeSync. For example, G-Sync monitors can display HDR content, whereas FreeSync monitors cannot. Additionally, G-Sync monitors have higher maximum refresh rates than FreeSync monitors.
For example, the Asus ROG Swift PG278Q has a 144 Hz refresh rate, while the Acer Predator XB271HU has a 165 Hz refresh rate. It means that G-Sync monitors can produce smoother images than FreeSync monitors. The Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q can reach 240 Hz when used with a high-end gaming PC.
The main difference between FreeSync and G-sync is whether or not the screen supports adaptive sync. With adaptive sync, the monitor adjusts its refresh rate based on what’s happening onscreen.
It allows the screen to run at a consistent frame rate regardless of how fast the game runs. Specific models of monitors only support adaptive sync, so we recommend checking the specs before buying.
Conclusion
You can get the most out of your gaming monitor by choosing a sync technology that suits your needs. If smooth gameplay and the number of frames don’t matter, then go with Adaptive Sync.
If you are playing games where precision matters more than anything else, make sure to enable Vsync, so you don’t accidentally give away crucial seconds when aiming down sights in Dark Souls 3.
A refresh rate is how many times a screen refreshes. Frame rate is how many frames are shown on the screen per second. Refresh rates can change gameplay, so it’s essential to know the difference between them.
ViewSonic ELITE gaming monitors help with frame rates because they have high-quality screens for gaming.
