Anandtech freesync review.

Talk about AMD's FreeSync and VESA AdaptiveSync, which are variable refresh rate technologies. They also eliminate stutters, and eliminate tearing. List of FreeSync Monitors.
Sparky
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Anandtech freesync review.

Post by Sparky » 19 Mar 2015, 17:04

http://anandtech.com/show/9097/the-amd-freesync-review

Unfortunately they don't actually test the edge cases, so we don't know if AMD is falling back to triple buffered v-sync, double buffered v-sync, or some combination of the two. The v-sync fallback case should be double buffered when display limited, and triple buffered when GPU limited, so you don't get unnecessary latency at the high end, or idle GPU when a frame finishes while the monitor is in reruns.

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GameLifter
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by GameLifter » 20 Mar 2015, 14:37

PC Perspective did a more thorough article on their first impressions of Freesync that tests the edge cases and ghosting. Here it is: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Displays/A ... Discussion

DancingDirty7
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by DancingDirty7 » 21 Mar 2015, 09:09

GameLifter wrote:PC Perspective did a more thorough article on their first impressions of Freesync that tests the edge cases and ghosting. Here it is: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Displays/A ... Discussion
pcper shows ghosting in 2 freesync monitors, that g-sync has resolved with retail g-sync monitors.

Also show that g-sync operates even in below DRR range by showing a frame to the screen 2,3,4,or 5 times
Image

Sparky
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by Sparky » 21 Mar 2015, 11:03

DancingDirty7 wrote:
GameLifter wrote:PC Perspective did a more thorough article on their first impressions of Freesync that tests the edge cases and ghosting. Here it is: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Displays/A ... Discussion
pcper shows ghosting in 2 freesync monitors, that g-sync has resolved with retail g-sync monitors.
That's bad news, it looks like the normal overdrive measures simply don't work in freesync mode. That's going to be a TCON or display firmware issue, hopefully the latter.
Also show that g-sync operates even in below DRR range by showing a frame to the screen 2,3,4,or 5 times
Image
That's been known since 2013. Really disappointing if AMD can't match it. Even MORE disappointing that the low framerate fallback cases have the monitor running at it's minimum refresh rate. Why not fall back to the monitor's MAX refresh rate?

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nimbulan
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by nimbulan » 23 Mar 2015, 14:33

DancingDirty7 wrote:Also show that g-sync operates even in below DRR range by showing a frame to the screen 2,3,4,or 5 times
Image
Has this ever been confirmed? I just read an interview with Tom Petersen from nVidia saying this was speculation, but close to the truth. What I'm wondering is, was this functionality added in a driver update? I know for a fact that G-Sync did not function this way when the DIY kit was released and simply fell back on a forced refresh if 1/30s had passed which would lead to some stuttering between ~25-30 fps. I suppose what I'm wondering is if this behavior was improved for all G-Sync displays or if only the retail models can support the improved functionality?

Alexious
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by Alexious » 23 Mar 2015, 15:43

nimbulan wrote:
DancingDirty7 wrote:Also show that g-sync operates even in below DRR range by showing a frame to the screen 2,3,4,or 5 times
Image
Has this ever been confirmed? I just read an interview with Tom Petersen from nVidia saying this was speculation, but close to the truth. What I'm wondering is, was this functionality added in a driver update? I know for a fact that G-Sync did not function this way when the DIY kit was released and simply fell back on a forced refresh if 1/30s had passed which would lead to some stuttering between ~25-30 fps. I suppose what I'm wondering is if this behavior was improved for all G-Sync displays or if only the retail models can support the improved functionality?
This is what PCPer's Allyn Malventano said in the review comments:
That was with the original upgrade kit *only*, which juddered between 24-30 FPS. The retail panels do not have this issue, as additional redraws are proportionally centered between the incoming frames (as best as the module can approximate based on the frame rate it has seen come across). Any steady drop in frame rate (over a few successive frames) remain smooth all the way down to 1 FPS. There is still an issue when instantaneously going from a high frame rate to zero, but that is more of a corner case. I've observed this effect with our lab equipment, but it's a complicated thing to try to explain and demonstrate, as evidenced by the mass confusion even after Ryan and I both offered our own explanation /graphs in this article :).

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nimbulan
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by nimbulan » 23 Mar 2015, 17:05

Alexious wrote:This is what PCPer's Allyn Malventano said in the review comments:
That was with the original upgrade kit *only*, which juddered between 24-30 FPS. The retail panels do not have this issue, as additional redraws are proportionally centered between the incoming frames (as best as the module can approximate based on the frame rate it has seen come across). Any steady drop in frame rate (over a few successive frames) remain smooth all the way down to 1 FPS. There is still an issue when instantaneously going from a high frame rate to zero, but that is more of a corner case. I've observed this effect with our lab equipment, but it's a complicated thing to try to explain and demonstrate, as evidenced by the mass confusion even after Ryan and I both offered our own explanation /graphs in this article :).
So the question is, has nVidia ever updated the firmware for the DIY kits to support this new functionality? It would be nice.

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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by sharknice » 23 Mar 2015, 17:05

Sparky wrote:Why not fall back to the monitor's MAX refresh rate?
That would be the same as having a fixed refresh rate. You would always be at 144hz and wouldn't eliminate any stuttering or tearing.

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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by Sparky » 23 Mar 2015, 17:48

sharknice wrote:
Sparky wrote:Why not fall back to the monitor's MAX refresh rate?
That would be the same as having a fixed refresh rate. You would always be at 144hz and wouldn't eliminate any stuttering or tearing.
That's better than the current freesync fallback case, which is 40hz without eliminating stuttering and tearing.

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sharknice
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Re: Anandtech freesync review.

Post by sharknice » 23 Mar 2015, 18:47

Sparky wrote:
sharknice wrote:
Sparky wrote:Why not fall back to the monitor's MAX refresh rate?
That would be the same as having a fixed refresh rate. You would always be at 144hz and wouldn't eliminate any stuttering or tearing.
That's better than the current freesync fallback case, which is 40hz without eliminating stuttering and tearing.
No, with the minimum at 40hz you eliminate stuttering and tearing at frame rates from 40-144 fps. With the minimum at 144hz you don't eliminate stuttering or tearing at all because you now have a fixed refresh rate.

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