Weird issue of having V-Sync ON (NVCP) + G-SYNC ON + FPS CAP and still having screen tearing issues

[Akso]

Hi everyone,

As everyone advice on this sub, I've enabled in the Nvidia Control Panel V-sync (put on ON), G-Sync ON (fullscreen only) and limitated my FPS in the NVCP to 235 fps. V-sync is never enabled in game.

My monitor is the Asus ROG PG27AQDM 240hz OLED. I have a second 240hz 1440p monitor running for Youtube/Twitch use.

What is strange is that when a game is running at 200-240 fps, the game is butterfly smooth. But when a game is running at like 120 fps, it has a lot of screen tearing issues and it is not smooth at all. There is no overheating at all, I've already verified that.

For sure, GSYNC is running, the monitor OSD is showing changes in the refresh rate.

For my understanding, people always says that there is not a clear difference between 120hz and 240hz, but for what Ive been able to witness with my gaming experience, yes there is a big one, like its night and day.

Does anyone can confirm that this behavior is normal and explain to me why there is a such a difference ? Or there is actually an issue in this behavior and I should trouble shoot something ?

[jorimt]

My monitor is the Asus ROG PG27AQDM 240hz OLED. I have a second 240hz 1440p monitor running for Youtube/Twitch use.

Before you troubleshoot further, rule out your second monitor by disconnecting it and trying again. DSC models (which the PG27AQDM is one of when set to 240Hz 1440p 10-bit over DP) are not multi-monitor friendly.

I'd know first hand; I recently tried to pair a PG279QM (non-DSC) with a PG27AQN (DSC), and had similar issues. Thankfully, I was just trying it for fun and didn't intend to keep the secondary, but for those that require multi-monitor configurations, DSC can certainly be a wrench in the works.

If you're still experiencing tearing on your PG27AQDM with G-SYNC + V-SYNC without the secondary connected, we'd need more details; game(s), in-game settings (window mode and API; DX11, DX12, Vulkan?), OS version, disclosure of custom OS/reg tweaks (if any), etc.

[SirensOW]

OP,

I agree with your statement that the difference between 120hz and 240hz is more than apparent when using an OLED display with an instant response time and getting use to seeing it over time.

I have the LG variant of your monitor and I feel the same way - low fps gaming even with gsync and vsync turned on just isn't that smooth.

I feel like gsync was initially designed in the way artificial motion blur was. It's to help mask low fps and for it to be less distracting. But that was before OLED was on the market. The response time is so fast with this display tech that motion blur doesn't necessarily fix or make moving images look better. I feel like gsync is falling into this situation.

I can't say it's "tearing", but the fluidity just isn't there versus operating at and maintaining close to or at 240fps mid-game.

In perspective - 30-60fps is essentially a slideshow. I've gamed at 60hz for decades and I've never felt that way until I bought this monitor back in January.

[jorimt]

I feel like gsync was initially designed in the way artificial motion blur was. It's to help mask low fps and for it to be less distracting. But that was before OLED was on the market. The response time is so fast with this display tech that motion blur doesn't necessarily fix or make moving images look better. I feel like gsync is falling into this situation.

G-SYNC can't fail at what it wasn't intended to fix.

Its sole aim is to steer the tearline off-screen for framerates within the refresh rate without adding the latency or stutter standalone V-SYNC does in the same scenario, and for that, it succeeds. G-SYNC cannot, however, make a lower frame/refresh rate feel like a higher one (let alone reduce non-overdrive motion blur), nor was it intended to.

Sample-and-hold motion blur (otherwise know as MPRT or persistence blur) is more evident on OLED due it's near instantaneous pixel response times, and the lower the frame/refresh rate, the more evident this form of blur (distinct from overdrive blur) is. The only way to mitigate it is to run the display at a higher frame/refresh rate ratio, or use strobing, when/where available.

So if the OP is at all referencing that, and not actual tearing artifacts, then no, G-SYNC will not help them there.

[SirensOW]

I feel like gsync was initially designed in the way artificial motion blur was. It's to help mask low fps and for it to be less distracting. But that was before OLED was on the market. The response time is so fast with this display tech that motion blur doesn't necessarily fix or make moving images look better. I feel like gsync is falling into this situation.

G-SYNC can't fail at what it wasn't intended to fix.

Its sole aim is to steer the tearline off-screen for framerates within the refresh rate without adding the latency or stutter standalone V-SYNC does in the same scenario, and for that, it succeeds. G-SYNC cannot, however, make a lower frame/refresh rate feel like a higher one (let alone reduce non-overdrive motion blur), nor was it intended to.

Sample-and-hold motion blur (otherwise know as MPRT or persistence blur) is more evident on OLED due it's near instantaneous pixel response times, and the lower the frame/refresh rate, the more evident this form of blur (distinct from overdrive blur) is. The only way to mitigate it is to run the display at a higher frame/refresh rate ratio, or use strobing, when/where available.

So if the OP is at all referencing that, and not actual tearing artifacts, then no, G-SYNC will not help them there.

I'm just subjectively saying gsync/ vsync is not as effective on OLED as it is on a higher response time display.

[jorimt]

I'm just subjectively saying gsync/ vsync is not as effective on OLED as it is on a higher response time display.

And as I just explained in my last message, G-SYNC's primary function is to hide the tearline, and it objectively does so the exact same way, and equally as effectively on OLED as it does on LCD, and further, can't reduce, let alone affect persistence motion blur or make lower frame/refresh rates feel higher for any panel type.

It is true, however, that G-SYNC becomes less useful the higher the physical refresh rate of the display (especially 360Hz+ territory), since tearing artifacts become less and less noticeable as the refresh rate increases (ironically as the G-SYNC range increases), regardless of achievable framerates, but that's obviously the opposite of the OP's particular complaint.

[Akso]

My monitor is the Asus ROG PG27AQDM 240hz OLED. I have a second 240hz 1440p monitor running for Youtube/Twitch use.

Before you troubleshoot further, rule out your second monitor by disconnecting it and trying again. DSC models (which the PG27AQDM is one of when set to 240Hz 1440p 10-bit over DP) are not multi-monitor friendly.

I'd know first hand; I recently tried to pair a PG279QM (non-DSC) with a PG27AQN (DSC), and had similar issues. Thankfully, I was just trying it for fun and didn't intend to keep the secondary, but for those that require multi-monitor configurations, DSC can certainly be a wrench in the works.

If you're still experiencing tearing on your PG27AQDM with G-SYNC + V-SYNC without the secondary connected, we'd need more details; game(s), in-game settings (window mode and API; DX11, DX12, Vulkan?), OS version, disclosure of custom OS/reg tweaks (if any), etc.

Hi man,

Sorry for the late answer.
Second display is the Acer Predator 240hz QHD one that can go to 270hz with OC. It is set to 240hz.
Games concerned are Cyberpunk 2077 and Warzone 2. Both are played in fullscreen, with Nvidia Reflex on ON. G-Sync is set to fullscreen mode and FPS cap at 235 FPS.

What is wrong is that, when both games are running at 200+ FPS, its really butterfly smooth.
However, if I enabled RT in Cyberpunk and my framerate goes to around 120fps-160fps, its not smooth at all anymore, like its night and day. No overheat or RAM bottleneck due to usage. It does the same thing to Warzone 2, when my framerate is dropping to 120-160fps, I can directly feel it. For Warzone, I can accuse the fast drop in frames to be the culprit. However, for Cyberpunk its night and day.

V-Sync is enabled in NVCP for sure and Ive checked their respective 3D settings profile.

Ive tried unplunging the second monitor during a restart, didnt change anything (should I completely power off the PC before unplunging the second monitor ?).

If DSC is the issue, than my solution would be to just sell the Asus monitor to get LG one which has HDMI 2.1…

Thanks for your answer.

[jorimt]

What is wrong is that, when both games are running at 200+ FPS, its really butterfly smooth.
However, if I enabled RT in Cyberpunk and my framerate goes to around 120fps-160fps, its not smooth at all anymore, like its night and day. No overheat or RAM bottleneck due to usage. It does the same thing to Warzone 2, when my framerate is dropping to 120-160fps, I can directly feel it.

So there's a couple points here:

1. Lower frame/refresh rates simply feel worse than higher ones, especially in direct contrast. This is normal, and there's no fixing this. G-SYNC won't help either.
2. With Cyberpunk in particular, if you're using DLSS Frame Gen with RT, FG will add a considerable amount of input latency, no matter what you have anything else set to. So you'll have the feeling of both #1 and added latency due to #2.

Ive tried unplunging the second monitor during a restart, didnt change anything (should I completely power off the PC before unplunging the second monitor ?).

You should only have to unplug the secondary's DP cable from the GPU whether the PC is on or off. If you feel like restarting the PC after, you can, but it probably won't make a difference so long as your primary monitor is the only one plugged in.

If DSC is the issue, than my solution would be to just sell the Asus monitor to get LG one which has HDMI 2.1…

Yeah, again, DSC is not multi-monitor-friendly. It also prevents use of Nvidia DSR/DLDSR and custom resolution creation, so HDMI 2.1 would be the way to go if you want to avoid said limitations.

[Akso]

What is wrong is that, when both games are running at 200+ FPS, its really butterfly smooth.
However, if I enabled RT in Cyberpunk and my framerate goes to around 120fps-160fps, its not smooth at all anymore, like its night and day. No overheat or RAM bottleneck due to usage. It does the same thing to Warzone 2, when my framerate is dropping to 120-160fps, I can directly feel it.

So there's a couple points here:

1. Lower frame/refresh rates simply feel worse than higher ones, especially in direct contrast. This is normal, and there's no fixing this. G-SYNC won't help either.
2. With Cyberpunk in particular, if you're using DLSS Frame Gen with RT, FG will add a considerable amount of input latency, no matter what you have anything else set to. So you'll have the feeling of both #1 and added latency due to #2.

Ive tried unplunging the second monitor during a restart, didnt change anything (should I completely power off the PC before unplunging the second monitor ?).

You should only have to unplug the secondary's DP cable from the GPU whether the PC is on or off. If you feel like restarting the PC after, you can, but it probably won't make a difference so long as your primary monitor is the only one plugged in.

If DSC is the issue, than my solution would be to just sell the Asus monitor to get LG one which has HDMI 2.1…

Yeah, again, DSC is not multi-monitor-friendly. It also prevents use of Nvidia DSR/DLDSR and custom resolution creation, so HDMI 2.1 would be the way to go if you want to avoid said limitations.

I remember that before having my multi-monitor setup, Ive played a bit with only the Asus one plugged in. It was smooth and working great. Is MPO the culprit or maybe the Nvidia Inspector thingy with the Multi-compatible/Single-compatible monitor setting in G-SYNC ?
Did you know which settings to setup for multi-monitor maybe ?

Maybe you are right, its related to latency. But I still find it strange that at 140-170 fps the difference is substential. Maybe its an OLED thing with how fast the pixels are.

[jorimt]

I remember that before having my multi-monitor setup, Ive played a bit with only the Asus one plugged in. It was smooth and working great. Is MPO the culprit or maybe the Nvidia Inspector thingy with the Multi-compatible/Single-compatible monitor setting in G-SYNC ?
Did you know which settings to setup for multi-monitor maybe ?

You can try disabling MPO, but it may cause more issues than not depending on your setup.

As for the multi-monitor settings in NVI, it shouldn't make a difference what it's set to if you only have the ASUS plugged into the GPU.

Maybe you are right, its related to latency. But I still find it strange that at 140-170 fps the difference is substential. Maybe its an OLED thing with how fast the pixels are.

Due to the near instantaneous pixel response times of OLED, lower framerate judder due to sample-and-hold persistence can be more apparent on OLED than LCD, and the lower the framerate, the more apparent it is.

So mix that with what I explained previously, and it certainly won't help. I.E. a superior display can reveal content limitations not previously seen.