G-Sync obsolete with high refresh rate?

[Jestaz]

Hello everyone,

i do have two screens: The AW2518hf (240hz, 1080p, freesync, but gsync compatible) and the S2417DG (165hz, 1440p, gsync)

When having gsync disabled i definitely notice heavy screen tearing in apex legends with my 165hz monitor.
However when playing on my 240hz monitor i never experienced it, at least not anywhere near the degree i experienced on my other monitor. Even not when i was dropping frames and weren't holding the 240hz consistently.

I do understand that the higher fps, due to playing on 1080p instead of 1440p, make screen tearing less likely. But there are situations where my framerate is almost the same as on my 1440p monitor, but even then i don't experience any tearing.

I have played with gsync on for over a year and never regretted using it. However isn't gsync getting obsolete when playing competitive games on high refresh rate? I know it was intended for delivering a smooth gaming experience when not reaching a high framerate, but i feel like companies are marketing it as something necessary for high end gaming. When wanting to play games at 4k and max settings i might notice the difference, when using gsync. But when playing games at 1080p and reaching 240hz consistently, is there any benefit to using gsync?

It might guarantee a smooth experience, but my input lag will be slightly higher (I have seen the tests, it's very minimal, but it's there).
Even if i don't care about a minor input lag increase, then my game might even run smooth without using gsync, if i can reach a certain amount of frames consistently and have a screen that supports it, for example a 240hz monitor.

[jorimt]

It might guarantee a smooth experience, but my input lag will be slightly higher (I have seen the tests, it's very minimal, but it's there).

G-SYNC doesn't increase input lag, it prevents tearing. The lack of tearing is your only input lag "increase" With G-SYNC, and tearing would be required for any lower input lag. E.g. no-tear frame delivery has an input lag reduction limit compared to V-SYNC OFF.

As for the question posed in your thread title, is "G-SYNC obsolete with high refresh rate?" In a word, yes, the higher your refresh rate, the more equalized G-SYNC and no sync become. Once we hit 1000Hz, all syncing methods will effectively be unneeded, as the scanout will be so brief, frames will have almost no time to tear.

As for 240Hz, good news is, there is virtually no input lag difference between G-SYNC and no sync at 240Hz with framerates within the refresh rate (<1ms first reaction, ~0ms crosshair level), and the difference in averages is <2ms with framerates well above the refresh rate in no sync's case (many scenarios of which depicted in the below chart aren't achievable in your average gaming scenario):

[Jestaz]

Thanks for answering, so unless i am reaching frames way above my refresh rate, there would be absolutely no reason not to use gsync from a latency standpoint?

[jorimt]

Thanks for answering, so unless i am reaching frames way above my refresh rate, there would be absolutely no reason not to use gsync from a latency standpoint?

Correct, especially at 240Hz.

[1mthedudeman]

What about 150-180 FPS on a 240hz monitor. Still be good to use Gsync?

[jorimt]

What about 150-180 FPS on a 240hz monitor. Still be good to use Gsync?

Yes, crosshair-level input lag is going to be virtually the same between G-SYNC and no sync from ~1-237 FPS at 240Hz.

[TTT]

Hello everyone,

i do have two screens: The AW2518hf (240hz, 1080p, freesync, but gsync compatible) and the S2417DG (165hz, 1440p, gsync)

When having gsync disabled i definitely notice heavy screen tearing in apex legends with my 165hz monitor.
However when playing on my 240hz monitor i never experienced it, at least not anywhere near the degree i experienced on my other monitor. Even not when i was dropping frames and weren't holding the 240hz consistently.

I do understand that the higher fps, due to playing on 1080p instead of 1440p, make screen tearing less likely. But there are situations where my framerate is almost the same as on my 1440p monitor, but even then i don't experience any tearing.

I have played with gsync on for over a year and never regretted using it. However isn't gsync getting obsolete when playing competitive games on high refresh rate? I know it was intended for delivering a smooth gaming experience when not reaching a high framerate, but i feel like companies are marketing it as something necessary for high end gaming. When wanting to play games at 4k and max settings i might notice the difference, when using gsync. But when playing games at 1080p and reaching 240hz consistently, is there any benefit to using gsync?

It might guarantee a smooth experience, but my input lag will be slightly higher (I have seen the tests, it's very minimal, but it's there).
Even if i don't care about a minor input lag increase, then my game might even run smooth without using gsync, if i can reach a certain amount of frames consistently and have a screen that supports it, for example a 240hz monitor.

Its the scan out of the 240hz that is stopping the tearing though, not just the fps you are hitting. I can lock my 240hz ingame to any amount with no sync on and still don't see tearing.

I've always had this dragging/laggy feeling on my monitor though and only recently read that the monitor I have is quite alot higher in response time/input lag then others, so I need to try another just to see.

[1mthedudeman]

What about 150-180 FPS on a 240hz monitor. Still be good to use Gsync?

Yes, crosshair-level input lag is going to be virtually the same between G-SYNC and no sync from ~1-237 FPS at 240Hz.

Thanks for the reply