FreeSync refresh rate issue after AMD Adrenalin Update

[xXNaZXx]

Hey everyone,

I’m running into a pretty annoying issue with FreeSync after updating to the Adrenalin 24.6.1 and newer drivers. I wanted to see if anyone else with an AMD GPU has noticed this or if I’m just going crazy here.

Basically, since the update, FreeSync seems to mess up the refresh rate when I have a game running in the background that’s capped at a lower FPS than my monitor’s refresh rate. For example, I play Honkai Star Rail, which is capped at 30/60 FPS, but this also happens with any other game with a similar FPS cap. Even games I’ve capped using RTSS (e.g., 97 FPS for my 100Hz screen) can trigger it—it’s just less noticeable in those cases

The Issue:

• If the game is running in the background (even minimized), my whole system starts to stutter while doing other things like browsing the internet or so.
• The refresh rate seems to lock to the game’s FPS cap (e.g., 60Hz), even though my monitor is configured to 100hz (and capped to 97fps)
• The cursor lags, and the whole system feels... dull. It’s that weird feeling of slowness and lack of smoothness you get when going back to lower refresh rates. You guys know the feeling for sure.

What I’ve Tried:

• Turning off FreeSync in Adrenalin for the game fixes the issue (or turning it off completely in the driver or on the monitor).
• Rolling back to the 24.5.1 drivers makes everything work perfectly again. The issue seems to have started in 24.6.1 and still exists in the latest 24.12.1.

My Guess:
It feels like FreeSync doesn’t know which app is active or focused and is prioritizing the background game instead of the app I’m actually using.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Run a game with a low FPS cap (e.g., Honkai Star Rail capped ingame at 60 FPS).
2. Minimize the game or leave it in the background.
3. Use the desktop or a web browser and notice the lower refresh rate.
4. Disable FreeSync for the game in Adrenalin, and the issue goes away.

Has anyone else run into this issue? Any tips for fixing it without having to turn off FreeSync for every affected game?

I’ve already reported this through the AMD bug report tool, so hopefully, they’ll take a look at it at some point. But you know how it is—sometimes these smaller issues get overlooked for a while, and this one is really driving me nuts!

Thanks!

[RealNC]

Don't know about AMD, but on Nvidia this can happen when forcing vsync in the driver control panel. Setting vsync to "application preference" fixes it, as it prevents random apps from activating VRR while in the background. Has something to do with MPOs.

[xXNaZXx]

Don't know about AMD, but on Nvidia this can happen when forcing vsync in the driver control panel. Setting vsync to "application preference" fixes it, as it prevents random apps from activating VRR while in the background. Has something to do with MPOs.

Hey!

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for me with AMD. I’m sticking to the Global/Default configuration, which is basically "Wait for Vertical Refresh: Off, unless application specifies."

Anyway, thanks a lot for bringing up some possible things to check regarding this issue—much appreciated!

A pretty dumb test I just did was running the game while having TestUFO open in my browser. With the browser window focused and the game running in the background, here’s what happens:

ON:

• 

  FreeSync ON.png (1.42 MiB) Viewed 18460 times

OFF:

• 

  FreeSync OFF.png (1.36 MiB) Viewed 18460 times

You can clearly see the difference in behavior with FreeSync ON vs FreeSync OFF for the game. No changes done on the settings ingame, VSync is still being forced there as the game is capped either to 30 or 60 FPS (up to you). This weird issue started after I updated to 24.6.1. At first, I didn’t even realize what was happening... it just felt like something wasn’t as smooth anymore. After some trial and error, I went back to 24.5.1, and that weird feeling was gone.

I avoided updating the driver for months because of this issue. A couple of days ago, I thought, "Hey, whatever that was must be fixed by now."

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t!

[RyCat]

Hey,

I'm experiencing the same issue you're describing on 25.6.1.

Did you find a fix besides disabling VRR altogether?

Thanks!

[roro13200]

Hey, it's a pleasure! I thought I was going crazy!! I have exactly the same problem!!