Game changing announcement from the CES keynote with Nvidia saying they will begin to support Freesync monitors.
The 12 that have so far passed the test can be found here at the bottom of the list.
Nvidia to Support Freesync Monitors
Ryanek on 07/01/2019 - 22:03
Last edited 07/01/2019 - 22:04
Last edited 07/01/2019 - 22:04
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Sure there is… better bang for buck.
Fingers crossed AMDs new navi GPUs will further the value divide. All power to you AMD.
Selling my monitor before the plebs hear of this
So it wasnt really any super special hardware inside the G-Sync monitors that made them more expensive? Or is it a certification that they only initially gave to 'premium' monitors?
G-sync uses expensive hardware which is why they are expensive but G-sync is still a superior technology to freesync, its just freesync is much cheaper.
These monitors that they've already certified are Freesync monitors that exist on the market - which to me means that the hardware was already in the monitors, as I doubt they'll suddenly be adding new hardware to existing monitors to make it G-Sync compatible. And if they did, it'd be a different model number to differentiate. So I'm curious as to why a Freesync monitor can suddenly become a G-Sync monitor without any hardware changes
I'll just have to read some more and check what is new against what I thought I knew.
It's not.
Previous solution: (worst to best)
V-Sync = software only, all hardware supported
FreeSync = AMD only, No Hardware inside monitors, variable refresh rate based on open standard (created by AMD)
G-Sync = Nvidia only, Special Hardware inside monitors, variable refresh rate based on proprietary standardCurrent solutions: (worst to best)
V-Sync = software only, all hardware supported
FreeSync = AMD only, basically dead/obsolete (process of getting replaced)
FreeSync2 = AMD only, No Hardware inside monitors, New better standard, open standard now adopted by VESA/HDMI consortium
"G-Sync Compatible" = Both AMD and Nvidia, No Hardware inside monitors, VESA/HDMI open standard based on FreeSync2
"G-Sync" = Nvidia only, old proprietary is basically dead/obsolete (process of getting replaced)
"G-Sync Ultimate" = Nvidia only, Special Hardware inside monitor, New even better standard proprietary solution with proper HDR supportrant:
Nothing really unexpected here. FreeSync v2 is now as good as G-Sync v1, so it makes sense to take advantage of this from a business perspective. However, in-order to not destroy their own proprietary solution, G-Sync Ultimate gets the limelight. If AMD releases Navi which is competitive to the likes of Pascal, and then use it on a 7nm process, thereby beating Nvidia for the performance crown (GTX 2080 Ti) in 2019 then it becomes a competitive advantage to buy the Navi GPU and save even more money for a FreeSync2 monitor. Hence, if Nvidia supports the same monitor, it makes it a less compelling reason to jump platforms. Besides, Intel looks to be invested in competing against Nvidia and AMD for dedicated/discrete GPU's in the coming year, and they also support FreeSync2 out of the gate. So potentially Nvidia's days are numbered, hence, why they literally had a 3-year window in the competitive scene and have used it to literally Change the Game by putting Ray-Tracing as the new standard, and throwing a curveball towards the competitors. So even more reasons for Nvidia to adopt the standard, especially since its become mainstream with VESA/HDMI support (think PS5 and Xbox V).
end rant.
There was specialized hardware. G-Sync previously required a customized Nvidia controller to support a variable refresh rate. Nvidia owned this IP, hence prices were high. However through the certification process Nvidia ensured that all G-Sync monitors provided a certain level of performance.
Freesync utilises the Adaptive Sync standard supported by VESA to support variable refresh rate without additional proprietary hardware. Freesync ships on a broader range of monitors hence performance is more variable (though not necessarily worse than G-Sync, some Freesync monitors are very good).
To confuse the matter further, on modern display controllers G-Sync can be implemented without additional hardware however prices remain high. Meanwhile never implementations of Freesync have materialized that rival G-Sync's performance.
With the appearance of Freesync on some consoles (Xbox One) and Samsung TV's as well as Intel support, Nvidia's walled garden strategy clearly wasn't working. Hence they've reluctantly supported Freesync. Good news for the consumer!
Watch the price of the compatible monitors jump up in price!!!!
Look at Nvidia's stock price - basically crypto mining bubble burst coincides with steep drop off of stock price.
I imagine Nvidia need to do everything in their powers now to ensure their hardware is still attractive/purchased.
Any stock option grants staff received post June 2017 would be underwater if they are not vested - or didn't cash out.
so it's gonna go back to pre crypto boom ? $50 ?
Nice. Fingers crossed that it supports my $1000 dollar ASUS ROG XG35VQ monitor. Would be a little disappointing if they didn't include the flagship monitors from ASUS.
I'm sure I could find this out if I Googled, but I have one of the 12 monitors on the list that has passed the test - does this mean I could get my monitor working with Freesync now? Or is it something that NVIDIA still need to roll out with a driver update or something?
*EDIT - Just read the driver comes out Jan 15th, not long to wait.
About time too! It's really annoying trying to find a G-Sync monitor when there are always so many deals on good Freesync ones. No need to switch over to AMD now :)