AMD updates their FreeSync specifications with higher hardware requirements
AMD’s FreeSync standard is evolving
AMD has updated their FreeSync display standards, increasing the company’s technological requirements for display certification. These updated specifications reflect the evolution of the TV and display market. Today, high refresh rate screens are more common. This makes AMD’s old FreeSync standard too lax for modern high-end PC displays, creating need for a change.
Now, all FreeSync monitors are required to feature a maximum refresh rate of at least 120Hz. For sub-3440 horizontal resolution displays, a maximum refresh of at least 144Hz is required. These minimum requirements are not overly high-end for a modern gaming monitor, but much higher than AMD’s original FreeSync requirements.
| Notebooks | Monitors and TVs | |
| FreeSync | Max. Refresh Rate: 40-60 Hz | Sub-3440 Horizontal resolution: Max. Refresh Rate: 144 Hz |
| FreeSync Premium | Max. Refresh Rate: 120 Hz or higher | Sub-3440 Horizontal resolution: Max. Refresh Rate: 200 Hz or higher
3440 Horizontal resolution or over: |
| FreeSync Premium Pro | AMD FreeSync HDR on top of FreeSync Premium requirements. | AMD FreeSync HDR on top of FreeSync Premium requirements. |
For laptop displays, AMD has not changed their FreeSync specifications. This means that AMD’s updated specifications will only impact monitors and TVs. AMD made these changes in the latter half of 2023, but has only announced this change now. This was likely to give their display partners time to adjust to AMD’s new specifications ahead of their public reveal.
You can join the discussion on AMD’s FreeSync Specification updates on the OC3D Forums.
