Nvidia is Supporting VESA Adaptive Sync – Except When They Don’t
Nvidia is Supporting VESA Adaptive Sync – Except When They Don’t
At this point the writing is on the wall, VRR, Variable Refresh Rate, technology is the future, which means that Nvidia needs to open up, lest their G-Sync brand be taken over by the tide of adaptive refresh rate displays that are on or are coming to market.Â
Nvidia has announced that they are going to support Adaptive-Sync monitors, but their support will not be as wide as what Radeon offers. Nvidia is committed to the visual standards delivered by G-Sync and has refused to back down on quality. Nvidia will only support Adaptive-Sync on certified displays, with only 12 of 400 tested monitors passing Nvidia’s rigorous testing.Â
Nvidia will allow the Adaptive-Sync/FreeSync displays they certify to be called “G-Sync Compatible”, letting gamers know that they offer G-Sync-grade Adaptive-Sync performance. Nvidia is supporting adaptive-sync, except the cases where they don’t.Â
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This move is a hugely positive move for the industry and sets into motion what will likely be a slow retirement for G-Sync as we know it, where G-Sync modules fade away and are replaced by the G-Sync certified equivalents.Â
Nvidia is now placing pressure on display makers to up the standard of their Adaptive-Sync monitors, a move which will be positive for all PC gamers, whether you are on Nvidia, Radeon or eventually Intel graphics hardware. This was a necessary move for Nvidia moving forward, but it is nonetheless an encouraging thing to see from the GPU giant.Â
Support for Adaptive Sync on Nvidia Geforce graphics cards will be added on January 15th with the release of a new driver, the same day as Nvidia’s RTX 2060 launch.Â
For non-certified VRR displays, Nvidia will allow users to enable G-Sync to test its functionality, but they do not guarantee that the feature will work perfectly.Â
  For VRR monitors yet to be validated as G-SYNC Compatible, a new NVIDIA Control Panel option will enable owners to try and switch the tech on – it may work, it may work partly, or it may not work at all. To be sure, only purchase a monitor listed as “G-SYNC Compatible†on our site.
You can join the discussion on Nvidia’s plans to support Adaptive-Sync on their terms on the OC3D Forums. Â