Why vsync is vital to gaming

[Overson]

Turning on vsync is considered bad in the gaming community, but what does it actually do? The part that people don't like is that it caps your refresh rate to your monitors refresh rate, which wouldn't make a difference in performance because you can only perceive what your monitor can dish out. So other than a capped frame rate you are lessening the stress on your GPU which means more gaming before it overheats or breaks.

It also removes screen tearing which is vital to most games so you can have smoother movements when making faster movements. Especially in games like csgo.

If you guys disagree with me, please let me know.

[Cathulhu]

It also creates an input lag, which is not always desirable. Limiting the frame rate through other means may be a better solution in some cases.

[fami]

input lag

[Overson]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

It also creates an input lag, which is not always desirable. Limiting the frame rate through other means may be a better solution in some cases.

Will it truly affect gameplay? Or do the pros outweigh the cons. I haven't noticed a difference.

Also, what other way is there to remove screen tearing

[Cathulhu]

Of course it affects gameplay. Especially in fast paced games where fast responses are necessary.

[Overson]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Of course it affects gameplay. Especially in fast paced games where fast responses are necessary.

I personally haven't noticed a difference at all and I turn it on/off all the time. So maybe it's only if you have a >60Hz monitor. Will I notice it when I get a 144Hz monitor? The input lag that is

[Azza ☠]

V-SYNC is vertical syncing...

There's various versions, such as adaptive, however the basics:

Graphics card output varies depending on the game, etc.

Stuttering occurs if the monitor is waiting on the next frame.

Tearing occurs if the monitor is drawing a frame and handed the next frame halve way through, so it draws the frame over the other.

V-SYNC locks this FPS to 30, 60, or 120. Say you get 62 to 86 FPS, it would be locked to 60.

If your monitor refresh rate is 60Hz, it then can sync and display those 60 FPS without stutter or tearing. If your monitor was 120Hz, but the V-SYNC locked at 60, then it would hold each frame a split second longer and still remain in sync (2x60=120).

V-SYNC is just one way of correcting this, you could use G-SYNC instead (if Nvidia) or FreeSync (if AMD). However, those cost more and your monitor and graphics card needs to support it.

YouTube™ Video: NVIDIA G-SYNC: How It Works 

Views: 934,990

NVIDIA G-SYNC is groundbreaking display technology that delivers the smoothest and fastest gaming experience ever. G-SYNC’s revolutionary performance is achieved by synchronizing display refresh...

[Overson]

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

V-SYNC is vertical syncing...

There's various versions, such as adaptive, however the basics:

Graphics card output varies depending on the game, etc.

Stuttering occurs if the monitor is waiting on the next frame.

Tearing occurs if the monitor is drawing a frame and handed the next frame halve way through, so it draws the frame over the other.

V-SYNC locks this FPS to 30, 60, or 120. Say you get 62 to 86 FPS, it would be locked to 60.

If your monitor refresh rate is 60Hz, it then can sync and display those 60 FPS without stutter or tearing. If your monitor was 120Hz, but the V-SYNC locked at 60, then it would hold each frame a split second longer and still remain in sync (2x60=120).

V-SYNC is just one way of correcting this, you could use G-SYNC instead (if Nvidia) or FreeSync (if AMD). However, those cost more and your monitor and graphics card needs to support it.

YouTube™ Video: NVIDIA G-SYNC: How It Works 

Views: 934,990

NVIDIA G-SYNC is groundbreaking display technology that delivers the smoothest and fastest gaming experience ever. G-SYNC’s revolutionary performance is achieved by synchronizing display refresh...

So it really depends on your monitor's refresh rate?

[[☥] - CJ -]

Vsync isnt bad
If temps are an issue Vsync can help lower them

But yeah, the main thing would be input lag.

If you have a system capable of maintaining 60+, Vsync isnt really needed
If you dont, then Vsync can help in some cases.

[Overson]

Originally posted by ☥ - CJ -:

Vsync isnt bad
If temps are an issue Vsync can help lower them

But yeah, the main thing would be input lag.

If you have a system capable of maintaining 60+, Vsync isnt really needed
If you dont, then Vsync can help in some cases.

I just hate screen tearing and it is very prominent when I have it off and I don't see it at all when it is on even when I am getting 300 fps

[[☥] - CJ -]

Systems capable of maintaining higher FPS dont see screen tearing often if at all

But if tearing is an issue then yeah, Vsync helps.

[Andrius227]

Vsync kinda sucks because it adds input lag. But without it you get tearing. Which is why we have G-Sync (Nvidia) and Freesync (AMD). They do the same thing as vsync, but without the input lag.

[Overson]

Originally posted by Andrius227:

Vsync kinda sucks because it adds input lag. But without it you get tearing. Which is why we have G-Sync and Freesync. They do the same thing as vsync, but without the input lag.

Sadly my current monitor doesnt support gsync

[SmollBrain 🏹]

major input lag as others have said. GSYNC and FREESYNC do a much better job though

[Hatman]

I appreciate your sentiment, and i also play with V-Sync on in all games.
But I also disagree with almost everything you posted...

Originally posted by Overson:

Turning on vsync is considered bad in the gaming community,

Not really true. Most people play with v-sync enabled because it's the default and they don't know any better. It's only considered a serious issue in competitive FPS gaming.

Originally posted by Overson:

.. you can only perceive what your monitor can dish out.

Common missconception.
You won't notice a difference between 60 and 100 FPS when watching a movie. However that changes drastically as soon as you interact with the action. Expectations play a big role in perception. If you move your mouse and the screen doesn't react instantly, your eyes&brain will notice. But how well you can determine between decreasing latency times is very different from person to person. If you can't see a difference between v-sync on and off on a standard 60Hz screen, frankly you are not cut out to be a pro gamer in games like CSGO.

Originally posted by Overson:

So other than a capped frame rate you are lessening the stress on your GPU which means more gaming before it overheats or breaks.

Very true.
Main reason i'm using a framelimit at all times.

Originally posted by Overson:

It also removes screen tearing which is vital to most games so you can have smoother movements when making faster movements. Especially in games like csgo.

Smoothness isn't the issue. And the point becomes almost irrelevant when using high Hz screens.

Originally posted by Overson:

Will I notice it when I get a 144Hz monitor? The input lag that is

High Hz screens increase the threshold where mouse lag sets in when using vsync. And it also decreases it's impact once it does set in. Also it increases displayed frames and reaction times for those really sensitive people regardless of wether you use v-sync or not.

My personal ideal, wich i'm happy to be able to use now is a high Hz screen with nvidia fast v-sync tech, wich dynamically enables or disables v-sync depending on how high your framerate is. It makes input response almost perfect and you don't get screen tearing. However competitive CSGO players don't do compromises, they don't care about playing with tearing at the lowest resolution. All they care about is reaction times, wether they can even make use of it or not. Make of that what you will.

[Azza ☠]

Originally posted by Overson:

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

V-SYNC is vertical syncing...

There's various versions, such as adaptive, however the basics:

Graphics card output varies depending on the game, etc.

Stuttering occurs if the monitor is waiting on the next frame.

Tearing occurs if the monitor is drawing a frame and handed the next frame halve way through, so it draws the frame over the other.

V-SYNC locks this FPS to 30, 60, or 120. Say you get 62 to 86 FPS, it would be locked to 60.

If your monitor refresh rate is 60Hz, it then can sync and display those 60 FPS without stutter or tearing. If your monitor was 120Hz, but the V-SYNC locked at 60, then it would hold each frame a split second longer and still remain in sync (2x60=120).

V-SYNC is just one way of correcting this, you could use G-SYNC instead (if Nvidia) or FreeSync (if AMD). However, those cost more and your monitor and graphics card needs to support it.

YouTube™ Video: NVIDIA G-SYNC: How It Works 

Views: 934,990

NVIDIA G-SYNC is groundbreaking display technology that delivers the smoothest and fastest gaming experience ever. G-SYNC’s revolutionary performance is achieved by synchronizing display refresh...

So it really depends on your monitor's refresh rate?

It's more to do with the graphics card output and fluctuation of FPS.
Higher monitor refresh rate makes it less noticable.

Fast motion such as spinning around in circles while in a First Person Shooter will show it up the most, as it's redrawing the frames at different positions within that split second. It will stutter or tear the screen image. This is why professional CS gamers will want higher refresh rate.

If you had a 60Hz monitor and your graphics card outputed 86 FPS+ at all times, it will discard those additional frames from ever been seen, but remain in sync at 60FPS / 60Hz. It appears smooth.

If your graphics card outputed around 48-65 FPS however, dropping below the 60 mark during explosions or highly intense action. V-SYNC would make this worst... it would be capping at 60, then suddenly 30, then back to 60. So it would need to be adaptive or turned off.

But that gets a tearing issues, specially noticed if low refresh rate.

This is why there's a love/hate relationship with V-SYNC.

G-SYNC corrects this by syncing it the other way around, the monitor has a microchip changing it's refresh rate to the max output of the graphics card.

Hense FPS drops would be a smoother flow of 64, 63, 62, 61, 59, 54, 55, 56, 60, 63, 65... rather than V-SYNC sudden toggle 60, 30, 60.

There's also monitor buffering of frames (double or triple buffering stacking the next drawn frame before it needs to be displayed just to swap over) and a backlight (to avoid the frames flip from blinking) which helps too.