VSync, which stands for vertical synchronization, is an option that you will often find in the graphics settings of PC games. It is a technology that prevents screen tearing while playing games or watching videos. Most of the time, this setting just lives there without any explanation of what it actually does. It only has two options: on or off.
But is it wise though to turn it on? We will have to dig a little deeper to find out, as there are other technologies that deal with the unwanted effect of screen tearing. that we'll cover later on.
VSync is there to prevent screen tearing that occurs when the graphics card outputs more frames than a monitor can display. This results in multiple frames appearing at the same time. Visually this can be seen as a horizontal break where the top portion shows one frame and the bottom shows another. V-Sync forces the graphics card to wait until the monitor has finished its refresh cycle before sending the next frame.
The picture above shows a simulated situation how screen tearing would look like. When you pay attention to the sword blade, you can see that there is a tear where the blade does not align anymore. The same can be seen in the reflection of the portal in the middle of the image.
Depending on the games you play, VSync will help them to always look their best by preventing screen tearing to happen and by synchronizing the frame rate to stay consistent. The downside, however, is that fast-paced games like FPSs can suffer from input lag, or, if your graphics card cannot keep up with the monitor’s refresh rate, dropped frames can occur.
G-Sync (Nvidia) and FreeSync (AMD) are both advanced solutions that also eliminate screen tearing. However, this is done in a more dynamic way by adjusting the monitor’s refresh rate in real time to match the graphics cards’ frame output. The requirement here is that the monitor actually support sadaptive sync either by using FreeSync or one of the forms of G-Sync. Not all monitors are compatible.
VSync is not limited to what a monitor supports on the technical side, but nowadays is not the preferred way for gamers to eliminate screen tearing. When buying a gaming monitor, you must pay attention that it does support G-Sync or FreeSync. The latter is based on an open standard which can be used with AMD and Nvidia graphics cards alike. Monitors that only support G-Sync must be paired with Nvidia graphics cards.
Since G-Sync and FreeSync are both adapting to the monitor’s refresh rate dynamically, you will not have to worry about input lag that VSync could bring to the table. Also, the frame rate is not capped to what the monitor can do and adjusts as required allowing for fluid gameplay even when the graphics card cannot maintain the target frame rate. More details about these technologies can be found at the links below:
Say you have a monitor and graphics card that supports one of the adaptive sync technologies like G-Sync or FreeSync. should you still turn that VSync in-game setting on?
For G-Sync, the answer is to enable V-Sync, but only in the Nvidia Control Panel in Windows, and not in the graphics settings of the game itself. This will ensure that G-sync handles frame sync at lower frame rates, while VSync handles the upper limits when your frame rate exceeds the monitor's maximum refresh rate. If there is an option to limit the frame rate in-game, you should limit the maximum frame rate to 3 fps below the maximum. This will allow G-sync to effectively handle everything it is supposed to, without the need for VSync to step in.
For FreeSync, the answer is simpler, and you should leave it off. However, if you are experiencing screen tearing, you can try enabling VSync along with FreeSync. You will have to experiment a bit, though, as enabling VSync can introduce input lag, and for anything competitive, that is definitely an undesirable side effect.
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