Variable Refresh Rate support added thanks to zakk4223

[akeley]

They did not need to brand something "g-sync compatible" when it involves no g-sync modules and follows the exact same communication protocol as freesync. "NVIDIA adaptive sync certified" would be far more accurate for instance, because all that label means is certification for meeting minimum performance standards.

Saying "NVIDIA adaptive sync certified" would simply confuse most people who buy Nvidia stuff, since all they heard about is G-Sync. And this whole subject has always been confusing enough as it is.

Anyway, I'm definitely not going to get into an argument about NVidia, of all companies (like I said, not a great fan), and especially on the MiSTer forum, of all places But, as far as corporate shenanigans go, this one actually makes at least some sort of sense and gets a really low dick move rating from me (if any).

[thisisamigaspeaking]

They did not need to brand something "g-sync compatible" when it involves no g-sync modules and follows the exact same communication protocol as freesync. "NVIDIA adaptive sync certified" would be far more accurate for instance, because all that label means is certification for meeting minimum performance standards.

Saying "NVIDIA adaptive sync certified" would simply confuse most people who buy Nvidia stuff, since all they heard about is G-Sync. And this whole subject has always been confusing enough as it is.

Anyway, I'm definitely not going to get into an argument about NVidia, of all companies (like I said, not a great fan), and especially on the MiSTer forum, of all places But, as far as corporate shenanigans go, this one actually makes at least some sort of sense and gets a really low dick move rating from me (if any).

I think it would've been less confusing to say that "Nvidia GPUs now support FreeSync monitors" but of course the marketing people would not tolerate the reference to a competitor's technology. Even so, I am guessing the vast majority of people getting "G-Sync Compatible" displays now think they are getting G-Sync displays or something functionally equivalent to them which is not good from Nvidia's point of view because they make money off every real G-Sync driver board. I'm not sure how sales have been affected but I would be surprised if they had not been negatively impacted. Maybe the cost of the G-Sync Compatible logo makes up for it or there are additional considerations.

[Malor]

Maybe NVidia has given up on proprietary-only GSync as a moneymaker? They've seen the writing on the marketshare wall, and probably believe that they'll make more cash certifying Freesync monitors than they will selling custom hardware to monitor manufacturers. And that's still an option, of course; you can buy true GSync if you want it, but I imagine it will be harder and harder to find monitors that do it.

So, right now you've got actual GSync, and I think some premium branding of that as well. Then, going a little downmarket, you've got GSync Compatible, which is really just a decent implementation of Freesync. They're still trying to kinda own the mindshare, but if you see any kind of GSync label on any monitor, it will work at least okay with an NVidia card. And that's, ultimately, what that kind of branding is about; letting lower-info customers get a good outcome when they buy an NVidia card and a monitor.

You may also get a good outcome without that label, of course, but that's for people who really research their purchases.

[thisisamigaspeaking]

The G-Sync driver boards have lagged behind in some regards so if it is phased out it will probably be no loss. Things like the lack of DSC (display stream compression) and to a lesser extent delay in implementing DisplayPort 2.0 and HDMI 2.1 have crippled G-Sync displays in that they could not reach the full capabilities of their panels with the available bandwidth and there was no way to fix that until Nvidia came out with a new board revision, which takes years. Whatever ports the current G-Sync board has are all the ports any G-Sync monitor will have...