What is Vsync?
what is vsync?
Introduction:
VSync, or vertical sync, is a graphics technology that synchronizes the frame rate of a game with a gaming monitor’s refresh rate. First developed by GPU manufacturers, this tech was a way to deal with screen tearing, which is when your screen displays portions of multiple frames in one go. That can result in something like the image above, where the display appears split along a line, usually horizontally. Tearing occurs when the monitor’s refresh rate (how many times it updates per second) is not in sync with the frames per second.
Screen tearing can occur at any time, though it is most prevalent during fast motion, particularly when a game runs at a higher frame rate than the monitor can handle or when the frame rate changes dramatically and the monitor can’t keep up. It is particularly noticeable during fast-paced games with vertical image elements, such as trees, entrances, or buildings. When this happens, those lines will quite clearly not line up correctly, which can break immersion and make a beautiful game look rather ugly.
Is it Necessary?
VSync only helps with screen tearing, and it only really does that by limiting FPS when necessary. If your monitor can’t keep up with the FPS of a particular game, then VSync can make a big difference. However, VSync cannot improve your resolution, colors, or brightness levels like HDR. It’s a preventative technology that’s focused on stopping a specific problem rather than making improvements. It also tends to harm performance.
How to Enable Vsync?
You don’t need a particular monitor to use VSync — it’s designed to work with all kinds of displays. You need a graphics card that supports it, but most recent generations support it throughout the product lineup. VSync has been around for many years, and both Nvidia and AMD have options to enable the setting in their drivers for all games. However, if you’d prefer to do it on an individual game basis, most games offer it as a toggle option in their graphics settings menu.
