Luckily long gone are the days when you had to base your monitor choice on the type of GPU that you are using. In 2019 Nvidia announced that they will be allowing some monitors to be able to use Gsync on Free sync certified devices. Opening up the doors for manufacturers to let rival adaptive sync be used. Now the list has expanded over the years allowing more and more monitors to be able compatible. If you are looking for a comparison between Gsync and Freesync you can view our article here.
Nvidia has provided a list of G-sync compatible monitors on their website you can view the complete list here. This list shows a full group of monitors that have been tested and confirmed to be able to successfully use G-sync. While it is reported on some are able to run G sync on Freesync monitors that Aren’t on the list. This is the list that has been tested by Nvidia.
How to Run G-Sync on a Freesync Monitor.
Before we can get started you are also to need an Nvidia Geforce GTX 10 – series or greater graphics card. Also, your GPU must be connected to your monitor through a Display port. This won’t work on HDMI.
- Update Nvidia Game Ready Drivers
First, we are going to download the Nvidia game-ready driver. you can download Nvidia’s latest game-ready drivers from here. The driver has to be 419.35 or greater in order for it to work. Once you have the driver installed please restart your computer.
- Turn on Freesync
Use your monitor’s on-screen display (OSD). To turn on the Freesync option depending on your monitor this can vary but try under mode/gaming.
- Gsync Option
Once the Freesync option is turned on. Right-click on your desktop to bring up Nvidia Control Panel. The Gsync option should now appear in your Nvidia control panel and you will be able to turn it on from here.
- Gsync option doesn’t appear
If you performed the above steps and the Gsyn option didn’t appear in your Nvidia control panel. Try going to the 3D settings field and select global. Scroll down to Monitor technology and select Gsync Compatible.
The downside to running Gsync on a Freesynce Monitor
Now having Gsync running on your monitor might seem like a good thing. but there are a few minor setbacks that you will need to worry about. If you are running HDR this will turn off the Gsyn option. This means you are not able to run HDR at the same time. Running HDR and Freesync at the same time is one of the main selling points for the Freesyn 2 technology so this is a little bit of a letdown. The only way you will be able to utilize this feature is to have an AMD graphics card.
Secondly while running Gsync there is no support for overdrive at variable refresh rates. This will cause slight motion blur when frames drop below 100 FPS.