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AMD: FAQ for Project FreeSync is up

W

Warsam71

AMD Community Manager
Joined
Aug 6, 2013
Messages
140
Hello everyone,

I just wanted to let you know we released the FAQ for our Project FreeSync this week. Take a look, I hope you'll find it helpful.

Also, let me know if you have any more questions you’d like answered (simply post them here) and I’ll make sure to have the FAQ updated accordingly.
 
I'd recommend all the answers be on the same page but initially hidden until you click on the question.
 
Thanks for the FAQ.

My question: What was the manufacturer/model of the monitor used at the Computex 2013 FreeSync demo (Nixeus VUE-27D?) and can the firmware be made available for download? If so, will this monitor then work with the public release version of FreeSync?

Another question which has been answered already, but I think might still be interesting, is whether FreeSync will come to portable devices like notebooks and tablets.
 
chithanh said:
Another question which has been answered already, but I think might still be interesting, is whether FreeSync will come to portable devices like notebooks and tablets.
Click to expand...
For (some) notebooks and tablets, the basic capability is already present in Embedded DisplayPort. It's up to hardware vendors to support it. Adaptive-Sync will still probably come to some notebooks, I assume.
 
I would hope it would at least come to those with AMD ipgus...
 
wonderfield said:
For (some) notebooks and tablets, the basic capability is already present in Embedded DisplayPort.
Click to expand...
Yes, but it was originally designed to skip on transmitting an unchanged image again. And given that many notebooks still use LVDS even to this date I am a bit pessimistic about the hardware update cycle in notebooks.

Hopefully, we will see some models listed in the AMD recommended and compatible products page in the future.
 
chithanh said:
Thanks for the FAQ.

My question: What was the manufacturer/model of the monitor used at the Computex 2013 FreeSync demo (Nixeus VUE-27D?) and can the firmware be made available for download? If so, will this monitor then work with the public release version of FreeSync?

Another question which has been answered already, but I think might still be interesting, is whether FreeSync will come to portable devices like notebooks and tablets.
Click to expand...

Hello chithanh (everyone)

Unfortunately that information is under NDA, the monitor vendor has requested that we not disclose the manufacturer or model. It was kind of them to offer a prototypical display, but they are still exploring the technology and would like to make their own announcement when it’s ready. I hope you understand.

About your second question; FreeSync was first demonstrated on a notebook, and the DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync specification for desktop GPUs was borrowed from the notebook Embedded DisplayPort (“mobile”) specification. In practical terms, notebooks are currently best equipped to handle dynamic refresh rate technologies like FreeSync. However, the most important requirement with dynamic refresh rate is a physically robust LCD panel that can achieve very high and very low refresh rates without artifacts. We are ready to support a vendor that creates a notebook equipped with such a panel.
 
Warsam71,

Thanks for your reply.

Sometimes, AMD produces a reference design like the Discovery 2 tablet with Mullins APU.
Will AMD consider to make a future notebook/tablet reference design with FreeSync capability?
 
chithanh said:
Warsam71,

Thanks for your reply.

Sometimes, AMD produces a reference design like the Discovery 2 tablet with Mullins APU.
Will AMD consider to make a future notebook/tablet reference design with FreeSync capability?
Click to expand...

Hi chithanh,

It is my current understanding that we have no plans to make a reference design for FreeSync-enabled notebooks or tablets.
 
Warsam71 said:
Hello chithanh (everyone)

Unfortunately that information is under NDA, the monitor vendor has requested that we not disclose the manufacturer or model. It was kind of them to offer a prototypical display, but they are still exploring the technology and would like to make their own announcement when it’s ready. I hope you understand...
Click to expand...

Can you tell them to please make a 30”, 4k display with little to no bezel? It feels like you can get a 65” LCD HDTV with a smaller bezel. What is up with that? With all the folks that like to put the PC displays next to each other why is the PC LCD market so far behind? It would seem you could get away with a very small bezel on a 20-30” display.
 
Oops, I accidentally replied twice...please see above post.
 
Last edited:
jackstar7 said:
How often will it be updated and when can we expect new info on the tech?
Click to expand...

More info is to come before the end of the year, Oct/Nov I believe.
Possibly some monitor model announcements and some demos on early samples.
 
WIll the 6990 series ever be supported by Adaptive/free-sync? I know the answer is no but I would figure I'd try anyways. this card is a beast and Im pretty should could use it.
 
Last edited:
Cataulin said:
WIll the 6990 series ever be supported by vsync? I know the answer is no but I would figure I'd try anyways. this card is a beast and Im pretty should could use it.
Click to expand...

6990 supports vsync.
If you are asking about Adaptive-Sync or Free-Sync, no it will not.

This thread is about a Free-Sync FAQ...
FreeSync FAQ said:
All AMD Radeon™ graphics cards in the AMD Radeon™ HD 7000, HD 8000, R7 or R9 Series will support Project FreeSync for video playback and power-saving purposes. The AMD Radeon™ R9 295X2, 290X, R9 290, R9 285, R7 260X and R7 260 GPUs additionally feature updated display controllers that will support dynamic refresh rates during gaming.
Click to expand...
 
Adaptive-Sync is an optional component of the newly released DisplayPort 1.3 specification which means that monitor manufacturers will not be required to add Adaptive-Sync capability to their new models. Nvidia's G-Sync currently requires a $200 add-in board to replace the existing scaler in certain current monitors. Can you give us an idea of what additional components will be necessary to make a new monitor Adaptive-Sync capable? And possibly a ballpark estimate of the added costs involved? If the costs and complexity of adding Adaptive-Sync to new monitors are relatively low, I would expect industry adoption to become widespread.
 
The additional cost for a monitor manufacturer to implement Adaptive-Sync has been estimated at $10-20 by Richard Huddy in a TechReport interview. Whether this will translate to $10-20 price premium for consumers is unclear though.

Nothing has been announced about the upgrade possibilities for existing monitors, and I don't expect that to happen either. Mr. Huddy confirmed in another interview at PCR that the demo at Computex used a prototype monitor. If AMD could instead have used an existing display on the market, they likely would have.
 
My question: when are we going to see Free-Synch compatible monitors? It seems like Nvidia has rushed out G-synch faster, yet it requires tons more actual hardware. I dont see ANY free-synch monitors on my local retailer's website.
 
KazeoHin said:
My question: when are we going to see Free-Synch compatible monitors? It seems like Nvidia has rushed out G-synch faster, yet it requires tons more actual hardware. I dont see ANY free-synch monitors on my local retailer's website.
Click to expand...

It's in the FAQ -
AMD is working closely with these vendors to bring products to market, and we expect compatible monitors in the 4Q14-1Q15 timeframe.
Click to expand...

Also Freesync wasn't even discussed until after Nvidia announced G-sync publicly. So you can't really compare the time to market since one started development much earlier. There are also other factors, such as Nvidia's larger market share and command of the market. Also G-sync does not require "tons more of actual hardware" on the monitor to implement by comparison.
 
I love AMD, but at some point, pants need to be pulled up and 'but money' can't be the excuse anymore. I've used AMD cards in my primary rigs for nearly a decade. I'm REALLY trying to like them, but free synch is vapourware until it is released. Not to mention, Free-synch is a perfect 'F-You' to Nvidia's proprietary policy, but let's face it: it's a 'me-too' feature. Stop playing catch-up and start making Nvidia struggle to catch up to the feature set.
 
4Q 2014 - 1Q 2015 was always the given timeframe (recently, this became more precise with January/February 2015).

Only when we are in Q2 of 2015 and there is still no FreeSync monitor on the market, then you can reasonably call it vaporware.
 
"we can confirm that they will use robust DisplayPort receivers from MStar, Novatek and Realtek in 144Hz panels with QHD 2560x1440 and UHD 3840x2160 panels up to 60 Hz."

speaking as a gamer looking longingly at these new 21:9 curved 34" screens with a 3440x1440 resolution; will they be 144Hz or 60z, or something in between?

The whole point is adaptable refresh right...
 
KazeoHin said:
I love AMD, but at some point, pants need to be pulled up and 'but money' can't be the excuse anymore. I've used AMD cards in my primary rigs for nearly a decade. I'm REALLY trying to like them, but free synch is vapourware until it is released. Not to mention, Free-synch is a perfect 'F-You' to Nvidia's proprietary policy, but let's face it: it's a 'me-too' feature. Stop playing catch-up and start making Nvidia struggle to catch up to the feature set.
Click to expand...

Looking at the timeline and how long it takes VESA to approve new standards, my bet is that AMD probably thought of Freesync first. I know people will argue with me, but the thing that probably sparked Gsync was AMD making a proposal to VESA to make adaptive sync part of the display port standard.

Nvidia, spotted a chance to be first to market with this new tech, they didn't have to wait until a standard was approved, they just made their own solution and released that. And sorry to mention it, it's something AMD don't have the money or the market share to do.
 
reaper12 said:
Nvidia, spotted a chance to be first to market with this new tech, they didn't have to wait until a standard was approved, they just made their own solution and released that. And sorry to mention it, it's something AMD don't have the money or the market share to do.
Click to expand...

The only problem is that the technology existed already before Nvidia "made it" . What was already supported in laptops, Nvidia slapped a framebuffer on it and called it Gsync.the idea is proprietary technology for Nvidia this is important that is how they roll.

AMD does not want to sell you monitors with proprietary technology attached to it, that is not a goal for AMD.

For your Gsync to work you need Nvidia products 2 of them to be exact. For AMD freesync to work you only need a GPU that supports this (can be anything) and a montior with a vesa standard which would not cost you anything extra.
 
Pieter3dnow said:
The only problem is that the technology existed already before Nvidia "made it" . What was already supported in laptops, Nvidia slapped a framebuffer on it and called it Gsync.the idea is proprietary technology for Nvidia this is important that is how they roll.

AMD does not want to sell you monitors with proprietary technology attached to it, that is not a goal for AMD.

For your Gsync to work you need Nvidia products 2 of them to be exact. For AMD freesync to work you only need a GPU that supports this (can be anything) and a montior with a vesa standard which would not cost you anything extra.
Click to expand...

In your rush to defend AMD you missed the point I was making, that AMD probably came up with the idea of using variable refresh rates in desktops first. But, because of Nvidia's resources, they were able to get gsync to the market first.

And don't be naive, if AMD had the same money and resources that Nvidia have they would be releasing their own proprietary solution too. But they don't, so they went the open standards route which takes more time.

Variable refresh rate has been part of the embedded display port spec since 2009 and his been improved upon with each release. Both Intel and AMD have made use of it in their CPUs and APUs for powersaving. This is why all GCN APUs support freesync but only the second generation desktop cards do. The earlier cards like the 7970 etc don't have the hardware controller needed.

And both freesync and gsync need display port 1.2 minimum to work.

You also misunderstand where the comes from in freesync. Its because monitor manufacturers don't have to pay AMD or VESA anything for using it, unlike paying nvidia for the gsync module. But, You can be pretty sure that they, the monitor manufacturers, will charge extra for a monitor supporting adaptive sync, how much extra is the next question.
 
reaper12 said:
You also misunderstand where the comes from in freesync. Its because monitor manufacturers don't have to pay AMD or VESA anything for using it, unlike paying nvidia for the gsync module. But, You can be pretty sure that they, the monitor manufacturers, will charge extra for a monitor supporting adaptive sync, how much extra is the next question.
Click to expand...

For what ? Why would they charge extra ? What VESA standard required people to shell out more money?

If you followed how "freesync" works you would know that this is already supported with certain hardware, it just lacks support. There was even talk about monitors which are made these days that theoretically would allow an update to make it work.
 
wonderfield said:
More capable scalers.

Supported, but lacking in support. Are you certain that's what you intended to say?
Click to expand...

3 different manufacturers with multiple products that will support Adaptive-Sync. I'm sure there will be a slight premium but there seems to be a lot of potential options and other than maybe the first few that hit the market, I think we will be seeing pretty competitive pricing with current monitors that have comparable feature sets and interfaces.

He meant that there are current monitors/scalers that can be made to work with AdaptiveSync and FreeSync but that they likely won't be officially supported.
 
Pieter3dnow said:
If you followed how "freesync" works you would know that this is already supported with certain hardware, it just lacks support. There was even talk about monitors which are made these days that theoretically would allow an update to make it work.
Click to expand...

wonderfield said:
More capable scalers.


Supported, but lacking in support. Are you certain that's what you intended to say?
Click to expand...

That is what you get for quoting out of context. And if you did read about it http://www.anandtech.com/show/7641/amd-demonstrates-freesync-free-gsync-alternative-at-ces-2014

Then you know what is going on.
 
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