Is G-Sync still worth it? Seeking advice for monitor & GPU upgrades

B

BlackGuyRX

n00b
Joined
Aug 12, 2013
Messages
33
To mods- I wasn't sure if this topic belonged in Video Cards or Displays so feel free to move this thread if it doesn't belong.

So with nVidia now caving and supporting Adaptive Sync/FreeSync now, I'm trying to figure out if G-Sync monitors are truly worthless and should never be considered at this point. I've been wanting to really upgrade from my over 2-year old AOC G2460PG for something like LG's UltraGear 27GL850G which I'm very excited for.
I originally wanted to just upgrade the monitor and be done with it but I'd also have to upgrade my GPU since it's a GTX 970 and won't be getting support for G-Sync on FreeSync compatibility.

With that being said, I've got a few questions-
  1. Should I move on to AMD or stay with nvidia for my new card?
  2. How does G-Sync & Freesync fare against each other? Last I looked into Freesync I was disappointed with the low ranges supported but I'm sure that's since been fixed with newer displays.
  3. Are there any legit benefits to staying with an nvidia GPU and a G-Sync monitor as opposed to mixing a supported nvidia GPU with Freesync displays?
  4. How do the two brands compare in terms of GPU offerings? I've only had a GTX 970 and everything else before that was built into the motherboard or Intel graphics if that.

I realize this is going into GPU advice but I'm factoring G-Sync & FreeSync heavily into this for my upgrades and wanna know if G-Sync is still worth the premium or if I should move on to AMD & FreeSync completely.

I mainly play emulated games via Mame and RetroArch and the occasional Steam game tho not as much as the former.
 
First off: your GPU is over-spec'd for what you're doing, however, it also cannot support Freesync.

Then the difference: basically, there are no Freesync monitors that support variable refresh rates as well as G-Sync does. Some get close, most are okay, many are pretty bad.

On the upside, Nvidia is supporting Freesync as well as AMD does. Good monitors are good, poor ones are poor, etc, and generally if your performance is already fairly high and steady, the tech used won't make the biggest difference.

As for what to do... if you want variable refresh rate support with your GTX970, you need a G-Sync monitor. If you want to use Freesync, you'd need to upgrade the GPU too, and would need to get a Vega 56 for a real upgrade in performance on top of the monitor.
 
I concur with ^, have been happy with gsync for a few years but if I were buying a new monitor today it'd be a nice freesync one and the new radeon 7 thing.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
First off: your GPU is over-spec'd for what you're doing, however, it also cannot support Freesync.

Then the difference: basically, there are no Freesync monitors that support variable refresh rates as well as G-Sync does. Some get close, most are okay, many are pretty bad.

On the upside, Nvidia is supporting Freesync as well as AMD does. Good monitors are good, poor ones are poor, etc, and generally if your performance is already fairly high and steady, the tech used won't make the biggest difference.

As for what to do... if you want variable refresh rate support with your GTX970, you need a G-Sync monitor. If you want to use Freesync, you'd need to upgrade the GPU too, and would need to get a Vega 56 for a real upgrade in performance on top of the monitor.
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention, I'll be going the 1440p route and plan on actually playing more of my Steam library but wanna maintain high framereates and high-ish detail & settings at 1440p and had my eye on the GTX 1070 ti & RTX 2060 largely for this reason. Sorry, I forgot to post that.
 
The way I chose my replacement monitor for my dead PG278Q was this:

Choose the screen size and resolution first, that narrows down the search dramatically.

If there is a choice, then determine panel type, then if it is curved or not. I chose 32" 1440p 144hz, so my panel type is fixed (VA), and then I chose non-curved, which reduced to just 3 monitors, LG 32GK650B, 32GK850F & 32GK850G.

850G model were on sale so it was within $33 of the 850F ($833 vs $800, tax included) while 650B was $500.

So it was a decision of FreeSync 1 for $500, FreeSync 2 w/ HDR for $800 or G-Sync for $833.

I didn't think HDR was going to be all that useful, and $33 wasn't enough for me to switch over to FreeSync 2 (which I had no idea if it was going to work the way I wanted it to), so it was eventually down to FreeSync 1 vs G-Sync.

After reading on bad FreeSync implementations, I decided to ditch 650B and ended up going for G-Sync.

Without that discount on the 850G (would be closer to $1200 otherwise), I most likely would have gone for XB271HU ($600) instead. The idea of paying $800 to hope that FreeSync works properly with nVidia doesn't sit well with me.

Sure, I am going to get locked into nVidia in the near future, but 1440p isn't so demanding that I'd always need $1000 GPU's to obtain playable frame rates, so even if AMD wins next round, I probably won't feel *too* bad for sticking with the inferior solution, as I can easily get playable frame rates anyway.

(Of course, my decision attracts "nVidia shill/fanboy" comments like no tomorrow, as if panel type can't possibly ever be a deciding factor in monitor purchases).

EDIT: This was just the thought process of replacing the monitor, my GTX 1080 didn't need replacing, and I didn't have a choice anyway as Vega 56/64 were completely sold out. Even if I sold my GTX 1080 and bought Vega 64, I estimated that I would have needed to pay $300 more (at least) to use 32GK850F (mostly due to the discount on 32GK850G), so I didn't really bother hunting a Vega down.
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in FreeSync or G-sync monitor discussions is the ease of maintaining the monitor over a long period of time. If you keep your monitor for 5+ years, it might need a recapping at some point. I did that with my previous Samsung 26" monitor after the screen stopped working and it made it good as new again. Since FreeSync is a software solution there should be less hardware in a FreeSync monitor to potentially have to maintain, and that could prove to be a reliability, time, and cost benefit down the road.
 
Delicieuxz said:
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in FreeSync or G-sync monitor discussions is the ease of maintaining the monitor over a long period of time. If you keep your monitor for 5+ years, it might need a recapping at some point. I did that with my previous Samsung 26".
Click to expand...

5 years is a really short period of time for a monitor to go bad, my old 17inch flatron is reaching 18 years or so... My old JVC is 11 years old, and my old dell 21.5 is around 14 years... They all work. Maybe avoid Samsung? I've heard of there TVs going sooner than expected too.


Anyway to the op I'd buy a well reviewed freesync monitor that is reported to work with nvidia vrr.. and that means research and lots of it atm.. go for at least a 144hz 1440p monitor, curved or not and make is up to you.
 
Dodge245 said:
5 years is a really short period of time for a monitor to go bad, my old 17inch flatron is reaching 18 years or so... My old JVC is 11 years old, and my old dell 21.5 is around 14 years... They all work. Maybe avoid Samsung? I've heard of there TVs going sooner than expected too.


Anyway to the op I'd buy a well reviewed freesync monitor that is reported to work with nvidia vrr.. and that means research and lots of it atm.. go for at least a 144hz 1440p monitor, curved or not and make is up to you.
Click to expand...
depends on how many hours a day it is on. IIRC there was like 10k and 20k hour back light panels. So 1.5-3 years of life if you use it 24/7. If you use it 12 hours a day you are looking at 3-6 years before it dies
 
AnIgnorantPerson said:
depends on how many hours a day it is on. IIRC there was like 10k and 20k hour back light panels. So 1.5-3 years of life if you use it 24/7. If you use it 12 hours a day you are looking at 3-6 years before it dies
Click to expand...

Not to take this too far off topic but the JVC went through pretty much a 24/7 world of Warcraft addiction, untill the second expansion ..


Edit, so I found the service menu on my JVC has an uptime counter... 77708 hours uptime..

Edit 2 AnIgnorantPerson
HXTPJi9QjxCoC3k4A
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HXTPJi9QjxCoC3k4A
7G58h4tzN1aZm8hd7
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top