FreeSync monitors now available, and they're cheaper than G-Sync equivalents

Scorpus

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AMD has provided an update on the state of their FreeSync technology, confirming that monitors supporting the adaptive sync technology are now available in select locations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It's expected that FreeSync monitors will hit North America and Asia Pacific shortly.

At this stage, three FreeSync monitors have been spotted on sale in the United Kingdom: the BenQ 27-inch 144Hz XL2730Z for £497.99, the 34" ultra-wide LG Flatron 34UM67 for £499.99, and Acer's 27" Predator XG277HU for £429.95.

Compared to equivalent G-Sync monitors, FreeSync alternatives are notably cheaper. The Asus ROG Swift PG278Q, one of the more popular G-Sync monitors, retails for £619.99 ($800 in the United States) with very similar specifications to both the aforementioned BenQ and Acer monitors. Choosing the FreeSync alternative in this case saves you up to £190.

This price gap between FreeSync and G-Sync monitors is expected. Nvidia currently charges display manufacturers several hundred dollars for the proprietary G-Sync module found in G-Sync displays, whereas FreeSync only requires a display scaler with DisplayPort 1.2a and VESA Adaptive Sync support. As these scalers are not proprietary, they are cheaper to implement.

However, at least at this stage, FreeSync is only supported on AMD graphics cards, effectively creating a technology war between FreeSync and the Nvidia-only G-Sync. Unless Nvidia and their hardware partners cut the prices of G-Sync monitors, the significantly cheaper FreeSync standard seems to be a more attractive proposition for gamers looking to invest in adaptive sync displays.

While FreeSync monitors have started to hit the shelves in Europe, eager buyers will have to wait until March 19 for AMD to release a FreeSync-compatible driver. When the driver is released, it will only support single-card setups; those with CrossFire systems will have to wait even longer, until sometime in April, for a multi-GPU FreeSync solution.

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I don't see why? Freesync changes your monitor big time! I mean just look at the on/off freesync from the picture at the front.

Atleast with gsync your monitor doesnt need to actually change.
 
@wastedkill

You serious? YOU SERIOUS? It is not because of FreeSync, but because of what kind of LCD is. One is glossy, one is matte -.-
 
I don't see why? Freesync changes your monitor big time! I mean just look at the on/off freesync from the picture at the front.

Atleast with gsync your monitor doesnt need to actually change.

? What did you mean about changing monitors?
 
Can we get a better comparison pic with two very similar monitors that have the same screens? As in both glossy or both matte?
 
Well that explains why I haven't seen a FreeSync monitor running games.
They must be smoking methadrone at AMD. Someone should tell em to stop.
 
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Can we get a better comparison pic with two very similar monitors that have the same screens? As in both glossy or both matte?
We shouldn't trust the AMD demonstration anyway. They would choose a scene and settings that make their tech look really great when it may not be in everyday use. Much like how the big box stores used to always show slow-moving animated films (Finding Nemo was like always on) to demonstrate their HD TVs. Animated films don't show color problems and detail like live action can. This isn't dishonest, it just might not be realistic to your own use.

I would imagine as soon as this tech is mainstream there will be plenty of videos and reviews comparing the two. Especially since one technology is significantly cheaper. We all want to know if the performance is similar between the two or if Nvidia will continue to be able to justify their price.
 
I don't know about you lot but Gsync & Freesync are technologies that haven't caught my attention one little bit but to be honest I haven't seen either in action live.
 
I don't know about you lot but Gsync & Freesync are technologies that haven't caught my attention one little bit but to be honest I haven't seen either in action live.

I can only speak for G-Sync and confidently say that I haven't heard one person in the tech industry say that it wasn't anything short of amazing. The price is another story, but it's early tech so that's expected. Personally I'm waiting for the perfect G-Sync monitor that fits my budget, just like I did with my first SSD which was the Crucial C300 64GB.

I want FreeSync to work for AMD users, I really do, but how they are going about it just raises too many red flags.
 
Anyone knows the ranges that FreeSync will work in each of these displays? The Benq spec states vertical frequency 56-144, is that it?
 
Anyone knows the ranges that FreeSync will work in each of these displays? The Benq spec states vertical frequency 56-144, is that it?

If it's a 56Hz minimum for any FreeSync monitor it pretty much defeats the purpose of getting one for smooth gameplay overall, let alone trying to compare it to the ~30Hz minimum G-Sync monitors do. I heard 30-40Hz minimum (FreeSync) depending on the monitor, but I didn't go any further due to the overall lack of information going around on the technology itself, and no demo's using actual games.

Let me know what you find out.
 
Anyone knows the ranges that FreeSync will work in each of these displays? The Benq spec states vertical frequency 56-144, is that it?

If it's a 56Hz minimum for any FreeSync monitor it pretty much defeats the purpose of getting one for smooth gameplay overall, let alone trying to compare it to the ~30Hz minimum G-Sync monitors do. I heard 30-40Hz minimum (FreeSync) depending on the monitor, but I didn't go any further due to the overall lack of information going around on the technology itself, and no demo's using actual games.

Let me know what you find out.
I am not saying about fresync in general but in that monitor. freesync can go as low as 24 I think.
 
I don't know about you lot but Gsync & Freesync are technologies that haven't caught my attention one little bit but to be honest I haven't seen either in action live.

I can only speak for G-Sync and confidently say that I haven't heard one person in the tech industry say that it wasn't anything short of amazing. The price is another story, but it's early tech so that's expected. Personally I'm waiting for the perfect G-Sync monitor that fits my budget, just like I did with my first SSD which was the Crucial C300 64GB.

I want FreeSync to work for AMD users, I really do, but how they are going about it just raises too many red flags.
what red flags?
as far as I know the only difference is that g-sync offloads the processing to a second chip in the module (this is why it doesn't need a new scaler) while freesync uses the GPU and the new scaler. this should give g-sync a small boost in max FPS (we'll have to see benchmarks to see if it's just 1-2 fps or more)
Didn't nvidia announce adaptive sync for laptops that doesn't use their module? (aka it uses something similar to freesync - people are saying it's actually freesync) link
 
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Yea I just looked. 24-144Hz vert and hor if using VGA/HDMI on that BenQ.
http://gaming.benq.com/gaming-monitor/xl2730z/specification/#skip
well FreeSync work over DP only so its 56-144 vertical? (horizontal doesn't matter I think)

what red flags?
as far as I know the only difference is that g-sync offloads the processing to a second chip in the module (this is why it doesn't need a new scaler) while freesync uses the GPU and the new scaler. this should give g-sync a small boost in max FPS (we'll have to see benchmarks to see if it's just 1-2 fps or more)
Didn't nvidia announce adaptive sync for laptops that doesn't use their module? (aka it uses something similar to freesync - people are saying it's actually freesync) link
freesync is the software in the AMD drivers that takes uses DP's adaptive sync. So no nvidia doesn't use freesync. it possibly uses the DP's adaptive sync, which makes it "alike" freesync.
 
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I am not saying about fresync in general but in that monitor. freesync can go as low as 24 I think.

Yea I just looked. 24-144Hz vert and hor if using VGA/HDMI on that BenQ.
http://gaming.benq.com/gaming-monitor/xl2730z/specification/#skip
Just to confirm, FreeSync doesn't work at all on VGA/HDMI, only Displayport.

Edit: Just had a look on your link, it does state 56-144Hz on DisplayPort, This is troublesome as that does look like FreeSync only works over 56fps in games.

I've seen G-sync work between 30-60fps (my brother has the ROG Swift) and it works wonders at those frame rates, if this is the case, that's a mighty shame :/
 
Just to confirm, FreeSync doesn't work at all on VGA/HDMI, only Displayport.

Oh snap! So it is worthless @ 56Hz minimum in regards to at least the BenQ named in this article. Wow AMD... just wow. I see why the driver is coming after the monitors go on sale now.

#redflag
 
No one could tell the difference between the two anyways, at least not with those pictures. (Why is AMD showing off this tech on two completely different monitors?!)

Now when you're actually using it you would "feel" the difference. The point of G-sync/Freesync is that you retain V-Sync (no tearing) without introducing the frame buffering (input lag) that comes with it.

I don't care what they come out with as long as the consumer can get a reasonably priced monitor with the technologies (Gsync/Freesync). Shelling out $600-$800 for a monitor isn't going to cut it for the masses.
 
Wow you guys... its like saying a game can run freesync perfectly when the freesync pc has a 90core 120GB ram system and the non freesync pc has 1 core 256mb ram.... I was making fun that amd cant do a comparison without showing you freesync on a far better monitor then the crap 10yr old non-freesync monitor xD
 
Just to confirm, FreeSync doesn't work at all on VGA/HDMI, only Displayport.

Oh snap! So it is worthless @ 56Hz minimum in regards to at least the BenQ named in this article. Wow AMD... just wow. I see why the driver is coming after the monitors go on sale now.

#redflag


That is a red flag, but I'm more inclined to blame benq. What is the point with designing a monitor where the adaptivesync displayport signal only goes down to 56Hz ?!?!?

I almost think something is wrong, that stat is so bad to the point of being useless. Someone should contact benq to clarify. We know other monitors are supposed to have lower refresh ranges over displayport so unless this is some sort of error, no one should buy this monitor for freesync use.
 
I don't know about you lot but Gsync & Freesync are technologies that haven't caught my attention one little bit but to be honest I haven't seen either in action live.

I can only speak for G-Sync and confidently say that I haven't heard one person in the tech industry say that it wasn't anything short of amazing. The price is another story, but it's early tech so that's expected. Personally I'm waiting for the perfect G-Sync monitor that fits my budget, just like I did with my first SSD which was the Crucial C300 64GB.

I want FreeSync to work for AMD users, I really do, but how they are going about it just raises too many red flags.

LOL no red flags at Nvidia? Didn't you see that they are bringing G-Sync to laptops and the laptops will not require a "G-Sync Module." This essentially proves that the module is nothing more than DRM and that Nvidia is milking as usual.
 
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