VSync: Should You Turn it On or Off?

If you are amongst those who love spending your time playing games, you must have purchased expensive hardware. However, you may encounter typical hardware troubles such as screen tearing that may ruin your experience.

To resolve this issue, a game setting called VSync has been introduced. VSync is designed for video games, GPU, and monitors. 

Many new options such as G-Sync and FreeSync have been introduced, but the essentiality of VSync remains the same. It would be best to fine-tune your devices before diving into never-ending entertainment. Let’s discover more information about VSync and explore the importance that it holds. 

What is VSync?

VSync, popularly known as Vertical Sync, helps in the synchronization of the refresh rate as well as the frame rate of your monitor. This was developed to solve the problem of screen tearing. Screen tearing may occur when your GPU simultaneously displays different parts of multiple frames.

This results in splitting up the display into fine horizontal lines. Therefore, syncing the refresh rate with the frame rate is essential to prevent tearing. 

You may experience screen tearing anytime throughout the game, but it is most evident when vertical elements such as buildings and trees appear on the screen. Tearing the screen breaks your concentration and makes the game look ugly.

VSync corrects this screen tearing by limiting the frame rate per the graphic card refresh rate. This reduces the number of frames per second, adjusting it according to the monitor’s capacity. This helps in resolving the problem of screen tearing. 

Enabling VSync

VSync will work fine with most displays if you have a graphic card supporting VSync. VSync can be enabled through AMF and drivers of Nvidia. You can also toggle in the graphic settings of a game.

Here, we have explained the step-by-step process of enabling VSync by using the Nvidia control panel of your PC. 

1. Press the start button and type ‘Nvidia control panel.’ Press the enter key to launch it. 
2. You will locate the option of managing 3D settings on the left-hand side of the control panel. 
3. Click on the Vertical Sync option under the global setting tab. Enable it from the drop-down menu if it isn’t already enabled. 

Different GPUs may have different methods of setting. However, the process will more or less be similar even if you do not have an Nvidia graphics card. 

Disabling VSync

If you wish to disable VSync, these are the steps you need to follow:

1. Press the start button and type ‘Nvidia control panel.’ Press the enter key to launch it. 
2. You will locate the option of managing 3D settings on the left-hand side of the control panel. 
3. Click on the Vertical Sync option under the global setting tab. Disable it from the drop-down menu if it is enabled.

Advantages of using VSync

If your system suffers from screen tearing, VSync is worth a go. When done correctly, this will lower your graphics processor down to the same level as your display and allow them to function better and minimize screen tearing. It can also be handy in situations when your graphics processor badly outperforms the graphical demand (such as in extremely old games). 

As graphics processors operate at their maximum speed, rendering outdated scenes may result in extremely high frame rates. Because it emits frames at such a high pace, this might cause your graphics processor to overheat. Enabling VSync limits the FPS to the monitor’s refresh rate, reducing the graphics engine’s load.

Disadvantages of using VSync

VSync works as planned most of the time. However, there are instances when you may realize that it is negatively impacting your gaming experience. As you know, VSync waits for the monitor to be ready before displaying any frames, which may result in an input lag. If you are in the middle of an intense match, lagging is the last thing you wish to happen.

The number of frames may also decrease below the monitor’s refresh rate. This results in a further decrease in the frame rate. You may enable triple buffering to deal with this issue. However, triple buffering isn’t always reliable. 

Should you turn VSync ON or OFF?

Using VSync while playing games is a fantastic setting as long as it works as planned. It prevents screen tearing, thus enhancing your gaming experience. It also prevents your GPU from overworking itself while rendering frames responsible for tearing the game. 

There are many alternatives to VSync, such as AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. You may experience input lag and a decrease in the frame rate if your VSync isn’t appropriate for your PC. 

So, the question is whether you should turn VSync ON or OFF. The answer is simple. If screen tearing interferes with your gaming experience and causes frequent screen tears, you should enable VSync. On the other hand, if you are facing input lag or a decreased frame rate, turning VSync OFF will be the correct alternative. In most cases, VSync does not present any problems; hence keeping it ON is a safe choice. 

Conclusion

The approach described above is a general one you may use to access your VSync settings. However, these settings depend on the individual GPU you use and may change somewhat for different graphic processors. After analyzing your condition, you should decide whether to turn VSync ON or OFF.

You may also read about how to reset your graphics card.