AMD FreeSync LCD displays to be available in 2015
AMD's Richard Huddy shares word that the first LCD displays that will support FreeSync will sample next month with retail availability in early 2015. Multiple vendors are said to be incorporating the technology.
"Multiple" vendors are preparing displays based on the technology, though Huddy declined to name names. Interestingly, he suggested there's more excitement surrounding adaptive refresh mojo than there is for 4K resolutions. You'll certainly need a lot less graphics horsepower exploit the benefits of a dynamic refresh rate than you will to run games at 4K.
Huddy expects entry-level models to start at 24Hz, which is the most desirable update frequency for typical video. Higher-end implementations could scale up to 144Hz and beyond.
Similar to G-Sync, AMD FreeSync will get rid of screen tearing and tiny sync stuttering/pulsing. The protocol FreeSync / Adaptive Sync will be embedded into DisplayPort 1.2a and eDP (embedded Displayport), there is a catch though, manufacturers of monitors are free to decide wether or not to support the technology. At Computex there are supported monitors on display, AMD however will not reveal the manufacturers just yet. The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) already announced the addition of 'Adaptive-Sync' to its popular DisplayPort 1.2a video interface standard.
AMD FreeSync will be adopted by VESA - 04/08/2014 07:53 AM
As you guys know AMD announced a competitive and may I say very cheap solution to tackle Nvidia's Gsync recently, it goes under the name FreeSync. The problem thus far is that monitors need to suppor...
Nvidia responds to AMD FreeSync - 01/08/2014 01:33 PM
Well it was bound to happen sooner rather then later, but Nvidia spoke about AMD FreeSync. The interview is with Tom Petersen who spoke with the guys from techReport. So the credits and everything re...
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I thought Nvidia cards could also do Free Sync, as its a VESA standard.
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Their cards need to implement VBLANK on the GPU's display controller. No one knows if the current ones do or not. I would imagine they don't -- the only reason why AMD does is for slight power savings.. the use of it on Adaptive Sync was an unintended bonus.
Anyway I'm kind of curious as to why Nvidia went with a FPGA for G-Sync. They could have easily cut the price by a lot if had implemented it via an ASIC board. And probably made a lot more money doing so. The only reason I can think of is if they had planned on delivering firmware updates to the board.
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Even if they did, its not Dp 1.2a compatible no?
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DP 1.2a compatibility is just a label. It lets people know what is definitely supported and what isn't. You don't have to be compatible to still support features. The 7000 series isn't DP 1.2a but AMD will support Adaptive Sync on it because it has VBLANK support.
If Nvidia Kepler/Maxwell/Fermi have VBLANK implemented, which again I don't think it has, then it can definitely support Adaptive Sync without being 1.2a.
I should also point out that there are technical differences between how the two technologies work. We don't know the performance of Adaptive Sync at this time. People make it sound like it does the same thing as G-Sync, the outcome is the same but it gets there differently. That difference may add latency, it may impact performance similar to the way polling of G-Sync does, it may do other things. On the flip side it might be better than G-Sync in every category.
I think it's too early to say G-Sync is dead when this launches. Especially if Nvidia just simply refuses to support it.
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I'll just wait until it's standardised on all monitors/gpus and I'm not forced into green or red, I can then buy any monitor and any GPU and it will just work! Oh wait, I live in the real world where the only thing that's important is how much consumers have in their wallets, not what they want!