NVIDIA Release Results from G-sync Compatible Testing – Only 5% Passed

Thanks to a recent article published by NVIDIA, we can take a look behind the scenes of their “G-sync Compatible” testing of Adaptive-sync screens. The first phase of their testing has now been completed with 503 VRR monitors checked in their lab. Only 28 (5.56%) have received the official G-sync Compatible certification, meaning 475 failed. Read on to understand why.

503 VRR screens tested, only 28 passed!

273 failed for lacking a VRR range of at least 2.4:1 (e.g. 60Hz-144Hz), meaning you were unlikely to get any of the benefits of VRR as your framerate wasn’t within the tight range offered.

And while some may have had a sufficient VRR range, 202 failed due to image quality (flickering, blanking) or other issues. This could range in severity, from the monitor cutting out during gameplay (sure to get you killed in PvP MP games), to requiring power cycling and Control Panel changes every single time.

And in 33 other cases, NVIDIA couldn’t get hold of a monitor to test as they were no longer manufactured.

Many adaptive-sync screens had max 75Hz for VRR

In the course of their testing, they collected a bunch of other interesting info about the many VRR models available. For instance, 55% have a maximum VRR refresh rate below 75Hz, so if you like to game with a higher framerate, perhaps for a competitive edge, VRR will never activate, so you’ll always have tearing, or will always have V-SYNC enabled to avoid tearing, which increases input latency, making gameplay feel less responsive.

For G-SYNC Compatible displays, they also noted the maximum refresh rates during testing, and the breakdown of passes and fails: over 300 failed monitors had a max 75Hz refresh rate or lower, and/or super slim VRR ranges, only 3 monitors that passed reached 120Hz, and the majority of the others had a refresh rate of 144Hz or higher. It seems that those with the highest refresh rates are more likely to achieve the G-sync Compatible certification.

Source and further reading: NVIDIA

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