When NVIDIA first introduced G-Sync in 2013, it was a game changer for the industry. Most people thought it was the holy grail of PC gaming for what it offered, and rightly so, because it brought the best possible gaming experience on monitors. For those of you who don’t know yet, NVIDIA G-Sync is a hardware-level display technology that synchronizes the GPU’s rendering rate with the monitor’s refresh rate. As a result, you’ll immediately notice the difference when gaming, as G-Sync completely eliminates screen tearing while providing buttery smooth and stutter-free gaming sessions. G-Sync is included in monitors with the help of a module and these monitors are usually more expensive. However, if you already have a G-Sync monitor, you need to set it up properly as there are some messes to avoid. So, let’s take a look How to install and configure NVIDIA G-Sync:
Setting Up G-Sync Using the NVIDIA Control Panel
There are some minor mistakes that people tend to make often when setting up G-Sync and as a result the feature will not work properly. We certainly don’t want you to be in this situation, so be sure to follow these steps to set up G-Sync properly:
- Right click anywhere on your desktop and click “NVIDIA Control Panel” to open. When done, click on “Install G-SYNC” under the Display section of the control panel. By default, if you have a G-Sync monitor, you will notice that the feature is only enabled for full screen mode. We need to change that by controlling it”Enable G-SYNC for windowed and full screen mode”because there are several games that also work in borderless window mode and we cannot neglect them.
- Now you will have to click “Manage 3D Settings” In the 3D Settings section of the NVIDIA Control Panel. When it’s done, scroll down a bit and you’ll see an option called “Monitor Technology”. If the monitor technology is shown as Fixed Refresh Rate (normally for monitors without G-Sync), change it to: “G-SYNC” by clicking the pop-up button.
- This is the step that most people get confused with. At the bottom of the same menu, you will see an option for Vertical Sync. By default, it’s set to “Use 3D app setting”, but we don’t want that. Vertical Sync causing input lag is pointless when you have G-Sync. Therefore, by clicking on the drop-down menu Vertical Sync -> Off.
Configuring G-Sync for Games
We haven’t finished properly configuring G-Sync yet. We have a few more steps that are absolutely crucial in determining the proper functioning of G-Sync. Therefore, carefully follow the steps below:
- A few games have V-Sync enabled by default, but we don’t need V-Sync at all. It totally depends on the game. If you want Disable V-Syncyou will have to reach Graphics/Video settings in-game and turn it off so G-Sync can work properly.
- This is arguably the most important step in this process, and I’ll explain to you exactly why. As we discussed above, G-Sync works by synchronizing the GPU’s rendering rate with the monitor’s refresh rate. So, assuming your game is rendered at a lower frame rate than your monitor’s refresh rate, G-Sync will reduce your monitor’s refresh rate to match the GPU’s rendering rate to ensure smooth gameplay. However, this process does not work the other way around. If the GPU renders the game at a frame rate higher than the refresh rate of the monitor, G-Sync will do nothing and you will experience screen tearing while playing games. What you need to do to avoid this lock your game’s framerate to your monitor’s refresh rate. You can do this by going to your game’s graphics/video settings.
Note: Not all games allow you to lock the framerate to the refresh rate of your monitor. In such cases you will need to use something in addition to G-Sync. This can be done in the NVIDIA Control Panel by enabling Quick Sync in the Vertical Sync option instead of turning it off completely. If you do not prefer to do this, you can make use of a third-party software such as RivaTuner. MSI Afterburner may limit the frame rate.
Checking If G-Sync Is Working Properly
If you haven’t configured G-Sync correctly, you will continue to run into issues that normal monitors do. Therefore, screen tearing is the first sign that your monitor’s G-Sync is not working properly. If you’ve followed all the steps we’ve discussed, we’re pretty sure you’ll never run into these issues. However, a single screenshot isn’t good enough to show the performance difference, so we’ve included NVIDIA’s own video that you can check and then compare to your game to verify that NVIDIA G is working properly. Sync on your monitor.
SEE ALSO: How to Overclock GPU for Better Gaming Performance
Use NVIDIA G-Sync for the Best Gaming Experience
Once you switch to G-Sync, there is no going back. You’re sure to hate to miss out on buttery smooth, stutter-free and tear-free gaming sessions. However, if you don’t currently have a G-Sync monitor, you should definitely consider getting one. Having a stand-alone G-Sync monitor isn’t good enough, especially if you haven’t configured it properly. We noticed that several users were having trouble installing it correctly, so we decided to do our part by addressing the issue. So, have you configured G-Sync properly now? Let us know how this article helped you by dropping a few words in the comments section below.