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VSync and overclocking


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I've been using LCD monitors for gaming for several years now going back to an old Microtek 15" monitor that I still use on my workbench. Without exclusion all of these monitors have had 60Hz pixel refresh rates. In all cases my game play on most titles is "smoother" and without stutter the higher I can make my minimum and average frame rates.

 

As already pointed out by a previous poster, an average frame rate of 60fps certainly includes minimum frame rates lower than that.

 

I also do a lot of online gaming ( first person shooter mainly and a lot of them) and in my experience frame rates have a huge impact on the way the game appears, but also the way the game plays. Especially in hit registration, accuracy, and ability to eliminate an enemy before they even know you're there.

 

If you play fps games I highly recommend that you disable vsync in the global settings of your video card drivers and modify the game settings .cfg files to set a maximum fps when possible.

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Yes, but you still might notice the difference between say 60fps and 150fps. At least from my experience my cursor becomes laggy with 60 fps and I need to crank up the fps... Some guy also told me about the Nyquist theorem affecting the experience and thus needing 120fps with a 60Hz monitor, but I'm not so sure about that one biggrin.gif

 

 

There is no noticable difference from 60FPS to 120FPS with a monitor than has a 60FPS refresh rate. The monitor cannot put out more than 60FPS. Disabling vsync can also cause screen tearing.

Edited by Drdeath

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There is no noticable difference from 60FPS to 120FPS with a monitor than has a 60FPS refresh rate. The monitor cannot put out more than 60FPS. Disabling vsync can also cause screen tearing.

 

I respectfully call BS on parts of this statement. There IS a noticeable difference for anyone paying attention. You're correct about the maximum number of FPS a 60Hz monitor can display, but your minimum and average frame rates have a huge impact on "noticeable" differences. I'm not sure what type of LCD monitors that you use, but of the last four I've personally used not a single one had ANY screen tearing with vsync disabled. And these are on high end systems capable of pushing between 85 and 200FPS depending on the titles being played. Zero, zilch, nada, none.

Edited by wevsspot

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Well I have to say I used to disable my vertical sync all the time but notice screen tearing and other ugliness happening so I enabled it. another nice feature of vsync is if you are having trouble running a game it will tend to lock in at another speed your monitor is capable of easily running (30 or even 45 fps) and make the slow down much less noticeable. Unfortunately once you get down to the slow lurching speed of say 20 or less fps nothing can help you.

 

Oh and that Nyquist theory means jack when gaming, I mean seriously you are either good or bad at games and online ping is king anyways. Who needs good reaction times when your computer communicates with the server before anyone else's does?

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I respectfully call BS on parts of this statement. There IS a noticeable difference for anyone paying attention. You're correct about the maximum number of FPS a 60Hz monitor can display, but your minimum and average frame rates have a huge impact on "noticeable" differences. I'm not sure what type of LCD monitors that you use, but of the last four I've personally used not a single one had ANY screen tearing with vsync disabled. And these are on high end systems capable of pushing between 85 and 200FPS depending on the titles being played. Zero, zilch, nada, none.

Just because you don't notice it doesn't mean tearing isn't there. I personally can't stand tearing and it's immediately obvious with a glance at the screen. It has nothing to do with the display being used aside from the refresh rate. Vsync tends to smooth out framerate dips as well.

 

There is absolutely zero reason to disable vsync to get "higher FPS" except when your average FPS is under your refresh rate. The placebo effect can be very strong.

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You better be nice to me Waco - your girlfriend wants my cooler :)

 

From my perspective - if I cant "notice" or "see" tearing then it isn't there.

 

Keep in mind that the majority of my game play is competitive online FPS - so for me vsync off is the rule of thumb. Even if there was a little tearing, smoothness of the game and instantaneous response to mouse commands are more important. Vsync enabled can produce input lag on some game titles.

 

And the primary point I wanted to counter was this statement here;

"There is no noticable difference from 60FPS to 120FPS with a monitor than has a 60FPS refresh rate"

 

I'm sure there are more people that would beg to differ.

 

Regards,

Edited by wevsspot

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Yeah - if you really want minimum mouse lag you have to enable triple-buffering which not everything supports. Double buffered titles can definitely increase your input lag noticeably (though most things these days support triple buffering). :)

 

I still have to leave it on though - with a 42" screen any tearing is immediately obvious. :lol:

 

Didn't mean to be offensive! :P

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I respectfully call BS on parts of this statement. There IS a noticeable difference for anyone paying attention. You're correct about the maximum number of FPS a 60Hz monitor can display, but your minimum and average frame rates have a huge impact on "noticeable" differences. I'm not sure what type of LCD monitors that you use, but of the last four I've personally used not a single one had ANY screen tearing with vsync disabled. And these are on high end systems capable of pushing between 85 and 200FPS depending on the titles being played. Zero, zilch, nada, none.

 

 

There is no 'I" in team... Kidding. Some do not use the monitors you do and some do not have the graphics card as you or me. It was a general statement. Even with Vsync disabled, frame rates go under the monitors default.

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I'm just feeling awnry today - plus I couldn't resist giving Waco a hard time because his girlfriend really does want my cpu cooler :)

 

As we all have found out, every situation or use/non use of vsync can be highly dependent on the hardware, game titles and personal preferences involved.

 

Waco is on a 42" LCD TV, I'm on a 24" 1920x1200 2ms LCD monitor - some folks may be on 5 or 6ms LCD monitors or IP panels instead of TN panels. Heck some folks may even be gaming on 200Hz CRTs :)

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