Drivers & Software

[nepalii]

Hello, first post here and hoping to get some constructive help. I have a Sapphire Nitro R9 Fury and I'm running it stock (1050mhz/500mhz), undervolted to 1120mV. I also have a Acer XG270HU FreeSync monitor and I was hoping anyone could help me find the smoothest possible settings.

I have been using FreeSync with FRTC enabled at 144FPS but I have read on reddit from Robert from AMD that using FRTC with FreeSync is not a good idea. Here is the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/4ypw5k/freesync_is_so_fcking_awesome/d6zl13v/?st=jfnhmqzg&sh=8...

I want to enable a FPS cap so my GPU isn't stressed too much but I am trying to find the solution that will minimize latency as much as possible. Robert recommends using FreeSync + Vsync but wouldn't Vsync add input lag/latency when it kicks in? I tried using Enhanced Sync + FreeSync but my FPS was uncapped. It seems Enhanced Sync does nothing with FreeSync. The last option I can think of is to enable in-game FPS limiter. Would this be the lowest input latency option to cap my FPS?

If anyone could help me out, I would really appreciate it. Thank you...

[black_zion]

Set Radeon Chill to whatever your Freesync range is, enhanced sync On, and FRTC to 144. Sadly you have to set these options per game profile else they will not have an effect (at least in my experience). Robert's post was made before Enhanced Sync.

[nepalii]

I have read several posts saying that FRTC and FreeSync don't work well. I noticed that with FRTC it keeps bringing my FPS down to 143 and back up to 144. Here is another reddit post talking about input lag introduced by FRTC: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/3vta7u/frame_rate_target_control_input_lag/

I'll jus try different methods and test them myself. Thank you for replying. I appreciate it.

[faqu]

With all the respect , this method of using Freesync is completely wrong .

The best way to use Freesync (lowest possible input lag ; no screen tearing) is to :

-Turn Freesync ON in your monitor's menu & in Radeon Settings

-Use Exclusive Fullscreen + Vsync ON

-Cap your framerate 2 or 3 frames below your monitor's refresh rate via in-game fps limiter (if the game doesn't have an fps limiter use RivaTuner Statistics ; but be aware that this program will add ~8ms input lag)

Any other method than this one can introduce forms of screen tearing or input lag.

[nepalii]

If you don't mind me asking, what's the benefit of capping the framerate 2 or 3 frames below the refresh rate as opposed to capping at the monitor's refresh rate? Why would I need to have 2 or 3 frames less? Also, if I'm 2 or 3 frames below the refresh rate then Vsync will never kick in, will it? Considering I will be always under the monitor's refresh rate. I'm just curious, that's all, I mean no disrespect.

Thank you for the reply.

[faqu]

I don't know all the technical reasons behind that , but :

-You shall cap your fps 2 or 3 fps below your monitor's refresh rate to avoid something called "freesync/g-sync ceiling" (it has something to do with the input lag)

-You shall enable Vsync to avoid any form of screen tearing (sometimes the monitor does not communicate really well with the gpu , and due to that, you may experience weird screen tearing ; by enabling Vsync you are avoiding that screen tearing)

-If you are not experiencing that weird screen tearing mentioned above you can just turn Vsync off

If you want to know & understand more about that i recommend you to read this article : https://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101-input-lag-tests-and-settings/    

Note : If you don't have the time to read the entire article , just read the following pages : 4 ; 5 ; 6 ; 7 ; 9 ; 14

[nepalii]

I went ahead and decided to test it on iRacing, which I play competitively and it's a game where every little input matters. Now, from time to time I used to notice stutters/freezes here and there and I also would notice the FPS counter always change between 143 and 144FPS when I was using FRTC at 144FPS, which is why I actually created this thread to see if there was something that could be done.

Now, with FPS limiter set at 142FPS, FRTC disabled and no Vsync I had a more consistent experience. FPS was locked almost entirely at 142, no fluctuation like I had before with FRTC between 143 and 144FPS, no tearing (at least I didn't notice any) and no obvious stutters/freezes. It's not a huge difference but I can definitely feel an improvement.

Thank you so much for your help! I'll try at 141FPS and maybe it will get even better, who knows? Gotta squeeze every little ounce of performance...

[faqu]

You're welcome !

By the way , if you are saying that you play competitively , i highly recommend you to simply do not use freesync , and let the framerate uncapped , if you wanna have the lowest possible input lag. Due to their nature , both G-Sync and Freesync will always give you a slight disadvantage in terms of input lag. (somewhere around ~2ms in a normal scenario ; with the possibility of even ~8ms if the in-game fps limiter is bad ; that's why the safest bet is to lock your framerate -3 fps)

[nepalii]

Leaving the framerate uncapped would put too much stress on GPU as well as noise and heat. I don't want to risk it and not to mention when FPS goes up and down a lot without Freesync it's not good. I know this because I had a regular monitor before and it was bad when FPS would fluctuate a lot. I'll take the small input lag with Freesync over the stutter that you get without it. Also, as you said Freesync gives very small input lag so it's not a big deal (at least to me).