FreeSync and Geforce graphics cards: What to consider

Det PC hardware market started 2019 with a real sensation: Nvidia had announced that GeForce graphics cards would be compatible with FreeSync in the future. Previously, this was only possible with AMD hardware. Meanwhile, there are already numerous manufacturers.

Big surprise: GeForce owners can now take full advantage of FreeSync monitors.

FreeSync was unlocked in 2019 via GeForce update

G-Sync requires GeForce, FreeSync relied exclusively on AMD Radeon. This restriction did not go down well with users and caused a lot of criticism. However, it has been possible to use FreeSync with GeForce graphics cards for two years now. However, you need the corresponding hardware for this. The announcement was made at the beginning of January 2019 in the context of CES 2019 in Las Vegas. Due to the scope, the announcement clearly surpassed all other presentations of the event.

• Per driver update (released on January 15, 2019), FreeSync was enabled for GeForce cards.
• After the update, the system checks the monitor: a refresh rate of at least 2.4:1 must be given so that the variable refresh rate is automatically enabled.
• Otherwise, the user has to enable the feature manually. Normally, this should not cause any problems, but Nvidia points out that only certified models are guaranteed not to cause errors like frame dropouts.
• The activation affected all GeForce cards of the 1000 and 2000 series and subsequent cards. Older models, for example the GeForce 980 Ti, are left out.

Due to the lower prices of FreeSync monitors compared to G-Sync, this change of mind is a very positive news for all users. From now on, consequently, free combinations between all manufacturers are possible with an ideal price-performance ratio without having to give up anything.