Just realized I was using vsync wrong for 5 years on my PC

Was playing Cyberpunk 2077 on my rig last week and kept getting this weird stutter even though my fps was 60. Buddy looked at my settings and laughed - I had vsync on but also had my monitor set to 60hz when it's actually 144hz. Been doing that since 2019 and just thought console players had smoother motion than me. Anyone else figure out they were bottlenecking their own PC with some dumb setting?

2 comments

2 Comments

brian_coleman9d ago

Ah see that's a pretty common mix-up but you're kind of blaming the wrong thing here. Vsync is actually designed to prevent screen tearing by locking your framerate to your monitor's refresh rate, so having it on 60hz vs 144hz would just cap you at 60fps which isn't really a "bottleneck" in the usual sense. The real issue is that vsync introduces input lag and can cause stutter when your fps dips below the refresh rate, which is probably why you noticed that weird stutter in Cyberpunk. You should try G-Sync or Freesync if your monitor supports it, that's way smoother for most games because it dynamically adjusts the refresh rate. The fact that you ran 60hz on a 144hz panel for 5 years is harsh though, that's like buying a sports car and only driving in first gear.

betty_park629d ago

@brian_coleman well actually Gsync can still stutter below 40fps, not perfect either