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Vsync: On or Off?
Hello! I understand a bit about Vsync. I know that when it is on it synchronizes your FPS with that of your monitor's refresh rate and can give more stability opposed to having Vsync off, unless you have a weak graphics card that can't produce enough FPS to synchronize with your refresh rate. Having Vsync off with a good computer can lead to screen tearing.
Understanding Vsync isn't what I would like help with. It's whether I should have it on or off.
I have a good gaming laptop. It is an ASUS ROG laptop and has:
-16 gigs of RAM
-i7-4710HQ
-64-bit operating system
-Windows 8.1
-NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
-1TB hard drive 7200rpm
So I've been able to play Minecraft with Vsync on perfectly fine until more recently. Every now and then, I would get a lag spike/fps drop, sometimes small, sometimes big. It doesn't always happen very frequently, some days are worse than others it seems. And the lag spikes/fps drops don't last too long when they occur. I tried turning off Vsync. No more lag spikes/fps drops, and there hasn't been any major screen tearing (or any for that matter). Some choppiness here and there, and my laptop fan spins faster and therefore louder. So my question is: Should I have Vsync on and deal with the occasional lag spike/fps drop or should I have Vsync off and deal with choppiness and a louder fan?
I know this probably comes down to personal choice, but I'd love to hear your input and opinions as there are a lot of people here on PMC who know more stuff about computers than I do. Thanks!
Understanding Vsync isn't what I would like help with. It's whether I should have it on or off.
I have a good gaming laptop. It is an ASUS ROG laptop and has:
-16 gigs of RAM
-i7-4710HQ
-64-bit operating system
-Windows 8.1
-NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
-1TB hard drive 7200rpm
So I've been able to play Minecraft with Vsync on perfectly fine until more recently. Every now and then, I would get a lag spike/fps drop, sometimes small, sometimes big. It doesn't always happen very frequently, some days are worse than others it seems. And the lag spikes/fps drops don't last too long when they occur. I tried turning off Vsync. No more lag spikes/fps drops, and there hasn't been any major screen tearing (or any for that matter). Some choppiness here and there, and my laptop fan spins faster and therefore louder. So my question is: Should I have Vsync on and deal with the occasional lag spike/fps drop or should I have Vsync off and deal with choppiness and a louder fan?
I know this probably comes down to personal choice, but I'd love to hear your input and opinions as there are a lot of people here on PMC who know more stuff about computers than I do. Thanks!
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As others have said, just limit your FPS to 60 manually. With vsync on, my HD 3000 gets a maximum of around 36 FPS, and yet, it easily gets 60 FPS when I manually limit it.
Side Note: Oddly, when I manually limit my fps to 60, I still get screen tearing at 60 fps. Can anyone explain this?
Side Note: Oddly, when I manually limit my fps to 60, I still get screen tearing at 60 fps. Can anyone explain this?
I had the same issue. I turned Vsync off and manually set the fps to 60. The choppy screen tearing was worse when I had the fps limit set to 60, 70, or 80 than it was when I had the fps limit set to Unlimited. So I left my limit at Unlimited.
Thanks for all the help guys!
Thanks for all the help guys!
If it's really screen tearing it might be that your monitors have low refresh rates or are just not good at avoiding this screen tearing. Can also be that your monitor is not getting enough frames and getting frames at an unusual rate. I suspect the second reason as this sorta explains why it works at FPS set to unlimited (but I'm no expert, so don't take this as true without thinking).
Now whenever when I turn on Vsync, it gives me 60 FPS but the frames are just taking a little while to get to my monitor. With it off I still get 60 FPS but it's smoother.
Just turn it off. I'm pretty sure it's just to boost performance by delaying the time is takes to send the picture to your monitor.
Just turn it off. I'm pretty sure it's just to boost performance by delaying the time is takes to send the picture to your monitor.
With those specs (very good), turn it off or limit the FPS manually to 70 or something. Generally not having a cap on the FPS is good with a decent PC.
You should turn it off. With it on, when the framerate is below 60, it can cause stuttering, and it causes general unresponsivenes.
Yup. Also, some people say the human eye can't see above 60FPS, but I personally can tell there's a difference between 60 and 70FPS. Anyway, yeah. With VSync you'll be getting some 59s just because of the cap, so put it on 70 or unlimited.
VSync limits your FPS to your monitor's refresh rate (normally 60). Above this, you will not notice any difference because your monitor can't display frames above its refresh rate.
I don't know what people above me are saying but you should definitely have it on.
I don't know what people above me are saying but you should definitely have it on.
Its not for your FPS. Its Vertical Sync.
Meaning vertical synchronizing. Having not enough Video RAM will make you laggier when enabling this. This feature however, prevents those annoying lines comming in your screen.
You should turn it on if youre using a 860M
Meaning vertical synchronizing. Having not enough Video RAM will make you laggier when enabling this. This feature however, prevents those annoying lines comming in your screen.
You should turn it on if youre using a 860M
What? It has everything to do with FPS. It limits the amount of frames your graphics card will send to your monitor by its refresh rate.
For OP, turning it off will mean your graphics card won't be held back (good) but you can get an effect called "tearing" when your monitor receives a new frame before the old one is "finished".
For OP, turning it off will mean your graphics card won't be held back (good) but you can get an effect called "tearing" when your monitor receives a new frame before the old one is "finished".
Yep. This second comment is right. An 860M shouldn't need an FPS cap - it'll be held back too much. Minecraft also relies very much on the CPU, which is more than good enough for it. DO NOT use VSync - unless you absolutely hate tearing.
I'm not an expert, but my suggestion is turning Vsync off and limiting the frame-rate yourself (to like 70-80 FPS)
This. I have a 144 Hz monitor (running at 120 Hz) and I manually cap the framerate at 180 (1.5x refresh rate) just so it isn't as painful when it drops below the cap.
Adding on to this, your eye doesn't even take in images in the same way your monitor puts out. Your monitor has to refresh rows of pixels at x number of times per second, while your retina is constantly taking in a continuous feed of light and transmitting the signal to your brain. A trait that monitors and eyes share is response time, i.e. the time it takes for one sensor (or pixel) to change the color it's transmitting/emitting. I don't know how quickly each individual sensor in your eye can respond, but I can guarantee it's extremely low (less than 1 ms?).
Fighterbear12
Yup. Also, some people say the human eye can't see above 60FPS, but I personally can tell there's a difference between 60 and 70FPS.
Adding on to this, your eye doesn't even take in images in the same way your monitor puts out. Your monitor has to refresh rows of pixels at x number of times per second, while your retina is constantly taking in a continuous feed of light and transmitting the signal to your brain. A trait that monitors and eyes share is response time, i.e. the time it takes for one sensor (or pixel) to change the color it's transmitting/emitting. I don't know how quickly each individual sensor in your eye can respond, but I can guarantee it's extremely low (less than 1 ms?).
