How Would Non-Validated FreeSync Monitors Perform On Nvidia G Sync After Driver Update

Non-Validated FreeSync
Nvidia CES 2019

If you have been following CES 2019 you may know by now that Nvidia has announced G Sync support for FreeSync monitors starting January 15th. New drivers will be released for Nvidia Geforce 10XX and 20XX cards that will enable GSync compatibility on 12 FreeSync monitors. The 12 freesync monitors have been chosen by Nvidia out of a total of 400 monitors that were tested. These 12 monitors offer full compatibility without any issues. However, you may ask yourself, what about the other hundreds of Non-Validated FreeSync monitors in the market that did not pass the test, how would they perform? Well, let us find out.

How Would Non-Validated FreeSync Monitors Perform On Nvidia G Sync After Driver Update

In a test booth at CES 2019, Nvidia had two sets of Freesync monitors that were running on GSync. One set had monitors from the 12 approved monitors by Nvidia which were labeled under “validated monitors” and another set which was labeled under “non-validated”. The non-validated monitors are the ones that fall outside the 12 approved freesync monitors (which are fully compatible with Gsync without any issues).

Thanks to a video by PCWorld, we know what to expect from a non-validated FreeSync monitor. If you have a freesync monitor that is not in the list of approved monitors then chances are that your monitor will not perform adequately. A non-validated monitor will most likely have one of the following issues

  • Excessive flickering
  • Excessive motion blur around the edges
  • Screen Tearing
  • Screen blinking (display on and off)

These are only some of the possible problems that you may expect with non-validated freesync monitors. Some of these may not bother you as much as the others, for example, if you encounter the fourth problem from the list above, you won’t be able to enjoy anything since your screen will be turning on and off after every couple of seconds. However, motion blur may not be a problem for some. So it is really hit or miss with these non-validated monitors.

This is all, do let us know in the comments what you think about Nvidia’s announcement regarding Freesync compatibility.