AMD Freesync

AMD FreeSync is a display technology that stops visual problems like screen tearing and stuttering during computer games and videos. It works by synchronising the monitor’s refresh rate (how often it draws a new image) to the frame rate of the computer’s AMD graphics card (how many images it produces). This ensures the monitor only displays a new, complete frame, resulting in perfectly smooth, responsive, and immersive motion.

Core Concepts & Deeper Explanation

To understand why FreeSync is important, we first need to understand the problem it solves: the mismatch between your graphics card and your monitor.

The Problem: Frame Rates vs. Refresh Rates

Think of your graphics card (GPU) as an artist rapidly drawing a digital flip-book, and your monitor as a person flipping the pages.

  • Frame Rate (fps): This is the speed of your artist (GPU). It’s the number of new pages, or frames, they can draw every second. This speed changes constantly—drawing a simple scene is fast (e.g., 120 fps), but a complex, explosive scene is slow (e.g., 50 fps).
  • Refresh Rate (Hz): This is the speed of your page-flipper (monitor). Traditionally, this speed is fixed. A standard 60Hz monitor must flip a new page 60 times every second, whether the artist is ready or not.

This fixed-rate system causes two major problems:

  1. Screen Tearing: This happens when the artist (GPU) hands over a new page whilst the flipper (monitor) is only halfway through showing the last one. The flipper, bound by its fixed speed, displays the top half of the old page and the bottom half of the new one. On-screen, this looks like a horizontal “tear” or disjointed line, which is incredibly distracting.
  2. Stutter and Lag: The old-fashioned solution to tearing was V-Sync (Vertical Sync). This forced the artist (GPU) to wait for the flipper (monitor). If the artist could only draw 50 pages in a second, V-Sync would make them wait and display each page twice to fit the monitor’s 60Hz rhythm, causing a jerky stutter. This waiting also creates a delay between you moving your mouse and seeing the action on-screen, known as input lag.

How FreeSync Solves the Problem

FreeSync completely reverses this relationship. Instead of the GPU waiting for the monitor, FreeSync makes the monitor wait for the GPU.

It turns the monitor’s fixed refresh rate into a variable refresh rate (VRR). The monitor is instructed to “hold on” and only refresh its screen at the exact moment the graphics card has finished drawing a complete new frame.

  • If your game is running at 87 fps, your FreeSync monitor runs at 87Hz.
  • If the action gets intense and your frame rate drops to 53 fps, your monitor instantly drops to 53Hz to match.

The result is a perfect, one-to-one delivery of frames from the graphics card to your eyes. This eliminates tearing, removes the stutter and input lag of V-Sync, and makes gameplay feel incredibly smooth and responsive.

Related and Relative Concepts

FreeSync doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Its main competitor and the standard it’s built on are key to understanding its place in the market.

FreeSync vs. Nvidia G-Sync

G-Sync is the competing technology from AMD’s rival, Nvidia. For years, the main difference was hardware.

  • G-Sync: Traditionally required a special, proprietary processing chip (a “scaler”) to be physically built into the monitor. This chip handled the variable refresh rate. It worked brilliantly but added a significant cost, making G-Sync monitors more expensive.
  • FreeSync: Is a software-based solution that is royalty-free for monitor manufacturers to adopt. It’s built on top of an open industry standard called VESA Adaptive-Sync. Because it doesn’t require extra hardware, FreeSync monitors are typically much cheaper and more widely available.

In recent years, the lines have blurred. Nvidia now allows its graphics cards to support some FreeSync monitors (which it labels “G-Sync Compatible”), but the core difference remains: FreeSync is an open, more affordable standard, whilst G-Sync is Nvidia’s proprietary, “premium” ecosystem.

FreeSync vs. V-Sync

This is a common point of confusion.

  • V-Sync is an old software setting that limits your GPU to prevent tearing, but it causes stutter and lag.
  • FreeSync is a new hardware and software technology that replaces V-Sync. It synchronises your monitor and GPU to prevent tearing and prevent stutter.

Rule of thumb: If you have a FreeSync monitor and an AMD graphics card, you should turn FreeSync ON in your AMD settings and turn V-Sync OFF inside your game’s settings.

Practical Significance & Examples

FreeSync has moved from being a niche gaming feature to a standard expectation on most modern displays.

What You Need to Use FreeSync

To get the benefits of FreeSync, you need three things:

  1. A compatible graphics card: Any modern AMD Radeon graphics card (from the last 5-6 years) will support it.
  2. A compatible display: This can be a monitor, laptop screen, or TV that is advertised as supporting “AMD FreeSync”. When shopping on UK sites like Currys, Scan.co.uk, or Overclockers UK, this is a key feature listed in the product specifications.
  3. The right connection: FreeSync works over both DisplayPort and newer HDMI (version 2.0 or higher) cables.

The FreeSync ‘Tiers’ Explained

As the technology has evolved, AMD has introduced “tiers” to help consumers know what level of performance to expect. You will see these logos on monitor boxes:

  • AMD FreeSync: The base level. Guarantees tear-free, low-lag performance.
  • AMD FreeSync Premium: This is the most common and recommended tier. It includes the base features plus Low Framerate Compensation (LFC). LFC prevents stutter if your game’s frame rate drops very low (e.g., below 30 fps) by automatically displaying frames multiple times to keep the motion smooth. It also guarantees a refresh rate of at least 120Hz at 1080p resolution.
  • AMD FreeSync Premium Pro: Includes all the benefits of Premium, but adds official support for HDR (High Dynamic Range). This ensures you get tear-free gaming combined with the enhanced colour and brightness of HDR content.

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: “FreeSync makes your games run faster (higher fps).”
    • Reality: False. FreeSync does not increase your frame rate. Your graphics card still produces the same number of frames per second. FreeSync simply makes the frames you do get look and feel significantly smoother and more responsive by eliminating tearing and stutter.
  • Misconception: “FreeSync is only for high-end, expensive gaming PCs.”
    • Reality: False. In fact, FreeSync is most beneficial for mid-range or budget systems. A high-end PC might run a game at a constant 144 fps, but a mid-range PC will have a frame rate that bounces around (e.g., between 50 and 80 fps). This variation is exactly what causes tearing and stutter, and it’s what FreeSync is designed to fix.
  • Misconception: “You must use an AMD graphics card to use a FreeSync monitor.”
    • Reality: Mostly true, but with a major exception. As mentioned, Nvidia’s “G-Sync Compatible” programme means many modern Nvidia graphics cards can use the FreeSync technology on certified monitors. However, for guaranteed, out-of-the-box support, it is designed to pair an AMD graphics card with a FreeSync monitor.