[Igo kyu]

Originally Posted by KU_Rigamortis

If a monitor is 60hz refresh rate, don't any frames over 60 just get tossed?

Not with Vsync off.

True some video cards will process really high FPS, but as I understand it the card loops to the monitor's buffer and Vsync enabled tells your video card to synchronize it's actions with the monitor.

I don't believe monitors typically have a buffer, that would cause an extra one frame's delay between the player doing something and it showing on screen, which would be a bad thing in general.

I read at Tom's hardware that "Vsync" was created to support CRT monitors and with Vsync turned off you can experience "tearing" as the two devices fall out of sync and the card puts more frame in the buffer than the monitor can actually display.

I've seen tearing on LCDs. Tom's was probably saying VSync was invented a long time ago (because the first CRTs were a really long time ago), not that it was a CRT only problem. It typically happens when running old games on fast new GPUs that weren't around when the game was written. KotOR is a game where you really need VSync on, on fast new systems.

So Vsync off will allow the video card to render frames as fast as it wants to regardless of the ability of your monitor to keep up.

If the monitor doesn't keep up and there's no Vsync you get tearing, it's no fun.

Vsync on will coordinate the video card and monitor but FPS can drop off quite a lot. The video card is told to wait until the monitor is ready to receive new data.

If the graphics card is making 59 FPS, and the monitor is running at 60, with Vsync on the result will be 30 FPS, but you wouldn't want Vsync on if the card was struggling to keep up with the monitor.

Nvidia cards have an adaptive Vsync option which enables the synchronization only when FPS exceeds the monitor's refresh rate, otherwise it is off.

This sound right?

I don't know current nVidia cards, I might get one next time, or not, but recently, I haven't, probably mainly on performance for the price.