G-Sync FreeSync setup settings and tests

RetroArch Windows devices
#7

I’ve been running with just Vsync off and Sync to Exact Framerate on. That seems to work fine so far, most of the time. I’ve used the Direct3D12, GLCore and Vulkan drivers.

There was once instance where there was flickering on my son’s Gsync monitor with the PSX Beetle cores and we resolved that by changing the Fullscreen preference (video_windowed_fullscreen = “false”). But other than one instance, it seems to run games at around 60fps with no tearing or anything like that with just Vsync off and Sync to Exact Framerate on.

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#8

No stutter or judder on 60fps scrolling either? You should check with the 240p test suite ROMs, which have a scrolling test that makes it easy to spot any stuttering. There’s a PSX BIN/CUE version here.

Edit: The PSX test suite hangs on the PS logo in Beetle PSX. Still, you could try the Genesis or SNES versions of it, which should indicate whether you get any scrolling stutter with Vsync off.

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#9

That’s awesome! I have trouble telling straight away if there is tearing or not. It can be hard to tell! This is awesome going to try those test roms.

#10

My son managed to detect some cases of tearing here an there using the Mupen64Pluas-Next core so I’m going to enable Vsync in addition Sync to Exact Framerate on all my configs as that seems to resolve the issue. Keep in mind that I’ve left the default frame cap of 60Hz in place while both our monitors are 144Hz so that may be a contributing factor. Whatever the case, enabling Vsync seems to have resolved the issue and that’s an easy fix.

#11

I can’t remember the reasoning, but one of the devs recommended setting it to your actual refresh rate (using the “Set Display Reported Refresh Rate” option is the easiest) for a variable refresh rate setup instead of leaving it at 60Hz. All I can think of is that maybe leaving it at 60 would cap any cores that use a refresh higher than 60 (even a small decimal like 60.2), which could cause minor stutters.

#12

I set vsync on but exact sync off with mupen_next.
N64 emus have inconsistent frame pacing and setting it like this get rid of slowdowns on my setup (gsync monitor win7 x64).

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#13

I’ve been trying to learn my way around RA these past few days and have been perplexed by an issue I’m having with the Vulkan support. I also have a 144Hz monitor with G-Sync and have configured the frontend similar to the way the OP had done.

Here’s some of the configurations I’ve tried:

  • Vulkan: Turning Vsync off, then toggling Fullscreen mode on = RA crashes about a second after going fullscreen
  • Vulkan: Turning Vsync on, then toggling Fullscreen mode on = No crashes, 60 FPS games run at 60 FPS.
  • Vulkan: Turning Vsync on, then toggling Fullscreen mode on, then turning Vsync back off = No crashes, 60 FPS games run at 30 FPS. Bringing up the RA menu causes the display to output at 60 FPS while it’s up, then it reverts back to 30 FPS for the game.
  • Vulkan: 60 FPS games will always run at 60 FPS while RA is running in a window.
  • Opengl: No crashes or 30 FPS issues at all.

Does anyone know why running the game in fullscreen without Vysnc in Vulcan might cause a 60 FPS game to run at 30 FPS? I’m really of curious as to what the cause that. Thanks!

#14

Do not disable vsync. Simple as that. There is no reason to disable it.

#15

Hey guys, this is my first post!! :slight_smile:

I have been using Retroarch for a good handful of years and I finally decided to upgrade my monitor to “SAMSUNG 32 Odyssey G32A FHD 1ms 165Hz Gaming Monitor with Eye Saver Mode, Free-Sync Premium.”

So far my games that run on GOG that are 3d work so well after tampering with the settings!!

But I am a DIE HARD 2d retro gamer.

HERE IS MY PROBLEM:

I have video stuttering issues that are driving me crazy, I know what the games are supposed to look like but I can’t get them to look anything but choppy!! PLEASE HELLLLLP.

What I have tried so far:

-Changed refresh rate in settings of actual CPU to 165 HZ -Verified freesync is turned on through monitor -Verified freesync turned on through AMD graphics card

RETROARCH SETTINGS:

-Vertical refresh rate 165 hz -Sync to Exact Content Framerate (G-Sync, FreeSync) turned on -Resolution 1920 x 1080 165hz -Tried all video drivers -Switched settings around in different orders

Im getting a little worried here can somebody please help me? I feel like it shouldn’t be this hard to set up? Any help would be more than appreciatted :smiley:

#16

Hmm, it should just be: video_refresh_rate to match your monitor’s native/max refresh, sync to exact content framerate ON and vsync ON. EDIT: make sure your GPU control panel/utility isn’t forcing any sync settings on top of RetroArch’s own sync.

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#17

To add to what @hunterk said, I’ve noticed that a few cores might get choppy when both VRR/GSYNC/FREESYNC and VSync are enabled. For those you might have to disable VSync.

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#18

I checked the config file and I’m at 165 hz which is correct, still no dice :’(

#19

Where would I be able to check this? I right click and open up my Radeon graphic card settings and see no options. I’m unfamiliar with sync settings?

#20

Signed up to post this as your setup is pretty close to mine, and I just figured out how to get 100% smooth playback this evening on my rig. I’m also on a 165 monitor (g-sync compatible) using a 3070 ti GPU. Some of these settings might not be relevant, but who knows! I’m also going off memory so hopefully I’m not missing something.

Video driver: Vulkan Windowed fullscreen disabled Refresh rate set to reported refresh (165.xxx) Vsync on Vsync swap interval auto Sync to exact content framerate off

To avoid pixel wobble and If I’m going for that pixel perfect look, I’ll enable the sharp-bilnear-simple shader. If I want a CRT look, I’ll go with the CRT royale NTSC s-video preset.

With these settings, every game is flawless. A really good indicator is that Mortal Kombat arcade runs at the proper refresh (something like 54 hz), and the vertical scrolling of the characters in the attract mode is perfectly smooth. All horizontal scrolling I have seen runs perfect as well (Friday the 13th on NES is an excellent test game for this, as you can just pick a direction and walk without needing to press any other buttons).

Let me know how these settings go for you!

#21

What’s the problem with Vsync swap interval 1, Sync to exact content framerate on?
Snes won’t run at 60.1 with your settings.

#22

Probably just something related to my setup, but I’ve noticed judder in horizontal scrolling with those settings. It’s very hard to see but it’s distracting. My monitor is possibly the culprit - it’s gsync compatible, whereas my older (now secondary) monitor was an actual gsync one. I only have it plugged in through hdmi so I can’t activate gsync on it anymore. Maybe one day I’ll run some tests on it, but I’m happy enough with the way I have everything setup for now, even if it’s not 100% accurate.

#23

I can see some small scrolling judder in the 240p test suite since I switched from a GSync module LCD IPS monitor to an LG C2 OLED (GSync compatible using HDMI Forum VRR). For me, it still seems best to use Swap Interval 1 and Sync to Exact enabled. I just tried Swap auto and Sync to Exact off with d3d11 and vulkan and it wasn’t any smoother.

I’m not sure if it’s GSync Compatible not being as good as having the module or OLED’s fast response time showing judder more clearly than LCD. But I’ve gotten used to the judder and don’t really notice it unless I’m looking for it now.

#24

It’s definitely the kind of thing where if you’re not specifically looking for it, you would likely never see it. My line of work unfortunately requires me to search for things like this, and I have trouble giving my eyes a break.

I haven’t done testing for input latency with any of the settings I’ve used, and ultimately I think if it comes down to one setup being more responsive than the other - and I suspect that setup involves sync to exact content frame rate - I will have to go that route.

#25

I should also mention that the buttery smoothness goes away if have “automatic refresh rate switch” disabled (I set it to All Fullscreen Modes to be safe, but as far as I know I’m running Retroarch in exclusive fullscreen). When it’s on, there’s a second or two pause with a black screen before the game starts, and often the game audio will start before the video. Sync to exact content frame rate seems to override the automatic refresh rate switch setting, and displays the game at its proper frame rate, albeit with the judder I’ve mentioned previously.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on under the hood with a lot of these settings, but I figure it’s worth mentioning them.

#26

I really appreciate all the help, truly thank you for your time, I still however have not been able to make the display look any better with the 2D games, here is the only other place I could think to change settings to help make the games smooth, any ideas? :slight_smile:

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