For the first time in 10 years: Full-fledged Nvidia G-Sync without FPGA hotspot
Mediatek manufactures G-Sync-capable monitor scalers for Nvidia. This should breathe new life into the technology – hopefully without a fan.
(Image: c't)
Nvidia wants to breathe new life into its proprietary G-Sync monitor technology for variable refresh rates (VRR). To this end, the company is expanding its cooperation with MediaTek: Instead of the previous G-Sync modules with expensive technology, conventional MediaTek scalers designed together with Nvidia will end up in the monitors in the future.
Recently, G-Sync in its proprietary form has lost almost all relevance: The price comparison shows just 19 monitors with a G-Sync module, of which only ten are available, two of which have G-Sync Ultimate certification. In contrast, there are 207 monitors that are "G-Sync Compatible". Like AMD's Freesync (over 1000 monitors), these use the open Adaptive-Sync standard and therefore do not require any special hardware.
All G-Sync functions, without FPGA
Nvidia presents G-Sync Compatible as inferior. Techniques such as variable overdrive or latency reduction are reserved for monitors with a G-Sync module. This was primarily due to product policy, as Nvidia proves.
Its monitor technology supports all G-Sync functions that Nvidia has introduced to date. G-Sync Pulsar is also included: dynamic ultra-low motion blur (ULMB) in combination with variable refresh rates to reduce motion blur.
(Image: Nvidia)
Nvidia introduced G-Sync in 2013, but never brought out commercially available scalers with chips designed for it in all those years. Scalers are the heart of monitor electronics – they accept the image from the PC and control the panel. Instead, Nvidia has been selling programmable logic gate chips (FPGAs) from Intel subsidiary Altera, which are expensive and get hot compared to specialized ASICs. All monitors with the current G-Sync module therefore actively cool the FPGA with a small, potentially annoying fan.
MediaTek is a huge supplier of monitor and TV hardware, often without branding. Monitor manufacturers can now buy in the electronics they already work with. This should drive the spread of G-Sync again.
Three monitors make the start
Nvidia has already announced monitors that use the new MediaTek scaler on behalf of three manufacturers: Asus' ROG Swift PG27AQNR, Acer's Predator XB273U F5 and AOC's Agon Pro AG276QSG2. All three apparently use IPS panels and display 2560 × 1440 pixels (WQHD) on 27 inches with 360 hertz.
(Image: Nvidia)
Most of the other specifications are currently unknown; Nvidia and MediaTek do not mention any display connections, for example. Nvidia has only rarely updated the previous G-Sync modules, which is why they lack HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0, among other things. Asus' announcement of the ROG Swift PG27AQNR, which has two HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 1.4, provides a little more information. DisplayPort 2.0 could therefore still be missing from the new monitor technology.
It is also unknown whether the new G-Sync monitors will continue to accept VRR signals from AMD's Radeon graphics card and which features will then work.
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(mma)
