If you’ve ever wondered what the Vsync setting does, you’re not alone
If you’ve ever looked at a PC game’s settings menu, you’ve probably wondered ”What is Vsync, and should I turn it on?”
Sometimes, settings screens won’t have tooltip explanations or other info about what the setting is and none of them will ever tell you where or when not to use it, so many gamers might just turn it on to be safe, while others might never turn it on at all and miss out on the potential benefits.
What’s more, Vsync has utility beyond just gaming and can be used with any kind of 3D rendered content, like 3D animation, Basically, anyone working with this kind of content can benefit from Vsync.
Fortunately, I’ve been a gamer all my life and I work with graphics cards for a living, so I’m here to break Vsync down for you, what the benefits and drawbacks of the technology are, and where and when not to use it for the best possible experience.What is Vsync?
Vertical synchronization, also known as Vsync, is a display setting that aligns the frame rate of a game or 3D-rendered scene with the refresh rate of a monitor. The primary goal is to prevent the phenomenon known as « screen tearing, » which occurs when multiple frames are drawn on the screen at once. This causes disjointed images that appear like they’ve been torn and shifted sideways.
