At least four different laptop makers will introduce G-Sync-capable laptops this week at the Computex trade show in Taipei, including Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, and Clevo, as indicated above. Gigabyte's offerings even include SLI multi-GPU mojo.
Since the G-Sync module isn't present, the GPU and driver software will combine to make sure these features work correctly. In fact, a GPU shader program will assist with LCD overdrive compensation, which Petersen told us is a "small amount of work for the GPU." Nonetheless, he claimed that the initial tuning of each LCD panel for the proper overdrive behavior in a variable-refresh setting is "a non-trivial effort," one for which Nvidia will continue to assume responsibility under the G-Sync banner.
In addition to expanding to laptops, G-Sync will be coming to a wider variety of desktop displays soon, many of which are likely to be announced or at least shown in some form this week at Computex. Nvidia provided us with the following list of upcoming monitors from just two manufacturers, Asus and Acer.
Nvidia is also taking a page from AMD's
FreeSync by adding the ability to disable variable refresh synchronization (vsync) when the frame rate from the graphics card ventures beyond the range of refresh intervals supported by the display. This option is available in Nvidia's latest 352.90 drivers, which we used in our
GeForce GTX 980 Ti review. See the screenshot above.
Unlike AMD, though, Nvidia will not let go of synchronization when frame rates drop below the monitor's tolerance. Instead, Nvidia's implementation will only allow tearing when the frame rate exceeds the speed of the display. Doing so makes sense, I think, given the collision-avoidance logic Nvidia has built for low-refresh scenarios; it tends to handle that situation pretty well. Allowing tearing at really high frame rates should make games more responsive by letting the game loop execute as quickly as possible. Folks playing twitch shooters should appreciate this option.
One of the better kept secrets of G-Sync displays is the presence of an ultra-low motion blur (ULMB) mode on some monitors. This mode sacrifices variable refresh, but it promises greater clarity through the use of backlight strobing. I looked at it right here in my
review of the Asus PG278Q, if you're curious. Some folks really appreciate the benefits of this mode, and Nvidia has decided to raise its profile by including it as an option in its driver control panel alongside G-Sync variable refresh.