Q&A G-Sync compatible game recommendations?

[uraizen]

So, I bought a g-sync monitor ... but everything I play is locked at 60Hz because I only like fighters. Gimme some suggestions for games that will make me say "neat."

This was to replace a broken monitor and was only $145.

EDIT: Not Rocket League

 

[lashman]

EDIT: Not Rocket League

lol xD

as for games ... hmmm ... CSGO, i guess?

 

[uraizen]

lol xD

as for games ... hmmm ... CSGO, i guess?

Nah, looking for some that's not a FPS. I probably should have said that. I think Forza 4 supports it, so I'll give that a shot.

 

[lashman]

Nah, looking for some that's not a FPS. I probably should have said that. I think Forza 4 supports it, so I'll give that a shot.

i believe it does, yes

 

[Alextended]

What do you specifically want to see? The eliminated sync micro stuttering, the less apparent frame drops in games that struggle to maintain stable fps, or something else? Cos I don't think a game being capped to 60 fps means you don't get any of the gsync advantages when playing it. Most games seem to work with it for me, I only have some old games like Thief 2 (with the fan patches) that get stuttering when gsync is on so I disable it when playing them.

 

[Theswweet]

DMC5

 

[Kvik]

A number of titles come to mind.

The entire Trails series available on Steam supports >=60 fps. Especially Cold Steel I/II.
The entire Ys series also supports >=60 fps.
Valkyria Chronicles 4. You might have to lower the internal resolution scale, depending on your GPU.
Dishonoured 2 and Prey (2016). Dishonoured 2 is locked at 120fps, however.
Nier Automata with the assistance of FAR mod.

Enjoy one of the best investments PC gaming can offer!

 

[uraizen]

What do you specifically want to see? The eliminated sync micro stuttering, the less apparent frame drops in games that struggle to maintain stable fps, or something else? Cos I don't think a game being capped to 60 fps means you don't get any of the gsync advantages when playing it. Most games seem to work with it for me, I only have some old games like Thief 2 (with the fan patches) that get stuttering when gsync is on so I disable it when playing them.

I was to see something beyond 60Hz because I've never even had an LCD monitor that can go over that.

DMC5

I was able to change the refresh rate, but do I gotta set the FPS to variable? I assumed variable meant "it's not gonna hit 60fps, but it'll try."

A number of titles come to mind.

The entire Trails series available on Steam supports >=60 fps. Especially Cold Steel I/II.
The entire Ys series also supports >=60 fps.
Valkyria Chronicles 4. You might have to lower the internal resolution scale, depending on your GPU.
Dishonoured 2 and Prey (2016). Dishonoured 2 is locked at 120fps, however.
Nier Automata with the assistance of FAR mod.

Enjoy one of the best investments PC gaming can offer!

Holy hot damn, I'll give Ys and Nier Automata a try. I'm just going to assume Ys VIII isn't capable of it.

 

[Alextended]

Okee, but higher than 60hz isn't (just) a gsync or freesync or any adaptive sync thing, you'll get more recommendations if you just ask for games with uncapped frame rate (or capped to anything significantly higher than 60fps). Any Source engine game will be for sure, Portal 2, Half-Life 2 and the like. And any RE engine game like DMC5 suggested here. RE2, RE7. Previous RE and DMC games also though (and those will be easier to run at high framerates obv). Also DUSK, Elite Dangerous, Monster Hunter World, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Titanfall 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Doom (2016), Dishonored 1 & 2. Too many to list really.

PCGamingWiki tends to list the framerate cap of a game fairly accurately and list relevant mods/hacks/whatever is applicable if availablePCGamingWiki

 

[Kvik]

uraizen one other thing I should mention is that some games didn't take advantage of G-sync if they're running on borderless window instead of exclusive fullscreen mode.

To troubleshoot/fix the issue you can use SpecialK to enable flip mode presentation. Its OSD also have a useful indicator if G-sync is active.

 

[uraizen]

Okee, but higher than 60hz isn't (just) a gsync or freesync or any adaptive sync thing, you'll get more recommendations if you just ask for games with uncapped frame rate (or capped to anything significantly higher than 60fps). Any Source engine game will be for sure, Portal 2, Half-Life 2 and the like. And any RE engine game like DMC5 suggested here. RE2, RE7. Previous RE and DMC games also though (and those will be easier to run at high framerates obv). Also DUSK, Elite Dangerous, Monster Hunter World, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Titanfall 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Doom (2016), Dishonored 1 & 2. Too many to list really.

PCGamingWiki tends to list the framerate cap of a game fairly accurately and list relevant mods/hacks/whatever is applicable if availablePCGamingWiki

I just figured I would kill two birds with one stone. It's my new toy and I want to see it in action. Kind of like when you benchmark a new PC.

uraizen one other thing I should mention is that some games didn't take advantage of G-sync if they're running on borderless window instead of exclusive fullscreen mode.

To troubleshoot/fix the issue you can use SpecialK to enable flip mode presentation. Its OSD also have a useful indicator if G-sync is active.

Yeah, I read all about that, so I'm making sure everything is kept at exclusive fullscreen.

 

[Alextended]

Some games don't have exclusive fullscreen. But you can enable gsync for windowed mode also in the control panel nowadays.

There will still be games that simply don't work right though.

 

[uraizen]

Some games don't have exclusive fullscreen. But you can enable gsync for windowed mode also in the control panel nowadays.

There will still be games that simply don't work right though.

That is exactly why I asked you guys.

I had plenty of the games that were recommended. Now I'm wondering how I ever got to level 99 in Nier without the FAR mod. I hear some people can't even run it fullscreen.

 

[ISee]

Hey congratulations. Adaptive refresh rate tech is one of the best things ever.
It helps you with games that you can't hold 60 fps. You'll notice the difference between a game running at 60 and a game running at 45, but it's very playable. Adaptive Refresh Rate helps you even more with games that run way above 60 fps but can't hold those high numbers either. The first time I played Doom on Gsync, above 120Hz was a mind opener to me.


A couple of general tips for using Gsync/FreeSync.

- If your game is exciting your maximum refresh rate set a FPS limit (e.g. with RTSS) just below your refresh rate. If it is 144fps, set it to 140/135. You'll get ugly tearing otherwise. If that doesn't work you have to apply good, old Vsync.

- Fullscreen gives the best results and is least problematic.

- Deactivate Vsync (even in the nvidia control panel) when you aren't exciting your maximum refresh rate. Gsync won't work with some games with activated vsync because of "reasons".

- DX12 games can be iffy. If you are on a multi monitor setup Gsync might not work on DX12. You need to boot your system with only the "main" Gsync display activated to make it work. Some people don't have problems, other do. No idea why and why nvidia is taking now for over a year to fix it.


Are you on a 60Hz Gsync display?

 

[uraizen]

Hey congratulations. Adaptive refresh rate tech is one of the best things ever.
It helps you with games that you can't hold 60 fps. You'll notice the difference between a game running at 60 and a game running at 45, but it's very playable. Adaptive Refresh Rate helps you even more with games that run way above 60 fps but can't hold those high numbers either. The first time I played Doom on Gsync, above 120Hz was a mind opener to me.


A couple of general tips for using Gsync/FreeSync.

- If your game is exciting your maximum refresh rate set a FPS limit (e.g. with RTSS) just below your refresh rate. If it is 144fps, set it to 140/135. You'll get ugly tearing otherwise. If that doesn't work you have to apply good, old Vsync.

- Fullscreen gives the best results and is least problematic.

- Deactivate Vsync (even in the nvidia control panel) when you aren't exciting your maximum refresh rate. Gsync won't work with some games with activated vsync because of "reasons".

- DX12 games can be iffy. If you are on a multi monitor setup Gsync might not work on DX12. You need to boot your system with only the "main" Gsync display activated to make it work. Some people don't have problems, other do. No idea why and why nvidia is taking now for over a year to fix it.


Are you on a 60Hz Gsync display?

- Already got RTSS because I feel like it's just something everybody has to have. I heard about 3fps under your max refresh rate is good enough, I think? I would go 140 anyway.

- I plan to always run at fullscreen when I can. I've heard borderless fullscreen has its own set of problems that just aren't worth dealing with.

- I did not know about turning off v-sync in the nvidia control panel. I was told to leave that on with g-sync and turn off v-sync in-game for some reason.

- DX12 games are gonna be the ones to fuck me over, uh? I have a dual monitor setup.

My monitor is a 144Ghz G-Sync display, it just replaced my old 60Hz monitor that was dying. My second monitor next to it is only 60Hz, though.

 

[Durante]

If you want to see the advantages of G-sync in particular (rather than just general high refresh), then a game which has relatively consistent but low framerate is actually one of the best options.

E.g. something that run in a 45-70 FPS range -- it's where you'll see the biggest difference in perceived smoothness compared to non-VRR.

 

[derFeef]

Indeed. 144hz+ games feel great on G-Sync but for example playing Divison 2 that runs at around the 60fps range for me and still feels/looks super smooth is so much better than having locked V-Sync or tearing.

 

[ISee]

144Hz

In this case I'd still like to recommend Doom 2015 to you. It's not a fighting game, but the constant flaw of action and movement at high fps is really something that could interest you.

MHW is also maybe worth a look. gsync helps a lot here too as drops are pretty common once the action gets on and multiple beasts are fighting you and each other.

 

[derFeef]

Also Warframe. It's so fast and fluid at 144hz.

 

[uraizen]

If you want to see the advantages of G-sync in particular (rather than just general high refresh), then a game which has relatively consistent but low framerate is actually one of the best options.

E.g. something that run in a 45-70 FPS range -- it's where you'll see the biggest difference in perceived smoothness compared to non-VRR.

Good to know, but I don't think I own any game that struggles to that degree even on the highest settings.

In this case I'd still like to recommend Doom 2015 to you. It's not a fighting game, but the constant flaw of action and movement at high fps is really something that could interest you.

MHW is also maybe worth a look. gsync helps a lot here too as drops are pretty common once the action gets on and multiple beasts are fighting you and each other.

I downloaded Doom to give that a shot, it's one of the few GPS I enjoy. MHW was surprisingly struggling between high 80s to low 100s. It didn't look like it was, but that's what my monitor said.

Also Warframe. It's so fast and fluid at 144hz.

Free is always a good suggestion.

 

[ISee]

It didn't look like it was, but that's what my monitor said.

The onscreen Hz counters are pretty accurate. Glade you like Doom