14 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2019NEWS NVIDIA DRIVER UNLOCKS FREESYNC MONITOR
It’s not quite plug-and-play, though—at
least in most cases. The driver will
automatically enable variable refresh rates on
FreeSync displays that meet Nvidia’s strict
“G-Sync Compatible” requirements. Yours
probably doesn’t though; of the 400
Adaptive Sync monitors that Nvidia says it’s
tested, only 12—yes, 12—earned the
certification.
But fear not. If your FreeSync display
didn’t make the cut, you can still manually
enable Adaptive Sync support using the
Nvidia Control Panel. Make sure your
monitor’s variable refresh rate capabilities are
enabled using the display’s own controls,
then do the following:- Right-click on the Windows desktop and
select Nvidia Control Panel. - Expand the Display section of the
left-hand navigation pane and select Set
Up G-Sync. - Check the Enable G-Sync, G-Sync
Compatible box and select the Active Sync
display you’d like to use if you have more
than one monitor. - Check the Enable Settings For The
Selected Display Model box - Click Apply in the bottom-right.
“If the above isn’t available, or isn’t
working, you may need to go to Manage
3D Settings, click the Global tab, scroll
down to Monitor Technology, select G-SYNC
Compatible in the drop-down,
and then click Apply,” Nvidia’s
announcement (go.pcworld.
com/sncm) post says.
There are a few caveats.
Even though AMD Radeon
GPUs and some FreeSync
monitors support Adaptive
Sync over HDMI, Nvidia says
you’ll need to connect your
GeForce GPU to your FreeSync
monitor using a DisplayPort
cable to activate variable
refresh rates. (G-Sync monitors
only work over DisplayPort as
well.) Update: Adaptive Sync is
only being enabled on GTX
10-series and RTX 20-series
Enabling variable refresh rates on a FreeSync monitor using
Nvidia Control Panel.