What Does V-sync Do?

Asterisk · March 2003

<div class="IPBDescription">i know about the unlocking 100 Fps</div> i tried turning of v-sync to see how many frames i could get. it went from 60 to 72. the game seemed to run choppy with v-sync off. even if i used the fps_max 60 to bring the fps back down. so my question is what does v-sync do and is 100 fps worth re-adjusting my eyes to the game.

FireStorm · March 2003

v-sync limits your fps to the refresh rate of your monitor.

Sirus · March 2003

I'm having the same problem, but i cant find vsync. Where is it ?

Uh-Oh · March 2003

I'm short on time:
V-Sync basically makes it so that your games framerates are timed with your monitors refresh rate. Wich means, when youre monitor refreshes the screen (updates it), your game will refresh too. That way, you can eliminate artifacts and jaggies and stutters that can be caused by untimed refresh rates and FPS.

You find it by right clicking your desktop, clicking on Properties, then clicking the "Settings" tab, then clicking on the advanced button, then clicking on your video card tab (i.e. GeForce4 Ti4200), then clicking on OpenGL settings, and then setting "v-sync" to On.

In your half-life game, type fps_max 100, and your game will automatically be capped to your refresh rates (most common rates are 60, 65, 72, 75, 85, 100). The highest the better.

DOOManiac · March 2003

I think something a lot of people forget to mention is that V-Sync vastly improves the image you get, so on a more modern machine (read: geforce1 or above) there's no reason to have vsync off.

nothing · March 2003

I tried turning off v-sync, just to see what it was like. Things were most definitely not smooth - especially when turning quickly. Lots of stuttering and tiny bits of smearing.

Anyway to get around the fps issue, I downloaded a program called Refresh Force
<a href='http://www.pagehosting.co.uk/rf/' target='_blank'>http://www.pagehosting.co.uk/rf/</a>

It is designed to work with winXP and win2000, and it works great on my XP machine. My fps was noticably higher (maxed out at 99 instead of 60) and everything in the game looked a lot smoother. And we all know the added bonus of having a higher fps (fast building, etc)

Warning: have your most up-to-date monitor and video card drivers installed. If you do not, things probably won't work. If you decide to manually configure refreshforce, make sure you test to find out your monitor's refresh rate at your <b>gaming resolution</b>.

What Does V-sync Do?

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