Every gamer playing first-person shooters will encounter screen tearing sooner or later. Screen tearing can occur when your GPU displays different parts of multiple frames at the same time. As a result, the display is divided into fine horizontal lines. To prevent tearing, the refresh rate must be synchronized with the frame rate.
To avoid that little issue, there are many new measures developed for synchronization of the refresh rate, like Vertical Synchronization (VSync) or other variations of adaptive syncs, such as FreeSync by AMD, G-SYNC by NVIDIA, or VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) technology in general that comes with the displays.
So, playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) with synchronization technology on any rig without experiencing screen tearing is guaranteed. But the question is whether you should disable VSync to get a higher frame rate or how to optimize for both.
Today, we will explain everything you need to know so you can make the best possible decision.
Is V-Sync a good idea for CS:GO?
Well, that’s solely up to your preferences. If you want to have gameplay without screen tearing, you should keep VSync “on,“ which means you should set it to double or triple buffering. The game will be capped at your display refresh rate, and there is a risk of input lag increasing.
You can see that perfectly in the video below:
Most of the time, VSync works as expected. However, there are times when you may notice that it is interfering with your gaming experience. Keep in mind that VSync waits for the monitor to be ready before displaying any frames, which can cause input lag.
Note that the number of frames might also decrease below the monitor’s refresh rate. As a result, the frame rate is reduced even further. To address this issue, enable triple buffering. Triple buffering, on the other hand, is not always dependable.
However, when your frame rate is less than 60 frames per second, triple buffering will reduce input lag. Double buffering with less than 60 frames per second will cause your frame rate to lock at 30 or some other fraction of 60, resulting in increased input lag.
Because triple buffering allows another buffered frame to be ready to display before the double-buffered system, your frame rate can increase slightly, reducing input lag.
In this video, you can clearly see how frame time is much higher with VSync turned ON. For instance, in this test, when VSync is OFF, he gets 280 FPS with 3ms. Contrary, when VSync is ON, he gets 60FPS and 16ms.
On the other hand, an uncapped frame rate can be achieved by disabling VSync or working only with the FreeSync or G-SYNC options turned on. Those who seek high competitive standards will probably go with as much frame rate and as little input lag as possible.
To reduce latency, competitive players do not use any sync options. The reason there is a tear on the screen in the first place is that the GPU has already produced the next frame, so it begins rendering it on screen immediately rather than waiting for the current frame to finish. Pushing higher frame rates is also a way to reduce latency, which you can limit with sync options.
So, generally speaking, if you have a good gaming monitor (120,144,165Hz or higher), V-Sync is not a great option to use in CS:GO. On the other hand, if your monitor is 60Hz, it might be a good option.
There is one more thing you may consider when dealing with the frame rate in the game. You can also limit the frame rate by entering the command “fps_max=xxx.” It is always suggested to limit your frame rate to three frames below your display refresh rate so the “sync“ you are using can perform better. This is how you do it:
1) Launch CSGO and navigate to the Settings menu, then select it.
2) Navigate to the top-level settings and select the Game category.
3) Locate the Enable Developer Console setting in the first section.
4) Press on the drop-down option, then click Yes.
5) After that, press the key on your keyboard.
6) If everything went well, you should now be able to see the entire console for your game.
7) Launch your CSGO game and connect to a server or a match.
8) Pressing the key will bring up the console.
9) After that, copy and paste the command into the console’s text box. We’ll use „fps_max=xxx „ command as an example.
10) Once you’ve entered it, press Enter or click the Submit button to the right of the command.
How to turn on/off VSync
First, we shall see what options you have in-game. One would think that it’s easy, as in many video games, but CS: GO offers three options when VSync is selected in video settings.
1) Settings menu
2) Video settings
3) Advanced Video
4) Find „Wait for Vertical Sync“
You can disable VSync or set it to double or triple buffering. Triple buffering is recommended if you choose to enable VSync. Double buffering should function just fine with VRR (FreeSync/G-SYNC).
Other “sync“ options according to your GPU. For AMD users, there is an AMD software application manager. For most users, it is Adrenaline edition.
1) Enter the AMD application
2) Find CS GO among Game Graphic
3) Locate „Wait for Vertical Refresh“ and AMD FreeSync
4) Select your preferable option in both settings
There is another option that you can try out: AMD Enchanced Sync.
Enhanced sync, which displays frames at a much steadier rate with very little fluctuation, can provide a more stable and responsive gaming experience. When Enhanced Sync and AMD FreeSync are enabled, gamers can experience up to 50% lower latency than when VSync is enabled.
NVIDIA users can take similar actions.
1) Open NVIDIA Control panel
2) Go to Display, click Set-up G-SYNC
3) Select to enable G-SYNC/G-SYNC Compatible
4) Choose either Full screen mode or Windowed and full-screen mode
If you want to force VSync in your NVIDIA control panel:
1) Go to 3D Settings
2) Choose Manage 3D Settings
3) Find an option for VSync and choose amongst several options.
One of those options is FastSync, which is the NVIDIA equivalent of Enhanced Sync by AMD.
Keep in mind that VSync is an old technology for 60Hz displays that should be disabled on modern monitors with higher refresh rates (120hz, 144hz, 240hz, or 360hz). Furthermore, VSync is incompatible with other technologies such as GSync or FreeSync, which can cause stuttering and increased in-game latency.
The reason why 144 Hz appears “smoother” than 60 Hz in so many ways is because tearing is almost absent in your eyes at higher frames, not to mention you can witness 144 FPS instead of only 60, which is in contrast to having 200 FPS frame dropped to 100 on 60 Hz; 144 Hz will display more of those and avoid some tearing as a result, but there is still 44 FPS missing from the refresh, making a slowdown noticeable, and the fact that you are witnessing more updates per second physically always complements the real input.
What about FreeSync and G-SYNC?
Both G-SYNC and FreeSync use adaptive sync technology. When your system pushes more frames than your monitor can produce, it causes screen tearing, which means that your GPU is already attempting to display the next frame, but your monitor is unable to keep up, resulting in two frames being displayed at the same time.
In contrast, having a system that can’t push enough amount of frames to match the refresh rate of your monitor can cause image stuttering.
Both of these issues can be mitigated to some extent by enabling VSync, but this causes varying degrees of input lag, making VSync far from ideal for competitive gaming such as CS:GO.
G-SYNC and FreeSync address these issues by matching the refresh rate of a compatible monitor to the number of frames pushed by the system, thereby eliminating tearing and stuttering.
FreeSync, G-SYNC, and other similar technologies only activate when your game’s frame rate falls below your monitor’s refresh rate.
For example, if you can play CS:GO at 300 fps, FreeSync will not be used at all.
So it is up to you to experiment between these options and your settings. On most modern systems, CS:GO is very safe from screen tearing, which is unnoticeable. It’s all up to the players to optimize their settings to avoid lagging.
Trying all the options and combinations is the best way for you to find a suitable solution. Different configurations can work differently than those suggested. For example, you might find that turning off all sync improves your gameplay.
To learn more about combining VSync with GSync, make sure to read our extensive guide Do I Need V-Sync On With G-Sync? (It Depends).
Concluding
The answer is straightforward. If screen tearing interferes with your gaming experience and causes frequent screen tears, you should enable VSync.
Turning VSync off, on the other hand, will be the best option if you are experiencing input lag or a decreased frame rate. VSync does not cause problems in most cases (on 60 Hz displays), so leaving it turned on is a safe bet. But for 120 Hz, 144 Hz, etc., it is better to use AMD or NVIDIA sync options.
Of course, these settings that are described in this article are determined by the individual GPU you use and may differ slightly for different graphic processors. You should decide whether to turn VSync, FreeSync, or G-SYNC on or off after analyzing your situation and “experimenting“ before you settle on a satisfactory combination.