Why Disable G-Sync, FreeSync, and V-Sync for Benchmarking?

Hardware reviewers consistently disable G-Sync, FreeSync, and V-Sync during unconstrained benchmarking to measure the raw, unrestricted performance of a computer's components. By turning off all display synchronization technologies simultaneously, testers eliminate artificial frame rate caps, prevent the monitor from becoming a performance bottleneck, and remove software overhead. This practice creates a standardized testing environment that reveals the true capabilities of a graphics card or processor, allowing for accurate comparisons across different hardware generations.

Eliminating Artificial Frame Rate Caps

The primary function of V-Sync, G-Sync, and FreeSync is to synchronize the frame rate of a game with the refresh rate of a monitor to prevent screen tearing. However, this creates a ceiling on performance.

If a reviewer uses a 144Hz monitor with these technologies enabled, the system will generally cap the performance at 144 frames per second (FPS). If two different graphics cards are both capable of exceeding 144 FPS—for example, one can produce 160 FPS and a more expensive one can produce 250 FPS—leaving sync technologies on will make both cards appear identical on a benchmark chart, as both will read 144 FPS. Disabling them allows the hardware to render as many frames as physically possible.

Preventing the Monitor From Becoming a Bottleneck

Unconstrained benchmarking is designed to find the absolute limit of a specific component, usually the CPU or GPU. When synchronization technologies are active, the monitor becomes the limiting factor in the system. By turning off G-Sync, FreeSync, and V-Sync, reviewers disconnect the display's limitations from the PC's rendering pipeline. The graphics card is forced to run at maximum capacity, outputting frames into the buffer as fast as it can compute them, regardless of whether the monitor can actually display them all.

Avoiding Fallback Behaviours

Reviewers must disable all three technologies simultaneously because they often interact with one another. G-Sync and FreeSync are adaptive sync technologies that only function within a specific refresh rate window (for example, 48Hz to 144Hz).

When a game's frame rate exceeds the monitor's maximum refresh rate, G-Sync and FreeSync often rely on V-Sync as a fallback mechanism to keep the frame rate capped, or they behave inconsistently depending on driver settings. Simply turning off G-Sync or FreeSync in the driver menu might still leave in-game V-Sync active. Disabling all of them at both the driver level and within the game settings is the only way to guarantee completely unconstrained frame generation.

Accurate Frame Time and Latency Measurement

Synchronization technologies alter the way frames are delivered, which skews frame time metrics. V-Sync, in particular, is notorious for holding back rendered frames in a buffer until the monitor is ready for them. If a graphics card misses the monitor's refresh window by a millisecond, V-Sync forces the system to wait for the next cycle, causing a sudden, artificial drop in measured performance and an increase in input latency. Disabling sync features ensures that the recorded frame times reflect the exact moment the hardware finishes rendering a frame, not the moment the monitor is ready to show it.

Standardization and Future-Proofing Data

Reviewers need their data to be universally applicable. A reader might own a 60Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, or 360Hz monitor. If a reviewer benchmarks with sync enabled on a 144Hz screen, the data is useless to someone buying a 240Hz monitor. Furthermore, unconstrained benchmarks future-proof the data. Knowing that a graphics card can push 400 FPS in a current game tells the consumer that the card has plenty of headroom to handle more demanding games in the future, information that would be hidden if the test was constrained by a display's refresh rate.