Recently I was thinking a little about vertical synchronization commonly known as V-sync. FPS games are among these where the difference between enabling V-sync and disabling it makes a huge difference. First of all, I have to say that I use a standard 60 Hz monitor, so I can't use G-Sync. V-sync is my only option.

I've done some tests on Quake Champions recently. Usually I play with V-sync on. I decided to experimentally turn it off. Before I decided to do this I was 100% sure that I'm gaming without any input lags. Turning V-sync off proved me wrong. The player characters react noticeably faster without V-sync. I knew that V-sync can cause input lags, but I had no idea that the difference in QC will be so major.

Another interesting example is Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition. V-sync in this game caused major camera stutters for some reason. That's why Beamdog removed an option to enable it for good. Now the stutters are almost gone, but the game puts heavy load on GPU. There's still an option to enable it through graphics drivers options, but if you do this, the stutters will reappear.

So what are the advantages of using V-sync? First of all, it eliminates screen tearing that can appear in some games. In the past I've experienced heavy tearing without this feature enabled. Unpleasant thing. Second, it limits GPU usage. Without V-sync there's basically no limit of fps which the game can display (unless the game offers a hard option to limit it). This usually means 100% GPU usage (noise, heat and shorter lifespan of GPU). V-sync limits frames to whatever your monitor refresh rate is.

Disadvantages? Input lag in some games and longer player reaction time due to less fps (important especially in online shooters). Right now I'm considering to disable V-sync for good when I'm playing online shooters. Probably will leave it in other games.

What about you? Do you use V-sync? What is your experience with using this option?

I use it whenever I can. I’ve not noticed any issues, but my eyes/brain seem to not be as sensitive to issues that others’ are.

Yes and no on that one - a lot of games have a hard limit on framerate (especially console ports), although this is less of a problem now. I've never really worried too much about my GPU running flat out - I've not toasted one before I've been ready to upgrade in the past, although with the current speculative bubble on so-called crypto "currencies" and the chip shortage, I can see why there is more concern today.

On the rest of the topic, I've been using a G-Sync monitor for the last 5 years, and I can genuinely say it is game changing - no screen tearing, no micro-stuttering. I also find that I get far fewer headaches since going G-sync.

Before I had a G-Sync monitor, whether I used it tended to depend on whether I was getting FPS over my refresh rate (in which case, V-sync on - but I didn't play competitive FPS). If I was achieving between 30-60FPS, v-sync off as I didn't like the hard changes in FPS from 60 to 30 depending on performance.

I never used V-Sync and never will since I've started using a G-Sync display. I use my monitor itself as a refresh rate limiter. I can set it to anywhere between 60-240 Hz.

As you said, the input lag V-Sync usually introduces is absolutely unbearable.

Shorter GPU lifespan isn't something I'm worried about that much. I also do a regular PC upgrades, so probably my GPU won't have a chance to malfunction due to heavier load without V-sync. But it can be an issue for people that stay on the same hardware for 10 years or so. Actually, with the exception of a few games, I didn't experience hard fps changes due to V-sync on. It was always smooth for me. I've experienced a wide range of fps changes 60, 59, 58, and so on, even with V-sync on. No sudden drops from 60 to 30. I'll probably consider a G-Sync display when it's time to change my current monitor. Right now I'll stick with my current display, as it works without any problems.

Screen tearing annoys me far more than a little input lag so I used to keep it on. As you said this causes a little input lag plus the stutter that occurs when fps drops below monitor refresh rate. A Freesync monitor is definitely worth the premium vs a regular one though. No screen tearing and no stutter at the same time is much more pleasant all round.

Edit, to clarify how Freesync works with regular VSync:-

VSync Off + Freesync Off : No lag or stutter but screen tearing appears at fps that don't exactly match the monitor's frequency.

VSync On + Freesync Off : No screen tearing at all but some lag and stutter when fps drops below refresh rate.

VSync Off + Freesync On : Within Freesync Range = No lag, stutter or tearing. Outside Freesync Range = screen tearing becomes visible but no lag or stutter.

VSync On + Freesync On : Within Freesync Range = No lag, stutter or tearing (Regular Vsync is only "active" outside the range). Outside Freesync Range = some lag & stutter as the fps drops below lowest Freesync frequency, but no screen tearing at all.

yes
best feature
turn off every other crap

Same here, with the difference that I do notice the lag, but I don't find it unbearable to adapt to it.

G-Sync / FreeSync displays are nice, but you can't always guarantee you'll have one around. I do most of my gaming on a TV OLED monitor and aside from some gaming oriented ones that do have support for these things, it's hardly a common standard at this point...

There are games that have started to use intelligent frame limiters instead of v-sync, which is nice. You can still get tearing in some cases where the cap is not exactly in sync with the monitor's refresh rate and if the blitting/flipping is not done in a way to "tear" at the edge of frames, not in the middle. But it's becoming increasingly common to not have to use vsync at times and still get no tearing.

So only advantages, for me. I always turn it on.

As WinterSnowfall noted, some games are V-sync off friendly. And I'm not talking here only about games which offer frame limiters. For example in Quake Champions I have little to non screen tearing without V-sync despite the lack of frame limiter. Fact is however that there's still more games in which the tearing appears unfortunately. So the only alternative is G-Sync/Free-Sync.

Usually, unless I'm really struggling with performance. I find it difficult to put up with the screen tearing.

It all depends on a particular title and hardware. There are games in which the input lag is unbearable and some where there's almost no input lag. My experience is that type of hardware also has an impact on input lag. It's probably also correlated with drivers.

Same here. I've never experienced any issues that could be solved by turning Vsync off, but I've often experienced screen tearing without it, so I always turn it on, just in case.

Well yes - v-sync is just a factor in the overall input lag equation. Your graphics card and monitor also factor in to some degree, as well as the type of input you are using. If you're on a wireless mouse and keyboard combo for example, v-sync is unlikely to cause an impression on you when you enable it.