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Cheaper Swift for us Free-Sync users?

Duke_of_Alinor
Level 7
Free-Sync is out now and monitors are starting to support it.
Most are at least $250 cheaper as they don't have the extra hardware required by GSync.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/amd-project-freesync-launch,news-49940.html

I would prefer a 4K monitor, but the Free-Sync Swift might be a really nice gamer.
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Korth
Level 14
The Asus PG278Q ROG Swift will still look great for fps gaming even without G-Sync enabled. But, yes, you are still paying a premium to buy G-Sync capability whether you use it or not.

The BenQ XL2730Z is essentially the same monitor but without G-Sync, with FreeSync, with non-ROG styling, and with non-ROG pricetag. It uses a newer AUO M270DTN01.0 TN panel with identical specifications to the Swift's AUO M270Q002 V0 TN panel. It has basically all the same OBD features and functions, albeit BenQ-flavoured instead of Asus-flavoured.

G-Sync is technically superior to FreeSync. Or at least it has the potential to be much superior. How this translates into actual usage and appearance is debatable. Both are superior to old "Adaptive Sync" approaches, use 'em if you got 'em.

Unlike G-Sync, FreeSync is more akin to a "hack" which doesn't require added component complexity. FreeSync does require certain performance capacities from the display panel itself, a lesser panel (along with the lesser, cheaper electronics installed to drive it) just can't run FreeSync with pretty results. A monitor which advertises FreeSync is really just advertising that it packs a quality display panel and quality electronics.

It's very telling (and a bit incriminating) that no monitor sold today can do both FreeSync and G-Sync out of the box, even though the G-Sync monitors really should be able to do both at no added cost. Indeed, I suspect that it is quite possible for Asus to add FreeSync support to the ROG Swift through nothing more than firmware/driver updates, unless of course some (anti-competitive) contractual obligation from NVidia prohibits it. Perhaps fanatical display experts who have nothing to do with Asus or NVidia are already working on it, lol.
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[/Korth]