AMD Clarifies FreeSync Labels With Two New Specifications

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FreeSync Premium should be the new baseline for just about anyone interested in smooth gaming.

AMD FreeSync display
(Image credit: AMD)

AMD announced the new FreeSync Premium and FreeSync Premium Pro labels to go along with the existing “FreeSync” technology yesterday. The company also said that it expects over 1,000 displays to be FreeSync-certified in January 2020.

FreeSync Premium

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Lucian Armasu
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Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers software news and the issues surrounding privacy and security.

15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jimmysmitty
    LFC is pretty big. Its one of the main advantages over FreeSYNC for GSYNC, that it includes it no matter what. So long as FreeSYNC can match GSYNC and keep the price down it can make for better competition.
    Reply
  • King_V
    Agreed - though, since it existed prior to this, well, my son's monitor has allowed him to take advantage of this for about 2 years now (got his monitor back in October 2017).
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    Wanna bet AMD put licensing requirements on it that says the label but be prominently displayed on all units sold?
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    King_V said:
    Agreed - though, since it existed prior to this, well, my son's monitor has allowed him to take advantage of this for about 2 years now (got his monitor back in October 2017).

    My hope is that these standards will require it. The biggest difference between GSYNC and FreeSYNC was that GSYNC required certain features such as LFC. FreeSYNC had features but hardware manufactures could pick and choose. Thats why there were super cheap FreeSYNC monitors very soon after it came out, they typically had a very low refresh rate range and didn't support most any other features.

    However if the Premium and Premium Pro mean they have to support those features to have that labeling on them I think its a step in the right direction instead of just being a free for all.
    Reply
  • King_V
    Ah, I should've clarified and say "it existed previously" meaning LFC. But, yeah, I agree with the idea that something is specified, versus a monitor saying it has LFC, and another simply not mentioning it (it would've been nice that they specify "does not support LFC" but I guess that would mean a few lost sales)
    Reply
  • bit_user
    FreeSync 2 monitors have been virtually absent from the market, since its introduction. I hope the situation with Premium Pro is better.
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    This is a good update to the terminology, and one that AMD should have probably done sooner. Most recent FreeSync gaming screens should support high refresh rates and LFC, and could classify as "FreeSync Premium" displays, but there are also a lot of standard-refresh displays that support FreeSync, and even a few high-refresh displays with limited refresh windows that prevent the use of LFC. It's fine that those screens exist, as they can still provide many of the benefits of a FreeSync display at lower price points, but it's good to have a way to easily clarify whether all these features are supported, since the supported refresh window and LFC are something that often isn't advertised.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    cryoburner said:
    the supported refresh window ... often isn't advertised.
    When I've shopped FreeSync monitors on Newegg, I've always been able to see the min & max refresh rates.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Do any FreeSync displays support backlight strobing? If so, how would one know? Or do you have to look for that being advertised as a distinct feature?
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    bit_user said:
    When I've shopped FreeSync monitors on Newegg, I've always been able to see the min & max refresh rates.
    The minimums are rarely ever listed. I just checked the "Gaming Monitors" section of Newegg to verify, and out of the first seven "featured" screens that came up (a variety of high to low-end models), I couldn't find the minimum refresh range or any mention of LFC on any of their product pages, whether on the overview or the specifications tab. Maybe it could be found for certain screens by searching in the user Q&A section, but the manufacturers typically are not advertising it.

    bit_user said:
    Do any FreeSync displays support backlight strobing? If so, how would one know? Or do you have to look for that being advertised as a distinct feature?
    Some do, but I think they advertise it under their own product names, such as "ELMB" on certain Asus screens. I'm not aware of any that allow both backlight strobing and FreeSync to be enabled at the same time though. In any case, unlike LFC, that's not really a feature directly related to adaptive sync, but rather something to improve perceived pixel response times.
    Reply