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AMD announces FreeSync, to compete with Nvidia's G-sync
http://anandtech.com/show/7641/amd-demonstrates-freesync-free-gsync-alternative-at-ces-2014
And they demo it on a laptop purchased at retail--meaning, already available today.
From the article:
"There’s apparently already a VESA standard for controlling VBLANK intervals. The GPU’s display engine needs to support it, as do the panel and display hardware itself. If all of the components support this spec however, then you can get what appears to be the equivalent of G-Sync without any extra hardware."
AMD says that recent AMD graphics chips already support it--and they demonstrate it on a Kabini-based laptop, which is AMD's low end. The latest drivers also have support for it, but it's not exposed to end users, which is a strange version of driver support. Most monitors don't support it yet, though, but AMD is pushing to change that.
Oh, and one other thing: AMD isn't charging for it, like Nvidia is for G-sync.
Comments
I do like free better than "G"
It all comes down to support though (assuming they both work as advertised). Monitor manufacturers will be more inclined to support AMD, simply because it's a free marketing bulletpoint that they don't have to pay a royalty for (or buy outside hardware to stick inside their monitor). Since AMD has already said "Free", they will attach some price to it, but it won't be much.
But they can charge a premium for including G-Sync... nVidia may charge $25 for the module, and it allows them to mark the price of the monitor up by $100 or more.
The quest then becomes - which brings in more money - more monitors with a lower margin, or fewer monitors with a higher margin. Or does it even matter because the PC gaming community is such a small niche in the overall picture of monitors that it's all just a drop in the bucket.
There's also the question of, if it just requires a driver tweak, would nVidia support it in addition to G-Sync (I doubt it, but wouldn't be surprised if it got hacked in there by some third party).