vrr

VRR, or Variable Refresh Rate, is a display technology that allows the refresh rate of a monitor or television to vary in response to the frame rate produced by a graphics source. By matching the display’s refresh to the GPU’s output, VRR aims to reduce or eliminate tearing and stuttering, providing smoother motion during gaming and video playback. It is commonly implemented as part of adaptive or variable refresh technologies across display interfaces.

Standards and implementations include Adaptive-Sync in DisplayPort, and HDMI VRR introduced with HDMI 2.1. AMD’s FreeSync is an implementation of Adaptive-Sync that has broad support in monitors and GPUs. NVIDIA’s G-Sync originated as a proprietary module but now supports VRR through G-Sync Compatible implementations on a wide range of displays. Real-world performance depends on the combination of GPU, display, and connection, as well as the supported refresh-rate range.

Usage and limitations: VRR is widely used on gaming monitors and many televisions, and is supported by current consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S over HDMI. While VRR generally reduces tearing and can lower perceived latency, it is not a universal cure for all motion issues; frame pacing, aggressive frame-rate dips, and displays with limited minimum or maximum refresh rates can affect effectiveness. When content frame rates fall outside a display’s VRR range, the system may revert to a fixed refresh rate.

See also: Adaptive-Sync, FreeSync, G-Sync, HDMI VRR, DisplayPort.