AMD Stops Certifying Monitors, TVs Under 144 Hz For FreeSync

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AMD announced this week that it has ceased FreeSync certification for monitors or TVs whose maximum refresh rates are under 144 Hz. Previously, FreeSync monitors and TVs could have refresh rates as low as 60 Hz, allowing for screens with lower price tags and ones not targeted at serious gaming to carry the variable refresh-rate technology. AMD also boosted the refresh-rate requirements for its higher AdaptiveSync tiers, FreeSync Premium and FreeSync Premium Pro, from 120 Hz to 200 Hz. Here are the new minimum refresh-rate requirements for FreeSync, which haven't changed for laptops. AMD will continue supporting already-certified FreeSync displays even if they don't meet the above requirements. Interestingly, AMD's minimum refresh-rate requirements for TVs goes beyond 120 Hz, which many premium TVs max out at currently, due to the current-generation Xbox and PlayStation supporting max refresh rates of 120 frames per second (FPS). Announcing the changes this week in a blog post, Oguzhan Andic, AMD FreeSync and Radeon product marketing manager, claimed that the changes were necessary, noting that 60 Hz is no longer "considered great for gaming." Andic wrote that the majority of gaming monitors are 144 Hz or higher, compared to in 2015, when FreeSync debuted, and even 120 Hz was "a rarity."

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