Short answer: turn VSync off if you play competitive games on a normal fixed refresh monitor, and if you run a G-SYNC or G-SYNC Compatible FreeSync monitor on an NVIDIA card, turn it on in the driver and add a frame cap. The reason is mechanical.
VSync stops tearing by holding each finished frame until your monitor starts its next refresh, and when your PC renders faster than the screen can show, frames pile up behind that hold, so your mouse movement reaches the screen later.
NVIDIA's own system latency guide lists turning VSync off as the classic latency fix and recommends it whenever you can live with tearing. A variable refresh rate (VRR) monitor changes the deal, because the monitor waits for the GPU instead of the other way around.
Everything below was checked against NVIDIA, AMD, Microsoft and Riot documentation and Blur Busters' G-SYNC 101 input lag tests as of November 3, 2026. Before you touch VSync at all, make sure Windows is actually running your monitor at its full refresh rate, as shown in how to change your refresh rate on Windows 11. A 144 Hz screen left at 60 Hz makes every setting in this guide behave differently.
Why VSync adds input lag, and when it is still worth it
Your monitor redraws the picture at fixed intervals: about 6.9 ms per refresh at 144 Hz and about 16.7 ms at 60 Hz. With VSync off, the GPU sends a new frame the moment it is ready, even if the screen is halfway through drawing the previous one, and that split is the tear line you see.
With VSync on, the new frame waits for the next refresh instead. When your FPS would be higher than the refresh rate, that wait spreads backward: the GPU has nowhere to put new frames, the CPU stalls behind it, and the frame you finally see was built from older input.
NVIDIA describes this as back pressure from the display that reverberates through the entire system. Buffering changes how it feels.
Blur Busters notes that with classic double buffered VSync, a frame that misses its refresh window locks the frame rate to half the refresh rate for a moment, so a 60 Hz screen can drop to 30.
Triple buffering, the kind most modern games use, avoids that drop but adds about one more frame of delay whenever FPS is above the refresh rate. In Blur Busters' tests, NVIDIA's Fast Sync only cut latency in a meaningful way when FPS ran two to five times above the refresh rate.
Variable refresh rate (G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible and FreeSync) solves the problem from the other side: the monitor adjusts its refresh to each frame, so inside its range there is no tearing and no VSync wait, which NVIDIA calls the best of both worlds.
VSync off still has the lowest raw latency, but Blur Busters measured its advantage over G-SYNC at the same frame rate at up to about half a frame. What each 3D option in the driver does is explained in NVIDIA Control Panel settings for gaming.
Set up VSync the right way in six steps
- 1Confirm your refresh rate and VRR supportIn Windows 11 open Start > Settings > System > Display > Advanced display. Microsoft says the Display information panel there shows the current refresh rate and whether the display supports variable refresh rate. If a high refresh monitor reads 60 Hz, pick the higher value next to Choose a refresh rate before anything else.
- 2Check where your FPS sitsTurn on an FPS counter as shown in how to show FPS in games and play one normal match. Note whether FPS stays well above your refresh rate, hovers around it, or often falls below it. That single observation decides which row of the table below applies to you.
- 3Turn on G-SYNC or FreeSync if your monitor has itEnable it in the monitor's own menu first, then in the GPU software. On NVIDIA it is the G-SYNC entry under System in the NVIDIA App, or Set up G-SYNC in the older Control Panel. AMD says to enable FreeSync in the display's settings and check it in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition under the Gaming or Display tab. Blur Busters says its recommendations also apply to certified G-SYNC Compatible FreeSync monitors.
- 4Turn VSync on in exactly one placeOn a VRR setup with an NVIDIA card, set Vertical Sync to On for the game under Graphics > Program Settings in the NVIDIA App, or Manage 3D settings in the Control Panel, and switch off every VSync, double buffer and triple buffer option inside the game. On a fixed refresh monitor where you want the lowest latency, do the opposite: VSync off in the game, and check that the driver is not forcing it on. In windowed mode or on an MS Hybrid laptop, NVIDIA says Control Panel VSync does not work, so use the game's own VSync.
- 5Cap your frame rate just under the refresh rateOn a VRR monitor, use the game's own limiter first and set it at least 3 FPS below the maximum refresh rate: 57 at 60 Hz, 117 at 120 Hz, 141 at 144 Hz. If a game only offers fixed steps, the Max Frame Rate setting in the NVIDIA driver lets you enter an exact value. Blur Busters found that with G-SYNC and driver VSync on, Reflex applies this cap by itself, at around 138 FPS on a 144 Hz screen. Blur Busters explains that this cap is there to keep frames inside the VRR range, so it does not apply when you run VSync off on a fixed refresh monitor.
- 6Turn on Reflex, or Low Latency Mode where Reflex is missingVALORANT's video settings offer NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency as Off, On or On + Boost, Counter-Strike 2 keeps it under Settings > Video > Advanced Video, and EA's guidance for Apex Legends sets it to Enabled under Advanced Video. League of Legends has no Reflex option and runs on DirectX 11, so the driver's Low Latency Mode is what applies there. If both are on, Reflex overrides the driver setting. Which value fits each situation is in NVIDIA Low Latency Mode: Off, On or Ultra.
Which VSync setting fits your setup (checked November 3, 2026)
| Your setup | VSync | What to pair it with |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive shooter on a fixed refresh monitor, FPS well above the refresh rate | Off in the game and in the driver | NVIDIA Reflex On if the game has it; you trade some tearing for the lowest latency |
| Fixed refresh monitor, slower game where tearing bothers you | On | Expect extra input lag; double buffering can fall to half the refresh rate when FPS dips |
| Fixed refresh monitor, FPS two to five times the refresh rate | Fast Sync is an option on NVIDIA | With less headroom it behaves like VSync and can stutter; do not pair it with G-SYNC |
| G-SYNC or G-SYNC Compatible monitor with an NVIDIA GPU | On in the NVIDIA App or Control Panel, off in the game | FPS cap at least 3 below max refresh (141 at 144 Hz), or Reflex On, which caps around 138 at 144 Hz |
| FreeSync monitor with an AMD GPU | On if FPS regularly exceeds the refresh rate | Or cap FPS instead (AMD's own advice); check FreeSync status in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition under Gaming or Display |
| G-SYNC in windowed mode, or on a laptop with MS Hybrid graphics | Use the in game VSync | NVIDIA says Control Panel VSync only works for fullscreen apps and is not supported on MS Hybrid laptops |
| Older PC that cannot hold a steady frame rate in League of Legends | Wait for Vertical Sync unchecked | Riot's lag troubleshooting pairs this with a 60 FPS Frame Rate Cap |
Check these before you judge the result
- Windows shows your monitor at its maximum refresh rate, not stuck at 60 Hz
- VRR is turned on in both the monitor menu and the GPU software
- On a VRR setup, VSync is on in the driver only, and every in game VSync, double buffer and triple buffer option is off
- On a VRR setup, your FPS cap sits at least 3 FPS under the max refresh rate, or Reflex is handling the cap
- You changed one setting at a time and played the same mode for a few matches before and after
Keep before and after footage with DOR
A VSync change is easier to judge across whole matches than from one memorable fight.
DOR is a free Windows app that detects League of Legends and VALORANT when you launch them, records each match from start to finish, and saves highlights as separate clips: kills, multikills and objectives in League, and kills with ace and clutch tags in VALORANT. Everything lands in My Clips.
Play a few matches on your old setting and a few on the new one, then open the recordings and compare how your duels and teamfights went. Tearing and the feel of input lag are things you judge live on your own monitor; the recordings show whether your results actually changed.
Trim a moment in the app as 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, or merge several clips in DOR Studio (dor.gg/studio). Game specific details are on the VALORANT page and the League of Legends page.
