We took a look at an AMD FreeSync monitor earlier this year, and the one thing holding it back from widespread take-up was the enforced use of DisplayPort connections to drive it. Now though, AMD has announced that its FreeSync standard will begin supporting HDMI in early 2016. This provides AMD with a huge advantage over Nvidia, whose relatively expensive G-Sync monitors are only compatible with DisplayPort.

The bonus is that HDMI monitors are typically cheaper than their DisplayPort equivalents, so we should see adaptive frame rate monitors take a drop in price. The variable frame-rate technology helps to sync your monitor’s refresh rate with the output of the graphics card, reducing instances of screen-tearing and stuttering. Up until now it hasn’t been possible over HDMI because the specification couldn’t natively support it.


Forcing FreeSync to work has required some significant reworking from AMD, producing a new extension for HDMI in conjunction with a number of hardware manufacturers.“FreeSync through HDMI will be supported on all
AMD APUs and GPUs that already support FreeSync via DisplayPort, and AMD is working with ecosystem partners including LG, Samsung and Acer to deliver FreeSync over HDMI-compatible displays,” said AMD. Currently that means any Radeon graphics card capable of outputting at HDMI 1.2 or later will be able to run FreeSync without a problem.

A number of partners are already on board, with Samsung targeting budget level 1080p FreeSync HDMI monitors. There’s no word on pricing just yet, but if AMD plays its cards right then this could become a new standard very soon indeed.

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