Forum Discussion
To vsync or not to vsync.... that is my question
After reading a lot of negative comments about using vsync earlier on I was under the impression that it was best to not use it. But the BP guide mentions having the code run at 60fps vsynced. So, whi...
Some users (me!) prefer the lower latency of having vsync off and are perfectly OK with slight screen tearing (the kind of tearing from having vsync off, that is). The thing is, the DK1 has a bit of motion blur which probably masks the screen tearing anyway so for right now it's probably fine to do for the users that don't mind tearing.
Having said that, if your demo/game isn't able to run much higher than 60fps without vsync, I personally don't perceive much of a benefit from keeping vsync off, but I'm not too sure on that. I do seem to feel a big difference when a game can run at hundreds of frames per second (without vsync) even if the refresh rate is still 60hz.
Bottom line, if a demo/game can do the following things, I generally would be a happy user:
Of course, all of this may go right out the window when new Rift hardware comes along, or if Unity makes under-the-hood rendering pipeline updates.
Having said that, if your demo/game isn't able to run much higher than 60fps without vsync, I personally don't perceive much of a benefit from keeping vsync off, but I'm not too sure on that. I do seem to feel a big difference when a game can run at hundreds of frames per second (without vsync) even if the refresh rate is still 60hz.
Bottom line, if a demo/game can do the following things, I generally would be a happy user:
- Give the user the option to toggle Vsync.
- Adjust the prediction time in accordance with whether Vsync is on or off. (For Unity, 20 millseconds with Vsync off, 40 milliseconds with Vsync on, but it may depend on your particular demo -- maybe best to try it out and in each case see what values reduce/eliminate the swimming effect). And/or just let the user adjust his/her own prediction to whatever feels right for them.
Of course, all of this may go right out the window when new Rift hardware comes along, or if Unity makes under-the-hood rendering pipeline updates.