Samsung brings FreeSync smooth gaming to some of its 4K TVs
It comes with some compromises however
What's more important for your gaming sessions: high resolution, or buttery smooth frame rates? If you fall into the latter camp, and own one of a select group of Samsung 4K TVs, then there's an update tailor made for you headed your way.
Samsung has begun rolling out an update to some of its 4K TVs that introduces support for AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. That allows for reduced screen tearing and lower input lag by matching the number of frames produced by your machine to the number of times your screen is refreshing.
If you have a Samsung Q6FN, Q7FN, Q8FN or Q9FN OLED screen, or the NU8000 – or any of the global equivalents to those displays – you'll be able to update them to take advantage of AMD's technology.
Can you take advantage?
So, what do you need to take advantage of the FreeSync tech, aside from one of the TVs? Well, you'll either need a gaming PC making use of an AMD graphics card, or an Xbox One, One S or Xbox One X console, to which Microsoft recently added support for variable refresh rates.
Also, to use FreeSync on a TV, you're going to have to sacrifice higher resolution output. It's not much of problem if you're using an Xbox One or Xbox One S since those usually max out their games at a 1080p pixel count, but for Xbox One X or high-end PC gamers, that might sting a little if you've become used to 4K output.
- Nvidia G-Sync vs AMD Freesync - which gaming screen tech is for you?
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site's home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don't expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press.