Nvidia Gsync Pulsar: New Display Tech at CES 2026

At CES 2026, Nvidia unveiled a new evolution of its display technology called Gsync Pulsar. While the original Gsync technology focused on syncing refresh rates with frame rates to eliminate screen tearing, Pulsar takes a different approach to visual fidelity. It utilizes strobing backlight technology to simulate extremely high refresh rates, aiming to provide superior motion clarity for gamers.

The introduction of Pulsar marks a shift in Nvidia's focus toward perceived smoothness. Rather than simply reducing latency, this technology attempts to trick the human eye into seeing smoother motion. By manipulating the backlight in sync with variable refresh rates, Nvidia hopes to bridge the gap between high frame rates and visual fluidity, a goal they have pursued since the introduction of Frame Generation in 2022.

When Nvidia first released Gsync in 2013, it was a significant breakthrough for PC gaming. At the time, screen tearing—a vertical split in the image caused by a mismatch between frame rates and refresh rates—was a common issue. Gsync solved this by syncing the display's refresh rate to the game's frame rate, but it required a proprietary hardware module installed in monitors, which made the technology expensive and complicated to implement.

The landscape changed with the arrival of AMD's Freesync, a competitor that offered similar variable refresh rate capabilities without the need for a costly module. Although Freesync initially had a narrower range of frame rates, it eventually caught up. This led Nvidia to launch the 'Gsync Compatible' program, which allowed variable refresh rates on Nvidia graphics cards without the exclusive hardware module. Over time, variable refresh rates have become a standard expectation for most gaming monitors and televisions.

Gsync Pulsar is designed to address motion clarity rather than latency. The technology uses a strobing IPS display to improve how fast-moving objects appear to the eye. The concept is based on the perception of motion: a continuous moving object may appear blurry, but if that object disappears and reappears rapidly, the brain perceives it as moving with less blur. Pulsar aims to simulate this effect through controlled backlight strobing.

While technologies like Black Frame Insertion (BFI) and Asus' ELMB Sync have attempted similar results in the past, they were often tied strictly to the monitor's maximum refresh rate. Gsync Pulsar, developed in partnership with Mediatek, allows the backlight to speed up or slow down dynamically. This synchronization with the variable refresh rate results in fluid motion without the rigid limitations of previous strobing technologies.

Despite its advancements, Gsync Pulsar has specific operational constraints. By default, the technology will disable itself if the refresh rate drops below 90Hz. This safeguard is necessary because if the strobing backlight slows down too much, the strobing effect becomes visible to the user, which can cause eye strain and discomfort. Users can manually configure the lower limit down to 75Hz, which represents the hard floor for the technology at the time of its announcement.

Nvidia has acknowledged these limitations and is actively working to expand the technology's range. The company stated that it is developing a method to enable Gsync Pulsar at 60Hz. However, it remains to be seen if the visual quality will be acceptable at such low refresh rates, as maintaining motion clarity without introducing discomfort is a significant technical challenge.

Initial demonstrations of Gsync Pulsar took place at CES 2026. One of the most notable demos featured the game Anno 117: Pax Romana. Despite not being a traditional high-framerate title, the difference in motion clarity was reportedly obvious when panning the camera around the map. The technology appeared to deliver on its promise of smoothness, particularly when running at high frame rates (200+ fps) on high-end GPUs.

However, the true test will occur in variable frame rate scenarios, specifically near the 90Hz threshold. Gaming monitors featuring Gsync Pulsar are expected to hit the market within the next week following the announcement. While the technology shows promise for improving visual smoothness, it is important to note that it focuses on visual fidelity rather than competitive advantage or input latency reduction.