AMD has announced a new and upgraded version of its popular FreeSync technology. Aptly called FreeSync 2, AMD said that the new technology would further improve its predecessor through support for HDR content. AMD plans to roll out FreeSync 2 within the first half of the year.

The first version of FreeSync can improve the gaming experience by reducing screen tearing which is caused by the monitor and graphics card not properly syncing with each other. According to Ars Technica, frame rates that are too high for a monitor's refresh rate can cause screen tearing. To mitigate this, most games employ v-sync to properly sync frame rates with the monitor's refresh rate.

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However, using v-sync has its repercussions which can sometimes cause performance issues. Because of this, AMD developed the FreeSync technology which enables compatible monitors to communicate properly more effectively to compatible video cards. By using FreeSync, correct frames are rendered in accordance with the refresh rate without the use of v-sync.

In a statement acquired by Digital Trends, AMD Vice President and General Manager of Gaming Scott Herkelman said, "Radeon FreeSync 2 technology is the first of its kind that combines HDR support with dynamic refresh rate technology, and does it in seamless, plug-and-play manner that improves gaming quality automatically when the right content is present."

Currently, tone mapping of HDR contents is controlled by the monitor, and this can sometimes lead to latency issues. With FreeSync 2, AMD is shifting the tone mapping workload from the monitor directly to the GPU.

AMD said that monitors that are compatible with FreeSync 2 would be able to recognize graphics cards that are compatible with the technology as well. This will allow the graphics card to directly tone map the target contrast, color space, and luminance without putting too much stress on the monitor.