NVIDIA Kicks Off Sales of DIY G-Sync Kit: Costs $199 and Requires ASUS’ VG248QE

As displays equipped with G-Sync are not expected to ship until Q2, NVIDIA has decided to sell DIY kits for a limited time for those who really would like to get their hands on it sooner. The upside here is that the conversion is simple, and requires nothing more than a screwdriver to pull off. The downside is that the kit costs $199 and requires a specific monitor, ASUS’ ~$280 VG248QE.

Nonetheless, for some, the price might not matter so much if G-Sync can be used right now, and I do have to say that it’s great that NVIDIA is even giving people the option – I can’t remember the last time a DIY kit of this complexity was last released.

The reason the kit costs $199 is that it’s not a simple addition that’s made to the display’s mainboard; instead, this kit completely replaces it. This was undoubtedly done in conjunction with ASUS, and after the conversion is made, “NVIDIA G-Sync” will be referenced in the display’s menu.

Because this kind of DIY adventure can be a little dangerous (as in, it’d be easy to screw something up), NVIDIA’s provided an excellent how-to video showing every little step that needs to be taken to get it done, while providing some important tips at the same time. It runs for about 15 minutes, so it might not be too interesting for those without the kit, but I enjoyed watching it nonetheless.

Is moving up to G-Sync worth $199? That’s a hard one to answer. While I think G-Sync is a fantastic technology, spending almost as much money on it as the monitor itself is a bit hard to stomach. For those able to hold-off, I think it’d be worth waiting until Q2 when pre-configured displays are released. Either way, the fact NVIDIA is offering people the option at all right now is impressive.