Hey first I want to say I am not complaining, and maybe it's a Windows 11 or Intel driver update or combination of both.
My laptop (MSI GT77/64gb/13980hh/4090m) doesn't have G-Sync and I had it on the two previous ones so for the last 2 years I have really felt I made a grave error, especially because I am so into arcade emulation with many games that are below 60hz and VRR is the only way to ensure they play at the 100% original speed with their animations etc.

However, it does have adaptive sync from 48-144hz as in Microsoft VRR and through the Intel control panel.

I have not been using that mode for the last year (I used it for the first year exclusively) as I was tired of the input lag in that mode that affected many games. Mostly emulated games like Trizeal for example. The input lag is insane on that.

I put it into dGPU mode which bypasses the integrated graphics entirely and it was way better, so I put up with using v-sync on games with really bad tearing and the overall better performance I got was nice too. In dGPU mode you have access to the entire Nvidia control panel which you simply do not in hybrid mode, like latency settings, Vsync etc.

By setting games like Trizeal to Fast sync and ultra low latency I was able to reduce the latency by a frame or 2 and it also solves problems with a few weird games so they hit 60 and not some weird FPS like 25 for example (so it remains to be seen how they are affected now that I can't use Nvidia VSync).

2 days ago we had a massive storm here so I put it back in hybrid mode of course so I could enable the iGPU for battery.

I was about to flip back to dGPU mode when I said to myself, I wonder if lag is still as bad on Radiant Silvergun and Xiizeal/Trizeal etc.

So I loaded up Trizeal (now bear in mind in my hybrid GPU Nvidia control panel, the setting I have chosen is high performance/Nvidia GPU mode, and I have confirmed that these games are going through the Nvidia GPU via MSI Afterburner cause the iGPU shows a load of 0 and the Nvidia shows whatever percentage).

Um, lag is now instant on that entire arcade set. I don't mean better, I mean, it's now completely imperceptible. Loaded up Radiant, and although that is not faster than dGPU mode, it now equals it and there's no difference, and it's finally playable in hybrid mode.

I rebooted just in case it was a fluke, nope, crazy good input lag, and now as a side benefit I generally don't need to enable VSync on 3D games and I just cap with RTSS and no tearing cause adaptive sync is on, and I can use it for RetroArch too.

Best of all worlds, right? I mean that means that even if I got a G-Sync machine, and G-Sync only operates in dedicated GPU mode, that this would still have lower input lag and I DO NOT GET IT.

The Intel panel is still useless, if I create a profile for a game and enable VSync it doens't work, the adaptive sync "unconstrain FPS" settings make no difference, and I have trieed the BETA one too as well as their latest ARC one, which shows the adaptive sync range and has an on off swithc but all the other options are gone so it's as if they knew it never worked.

So if a game does not have its own Vsync and still tears with adaptive sync (as some just do), then I don't know how to fix that, and games like Shadow Gangs are a nightmare to remove tearing in this mode, it's basically impossible, you have to put in dGPU mode and it fixes it even without any adaptive sync in that mode.

But overall, the lag is so much better than before and is markedly better to a point that the trizeal group of games really felt unplayable and now it's as if I am emulating them in Retroarch with run ahead enabled.

I don't get it at all and I thought someone might know what's up. I do know Microsoft have been making a lot of improvements to the Optimus integration, could it be that? Any ideas? It's just curiosity more than anything. Who knows, maybe Shadow Gangs works now so I will give it a go after I submit this comment.

TIA!