You're mid-game, panning the camera across an open world, and there it is — a horizontal crack running across your screen where the image doesn't line up. The top half of your monitor shows one frame, the bottom shows another. That's screen tearing, and it's one of the most common gaming monitor complaints there is.
The good news: it's almost always fixable in software, and often for free. Here's exactly what's happening and how to stop it.
What Is Screen Tearing?
Think of your monitor like a printer that outputs one line at a time, top to bottom, 60 (or 144, or 240) times per second. Your GPU, meanwhile, is rendering frames as fast as it can — sometimes faster, sometimes slower than the monitor's refresh rate.
Screen tearing happens when the GPU pushes a new frame to the monitor while the monitor is still drawing the previous one. The monitor obediently switches to the new frame mid-draw. The result: the top of your screen shows the new frame, the bottom shows the old one, with a jagged horizontal "tear" where the switch happened.
Tearing is most visible in fast horizontal movement — camera pans, racing games, scrolling. It's almost invisible in static scenes. If your game has a lot of rapid movement and you're seeing tearing, you're likely running at framerates above your monitor's refresh rate.
VSync: The Original Fix (and Its Tradeoffs)
VSync (Vertical Sync) is the classic solution. When VSync is on, your GPU is told: "Don't send me a new frame until I finish drawing this one." The GPU waits for the monitor's vertical blanking interval — the brief pause between refresh cycles — before presenting a new frame.
This completely eliminates tearing. But there's a catch: input lag.
When the GPU finishes a frame early, it has to sit and wait. Those wasted milliseconds translate into perceptible delay between your mouse movement and what you see on screen. In competitive FPS games where reaction time is everything, VSync input lag can feel like you're playing through molasses.
There's also "VSync stutter" — if your framerate drops even slightly below the refresh rate, VSync will halve your effective framerate (from 60fps to 30fps, for example) to stay synchronized. This creates a jarring drop that's often worse than occasional tearing.
Adaptive Sync: The Better Solution
NVIDIA's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync (also called Adaptive Sync) solve the problem more elegantly. Instead of locking the GPU to the monitor's fixed refresh rate, they flip the equation: the monitor adjusts its refresh rate to match whatever the GPU is outputting, in real time.
When your GPU renders a frame, the monitor refreshes. When the GPU is slow (loading, complex scenes), the monitor slows down. When it's fast, the monitor speeds up — up to its maximum refresh rate. Frame delivery and refresh are always in sync, so tearing can't happen. And unlike VSync, there's no waiting — the GPU sends frames immediately when they're ready, so input lag stays minimal.
G-Sync vs FreeSync: What's the Difference?
| Feature | G-Sync | FreeSync / Adaptive Sync |
|---|---|---|
| Requires | NVIDIA GPU + G-Sync monitor | AMD or NVIDIA GPU + FreeSync monitor |
| Cost premium | $100–$200 more (hardware module) | Free (royalty-free standard) |
| VRR range | 1–240Hz (module-dependent) | Typically 48–165Hz |
| NVIDIA GPU support | Yes (native) | Yes (via "G-Sync Compatible" mode) |
| AMD GPU support | No | Yes (native) |
| Available on HDMI | G-Sync Compatible only | Yes (HDMI 2.1 FreeSync) |
For most people buying new today, a FreeSync monitor paired with either an AMD or NVIDIA GPU is the practical choice. NVIDIA's "G-Sync Compatible" certification means NVIDIA has tested the monitor and confirmed it works well with G-Sync off (just using standard Adaptive Sync). You get the no-tearing, low-latency experience without the G-Sync price premium.
If you already own a true G-Sync monitor and an NVIDIA GPU, stick with it — the hardware module guarantees consistent performance across the full VRR range.
While you're diagnosing display issues, run a quick dead pixel check to catch any other screen problems before your return window closes.
Run Free Dead Pixel Test →How to Enable VSync, G-Sync, or FreeSync
Enabling VSync in Games
Most games have a VSync toggle in their Graphics or Display settings. Turn it on, restart if prompted. Some games call it "Vertical Sync," "V-Sync," or "Vertical Refresh." It's in-game first; the GPU control panel setting is a fallback for games that don't have it.
Enabling G-Sync (NVIDIA)
- Open NVIDIA Control Panel (right-click desktop → NVIDIA Control Panel)
- Go to Display → Set up G-Sync
- Check "Enable G-Sync, G-Sync Compatible"
- Select your monitor, check "Enable settings for the selected display model"
- Click Apply
- In games, turn VSync off in the game settings — G-Sync handles it
Enabling FreeSync (AMD)
- Open AMD Radeon Software (right-click desktop → AMD Radeon Software)
- Go to Display
- Toggle AMD FreeSync to On
- Also enable Radeon Enhanced Sync — this adds low-framerate compensation (LFC) for smoother transitions below the FreeSync range
- In games, turn off in-game VSync to avoid conflicts
FreeSync on NVIDIA GPUs
NVIDIA GPUs support FreeSync monitors as of the GTX 10-series drivers. In NVIDIA Control Panel → Set up G-Sync, NVIDIA will detect compatible FreeSync monitors and let you enable G-Sync Compatible mode. Not every FreeSync monitor is certified (NVIDIA tests them), but most work fine in practice.
Still Tearing? Other Causes to Check
If you've enabled adaptive sync and you're still seeing tears, a few other culprits are worth checking:
Framerate above the monitor's maximum refresh rate
Adaptive sync works within a VRR range (e.g., 48–165Hz). If your GPU is pushing 300fps and your monitor is 165Hz, you're above the sync range and tearing can still occur. Cap your framerate in the game settings or NVIDIA Control Panel to just below the monitor's maximum (e.g., 160fps for a 165Hz monitor).
In-game VSync is conflicting with G-Sync/FreeSync
Some games enable VSync by default. If you have both G-Sync and VSync active, they can conflict — VSync adds latency and G-Sync can't operate cleanly. Turn off in-game VSync when using adaptive sync.
Broken cable or wrong cable standard
A marginal DisplayPort cable can cause sync handshake failures that look like intermittent tearing. Try a different cable. For adaptive sync to work, DisplayPort 1.2+ or HDMI 2.1 is required; older HDMI cables don't support VRR.
GPU driver issue
A recently corrupted or outdated GPU driver can break sync entirely. Run DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in safe mode, then reinstall the latest driver from NVIDIA or AMD's website.
Screen Tearing vs Other Visual Artifacts
Screen tearing is easy to confuse with other monitor issues:
- Ghosting: Fast-moving objects leave a blurry trail. Caused by slow pixel response time, not sync. Fix: increase overdrive setting or buy a faster-response monitor.
- Stuttering: Frame delivery is uneven — the game hitches or micro-stutters. Often a framerate dip below the VRR floor, or CPU bottleneck. Not the same as tearing.
- Backlight bleed: Glowing patches at screen edges in dark scenes. A panel quality issue, not related to sync. See our backlight bleed guide.
- Dead or stuck pixels: Single-point color defects that don't move. Not related to tearing at all.
Upgrade to a FreeSync / G-Sync Compatible Monitor
If you're still on a 60Hz monitor without adaptive sync, the single biggest upgrade you can make to your gaming experience is a FreeSync or G-Sync Compatible display. The LG UltraGear OLED series offers OLED response times with native G-Sync Compatible support — tearing and ghosting are both gone.
View LG UltraGear OLED on Amazon →Frequently Asked Questions
- What causes screen tearing?
- Screen tearing happens when your GPU sends a new frame to the monitor mid-refresh. The monitor is still drawing the old frame from the top down, so part of the screen shows the new frame and part shows the old one, creating a horizontal split or "tear." It's most visible in fast-panning scenes in games.
- Does VSync fix screen tearing?
- Yes, VSync prevents screen tearing by capping the GPU's frame rate to the monitor's refresh rate and only sending new frames when the monitor finishes drawing the current one. The downside is input lag — the GPU waits for the monitor, adding 1-2 frames of delay. For fast-paced competitive gaming, this can feel sluggish.
- What's the difference between G-Sync and FreeSync?
- Both G-Sync (NVIDIA) and FreeSync (AMD) are adaptive sync technologies that dynamically adjust the monitor's refresh rate to match the GPU's frame rate. G-Sync requires a dedicated hardware module in the monitor (costs more), while FreeSync is royalty-free and works over DisplayPort or HDMI. NVIDIA GPUs also support FreeSync monitors via "G-Sync Compatible" mode.
- Can screen tearing happen at 144Hz?
- Yes. If your GPU is rendering more than 144 frames per second, tearing can still occur at 144Hz. The higher refresh rate reduces tearing frequency (tears happen faster and are less visible), but the root cause — GPU and monitor operating out of sync — still exists. Adaptive sync is the permanent solution.