How to Fix Screen Tearing

Are you facing the screen tearing issue? It is quite common and shows up in the form of distortion that happens to your computer’s monitor. If you’re wondering what screen tearing is, then read on!

Some experts define screen tearing as seeing multiple frames in one frame on the PC screen. This problem typically happens in systems that have installed display hardware like a graphics card.

What Causes Screen Tearing?

What is screen tearing? The Screen tearing problem may be caused by the desynchronization of the video fed to the PC and the monitor’s refresh rate. There have been multiple reports of screen tearing by the NVIDIA graphics card users.

Can You Easily Fix Screen Tearing?

Yes! You can quickly fix the screen tearing issue with a few simple steps. Unless a hardware problem causes the issue, in such cases, you might have no other options but to replace the graphics card or the monitor, or both in some rare cases.

As a matter of fact, screen tearing can occur due to several different factors, but thankfully, it’s not a severe or unfixable issue. If you are uncertain of the reasons why your computer display is having the screen tearing issue, then we suggest that you follow the fixes given below in a systematic order for best results.

How to fix screen tearing? Let’s find out!

Restart Your Computer

The simplest solution that works most times to fix the screen tearing issue is to close your gaming monitor and then restart your computer.

By restarting your computer, you can quickly and conveniently sync the frame rate and the refresh rate of your PC within a couple of minutes, which thereby helps in fixing the screen distortion issue. After your PC restarts, check if the problem persists. If yes, then try the following method.

Changing the Game FPS

If you face the screen tearing issue while you play a game, you should try changing the game FPS (frames per second). In most cases, the game is set on a higher FPS setting than the graphics card can support, causing the screen distortion.

You can quickly fix the error by following these steps:

Step 1 – Go to your game’s settings menu and find ‘video/graphics’ settings.

Step 2 – In the ‘video/graphics’ settings, find the option to change the FPS / Frame Rate.

Step 3 – Start lowering the FPS settings and simultaneously check if lowering the FPS settings resolves the screen tearing issue.

If not, then we recommend you try the following method.

Change The Refresh Rate and Resolution

One way you can fix the screen tearing distortion problem on your PC is by changing your computer’s resolution and refresh rate. Follow these steps to switch to a different refresh rate.

Step 1 – Begin by pressing the start button and going to the search bar—type’ resolution,’ which will bring up the resolution settings option. Select the change the resolution of the display system setting to adjust the resolution of your monitor.

Step 2 – Once you click the change resolution option, a window will open. Locate the ‘Advance display settings’ option and click it.

Step 3 – After clicking ‘Advanced display settings,’ select ‘display adapter properties for display 1.’

Step 4 – Once the ‘display adapter properties’ is clicked, a new window will open, go to the ‘Adapter’ section and then click the ‘List All Modes’ button in the bottom left corner.

Step 5 – Clicking the ‘List all modes’ button will open a list of resolution and FPS modes for your PC. Find the appropriate resolution that works with the specification of the graphics card and device, and then click ok to confirm the selection. Restart your computer.

Step 6 – Check to see if the screen tearing issue is fixed. If you are still facing the distortion problem, move on to the next solution.

Enable or Disable The NVIDIA V-Sync

This screen tearing fix is exclusively for NVIDIA graphics card users. You can enable or disable the NVIDIA V sync option. What does vsync do? The V-Sync is a program that mitigates the screen tearing issue by minimizing the desynchronization between the frame rate and the performance of your monitor.

If you are using an NVIDIA graphics card, the screen tearing issue occurs because the NVIDIA V sync option on the PC is disabled, and you would have to enable it. If the NVIDIA V sync is already enabled, try disabling it and checking if the screen tearing issue persists. Follow these steps to enable/disable NVIDIA V sync easily:

There are chances that you still have not enabled the NVIDIA V sync option on your PC, and it is still disabled. However, if it is enabled, try to disable it to check if that fixes the problem of screen tearing. Follow these easy steps for enabling or disabling the NVIDIA V sync option.

Step 1 – Right-click on your PC’s desktop to open the properties menu. In that menu, find and select the NVIDIA Control Panel option.

Step 2 – After the NVIDIA Control Panel window opens, find the ‘3D Settings’ section and click open it to find and select the ‘Manage 3D Settings’ option.

Step 3 – Now, on the right panel of the ‘Manage 3D Settings’ option, find the Vertical Sync option. Enable or disable the V sync by selecting ON/OFF from the drop-down menu in front of the Vertical Sync option.

After turning V sync ON/OFF, exit the NVIDIA Control Panel and check if the screen tearing error is resolved or not.

Switch Off Game Mode And Full-Screen Optimizations

The latest updated versions of Windows introduced the Game Mode feature. The purpose of Game Mode is to offer system optimizations, screenshots, game clips recordings, screenshots, and broadcasting through the Game bar. Unfortunately, some users have complained that the Game Mode causes screen tearing.

If you are a user of Windows 10, you can resolve the screen tearing problem by disabling the Game Mode feature by following the steps provided below:

Step 1 – Open the windows settings and select the game option.

Step 2 – Once you are in the gaming section, find and click the game bar option to open the Game Bar window. Under the ‘record game clips screenshots, and broadcast using game bar’ section, toggle the switch to disable the game bar.

Step 3 – Next, click on the Broadcasting option under the Gaming menu. Find the toggle switch under the ‘Record audio when I broadcast.’ section and turn it off.

Step 4- Once you have disabled these settings, restart your computer and then check to see if the screen tearing issue is fixed or not.

If disabling Game Mode and game bar features haven’t fixed the issue, and you are encountering screen tearing while gaming, then try disabling the fullscreen optimizations through the following steps:

Step 1- Select the game where the display tearing issue occurs, right-click the game icon, and choose ‘properties’ from the menu.

Step 2- After the properties window opens, go to the compatibility section and select ‘disable fullscreen optimization”. Confirm your selection, restart the computer, open your game and check if the distortion issue is resolved or not.

Updating or Reinstalling The Graphics Card Driver

In several cases, the error might be occurring due to an outdated or faulty Graphics Card Driver. Firstly, try updating the driver, which will hopefully resolve the issue. If not, then try uninstalling and then reinstalling the graphics card driver.

Follow the steps below to update the graphics driver:

Step 1 – Open the Device Manager (Control Panel) by pressing Win + X keys simultaneously.

Step 2 – In the Device Manager, find and select the ‘Display adapters.’ Now right-click open the graphics card driver’s menu. From the menu, select ‘Update driver.’

Step 3 – From the Update Drivers window, select the ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ option.

Wait till your PC searches for new updated versions of your graphics card driver. If updates are available, start updating by following the update wizard.

If you don’t have any updates available or if the issue persists even after updating your graphics card, then try reinstalling by following these steps.

Step 1 – Press Win + X keys to open the Device Manager. Find and open the ‘Display adapters’ menu. Right-click open the menu of your graphics card and select ‘Uninstall device.’

Step 2 – While the uninstallation process completes, go to your graphics card manufacturer’s website and download the latest driver version compatible with your graphics card model. After successfully downloading the graphics card driver, install the driver by following the installation wizard steps.

Fixing Screen Tearing Issue By Turning Off Smooth Scrolling

You can resolve the screen tearing problem in Chrome or any other browser by turning off the smooth scrolling feature.

Here are the methods to resolve AMD screen tearing.

Step 1 – To get started, turn on your computer.

Step 2 – Launch Chrome and create a new page.

Step 3 – Enter chrome://flags/#smooth-scrolling in the address field.

Step 4 – After that, hit the enter key.

Step 5 – Within the smooth scrolling choice, select the disable option.

Step 6 – Finally, reboot your device.

Pick A Power Plan That Is Compatible with Your Device

Step 1 – To open the Run dialog window, press the Windows key + R at the same time.

Step 2 – Enter “powercfg.cpl” into the search box.

Step 3 – Extend your options and choose between High Performance and Ultimate Performance.

Step 4 – Finally, restart your device to see whether the screen tearing problem has been fixed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Does The Screen Tearing Issue Happen While Watching Videos?

Your device’s hardware collects data or information from numerous frames and displays it on a single screen. To show a video smoothly, an GPU’s FPS and the monitor’s refresh rate must be synchronized. Screen tearing happens when your monitor is not powerful enough or when the fps exceed the monitor’s refresh rate.

How Do I Prevent Screen Tearing in Videos?

To resolve screen tearing, you have to make the following changes:

You should update your graphics software.
Set the Graphics properties.
Configure the GPU parameters.
Select the High-performance Power Plan.
Customize your computer’s resolution and update rate.
Synchronize the FPS to your monitor’s refresh rate.
Enable GPU VSync.

How Do I Stop The Screen Tearing Issue on Google Chrome?

If you are viewing a video in Google Chrome and the screen tearing occurs, you can easily repair it by following these steps:

Select “Settings” from the three horizontal dots in the top right corner of Google Chrome.
Scroll down and select “Show advanced settings.”
Scroll down and uncheck the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.

That’s it; the screen tearing problem in Google Chrome is no longer an issue.

How Can I Resolve Screen Tearing on a Browser?

Many users may experience screen tearing on a browser as a result of online browsing software malfunction. If you are experiencing the same issue, try switching to another browser to see if the screen splitting is still present. You may also attempt updating or reinstalling the browser to resolve the problem.

Does Screen Tearing Never Go Away?

No. The lack of screen tearing has no negative impact on the GPU or the display. Screen tearing is typically caused by the GPU being out of sync with the display. This is usually resolved by tech such as V SYNC. If you can’t find a choice for it, you might be able to turn it on by editing the game’s in-game files.

Does Screen Tearing Damage The Monitor?

Although screen tearing is not harmful to your display or computer, it is not appealing. You can still keep it from harming your computer by using technology that minimizes screen tearing, such as G-Sync and FreeSync. G-Sync and FreeSync are the most beneficial to NVIDIA and AMD customers.

Does 144hz End The Screen Tearing Problem?

It does not prevent screen tearing. It significantly reduces the impression of tearing. On the other hand, V-sync with a 144hz monitor can eliminate tearing while substantially decreasing the input lag that certain games experience with V-sync enabled.

Final Words

These were our top tried and tested methods; we hope these fixes will help you resolve the screen tearing issue. We highly recommend trying all the quick-fix methods before you plan any hardware-based changes.

In most cases, the game, software, or the driver of your GPU causes the screen tearing error that can be resolved without any hardware-based changes.

Did any of our fixes help you resolve the screen distortion? Have we missed a method? Please share your tried and tested method for fixing the screen tearing issue. Team TechProReviewers loves your feedback.

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