How to Fix Screen Tearing With G-Sync or FreeSync

Screen tearing is that horizontal split across the image, usually visible when you swing the camera sideways in a fast game, where the top half of the frame no longer lines up with the bottom. It happens because the graphics card sends a new frame while the monitor is still drawing the previous one. For years the only fix was V-Sync, which cured tearing but added input lag and could halve your frame rate. Adaptive sync technologies, sold as G-Sync and FreeSync, solve the problem properly by making the monitor wait for the graphics card instead. This tutorial shows how to fix screen tearing step by step: enabling adaptive sync correctly, choosing the right V-Sync setting to go with it, capping your frame rate, and troubleshooting when tearing stubbornly persists.

Why Screen Tearing Happens

A monitor refreshes at a fixed rate unless told otherwise, redrawing top to bottom, say 144 times a second. Your graphics card renders frames at whatever rate the scene allows, which fluctuates constantly. When a new frame arrives mid-refresh, the display simply switches to it partway down the screen. The result is two different moments in time shown at once, with a visible seam where they meet.

Tearing is worst when frame rate and refresh rate are close but not synchronised, and it is most visible during horizontal camera movement against vertical edges such as walls, doorframes, and trees. Adaptive sync removes it by letting the monitor vary its refresh rate in real time to match whatever the graphics card produces, so a refresh never begins until a complete frame is ready.

Step 1: Confirm Your Monitor and GPU Support Adaptive Sync

1. Check the monitor specification for G-Sync, G-Sync Compatible, FreeSync, or simply Adaptive-Sync. Note the supported range, often something like 48 to 144Hz, because sync only works inside that window.
2. Check the connection type. DisplayPort supports adaptive sync on virtually every implementation. HDMI support exists but is patchier and sometimes limited to specific HDMI versions or monitor firmware. Use DisplayPort where you have the option.
3. Check your graphics card. Modern NVIDIA and AMD cards both support variable refresh over DisplayPort, and NVIDIA cards can drive many FreeSync monitors under the G-Sync Compatible programme.
4. Update the GPU driver before going further. Adaptive sync detection depends heavily on current drivers.

If your panel does not support it, no software setting will produce the same result. Displays in our roundups of the best G-Sync monitors and the best FreeSync monitors list their variable refresh ranges clearly, which matters more than the badge on the box.

Step 2: Enable Adaptive Sync in the Monitor Menu

This step is skipped constantly and is the single most common reason people believe their sync technology is broken.

1. Open the on-screen display using the buttons or joystick on the monitor itself.
2. Find the gaming or picture section and locate FreeSync, Adaptive-Sync, or VRR.
3. Set it to on. If you see options such as Standard Engine and Ultimate Engine, choose the wider range option unless it causes flicker.
4. Enable it per input. Many monitors treat each HDMI and DisplayPort input separately, so enabling it on one does not enable it on another.
5. Set the refresh rate to maximum while you are in the menu, and enable the high bandwidth or enhanced mode for the input you are using.

Step 3: Turn It On in the Graphics Driver

On an NVIDIA system, right-click the desktop and open the NVIDIA Control Panel. Go to Display, then Set up G-SYNC. Tick Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible, choose Enable for full screen and windowed mode, select your monitor in the list, tick Enable settings for the selected display model, and apply.

On an AMD system, open AMD Software, go to Settings, then Display, select the monitor, and switch AMD FreeSync to on. If it is greyed out, the cause is usually the monitor menu setting or a resolution and refresh rate combination outside the supported range.

Enable sync for windowed mode as well as full screen. Borderless windowed is how most modern games run, and leaving it full-screen-only means tearing returns the moment you use that mode.

Step 4: Set V-Sync Correctly Alongside Adaptive Sync

This is the step that confuses most people, because the intuitive answer is wrong. Adaptive sync only works inside the monitor’s refresh range. If your frame rate climbs above the maximum refresh rate, sync has nothing left to do and tearing returns.

The widely recommended configuration is:

• Adaptive sync on in both the monitor and the driver.
• V-Sync on in the driver control panel, not in the game. This acts as a ceiling that catches frames above the refresh range and prevents tearing at the top end.
• V-Sync off in every game’s own settings, so the driver setting takes control and the game does not apply its own, laggier implementation.
• A frame rate cap set a few frames below the maximum refresh rate, which keeps you inside the adaptive sync window where latency is lowest.

Configured this way, driver V-Sync almost never actually engages, because the frame cap keeps you below the ceiling. It simply sits there as a safety net, so you get no tearing and no meaningful added input lag.

Step 5: Cap Your Frame Rate

1. Work out your cap. Subtract about 3 frames from your maximum refresh rate. On a 144Hz panel, cap at 141. On a 165Hz panel, cap at 162.
2. Set it in the driver. On NVIDIA, go to Manage 3D Settings and set Max Frame Rate. On AMD, use Frame Rate Target Control or the Chill maximum.
3. Apply it globally rather than per game, so it covers titles you forget to configure.
4. Consider a low latency mode. NVIDIA’s Low Latency Mode or Reflex, and AMD’s Anti-Lag, reduce queued frames and pair well with a capped, synced setup.

Step 6: Verify the Fix

1. Turn on the monitor’s refresh rate display if it has one. With adaptive sync working, the number will fluctuate in real time instead of sitting fixed.
2. Use the driver overlay. NVIDIA can show a G-SYNC indicator via the display settings in the control panel.
3. Test with fast horizontal movement. Load a game, face a wall or fence with strong vertical lines, and pan quickly side to side. Any seam is immediately obvious.
4. Toggle it off and on to confirm you are actually seeing a difference rather than imagining one.

Troubleshooting Persistent Tearing

• Tearing only at very high frame rates. Your cap is missing or set too high, or driver V-Sync is off. Fix both.
• Tearing at low frame rates. You have dropped below the bottom of the adaptive sync range. Lower graphics settings so you stay above it, or rely on low framerate compensation if your monitor supports it.
• Flicker in menus or loading screens. Wildly swinging frame rates can cause brightness flicker on some panels. Cap the frame rate in menus, or switch the monitor to the narrower sync range setting.
• Sync greyed out in the driver. Almost always the monitor menu toggle, an HDMI cable that cannot carry the mode, or a dock or KVM in the path. Connect directly with DisplayPort to test.
• Tearing only on the desktop or in video playback. Enable sync for windowed mode, and check whether hardware acceleration in your browser or player is bypassing the compositor.
• Multi-monitor conflicts. Mismatched refresh rates across displays can disable variable refresh entirely on some systems. Try disconnecting the secondary screen to confirm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does adaptive sync add input lag?

Within its range it adds a negligible amount, far less than traditional V-Sync. Capping the frame rate below the maximum refresh rate keeps latency at its lowest.

Do I still need a high refresh rate monitor?

Adaptive sync helps at any refresh rate, but a wider range gives it more room to work and delivers better motion clarity overall. Panels in our list of the best 144Hz monitors hit the practical sweet spot for most players.

Will a FreeSync monitor work with an NVIDIA card?

Usually yes, over DisplayPort, using the G-Sync Compatible option. Results vary by model, so check the specific panel’s reputation for flicker.

Is tearing ever worth accepting?

Some competitive players run uncapped with everything off to shave a fraction of a millisecond of latency. For most people the visual cost outweighs that gain. If latency is your priority, our roundups of the best monitors for esports and the best low latency monitors cover panels tuned for exactly that trade-off.

Why does tearing appear in video but not games?

Video players and browsers often bypass the compositor. Enable sync for windowed mode and check hardware acceleration settings in the application.

Final Thoughts

Fixing screen tearing is a chain of four settings that must agree with each other. Enable adaptive sync in the monitor menu, enable it in the graphics driver for both full screen and windowed modes, turn V-Sync on in the driver but off in every game, and cap your frame rate a few frames below the panel’s maximum. Get those four right and tearing disappears without the input lag penalty that made V-Sync unpopular in the first place. Verify with a fast horizontal pan against a fence or wall, and if the seam is gone, you are done.