Screen tearing, where the image looks split or misaligned during fast movement, breaks the smoothness of a game. It happens when the graphics output and the monitor fall out of step. The cause is usually a synchronisation setting rather than a fault, and a few adjustments normally remove the tearing.
Possible Causes
Tearing occurs when the frame rate and the monitor’s refresh rate are not synchronised, so the screen shows parts of two frames at once. A synchronisation feature being switched off is the most common cause.
An outdated graphics driver, or a mismatch between the game’s frame rate and the monitor’s capabilities, can also produce tearing.
First Troubleshooting Steps
Turn on the synchronisation option in the game’s settings, often called vertical sync, which aligns the frame rate with the monitor and usually removes tearing. Make sure your monitor is set to its correct refresh rate in the display settings.
Update your graphics drivers, since newer versions improve synchronisation and fix related bugs.
Advanced Steps
If your monitor and graphics card support an adaptive synchronisation technology, enabling it in the graphics control panel gives smooth, tear-free play without the downsides of basic sync. Capping the frame rate to match or stay below the refresh rate also reduces tearing.
Experimenting with these options helps you find the balance between smoothness and responsiveness that suits you.
It is also worth checking whether the tearing only appears in one game or across all of them, since this guides the fix. Tearing in a single game usually means its own synchronisation setting is off, while tearing everywhere points to a system-wide graphics setting or refresh-rate mismatch to correct.
Safety and Data Warning
Adjust synchronisation settings through the game and the official graphics control panel rather than third-party tools, which can be unreliable. Note your original settings before changing them, so you can return to a setup you know worked if a change does not suit you.
It is also worth understanding that the basic synchronisation option can slightly increase input lag, which some players notice in fast games. If responsiveness matters more to you than perfectly smooth visuals, an adaptive synchronisation technology is the better choice where your hardware supports it, balancing PERTIWITOTO both.
When to See a Technician
Screen tearing rarely needs a technician, since it is almost always a settings issue. If tearing persists across every game even with synchronisation enabled and updated drivers, a technician can check whether the monitor or cable is at fault, though this is uncommon.
Conclusion
Most screen tearing comes from the frame rate and refresh rate being out of step rather than a fault. Enabling synchronisation, setting the correct refresh rate, and using adaptive sync where available removes tearing in the majority of cases.
