This screen tearing test sweeps fast vertical bars across your screen, which is the pattern that makes tearing easiest to see. In Live mode the bars move in step with your display, the way your browser draws everything, so a tear line here means your computer draws without sync. The Tearing example recreates a game running with V-Sync off at the frame rate you pick, and the Stutter example shows V-Sync on with the frame rate below the refresh rate. Compare them with what you see in your games to know which problem you have and which fix to use. It works on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, on any monitor, laptop or TV.
How to use the screen tearing test
- Watch Live for a few seconds at 1920 pixels per second. The bars should move smoothly with straight, unbroken edges.
- Press Tearing example. Horizontal breaks run across the bars where a new frame arrives mid-refresh. That is tearing.
- Change Game frame rate to see how tearing changes. Above your refresh rate you get several tear lines at once; close to it, one line drifts slowly up or down.
- Press Stutter example and pick 45 or 30 fps. There are no tears, but the bars move in uneven jumps.
- Make the bars wider or turn on Color bars if the edges are hard to follow. Faster speeds make tears more obvious.
- Press Full screen for the clearest view. Space pauses and Esc leaves full screen.
Tearing, stutter and judder: how to tell them apart
| What you see | Name | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| A horizontal break with the top part shifted sideways | Tearing | Frames swapped mid-refresh with V-Sync off | G-Sync or FreeSync, or V-Sync |
| Several breaks at once that move up and down | Tearing at a high frame rate | The game runs far above the refresh rate | Cap the frame rate |
| Smooth motion with a pause or jump now and then | Stutter | The game misses a refresh now and then | Lower settings, close background apps |
| Steady uneven rhythm, no breaks | Judder | The frame rate does not divide into the refresh rate | Variable refresh rate, or a matching frame rate |
| Lines that stay put on a still picture | Not tearing | The cable, the signal or the panel | See the section on lines in Live mode |
Fix screen tearing in games
Tearing needs two things: V-Sync off and a frame rate that differs from the refresh rate. Fix either one.
Turn on G-Sync or FreeSync
Variable refresh rate makes the monitor wait for each frame, which removes tearing without the lag of V-Sync.
- Turn on FreeSync, Adaptive-Sync or G-Sync in the monitor's own menu. Many monitors ship with it off.
- Connect with DisplayPort where you can. Variable refresh over HDMI needs a monitor and graphics card that both support it on HDMI.
- On NVIDIA cards, open NVIDIA Control Panel, Display, Set up G-SYNC, tick Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible and choose your monitor.
- On AMD cards, open AMD Software, Gaming, Display and turn on AMD FreeSync.
- Cap the game a few frames below the refresh rate, for example 141 fps on a 144 Hz monitor or 162 fps on 165 Hz, so it never leaves the variable refresh range.
Use V-Sync or a frame rate cap
Without variable refresh, turn V-Sync on in the game's display settings. If the input lag bothers you, try NVIDIA's Fast V-Sync in NVIDIA Control Panel under Manage 3D settings, or Enhanced Sync in AMD Software under Gaming, Graphics, which tear less with less lag when the frame rate is far above the refresh rate. A frame rate cap at exactly your refresh rate also makes tearing rarer, though not gone.
Tearing even with G-Sync or FreeSync on
- The frame rate goes above the refresh rate. Variable refresh only works below the monitor's top rate. Cap the frame rate as described above.
- The frame rate drops below the variable range. Many monitors only sync down to 40 or 48 Hz. Below that, tearing or stutter can return. Lower graphics settings so the game stays in range.
- It is on in the driver but not in the monitor menu, or the other way round. Both must be on.
- The game runs in a window on the wrong screen. On a two monitor setup, variable refresh applies to the screen the game is on. Run the game in full screen on the variable refresh monitor.
Tear lines in Live mode or on the desktop
Browsers on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android and iPhone draw in step with the screen, so Live mode should never tear there. If it does, or if windows tear when you drag them:
- Linux without a compositor. On X11, enable the TearFree option in the AMD or Intel driver settings, or turn on Force Full Composition Pipeline in NVIDIA X Server Settings. Wayland desktops draw in sync by default.
- Remote desktop, screen sharing or a capture card. These send the picture at their own pace, so lines may come from the stream, not your monitor.
- Lines that stay in one place on a still image. That is not tearing. A loose or damaged cable, a failing port or a fault in the panel causes fixed lines, sparkles or flicker. Try another cable and port, and see our guides for monitor flickering and monitor no signal.
Stutter instead of tearing
If your games do not tear but feel uneven, you have stutter. With V-Sync on, a game that cannot keep up with the refresh rate shows some frames twice, which the Stutter example reproduces. Check how fast your screen really runs with the refresh rate test, then compare frame rates side by side on the fps test to see how much smoother a higher frame rate would look. Variable refresh rate fixes this kind of stutter too.
What this test cannot show
A browser always draws in sync on most systems, so this page cannot make a correctly working computer tear for real; the examples simulate it on top of synced drawing. It cannot read your monitor's variable refresh range or tell whether G-Sync or FreeSync is switched on. It also does not measure how much lag V-Sync adds; the input lag tester explains how to compare that. To judge motion blur rather than tearing, use the ufo test.
Screen tearing questions
How do I know if I have screen tearing?
Tearing shows as a horizontal line across the picture where the part above is shifted sideways from the part below. It is easiest to see when you turn the camera quickly from side to side in a game. Press Tearing example in the test above to see exactly what it looks like.
Does a monitor cause screen tearing?
Not on its own. Tearing happens when the graphics card swaps in a new frame while the monitor is still drawing the last one. Any monitor tears when V-Sync is off and the frame rate does not match the refresh rate. Monitors with G-Sync or FreeSync avoid it by waiting for each frame.
Does V-Sync fix screen tearing?
Yes. V-Sync makes the graphics card wait for the monitor, so frames are never swapped mid-refresh. The cost is extra input lag and stutter when the frame rate falls below the refresh rate. G-Sync or FreeSync with a frame rate cap gives the same clean picture with less lag.
Why do I still get tearing with G-Sync or FreeSync on?
The frame rate is probably going above the monitor's refresh rate, where variable refresh stops working. Cap the frame rate a few fps below the refresh rate, for example 141 fps on a 144 Hz monitor, and check that G-Sync or FreeSync is on in both the monitor menu and the graphics driver.
Can screen tearing damage my monitor?
No. Tearing is only about when frames are swapped. It does not stress the panel or the graphics card, and it disappears as soon as the frames are in sync.
Why do videos look jerky but not torn?
That is judder, not tearing. Most films are 24 frames per second, which does not divide evenly into 60 Hz, so some frames stay on screen longer than others. Screens that can run at 24 Hz or a multiple of it, such as 120 Hz, show films evenly.