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V-Sync, VRR or an FPS Cap? A Practical Guide to Screen Tearing

Learn what V-Sync, variable refresh rate and FPS caps each do, then choose a setting to test against screen tearing on your PC.

Jitsumi

8 min read

A single horizontal band shifts the landscape on a monitor, illustrating screen tearing.
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8 min

A horizontal break in a moving game image is usually screen tearing: the display begins showing a new frame before the previous refresh has finished, so one refresh can contain parts of two frames. The useful fix depends on whether your monitor has a fixed refresh rate or supports variable refresh rate (VRR).

Quick answer: On a fixed-refresh display, turn on V-Sync if tearing bothers you; turn it off if lower input delay matters more and you can tolerate a tear. If your monitor and graphics card support VRR, start with VRR enabled and keep the game's frame rate within the display's supported range. An FPS cap can limit the frame rate, but it is not, by itself, a guarantee against tearing.

This guide reflects Windows and display features documented by 11 June 2024. Menu names and compatibility depend on your Windows version, monitor, connection, graphics card and game. It is a documentation-based guide, not a test of any particular monitor.

Check the display before changing game settings

A monitor's advertised maximum refresh rate is not necessarily the rate Windows is using. Refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), is how often the screen refreshes; frames per second (FPS) is how quickly the game produces frames. They describe different parts of the system.

In Windows 11, open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display. In Windows 10, open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display settings. Select the monitor you play on and confirm the resolution and refresh rate. Microsoft documented these routes in its Windows 11 and Windows 10 display notes from 2023 and 2020. ( Windows 11 ; Windows 10 )

If Windows offers a lower rate than the monitor's specification, check the monitor's manual for the supported resolution, input and connection. Fix a missing refresh-rate option first; V-Sync cannot select a display mode that the PC is not using.

Next, check the exact monitor model for VRR support over the input you use, and check that your graphics card and driver support that combination. NVIDIA calls its technology G-SYNC or G-SYNC Compatible; AMD calls its technology FreeSync. AMD's FreeSync announcement describes synchronising a supported display's refresh rate with Radeon graphics, while NVIDIA's documentation lists compatible display and GPU requirements for G-SYNC. The labels are useful clues, but the monitor's model manual and the GPU vendor's compatibility information are the deciding references. ( AMD ; NVIDIA )

What the three settings do

V-Sync: synchronise frames to a fixed refresh

Vertical synchronisation, usually shortened to V-Sync, coordinates frame presentation with the display's refresh cycle. On a fixed-refresh monitor, it is the straightforward place to start when a tear line is more distracting than any delay in the controls. NVIDIA's Control Panel reference describes V-Sync as synchronising an application's frame rate with display refresh to eliminate tearing. ( NVIDIA Control Panel Help )

The trade-off is that a game may have to wait for the next refresh boundary. Depending on the game and how it buffers frames, that can add input delay or make motion look uneven when the PC cannot keep pace with the display. NVIDIA described those trade-offs in its original G-SYNC announcement, but the size of the effect varies by game and setup. ( NVIDIA Newsroom, 18 October 2013 )

VRR: let a compatible display follow the game's frame delivery

A variable-refresh-rate display can change when it refreshes to follow the game's frame delivery, within the range supported by that monitor. G-SYNC and FreeSync are vendor implementations of this idea. They need a compatible display, graphics hardware and driver; Windows' DirectX documentation also describes presentation requirements for VRR in games and windowed applications. ( Microsoft Learn )

When a compatible setup is active and the frame rate is within the monitor's VRR range, the display can refresh in step with the game's changing output instead of waiting for one fixed rate. Check the monitor's manual for that range. If a game's frame rate regularly reaches the upper limit, try an FPS cap a little below that limit so the game stays inside the range. That is a starting point, not a universal number: monitors, drivers and games handle the edges differently.

If VRR appears to make no difference, check that it is enabled in the monitor's on-screen menu and recognised in the graphics software. Also check whether the game is using a display mode supported by the monitor, driver and Windows version. VRR support in a monitor's specification does not prove that every game or presentation mode is using it.

An FPS cap: set a ceiling, not a sync rule

A frame-rate cap limits how many frames a game or driver will produce. NVIDIA's Control Panel documentation says its Max Frame Rate control can be useful for reducing power use or system latency in some situations. ( NVIDIA Control Panel Help )

A cap and a sync setting do different jobs. NVIDIA documents Max Frame Rate as a maximum, while V-Sync coordinates frame rate with display refresh. From those separate functions, a cap alone cannot guarantee tear-free presentation on a fixed-refresh screen. Use a cap to limit output or help stay below the top of a VRR range; use V-Sync or a compatible VRR path when your aim is to coordinate frames with the display.

NVIDIA's 2020 latency guide recommends turning V-Sync off for players willing to tolerate tearing, and describes a G-SYNC setup for reducing tearing while keeping latency low. Treat that as NVIDIA's advice for its supported configurations, not a universal setting for every GPU and monitor. ( NVIDIA GeForce, 1 October 2020 )

Choose a starting setting

  • Your monitor has fixed refresh and tearing bothers you: Turn on V-Sync in the game's video settings. If controls feel less immediate or motion becomes uneven, try turning it off again and compare. The preference depends on the game and the player.
  • You prioritise lower input delay and accept occasional tearing: Turn V-Sync off. A frame cap may still limit unnecessary output, but do not expect it to remove tearing by itself.
  • Your monitor and GPU support VRR: Enable the display's VRR mode and confirm the graphics software recognises it. Test the game with its frame rate inside the monitor's documented range. If it keeps hitting the range's upper limit, try a cap slightly below that ceiling.
  • Your frame rate drops far below the display's VRR range: VRR is not a performance fix. Check the monitor manual for its low-frame-rate behaviour, then investigate the game's frame-rate or frame-time problem separately.

Compare settings without changing everything

Choose a game scene with steady camera movement and a visible vertical edge, such as a wall or building. Write down the current display mode, game settings, sync setting and frame cap. Then:

  1. Play the same scene with your current settings and look for a horizontal split.
  2. Change only V-Sync, then repeat the scene. Note whether the split changes and whether aiming or camera movement feels less immediate.
  3. If your hardware supports VRR, enable it on the monitor and in the graphics software. Repeat the scene with the same game settings.
  4. If the game's frame rate regularly reaches the VRR ceiling, try a cap just below that limit. Keep the cap only if it improves the behaviour you care about.
  5. Restore the previous settings if a change makes the game feel worse.

This is a controlled comparison for your own preference, not a benchmark. Do not compare one setting at low resolution with another at high resolution, or change several driver options at once; you would not know which change caused the difference.

If a horizontal split remains with V-Sync enabled, confirm that the setting applies to the game and is not overridden by a driver profile. If VRR remains inactive, check the exact monitor input, driver recognition and supported game mode. If the image instead pauses or hitches without a horizontal split, you may be dealing with stutter or frame-time inconsistency rather than tearing. Sync settings cannot fix every performance problem.

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