Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate?

Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate? - Turned Off Laptop Computer on Gray Wood

Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate? Also if tearing occurs because of fps higher than screen refresh rate why don't games limit fps to be equal to the screen refresh rate by default?



Best Answer

Tearing occurs when the graphics card's buffer is sent to the monitor while that same buffer is being changed. You still get tearing even if the FPS is limited to the refresh rate of the monitor because those things aren't locked together without vertical sync enabled.

Think of it like you're in a classroom, where the teacher is writing notes on the board. You're taking pictures of the board as the teacher is writing them. You want to take the picture when the board is full of notes. If you take a picture while the teacher is working, or while they're erasing part of the board to write new notes, your photo will be missing some of the notes.

It doesn't matter if during the class period you take 6 pictures and the teacher fills the board 6 times, right? You could take 6 pictures right at the beginning and miss everything. You could take the pictures evenly spaced (every 10 minutes, say) and miss stuff because the teacher takes longer or shorter to fill the board each time.

Instead, it matters that you take the picture at the right time. Your pictures must be "in sync" with the teacher.

"Taking the same number of pictures as there are blackboards full of notes" is locking the FPS to the refresh rate of the monitor. There's no guarantee that every time the monitor refreshes, the graphics card is between frames.

"Waiting until the blackboard is full of notes before taking a picture" is vertical sync. The graphics system is synchronized and thus only complete frames are shown.




Pictures about "Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate?"

Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate? - Macbook Pro and Space Gray Iphone 6
Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate? - Netflix on an Imac
Why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate? - Crop hacker silhouette typing on computer keyboard while hacking system



Does limiting FPS stop screen tearing?

So, you can either use it in combination with Enhanced Sync/Fast Sync or limit your FPS to a few frames below your monitor's maximum refresh rate in order to completely remove tearing.

Why do I get screen tearing when I cap my FPS?

If you limit yourself to 60fps, you won't actually be perfectly in sync with the display. You'll be close, which means you'll often see a single tear moving relatively slowly up and down the display, but tearing will in fact occur.

Will 144hz monitor fix screen tearing?

Simply put. With 144hz refresh rate you are less likely to get screen tearing, but it will still occur, assuming that your video card is so powerful that it is sending more than 144fps to the monitor. Anything less than 144fps will not result in screen tearing.



How To Fix Nvidia Screen Tearing Issue [Solution]




More answers regarding why is there still screen tearing even when fps are limited to be equal to monitor refresh rate?

Answer 2

Because even if your fps is the same as refresh rate of the monitor, it doesn't mean the frames are synchronized with the refresh rate. Screen tearing can happen at any fps, if vsync is off.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Pixabay, veeterzy, cottonbro, Anete Lusina