What is Screen Tearing?

Screen tearing is a visual glitch that can occur on displays during fast-paced content like gaming or scrolling. It happens when the image on your screen gets "mismatched" because the frames sent by your graphics card (GPU) and the refresh rate of your monitor are not in sync.

How Screen Tearing work?

GPU: This powerhouse churns out new images (frames) constantly. The number of frames it produces per second is called the frame rate. Ideally, you want the frame rate to be high for smooth visuals.

Monitor: This displays the images sent by the GPU. Monitors refresh at a specific rate, measured in Hz. This means they update the entire screen with a new image a certain number of times per second.
Problems arise when the two rates clash:

GPU faster than monitor: Suppose your GPU generates 120 frames per second (fps) but your monitor has a 60Hz refresh rate. This means the monitor can't keep up with the rapid influx of images. It might be halfway through displaying one frame when the GPU sends the next one, resulting in a horizontal tear on the screen where the two frames overlap.

GPU slower than monitor: Conversely, if your GPU can only manage 30 fps while your monitor is 60Hz, you might see stuttering or juddering as the monitor waits for the next frame to arrive.
Screen tearing is not just annoying, it can also affect your gaming experience