What is Screen Tearing and How Do You Fix It?

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Learn what causes screen tearing and how you can stop it

Co-authored by Travis Boylls Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: September 24, 2025 Fact Checked

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How to Fix Screen Tearing

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What is screen tearing?

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What causes screen tearing?

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Are you having problems with screen tearing on your PC or Mac? Screen tearing appears as a horizontal line on the screen where the bottom half of the image is not in sync with the top half. It usually occurs when playing video games or watching videos. It may last only for a few frames, or it may be a persistent glitch throughout a gaming session. If you are experiencing this issue, there's usually an easy fix. This wikiHow article teaches you how to fix screen tearing on any computer.

How to Fix Screen Tearing

Adjust your display resolution and refresh rate to see if it fixes the problem.
You can also fix screen tearing by enabling or disabling V-sync or lowering your GPU refresh rate.
Update your graphics drivers. If that doesn’t work, reinstall them.

Section 1 of 3:

How to Fix Screen Tearing

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1
Change your resolution and refresh rate. One of the first ways to try to fix screen tearing is to adjust your computer's screen resolution and refresh rate. Adjusting your display settings to something more compatible with your GPU can fix or reduce the screen tearing you see. Use the following steps to do so:
- Windows:^{[1]
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  - Click the Windows Start menu.
  - Click the Settings icon.
  - Click System.
  - Click Display.
  - Click Advanced display
  - Click Display adapter properties for Display 1.
  - Click List All Modes in the pop-up window.
  - Select a different resolution and display mode and click Ok.
  - Try different display modes to see which works best with little or no screen tearing.
- Mac:^{[2]
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  - Click the Apple icon.
  - Click System Settings.
  - Click Displays.
  - Use the drop-down menu next to "Refresh Rate" to select a different refresh rate.
  - Click Ok.
  - Try different refresh rates to find one with little or no screen tearing. You can also try changing the screen.
2
Turn V-Sync on or off. V-sync is a feature that comes with newer graphics cards. It is designed to eliminate screen tearing by syncing your monitor's refresh rate with your GPU. Sometimes V-Sync increases input lag. If your GPU comes with V-Sync, you might be able to fix screen tearing by enabling it. If you've already enabled V-Sync, try turning it off to see if that fixes the problems. Use one of the following options to turn V-Sync on or off:
- Game Settings:
  - If you are experiencing screen tearing with a particular game, open the settings menu for that game and locate the graphics settings. See if there is an option to enable or disable V-Sync for that game.
- NVIDIA Graphics Cards:
  - Right-click on your desktop and click Show more options.
  - Click NVIDIA Control Panel.
  - Expand 3D Settings.
  - Click Manage 3D Settings.
  - Use the drop-down menu next to "Vertical Sync" to turn V-Sync on or off.
- AMD Graphics Cards:
  - Right-click on your desktop and click Show more options.
  - Click AMD Software: Adrenaline Edition.
  - Click the Gaming tab at the top.
  - Click the Graphics tab at the top.
  - Use the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner to select Advanced View.
  - Use the drop-down menu next to “Wait for vertical refresh” to select “Always on” or “Always off.”
  - Alternatively, you can select the game you are experiencing problems with on the Home tab and turn “AMD FreeSync” on or off for that game.
- Intel Graphics Cards:^{[3]
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  - Open the Intel Graphics Command Center.
  - Click the Home tab.
  - Select a game under "My Games."
  - Click Custom to create a custom profile for that game.
  - Set the vertical sync option to Always On or Always Off.
  - Click Apply.
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3
Change your GPU refresh rate. Another way to limit screen tearing is to set the refresh rate output on your graphics card to a setting that's equal to or lower than your monitor's refresh rate. If you are not sure what your monitor's maximum refresh rate is, set the GPU refresh rate to a lower frame rate, like 120 Hz or 60 Hz. You may be able to enable or disable V-Sync in the Graphics Settings menu for a particular game, or use one of the following steps to enable or disable V-Sync with your graphics card settings:
- NVIDIA Graphics Cards:
  - Right-click on your desktop and click Show more options.
  - Click NVIDIA Control Panel.
  - Expand 3D Settings.
  - Click Manage 3D Settings.
  - Click Max Frame Rate:
  - Click the radio option next to "On."
  - Use the slider bar to set the maximum refresh rate.
- AMD Graphics Cards:
  - Right-click on your desktop and click Show more options.
  - Click AMD Software: Adrenaline Edition.
  - Click the Gaming tab at the top.
  - Click the Graphics tab at the top.
  - Use the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner to select Advanced View.
  - Click the toggle switch next to “Frame rate target control.”
  - Use the slider bar to adjust the target frame rate.
- Intel Graphics Cards:
  - Open the Intel Graphics Command Center.
  - Click the Display tab.
  - Click Custom next to "Resolution Settings."
  - Click Okay.
  - Enter the maximum number of frames per second next to "Refresh rate."
  - Click Okay.
You can also adjust the resolution and display settings for most games. If screen tearing only happens for one game, go into the game's display or graphics settings in its Settings menu and lower the resolution and refresh rate or frames per second (FPS) settings.
Many games have features limiting the maximum number of frames per second in the Graphics Settings menu. Enabling this may prevent screen tearing as it can keep your frame rate consistent with your monitor. However, it can interfere with the rendering process. Try going into the Settings menu and turning this feature on or off to see if it fixes the screen tearing.
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Update your graphics driver. If your graphics driver is outdated or corrupt, it can cause screen tearing. Try updating your graphics driver to see if it fixes the problem. If you are using a Mac, you’ll need to update macOS in order to update your drivers. Use the following steps to update your graphics drivers on Windows:
- Right-click the Windows Start menu.
- Click Device Manager.
- Click to expand Display Adapters.
- Right-click your graphics card driver.
- Click Update driver.
- Select Search automatically for drivers.
- Follow the prompts if an update is found.
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Reinstall the graphics driver. If updating your graphics driver doesn't fix the problem, try reinstalling. To do so, you will need to uninstall the current driver, download the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website, and install them. This will be different depending on what graphics card model you have. Use the following steps to reinstall your graphics card driver:
- Right-click the Windows Start menu.
- Click Device Manager.
- Click to expand Display Adapters.
- Right-click your graphics card driver.
- Click Uninstall driver.
- Download the latest graphics drivers from your graphics card manufacturer's website.
- Open the installation file in your Downloads folder.
- Follow the instructions to install the graphics drivers.
8
Turn off Game Mode in Windows. Game Mode, a feature introduced in Windows 10, improves gaming performance and allows you to stream and record your gameplay. However, there have been some reports that it can cause screen tearing. Use the following steps to turn off Game Mode::
- Windows:
  - Click the Windows Start menu.
  - Click the Settings icon.
  - Click Gaming.
  - Click Game Mode.
  - Click the toggle switch to turn Game Mode off.
- Mac:
  - Click the controller icon in the menu bar at the top.
  - Click Turn game mode off.
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Turn off power saving mode. Most laptops have a power-saving mode, which limits performance to save battery life. This can cause screen tearing on your laptop. If you are gaming on a laptop, it's best to keep it plugged in and select a high-performance mode. Make sure your laptop is plugged in and not running off the battery. Use the following steps to change your laptop's power settings mode:
- Press the Windows Key + R to open Run.
- Type "powercfg.cpl" into Run and click Ok.
- Click the radio option next to High performance or Ultimate performance.
- Reboot your computer.
If you are using a KVM switch to control multiple computers with a single keyboard and monitor, make sure your KVM switch supports higher frame rates. If it doesn’t, you may want to connect to your computer directly or upgrade your KVM switch.
If nothing is working, it may be time to upgrade your graphics card and/or monitor. You can purchase and install and new graphics card that better suits your needs.
If you have an older or cheap monitor, you may experience screen tearing. Upgrade to a monitor that supports a higher frame rate. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, make sure you get a monitor that supports G-Sync. If you have an AMD graphics card, make sure you get a monitor that supports FreeSync.

Section 2 of 3:

What is screen tearing?

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Tearing appears as a visual line that divides the top half of the image from the bottom half. It often occurs with high-refresh-rate monitors while gaming and watching videos. Screen tearing can also occur on standard 60 GHz refresh-rate monitors as well. Tearing usually only appears for a few quick frames but can be persistent. If you're gaming, screen tearing can cause problems with input lag. Over time, screen tearing can cause eye strain.

Section 3 of 3:

What causes screen tearing?

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When your GPU isn't synced with your monitor refresh rate, you'll see screen tearing. This results in your monitor only being able to render partial images. Your GPU or CPU is processing more frames than your computer monitor can handle. This usually occurs when your GPU is under a heavy workload, such as when you are playing a graphics-intensive game or have many tasks running in the background.^{[4]
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