Screen Tearing Please Help

[momobordz]

Hi. I just added a new GPU to my unit. Currently I am playing Dragon's Dogma. Everything was OK after a few days of playing and then decided to change some in game settings. I turned OFF V-Snyc and now I can see that my screen is tearing whenever I make any movement (character/movement). Turning it back ON solves the issue. So I just want to know why its happening? Thank you!

Specs:

Intel G4400
Palit GTX 750Ti StormX
4Gb DDR4
GA-B150M-D3H
15.6 Inch Monitor

In Game Settings:

Resolution: 1280x768
Everything is in MEDIUM
FPS is set to 60
Monitor Refresh Rate 85Mhz

 

[dragonoar]

That's just what VSYNC does.
It limits the FPS to 60 or sometimes 30 so it matches with your monitor's refresh rate.
That way you won't get screen tearing.

 

[Eximo]

Yep, working as intended. When you turn off V-sync the GPU is free to render as many frames as possible. If it is capable of a lot of frames, you are probably seeing 2 or 3 runt frames per cycle, which would be pretty annoying.

If your game has a built in frame limiter that you can set, you might be able to make it slightly better by setting up ratios of double or triple as the maximum, but only if you can maintain that output. Otherwise it will still look odd.

 

[momobordz]

@Eximo: so if vsync is OFF and gpu is free to render as many frames possible my monitor cant handle it that's why im seeing the tearing?

 

[Eximo]

It is not that your monitor can't handle it (though it can't, otherwise this wouldn't be a problem) it is about how monitors work.

At the start of the refresh cycle the monitor will grab whatever is in the frame buffer and start drawing it. If the GPU re-renders that buffer, it will start drawing that instead without stopping. That is why you can see the tearing.

V-sync means the GPU and Monitor are always starting the draw with a single frame and completing it. The GPU timing will make sure there is a complete frame for the monitor to pick up on the next cycle. At 85Hz you will see 85FPS, constantly, as long as your system can maintain that output. Adaptive V-Sync can further this by doubling up frames at, normally 30, 40, and 50Hz, I think. Been a while since I targeted less the 60FPS.

The downside to V-sync and Adaptive Sync is that they are not real time and this introduces input lag in to the system. What you see isn't what is necessarily happening in the game engine in real time.

G-Sync and FreeSync are extended versions of this. G-sync with its special module completely replaces the scalar in the monitor. This lets the GPU completely control the refresh rate of the monitor so that it draws when the GPU wants and prevents tearing that way. Free-Sync uses a feature built into the Display port standard to accomplish a similar feat at a lesser cost. I believe G-Sync has a significant input lag reduction since they control the entire pipeline, but the difference is minor.

You should disable V-Sync when you want the best possible reaction times, or your system can't maintain 85FPS (in your case)