Short answer for FPS games like Rocket League or others.
Short answer for FPS games like Rocket League or others.
OFC you experience no tearing when using VSync. I was referring to tearing by simply adjusting your FPS to match your monitor's refresh rate. I also mentioned VSync in my earlier response. Also, capturing gameplay in this way eliminates the tearing because the encoder handles the video processing so effectively that it’s nearly impossible to distinguish from the original footage. At higher refresh rates, the tearing becomes much less apparent than at 60Hz, although it still remains present. Whether you notice it depends on you. However, it becomes even harder to see if you push your FPS to its maximum. It’s most noticeable in games where your FPS often drops below your monitor's refresh rate. Half-Life 2 is an older title where stable high FPS is achievable consistently, whereas newer games with greater frame time variation show more pronounced tearing.
Look, I’m not trying to persuade you to uncap your FPS. If you’re satisfied with the outcome, feel free to proceed. What I’m emphasizing is that some tearing will always occur if you cap your FPS to match your monitor’s refresh rate—this was clearly explained in your previous message. So I don’t know what else to add.
I can try to elaborate a bit more...
If your monitor lacks an adaptive refresh rate, such as a 60Hz display, each frame will appear at irregular intervals—around 16.66ms. If you’re running a game at 60FPS, it doesn’t automatically mean every frame is rendered every 16.66ms. You might see 40 frames in half a second and 20 frames in another half-second. This can be an extreme case, but it’s not unusual. Such behavior would not only cause severe tearing but also noticeable stuttering.
In simpler games, frame times usually stay close to the 16.66ms range for 60FPS/60Hz gameplay, making tearing very hard to detect. In more demanding titles, frame times will be significantly off, which further reduces the visibility of tearing.
The second video demonstrates that VSync is disabled. The tearing is evident, which supports the reason I previously mentioned about enabling VSync in Half-Life 2. However, this is what you stated earlier. The video also confirms my FPS remains locked at 144. You mentioned that you cannot sync FPS with your monitor unless you use adaptive refresh rate sync such as FreeSync or GSync. But the video clearly shows a fixed 144 fps. You can still use VSync without needing those technologies, and using a controller like mine avoids input lag when applying VSync. This is why I emphasized it before. It’s not about forcing a higher FPS; it’s about matching your hardware capabilities. If I can only reach around 85 fps in a game on a 144 Hz display, I should cap at 85, not 144. When I play at that level, my FPS stays synced to 85, and tearing appears only in certain titles. Some games tear while others don’t. If all games tore under this setup, I’d always rely on VSync. I seldom use it just because I rarely see tearing. As you discussed and illustrated, it really depends on the game.
What do you really mean by this? It sounds like the game's frame rate matches your monitor's refresh rate.
No need to yell, this is a mere discussion. Don't let my doltish mind upset you. Sure arguing is occurring but I'd rather them be calm arguments than loud ones.
I see what you're saying but what I am telling you is that this tearing that you speak of simply does not always occur in every game that I play with VSync off. If it did, as you say it does, then VSync would be on in every game I play, which it is not.
In Half-Life 2, tearing occurs. So I turn on VSync and the tearing disappears. In GTA 5, no tearing occurs. And I have always had VSync off in GTA 5. And In the many years that I have been playing GTA 5 with VSync off, I have not seen a single tear.
Trust me, I'd like for what you're saying to be true. Even if what you are saying is true mathematically, with those 16 ms and 0.5s numbers you are using. What I'm telling you is that the tearing that you speak of is not true in every game that I play. Meaning that you might have the math right, but this math is not translating into any tearing in all games.
What you could do is explain why I'm not seeing this tearing that you speak of in GTA 5. Because it simply does not exist. And I know exactly what tearing looks like.
As a supplementary explanation of the process, the screen operates through several phases when processing and presenting information. There are three main phases for displaying data:
V Blank
H Blank
Actually capturing and presenting the information
This practice originates from CRT technology, where an electron beam would sweep across the screen. V Blank occurs when the magnets directing the beam return to their initial position, while H Blank happens when the magnets shift from the right to the left side. In both instances, the beam is switched off (hence "blank"). V Blank also signals that a new frame is ready for display. According to my understanding, all display standards continue this pattern, probably to maintain compatibility (DVI functions as digital VGA and HDMI is derived from DVI) or due to established conventions.
Within the graphics card, there exist two frame buffers (though sometimes three), namely the front buffer and the back buffer. The display reads from the front buffer while the GPU creates a new frame in the back buffer. Once the frame is complete, the two buffers exchange positions. This transition can occur at any time, which is the source of tearing: when the swap happens outside the V Blank interval.
In theory, if the frame buffer swap occurs during the V Blank phase, tearing will not appear. The refresh rate depends on how frequently the V Blanking cycle takes place. Therefore, frame timing must align with the V Blank period to achieve smooth video without tears. However, it’s not always certain that the swap will happen at V Blank, which is why V Sync intervenes. It compels the graphics card to pause until the V Blank phase before proceeding with the buffer swap.
EDIT:
An additional point is that with three frame buffers (triple buffering), tearing becomes unnecessary. With three buffers, there’s an extra back buffer. The GPU renders between these two back buffers. During the V Blank period, the front buffer is replaced by the last completed back buffer.
Note: In Windows 10, all applications utilize triple buffering. Consequently, playing games in windowed or borderless fullscreen automatically benefits from this technique.