V-Sync Explained: How Frame Synchronisation Solves Screen Tearing at a Performance Cost

Screen tearing is a common visual artefact in PC gaming that occurs when a graphics card's rendering speed outpaces a monitor's fixed refresh rate, causing multiple frames to display simultaneously on screen and creating a jagged, horizontal split image. The underlying issue stems from a fundamental timing mismatch between how quickly a GPU processes frames and how often a display refreshes to show new content.

V-Sync technology addresses this problem by synchronising a game's frame output directly to the monitor's refresh cycle, effectively eliminating screen tearing. Beyond visual improvements, enabling V-Sync can also reduce the workload on a graphics card, potentially lowering power consumption and heat generation. However, this solution comes with trade-offs: the technology may introduce stuttering during gameplay and reduce the responsiveness of in-game controls, effects that vary depending on system configuration and game performance.