16

I am fairly new to Linux and Ubuntu. Just swapped it with Windows 10 on my ASUS ZenBook S13 yesterday.

I noticed a LOT of screen tearing, not only in videos with fast moves but even when I hover over files in the archive manager or scroll in Firefox (yes, I have already activated the Firefox internal VSync option).

I tried a few things such as Tear Free true in the 20-intel.conf file. This option fixed my tearing issue and brought up another, bigger issue. Just look what it does to my desktop. But these are only on my desktop, not on other windows like the browser and they vary, sometimes they are 3.

Wayland seems to fix this issue too, but there are several reasons why I don't want to use Wayland, such as no fractional scaling, worse anti-aliasing and a weird bug with the cursor where it is double the size on system windows like the Terminal or Settings.

When I activate other options in the 20-intel.conf file, such as Triple buffer true or Accel method uxa, I am unable to log in, only when I use Wayland.

My expectation is, that I can use normal Ubuntu (no Wayland) without any screen tearing.

I have provided information about my VGA controller and the current state of my 20-intel.conf file below.

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
        DeviceName: VGA
        Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake)
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 146
        Memory at b0000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        Memory at a0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        I/O ports at 3000 [size=64]
        Expansion ROM at 000c0000 [virtual] [disabled] [size=128K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: i915
        Kernel modules: i915

20-intel.conf:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "Intel Graphics"
    Driver "intel"
#   Option "AccelMethod" "uxa"
    Option "TearFree" "true"
#   Option "TripleBuffer "true"
EndSection
René Jörg Spies
  • 313

5 Answers5

19

This didn't work for me, unfortunately. I was able to fix with modifying my /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel-graphics.conf file to include DRI3, which I found here

Section "Module"
    Load "dri3"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "Intel Graphics"
    Driver      "intel"
    Option      "DRI"   "3"
EndSection
Jaroslav Hranička
  • 3
Jkasnese
  • 328
3

I resolved this issue by replacing /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf with /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf containing the following configuration:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "Intel Graphics"
    Driver "modesetting"
EndSection

I have no more tearing and I am able to use waylandfree Ubuntu. :)

Hope this helps anyone!

P.S.: I tested the tearing using this YouTube video (epilepsy warning!) and moving windows around as if I had a stroke.

René Jörg Spies
  • 313
2

None of the above worked for me, but I found something simple that did:

xrandr --output HDMI3 --transform 1,0,-1,0,1,-1,0,0,1

This shifts the screen one pixel down and one to the right. I do lose one row and one column of pixels, but it prevents the mouse pointer from hitting the left or top edges, which is what seems to trigger this behavior in my case.

user1083299
  • 21
0

You can try disabling aspect ratio in SMplayer or other player in Xorg, this fixed it for me.

Edit: have you tried using a compositor? like kwin/Picom , can easily fix tearing, works with AMD too

haytham-med
  • 409
0

I am using Xubuntu 18.04 and have the following Intel graphics:

$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Card: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics Controller
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) driver: intel Resolution: 1920x1080@59.93hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 400 (BSW) version: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.8

I had to add/change the following file here:

/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf

The location might vary for 20.04 or newer version of Ubuntu.

The file contents look like this:

Section "Module"
    Load "dri3"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "Intel Graphics"
    Driver      "intel"
    Option      "DRI"   "3"

    Option "AccelMethod" "sna"
    Option "TearFree" "true"
EndSection

With this configuration screen tearing disappearad for me, tested with the Steam Link software package and playing some of games.

Options taken from older answers and from https://bodhilinux.boards.net/thread/277/screen-tearing-issue-solved

SSB
  • 113