Guide
How to Check a New Monitor Before the Return Window Closes
Dead pixels, backlight bleed and IPS glow are three different things with three different verdicts. Here is…
Screen Tearing Test
Scrolls high-contrast bars so you can see whether your display tears — the horizontal seam that appears without V-Sync.
Screen Tests
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The test starts automatically — follow the prompts above.
In short
Tearing is the horizontal seam that appears when the display refreshes part-way through a frame being drawn, so the top of the screen shows the old frame and the bottom shows the new one. The join is the tear, and it moves up and down the screen because the mismatch drifts. It happens whenever the frame rate and the refresh rate are not synchronised, which is the default state without any sync technology. There are three fixes and they are not equivalent. V-Sync eliminates tearing by making the graphics card wait for the display, which costs roughly a frame and a half of latency — noticeable in a fast game and irrelevant for video. G-Sync and FreeSync eliminate it by making the DISPLAY wait for the graphics card instead, which costs nothing in latency and is the better answer where the hardware supports it. Capping the frame rate slightly below the refresh rate helps as a partial measure. If you have adaptive sync hardware, the only thing to check is that it is actually enabled in both the driver and the monitor's own menu, because it is frequently off by default.
How to use the Screen Tearing Test
- The test starts on its own — no button to press and nothing to install.
- Follow the prompt in the test panel and watch the readings update live.
- Press Reset to start over with a clean slate.
About the Screen Tearing Test
The Screen Tearing Test scrolls high-contrast bars so you can see whether your display tears — the horizontal seam that appears without V-Sync. It runs as plain JavaScript inside the page, which means there is no upload step, no queue and no size limit imposed by a server — the only limit is your own device.
What people use it for
- Confirming tearing before changing a V-Sync setting.
- Checking whether adaptive sync is actually engaging.
- Comparing two monitors.
Press Fullscreen above before judging anything. A colour patch surrounded by page furniture tells you very little — the panel needs to be filling the whole screen, ideally in a dark room, with any night-light or blue-light filter switched off.
Explained in our guides
All guidesFrequently asked questions
What causes tearing?
The display refreshing part-way through a frame being drawn, so the top of the screen shows the old frame and the bottom the new one. The join is the tear.
How do I get rid of it?
V-Sync eliminates it but adds roughly a frame and a half of latency. G-Sync or FreeSync eliminate it without that cost, which is the better answer if your monitor supports it.
Is the Screen Tearing Test free, or is there a paid tier?
It is free, with no account, no trial and no daily cap. Every screen tests tool on inputtesthub.com works the same way: open the page and use it.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. The Screen Tearing Test runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your input never reaches inputtesthub.com or any third party — open your browser's Network tab while you use it and you will see no request go out.
What is the Screen Tearing Test used for?
The most common reasons people reach for it: confirming tearing before changing a V-Sync setting. Checking whether adaptive sync is actually engaging. Comparing two monitors. It is built for exactly those cases rather than being a general-purpose tool with this bolted on.
What do people usually get wrong here?
Press Fullscreen above before judging anything. A colour patch surrounded by page furniture tells you very little — the panel needs to be filling the whole screen, ideally in a dark room, with any night-light or blue-light filter switched off.
Do I need to install anything to run this test?
No installation, no extension and no driver. The Screen Tearing Test uses the browser's own device APIs and begins as soon as the page loads, so there is nothing to press first. Press Reset at any point to start over with a clean slate.
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