Horrible screen tearing in any game on Cinnamon 21.3 X11

[pepperfresh]

After disabling the onboard Intel graphics from the UEFI settings...

Did the xrandr --verbose output change?
What is the output of inxi -Gxxxz?
Just wondering if there is a way to diagnose the issue using the data.

In a dual-GPU system (such as a laptop with Optimus), I'm pretty sure in the Nvidia X Server settings show both GPUs and the screens for both (but it's been a while since I've seen one so I could be wrong). Your image does not show that. What happens with some of these desktops with dual GPUs is sometimes they act similar to an Optimus-style laptop, but other times they do not. It's my understanding that it depends on how the motherboard is designed as to how it shows up in Linux-based distros.

Xrandr verbose:

Code: Select all

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 5120 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
DVI-D-0 connected 1920x1080+3200+0 (0x1bf) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 160mm x 90mm
	Identifier: 0x1bc
	Timestamp:  23826
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
	Brightness: 1.0
	Clones:    
	CRTC:       1
	CRTCs:      0 1 2 3
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	_MUTTER_PRESENTATION_OUTPUT: 0 
	CTM: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		0 1 
	CscMatrix: 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff004c2dfc0800000000
		29150103801009780aee91a3544c9926
		0f5054bdee0081c00101010101010101
		010101010101662156aa51001e30468f
		3300a05a0000001e011d007251d01e20
		6e285500a05a0000001e000000fd0018
		4b0f4417000a202020202020000000fc
		0053414d53554e470a2020202020016d
		02031ff1478405031020220723090707
		83010000e2000f67030c002000b82d01
		1d8018711c1620582c2500a05a000000
		9e8c0ad08a20e02d10103e9600a05a00
		000018023a801871382d40582c4500a0
		5a0000001e0000000000000000000000
		00000000000000000000000000000000
		000000000000000000000000000000ed
	BorderDimensions: 4 
		supported: 4
	Border: 0 0 0 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	SignalFormat: TMDS 
		supported: TMDS
	ConnectorType: DVI-D 
	ConnectorNumber: 0 
	_ConnectorLocation: 0 
	non-desktop: 0 
		supported: 0, 1
  1366x768 (0x1bd) 85.500MHz +HSync +VSync +preferred
        h: width  1366 start 1436 end 1579 total 1792 skew    0 clock  47.71KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  774 total  798           clock  59.79Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1be) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  60.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1bf) 148.350MHz +HSync +VSync *current
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.43KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  59.94Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1c0) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.72KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  29.97Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1c1) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2558 end 2602 total 2750 skew    0 clock  26.97KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  23.98Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1c2) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.75KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1124           clock  60.05Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1c3) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.72KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1124           clock  60.00Hz
  1280x720 (0x1c4) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  45.00KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  60.00Hz
  1280x720 (0x1c5) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  44.96KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  59.94Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c6) 78.750MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1040 end 1136 total 1312 skew    0 clock  60.02KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  800           clock  75.03Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c7) 75.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1328 skew    0 clock  56.48KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  70.07Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c8) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0x1c9) 49.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total 1056 skew    0 clock  46.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  604 total  625           clock  75.00Hz
  800x600 (0x1ca) 50.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  856 end  976 total 1040 skew    0 clock  48.08KHz
        v: height  600 start  637 end  643 total  666           clock  72.19Hz
  800x600 (0x1cb) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  720x480 (0x1cc) 27.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   720 start  736 end  798 total  858 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  489 end  495 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  640x480 (0x1cd) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  840 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  500           clock  75.00Hz
  640x480 (0x1ce) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  696 total  832 skew    0 clock  37.86KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  520           clock  72.81Hz
  640x480 (0x1cf) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
HDMI-0 connected primary 1920x1080+1280+0 (0x1be) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 480mm x 270mm
	Identifier: 0x1d0
	Timestamp:  23826
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
	Brightness: 1.0
	Clones:    
	CRTC:       0
	CRTCs:      0 1 2 3
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	_MUTTER_PRESENTATION_OUTPUT: 0 
	CTM: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		0 1 
	CscMatrix: 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff001e6db85a01010101
		0118010380301b78ea3135a5554ea126
		0c5054a54b00714f81809500b300a9c0
		810081c09040023a801871382d40582c
		4500e00e1100001e000000fd00384b1e
		530f000a202020202020000000fc004c
		47204950532046554c4c4844000000ff
		000a2020202020202020202020200164
		02031df14a900403011412051f101323
		0907078301000065030c001000023a80
		1871382d40582c4500e00e1100001e01
		1d8018711c1620582c2500e00e110000
		9e011d007251d01e206e285500e00e11
		00001e8c0ad08a20e02d10103e9600e0
		0e110000180000000000000000000000
		000000000000000000000000000000ae
	BorderDimensions: 4 
		supported: 4
	Border: 0 0 0 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	SignalFormat: TMDS 
		supported: TMDS
	ConnectorType: HDMI 
	ConnectorNumber: 3 
	_ConnectorLocation: 3 
	non-desktop: 0 
		supported: 0, 1
  1920x1080 (0x1be) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync *current +preferred
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  60.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1bf) 148.350MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.43KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  59.94Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1d1) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2448 end 2492 total 2640 skew    0 clock  56.25KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  50.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1c2) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.75KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1124           clock  60.05Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1c3) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.72KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1124           clock  60.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0x1d2) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2448 end 2492 total 2640 skew    0 clock  28.12KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1124           clock  50.04Hz
  1680x1050 (0x1d3) 146.250MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1680 start 1784 end 1960 total 2240 skew    0 clock  65.29KHz
        v: height 1050 start 1053 end 1059 total 1089           clock  59.95Hz
  1600x900 (0x1d4) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1600 start 1624 end 1704 total 1800 skew    0 clock  60.00KHz
        v: height  900 start  901 end  904 total 1000           clock  60.00Hz
  1440x900 (0x1d5) 106.500MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1440 start 1520 end 1672 total 1904 skew    0 clock  55.93KHz
        v: height  900 start  903 end  909 total  934           clock  59.89Hz
  1400x1050 (0x1d6) 121.750MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1400 start 1488 end 1632 total 1864 skew    0 clock  65.32KHz
        v: height 1050 start 1053 end 1057 total 1089           clock  59.98Hz
  1280x1024 (0x1d7) 135.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1296 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  79.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  75.02Hz
  1280x1024 (0x1d8) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1328 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  63.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  60.02Hz
  1280x800 (0x1d9) 83.500MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1352 end 1480 total 1680 skew    0 clock  49.70KHz
        v: height  800 start  803 end  809 total  831           clock  59.81Hz
  1280x720 (0x1c4) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  45.00KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  60.00Hz
  1280x720 (0x1c5) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  44.96KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  59.94Hz
  1280x720 (0x1da) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1720 end 1760 total 1980 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  50.00Hz
  1152x864 (0x1db) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1152 start 1216 end 1344 total 1600 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height  864 start  865 end  868 total  900           clock  75.00Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c6) 78.750MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1040 end 1136 total 1312 skew    0 clock  60.02KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  800           clock  75.03Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c8) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0x1c9) 49.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total 1056 skew    0 clock  46.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  604 total  625           clock  75.00Hz
  800x600 (0x1cb) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  720x576 (0x1dc) 27.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   720 start  732 end  796 total  864 skew    0 clock  31.25KHz
        v: height  576 start  581 end  586 total  625           clock  50.00Hz
  720x480 (0x1cc) 27.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   720 start  736 end  798 total  858 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  489 end  495 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  640x480 (0x1cd) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  840 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  500           clock  75.00Hz
  640x480 (0x1cf) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  640x480 (0x1dd) 25.170MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.46KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.93Hz
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	Identifier: 0x1de
	Timestamp:  23826
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Clones:    
	CRTCs:      0 1 2 3
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	CTM: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		0 1 
	CscMatrix: 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 
	BorderDimensions: 4 
		supported: 4
	Border: 0 0 0 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	SignalFormat: DisplayPort 
		supported: DisplayPort
	ConnectorType: DisplayPort 
	ConnectorNumber: 4 
	_ConnectorLocation: 4 
	non-desktop: 0 
		supported: 0, 1
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	Identifier: 0x1df
	Timestamp:  23826
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Clones:    
	CRTCs:      0 1 2 3
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	CTM: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		0 1 
	CscMatrix: 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 
	BorderDimensions: 4 
		supported: 4
	Border: 0 0 0 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	SignalFormat: TMDS 
		supported: TMDS
	ConnectorType: DisplayPort 
	ConnectorNumber: 4 
	_ConnectorLocation: 4 
	non-desktop: 0 
		supported: 0, 1
DVI-D-1 connected 1280x1024+0+56 (0x1d8) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 376mm x 301mm
	Identifier: 0x1e0
	Timestamp:  23826
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
	Brightness: 1.0
	Clones:    
	CRTC:       2
	CRTCs:      0 1 2 3
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	_MUTTER_PRESENTATION_OUTPUT: 0 
	CTM: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		0 1 
	CscMatrix: 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 0 0 0 65536 0 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff001ef9b407d7010000
		0a120103e8261e78eaa2a5a3574c9d25
		115054afcf0081800101010101010101
		010101010101302a009851002a403070
		1300782d1100001e000000ff004d5738
		383330303437310a2020000000fc0046
		5044313936350a2020202020000000fd
		00384b1e530e000a202020202020003f
	BorderDimensions: 4 
		supported: 4
	Border: 0 0 0 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	SignalFormat: TMDS 
		supported: TMDS
	ConnectorType: DVI-D 
	ConnectorNumber: 2 
	_ConnectorLocation: 2 
	non-desktop: 0 
		supported: 0, 1
  1280x1024 (0x1d8) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync *current +preferred
        h: width  1280 start 1328 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  63.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  60.02Hz
  1280x1024 (0x1d7) 135.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1296 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  79.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  75.02Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c6) 78.750MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1040 end 1136 total 1312 skew    0 clock  60.02KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  800           clock  75.03Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c7) 75.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1328 skew    0 clock  56.48KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  70.07Hz
  1024x768 (0x1c8) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0x1c9) 49.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total 1056 skew    0 clock  46.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  604 total  625           clock  75.00Hz
  800x600 (0x1ca) 50.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  856 end  976 total 1040 skew    0 clock  48.08KHz
        v: height  600 start  637 end  643 total  666           clock  72.19Hz
  800x600 (0x1cb) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  800x600 (0x1e1) 36.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  824 end  896 total 1024 skew    0 clock  35.16KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  603 total  625           clock  56.25Hz
  640x480 (0x1cd) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  840 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  500           clock  75.00Hz
  640x480 (0x1ce) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  696 total  832 skew    0 clock  37.86KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  520           clock  72.81Hz
  640x480 (0x1cf) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz

Inxi:

Code: Select all

Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GP106 [GeForce GTX 1060 3GB] vendor: Gigabyte
    driver: nvidia v: 545.29.06 pcie: speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 ports:
    active: none off: DVI-D-1,DVI-D-2,HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:1c02 class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.4 driver: X: loaded: nvidia
    unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa gpu: nvidia display-ID: :0
    screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 5120x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 1355x286mm (53.3x11.3")
    s-diag: 1385mm (54.5")
  Monitor-1: DVI-D-0 pos: top-right res: 1920x1080 dpi: 305
    size: 160x90mm (6.3x3.5") diag: 184mm (7.2")
  Monitor-2: DVI-D-1 pos: bottom-l res: 1280x1024 hz: 60 dpi: 86
    size: 376x301mm (14.8x11.9") diag: 482mm (19")
  Monitor-3: HDMI-0 pos: primary,top-center res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 102
    size: 480x270mm (18.9x10.6") diag: 551mm (21.7")
  OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB/PCIe/SSE2
    v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 545.29.06 direct render: Yes

In the X Server screenshot I posted, the monitors on either end are the ones connected to the Intel graphics, and when selected they are shown as PRIME displays, and you're absolutely right that GPU-1, the Intel graphics, isn't displayed there. Right now, when using only the NVIDIA GPU, I can only connect one of the two 1280x1024 monitors (the one connected via DVI) as I haven't found a VGA adapter that works for the other one yet. I'd like to connect both in this manner for control so if I can find an adapter to get the other one going I'll post an xrandr and inxi of the four monitor configuration direct to the NVIDIA GPU as well.

[SMG]

xrandr verbose:

There is only CRTCs: 0 1 2 3 there which is what I would expect for an Nvidia-only system.

At least part of the mystery is solved if you are not presently getting screen tearing.

Going through this quite old description PRIME and PRIME Synchronization I see:

If for whatever reason you have support for PRIME Synchronization but wish to disable it, you may disable it via ‘xrandr –output --set “PRIME Synchronization” 0’ and re-enable it via ‘xrandr –output --set “PRIME Synchronization” 1’.

So maybe if you run that you can leave the monitor attached to Intel and maybe it will not cause problems. Maybe--that is a guess on my part.

The situation is your set-up does not need to go through Intel in order to display because your Nvidia GPU is not dependent on it like an Optimus laptop would be.

[Neigdoig]

Could it have been an issue with bad drivers? Maybe try this tutorial I had made, and see how it treats you: viewtopic.php?t=390919

[1000]

Could it have been an issue with bad drivers?

It depends on what you mean.
- Errors sometimes happen in the application. For example, supposedly, there were a lot of errors at the beginning of Ubuntu 22.04.
- We assume that correct driver is installed and loaded.
Of course, errors and some GRUB parameters may be important.
Because, for example, the principle of operation of a driver parameter can be very complicated.

[midigark]

I'm going to stick my nose in this for a moment. I'd just like to find out a few things that are niggling at my memory.

1.) Are you overclocking any part of the system?
2.) Do you have any overrides in the NVIDIA Settings->Application Profiles?
3.) How much system memory is dedicated to the onboard Intel graphics adapter?
4.) System Memory: Make/model/number of sticks/current configuration (XMP setting or raw timings)
5.) Do you have a convenient way to swap the two monitors on the Nvidia card
edit...
6.) Do either of these 1920x1080 monitors (especially the one that has tearing) have any settings for:
Nvidia Fast Sync
Nvidia GSync
FreeSync
Adaptive Sync?
If so, disable it on any and all monitors and set all to "Normal Sync". The same for the GTX-1060.

Mark

[SMG]

6.) You said that if you disable the Intel graphics adapter, you have no tearing. I was curious if you'd tried to set all of the monitors to 60Hz and then I saw this


1920x1080 (0x1c0) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew 0 clock 33.72KHz
v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125 clock 29.97Hz <---30Hz ??? which monitor is this?
1920x1080 (0x1c1) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2558 end 2602 total 2750 skew 0 clock 26.97KHz
v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125 clock 23.98Hz <--- 24Hz ??? which monitor is this?

7.) Are you somehow forcing these low refresh rates?

When reading xrandr output, *= current resolution and += preferred resolution. Neither of the resolutions you posted have either of those designations so neither are being used by any monitor.

No one is "forcing" any resolution. Those are the possible resolutions from the EDID of the monitor. That is what xrandr prints.

All the possible resolutions are listed for each specific port so if you want to know which monitor is being used, check the port from which you pulled that data.

[midigark]

Well, to be sure I missed that. Thank you for the correction.
But, the other items still stand. I will edit the post.

[pepperfresh]

xrandr verbose:

There is only CRTCs: 0 1 2 3 there which is what I would expect for an Nvidia-only system.

At least part of the mystery is solved if you are not presently getting screen tearing.

Going through this quite old description PRIME and PRIME Synchronization I see:

If for whatever reason you have support for PRIME Synchronization but wish to disable it, you may disable it via ‘xrandr –output --set “PRIME Synchronization” 0’ and re-enable it via ‘xrandr –output --set “PRIME Synchronization” 1’.

So maybe if you run that you can leave the monitor attached to Intel and maybe it will not cause problems. Maybe--that is a guess on my part.

The situation is your set-up does not need to go through Intel in order to display because your Nvidia GPU is not dependent on it like an Optimus laptop would be.

Sorry for the late reply. I just tried that command but xrandr does not recognize "PRIME Synchronization" as a valid option. Possibly something in xrandr has changed since that old post about PRIME Synchronization was made? Either way, I'm highly suspicious now that it's exactly what you said, NVIDIA feeding everything through the Intel graphics like it would on a laptop despite it not needing to be that way for this system.

[pepperfresh]

I'm going to stick my nose in this for a moment. I'd just like to find out a few things that are niggling at my memory.

1.) Are you overclocking any part of the system?
2.) Do you have any overrides in the NVIDIA Settings->Application Profiles?
3.) How much system memory is dedicated to the onboard Intel graphics adapter?
4.) System Memory: Make/model/number of sticks/current configuration (XMP setting or raw timings)
5.) Do you have a convenient way to swap the two monitors on the Nvidia card
edit...
6.) Do either of these 1920x1080 monitors (especially the one that has tearing) have any settings for:
Nvidia Fast Sync
Nvidia GSync
FreeSync
Adaptive Sync?
If so, disable it on any and all monitors and set all to "Normal Sync". The same for the GTX-1060.

Mark

Thanks for the reply! I'm not overclocking anything on this system presently, though XMP is enabled for the memory, and no overrides set in the Application Profiles. G-Sync also isn't enabled, but I can't find the settings for Fast Sync, FreeSync, and Adaptive Sync. Could you point me in the right direction to take a peek at those settings?

The Intel graphics adapter has the maximum available system memory allocated to it of 64MB. The UEFI settings don't allow for anything higher than that. System memory is two Corsair Vengeance LPX C16 8GB DIMMs of DDR4-3200/PC4-25600, timings of 16-20-20-38 in the XMP profile.

[pepperfresh]

6.) You said that if you disable the Intel graphics adapter, you have no tearing. I was curious if you'd tried to set all of the monitors to 60Hz and then I saw this


1920x1080 (0x1c0) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew 0 clock 33.72KHz
v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125 clock 29.97Hz <---30Hz ??? which monitor is this?
1920x1080 (0x1c1) 74.180MHz +HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2558 end 2602 total 2750 skew 0 clock 26.97KHz
v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125 clock 23.98Hz <--- 24Hz ??? which monitor is this?

7.) Are you somehow forcing these low refresh rates?

When reading xrandr output, *= current resolution and += preferred resolution. Neither of the resolutions you posted have either of those designations so neither are being used by any monitor.

No one is "forcing" any resolution. Those are the possible resolutions from the EDID of the monitor. That is what xrandr prints.

All the possible resolutions are listed for each specific port so if you want to know which monitor is being used, check the port from which you pulled that data.

The Gateway monitor (DVI to the Intel graphics) doesn't support a straight 60Hz, just 60.02 and 75.02, but I've tried setting both the LG and the Samsung monitors on the GTX 1060 to 60Hz. It didn't seem to make much if any difference.

[SMG]

Either way, I'm highly suspicious now that it's exactly what you said, NVIDIA feeding everything through the Intel graphics like it would on a laptop despite it not needing to be that way for this system.

Having helped quite a few people, I've found there are many different ways a motherboard manufacturer may set up these dual graphics possibilities. Perhaps check your motherboard manual to see what options are part of the design? That might give you some ideas of what to try.

[midigark]

Hi, late back at this.

For the monitors, your best bet is to check the make/model number on the manufacturers website and download the user guide. Also, find the sales blurb and it will usually (always) promote if the monitor has any sort of advanced sync.
Fast
Adaptive
FreeSync
G-Sync (always because this normally drives the price of the monitor price up $75 to $100 or more)

For instance: Without any sort of licensing agreement or extra fees, My PIXIO 27" performs most of the G-Sync original tricks. No idea how they managed it, but it was clearly presented on several reviews and worked with my GTX-1660S like a charm. So, you can never tell what the monitor will actually do by guessing.

Locating the sync settings on the monitor should not be that difficult. Enter the OSD (On Screen Display) setup by pressing either the most left (typical) or most right button (avoid the power button) to get started. if you can see the button icons on the monitor, two should have +/- or ^/v (up/down) that will allow you to navigate the display menus / features and one of them will select a function - then you can use the +/- | ^/v to change that setting. Sync features should be on a page that sets basic monitor functions like display size and refresh rates. Dig around, it will be educational. Having the user guide will make all this much easier.

A warning on the side about laptops with hybrid graphics.
A friend of mine had a really nice MSI laptop with an Intel / GTX-970 setup. She was happy, in general, with the display until she mentioned that she was only getting 16 FPS. It turned out that she never setup any of the profiles, so it never switched to the "Hi Performance 3D Adapter". Once we figured that out, she said some very unkind things about the guy that sold it to her. He said, "Yes, it's already setup for gaming, nothing to worry about."

With the correct settings, she was getting 140 FPS and the full shader quality that the Intel could not match. Unfortunately, this led to problem #2.

Not thinking about the heat generated by the 970, she had the laptop on the couch and inadvertently tossed a blanket on the back of the couch, which fell on the laptop, covering it completely. About 10 minutes later, she smelled something like plastic burning. The laptop had started melting the micro-fiber blanket and destroyed the cooling fan. It was rattling around like marbles in a dishwasher. The laptop survived and the fan cost was only $17. The odd part was that it only took 4 screws on the bottom to remove the fan assembly and it took less than 15 minutes to change. You would never be able to use this think on your lap, unless you were wearing long asbestos pants.

We never had to tackle a dual monitor setup, so not much help here.
Best of luck, you are being helped by some great minds.

[pepperfresh]

Either way, I'm highly suspicious now that it's exactly what you said, NVIDIA feeding everything through the Intel graphics like it would on a laptop despite it not needing to be that way for this system.

Having helped quite a few people, I've found there are many different ways a motherboard manufacturer may set up these dual graphics possibilities. Perhaps check your motherboard manual to see what options are part of the design? That might give you some ideas of what to try.

I dug through the manual from MSI and the only references to the integrated graphics are enabling/disabling IGD multi-monitor mode, which essentially allows the integrated graphics to continue to function for multiple monitors even when a PCI-E graphics device is installed (when disabled the IGD doesn't work at all), along with which graphics device is initialized on bootup, as well as the memory allocation up to 64MB, and something called GT Ratio for adjusting the frequency of the integrated graphics which I've never messed with.

At this point, I think I'm going to fallback on just using the NVIDIA graphics standalone and disabling the Intel graphics from the UEFI settings. I'm going to be swapping to a new video card in the coming weeks which is likely going to set me back at square one when it comes to all these settings in the X Server anyways, but realistically there's no reason I need to be using IGD multi-monitor mode, that was just a relic of how I'd had things set up in Windows 7/10 that I didn't think of when I started noticing the tearing in Mint and originally created this thread.

As far as the cause itself, I think everyone here has done a good job of pinpointing that it's trying to set things up in the Optimus way as it would on a dual-graphics Intel/NVIDIA laptop, which isn't ideal as a desktop system like this isn't meant to be handling the video that way.

I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone that helped me out with this issue!