Fix Skyrim Screen Tearing Issue [Step-by-Step Guide]

When you’re playing Skyrim, you run into the screen tearing issue, which ruins your game experience. But not to worry. You can fix the screen tearing issue with the guide mentioned below.

The screen tearing issue occurs when the Skyrim FPS is higher than your monitor’s refresh rate. So to fix the screen tearing issue in Skyrim, you just need to cap the Skyrim FPS down to the monitor’s refresh rate or lower.

Before you cap the Skyrim FPS, you need to figure out what refresh rate your monitor is currently using. If you’re not sure how to get that information, you can refer to these steps:

1) Right-click on desktop and select Display settings.

a screen shot shown how to select display settings

2) Click on Advanced display settings.

3) Under Related settings, click on Display adapter properties.

4) Select the Monitor tab, then in the Monitor Settings section, you can check the screen refresh rate your monitor is using. After you get your monitor’s refresh rate, read on to learn how to cap the FPS.

How to Cap the Skyrim FPS

You can use one of the methods below to set the Skyrim FPS the same as or lower than the monitor’s refresh rate. For example, if your monitor refresh rate is set as 60 HZ, you should cap the FPS in Skyrim down to 60HZ or lower by using these methods.

Tip: Method 1 and Method 2 require you to have NVIDIA Control Panel installed, so you need to use a NVIDIA graphics card. Usually, the Control Panel is installed on your computer along with the NVIDIA graphics card driver. But in case you don’t have the NVIDIA Control Panel installed, download and install the latest version from Microsoft.

Method 1: Turn on V-Sync on NVIDIA Control Panel
Method 2: Set a Max Frame Rate in NVIDIA Control Panel
Method 3: Use RTSS (Rivatuner Statistics Server) to cap the Skyrim FPS

Method 1: Turn on V-Sync on NVIDIA Control Panel

NVIDIA Control Panel is an in-game frame rate limiter. It allows you to limit your game FPS by turning on V-Sync. Here’s how to do it:

1) Open NVIDIA Control Panel.

2) Click on Manage 3D settings in the left pane.

3) Click on the Program Settings tab in the right pane, and then locate and select Skyrim. If you don’t see Skyrim in the list, you need to add it manually: click on the Add button and navigate to your Skyrim folder to select the “Skyrim.exe” file.

4) Locate the Vertical Sync settings. Click on it and select Adaptive if your monitor’s refresh rate is 60HZ, select Adaptive (half refresh rate) if your monitor’s refresh rate is 120HZ.

show how to set vertical sync for skyrim

5) Click Apply to save the changes.

7) Launch Skyrim and check to see if the screen tearing issue persists.

Method 2: Set a Max Frame Rate in NVIDIA Control Panel

Another way to cap the Skyrim FPS through NVIDIA Control Panel is set a Max Frame Rate. To do so:

1) Open NVIDIA Control Panel.

2) Click on Manage 3D settings in the left pane.

3) Click on the Program Settings tab in the right pane, and then locate and select Skyrim. If you don’t see Skyrim in the list, you need to add it manually. Click the Add button and navigate to your Skyrim folder to select the “Skyrim.exe” file.

4) Locate the Max Frame Rate settings. Click on it and set the FPS you want.

show how to set skyrim max frame rate

5) Click Apply to save the changes.

7) Launch Skyrim and check to see if the screen tearing issue is resolved.

One of the benefits of the above two methods is that you don’t need to install an external frame rate limiter. But it’s possible that they may not work for you. In that case, you can use Method 3.

Method 3: Use RTSS (Rivatuner Statistics Server) to cap the Skyrim FPS

RTSS is a helpful tool allowing you to cap FPS for all games including Skyrim. Here’s how to cap FPS for Skyrim.

1) Search RTSS on the internet.

2) Download and install the latest version of RTSS on your computer.

2) Once installation is done, launch the application.

3) Click the Add button in the bottom left corner of the RTSS window and navigate to your Skyrim folder then select the “Skyrim.exe” file.

4) Locate and click on the Framerate Limit box and type in a FPS value you want.

a screen shot of RTSS to show how to set the framrate limit

5) Launch Skyrim and check to see if the screen tearing issue persists.

Hopefully you find the article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

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