Questions[tearing](ubuntu)

Like the title says I can't figure out a way to force my laptop to use PRIME Synchronization and from what I understand, it may very well be the reason I get quite a lot of screen tearing when watching videos.

I've tried pretty much everything I could find that was reasonably recent and nothing works.

I've made sure that the drm file was configured properly:

(base) alex@alex:/etc/modprobe.d$ cat nvidia-drm.conf 
options nvidia-drm modeset=1

I tried to force it with xrandr --output eDP-1-1 --set "PRIME Synchronization" 1but it stays at 0.

I made sure to do the following command and reboot:

(base) alex@alex:/etc/modprobe.d$ sudo update-initramfs -u
[sudo] password for alex: 
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.3.0-24-generic
I: The initramfs will attempt to resume from /dev/nvme0n1p4
I: (UUID=4ef37681-250c-4d75-954b-c8cf78fd5e65)
I: Set the RESUME variable to override this.

*when I tried the same thing but by creating a zz-nvidia-modesetconf file like I read on some posts the update-initramfs command generated a lot of errors.

After all that I still get the following result:

(base) alex@alex:/etc/modprobe.d$ sudo cat /sys/module/nvidia_drm/parameters/modeset
N

I have a Dell xps 9570 with the GTX 1050 ti card and I'm running Ubuntu 19.10.

Here are a few more outputs to help (my monitor is eDP-1-1):

base) alex@alex:/etc/modprobe.d$ xrandr --prop
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 2560 x 1440, maximum 32767 x 32767
eDP-1-1 connected primary 2560x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 194mm
    _MUTTER_PRESENTATION_OUTPUT: 0 
    EDID: 
        00ffffffffffff004d108d1400000000
        051c0104a52213780eef4fa95334bc25
        0d515400000001010101010101010101
        0101010101014dd000a0f0703e803020
        350058c2100000180000000000000000
        00000000000000000000000000fe0046
        4e564452804c51313536443100000000
        0002410328011200000b010a2020004c
    PRIME Synchronization: 0 
        supported: 0, 1
    scaling mode: Full aspect 
        supported: Full, Center, Full aspect
    max bpc: 12 
        range: (6, 12)
    Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
        supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
    link-status: Good 
        supported: Good, Bad
    CONNECTOR_ID: 86 
        supported: 86
    non-desktop: 0 
        range: (0, 1)
   3840x2160     60.00 +  59.98    59.97  
   3200x1800     59.96    59.94  
   2880x1620     59.96    59.97  
   2560x1600     59.99    59.97  
   2560x1440     59.99    59.99*   59.96    59.95  
   2048x1536     60.00  
   1920x1440     60.00  
   1856x1392     60.01  
   1792x1344     60.01  
   2048x1152     59.99    59.98    59.90    59.91  
   1920x1200     59.88    59.95  
   1920x1080     60.01    59.97    59.96    59.93  
   1600x1200     60.00  
   1680x1050     59.95    59.88  
   1600x1024     60.17  
   1400x1050     59.98  
   1600x900      59.99    59.94    59.95    59.82  
   1280x1024     60.02  
   1440x900      59.89  
   1400x900      59.96    59.88  
   1280x960      60.00  
   1440x810      60.00    59.97  
   1368x768      59.88    59.85  
   1360x768      59.80    59.96  
   1280x800      59.99    59.97    59.81    59.91  
   1152x864      60.00  
   1280x720      60.00    59.99    59.86    59.74  
   1024x768      60.04    60.00  
   960x720       60.00  
   928x696       60.05  
   896x672       60.01  
   1024x576      59.95    59.96    59.90    59.82  
   960x600       59.93    60.00  
   960x540       59.96    59.99    59.63    59.82  
   800x600       60.00    60.32    56.25  
   840x525       60.01    59.88  
   864x486       59.92    59.57  
   800x512       60.17  
   700x525       59.98  
   800x450       59.95    59.82  
   640x512       60.02  
   720x450       59.89  
   700x450       59.96    59.88  
   640x480       60.00    59.94  
   720x405       59.51    58.99  
   684x384       59.88    59.85  
   680x384       59.80    59.96  
   640x400       59.88    59.98  
   576x432       60.06  
   640x360       59.86    59.83    59.84    59.32  
   512x384       60.00  
   512x288       60.00    59.92  
   480x270       59.63    59.82  
   400x300       60.32    56.34  
   432x243       59.92    59.57  
   320x240       60.05  
   360x202       59.51    59.13  
   320x180       59.84    59.32  
DP-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    PRIME Synchronization: 1 
        supported: 0, 1
    Content Protection: Undesired 
        supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
    max bpc: 12 
        range: (6, 12)
    Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
        supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
    audio: auto 
        supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
    link-status: Good 
        supported: Good, Bad
    CONNECTOR_ID: 92 
        supported: 92
    non-desktop: 0 
        range: (0, 1)
DP-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    PRIME Synchronization: 1 
        supported: 0, 1
    Content Protection: Undesired 
        supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
    max bpc: 12 
        range: (6, 12)
    Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
        supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
    audio: auto 
        supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
    link-status: Good 
        supported: Good, Bad
    CONNECTOR_ID: 100 
        supported: 100
    non-desktop: 0 
        range: (0, 1)
DP-1-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    PRIME Synchronization: 1 
        supported: 0, 1
    Content Protection: Undesired 
        supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
    max bpc: 12 
        range: (6, 12)
    Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
        supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
    audio: auto 
        supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
    link-status: Good 
        supported: Good, Bad
    CONNECTOR_ID: 106 
        supported: 106
    non-desktop: 0 
        range: (0, 1)


(base) alex@alex:/etc/modprobe.d$ dmesg | grep drm
[    0.000000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-5.3.0-24-generic root=UUID=3aed6bfe-476b-4f03-a33a-8265acaf1a5a ro quiet splash acpi_rev_override=1 acpi_osi=Linux nouveau.modeset=0 pcie_aspm=force drm.vblankoffdelay=1 scsi_mod.use_blk_mq=1 nouveau.runpm=0 mem_sleep_default=deep pti=off spectre_v2=off l1tf=off nospec_store_bypass_disable no_stf_barrier vt.handoff=7
[    0.131737] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-5.3.0-24-generic root=UUID=3aed6bfe-476b-4f03-a33a-8265acaf1a5a ro quiet splash acpi_rev_override=1 acpi_osi=Linux nouveau.modeset=0 pcie_aspm=force drm.vblankoffdelay=1 scsi_mod.use_blk_mq=1 nouveau.runpm=0 mem_sleep_default=deep pti=off spectre_v2=off l1tf=off nospec_store_bypass_disable no_stf_barrier vt.handoff=7
[    3.004066] [drm] Incompatible option detected: enable_guc=3, GuC submission not supported!
[    3.004066] [drm] Switching to non-GuC submission mode!
[    3.004671] fb0: switching to inteldrmfb from EFI VGA
[    3.016968] [drm] Supports vblank timestamp caching Rev 2 (21.10.2013).
[    3.016969] [drm] Driver supports precise vblank timestamp query.
[    3.024951] [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/kbl_dmc_ver1_04.bin (v1.4)
[    3.096695] [drm] HuC: Loaded firmware i915/kbl_huc_ver02_00_1810.bin (version 2.0)
[    3.107310] [drm] GuC: Loaded firmware i915/kbl_guc_32.0.3.bin (version 32.0)
[    3.107444] [drm] CT: enabled
[    3.137213] [drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20190619 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
[    3.376284] [drm] [nvidia-drm] [GPU ID 0x00000100] Loading driver
[    3.376286] [drm] Initialized nvidia-drm 0.0.0 20160202 for 0000:01:00.0 on minor 1
[    3.413727] fbcon: i915drmfb (fb0) is primary device
[    3.413802] i915 0000:00:02.0: fb0: i915drmfb frame buffer device


(base) alex@alex:/etc/modprobe.d$ nvidia-smi
Sat Dec  7 13:10:10 2019       
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 435.21       Driver Version: 435.21       CUDA Version: 10.1     |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name        Persistence-M| Bus-Id        Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan  Temp  Perf  Pwr:Usage/Cap|         Memory-Usage | GPU-Util  Compute M. |
|===============================+======================+======================|
|   0  GeForce GTX 105...  Off  | 00000000:01:00.0 Off |                  N/A |
| N/A   44C    P8    N/A /  N/A |    600MiB /  4042MiB |     31%      Default |
+-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes:                                                       GPU Memory |
|  GPU       PID   Type   Process name                             Usage      |
|=============================================================================|
|    0      1520      G   /usr/lib/xorg/Xorg                            72MiB |
|    0      2495      G   /usr/lib/xorg/Xorg                           137MiB |
|    0      2768      G   /usr/bin/gnome-shell                         207MiB |
|    0      3410      G   ...quest-channel-token=2905873432716077065   133MiB |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Any ideas is very much appreaciated, thanks!

I have terrible screen tearing, and I don't know how to go about trouble shooting it. I would LOVE to switch to Ubuntu completely, but with this tearing, it's just too irritating. It's only present on Ubuntu based distros, (including element OS). On Manjaro (Arch fork), it does not suffer from tearing.

PC Configuration: Motherboard: Aorus Pro Wifi z390 CPU: Intel i7 9700k RAM: 32GB GPU: Nvidia 1060 6GB DisplayPort output connects to monitor's HDMI

Monitor reported refresh rate 75hz, Ubuntu monitor settings reported refresh rate 74.97 (can change to 60hz, doesn't help).

So I have recently switched to Ubuntu 18.04. LTS and I'm getting a lot of screen tearing especially during video playback on e.g. YouTube. Could anybody help me fix this? Note that I'm completely new to Linux.

I have a bad screen tearing issue with 18.04. Config posted below. I'm not sure how to fix this issue as I've googled it several times and there doesn't seem to be much information relating to 18.04 on this issue. Thanks in advance for your answers.

ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc$ inxi -F
System:    Host: ubuntu Kernel: 4.15.0-20-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Gnome 3.28.1 Distro: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Machine:   Device: laptop System: HP product: HP ProBook 640 G2 serial: N/A
           Mobo: HP model: 80FD v: KBC Version 22.64 serial: N/A UEFI: HP v: N76 Ver. 01.06 date: 11/01/2016
Battery    BAT0: charge: 17.9 Wh 42.8% condition: 41.9/41.9 Wh (100%)
CPU:       Dual core Intel Core i5-6200U (-MT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB
           clock speeds: max: 2800 MHz 1: 1292 MHz 2: 1131 MHz 3: 1061 MHz 4: 1070 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel HD Graphics 520
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) driver: i915 Resolution: [email protected]
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 520 (Skylake GT2) version: 4.5 Mesa 18.0.0-rc5
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel Sound: ALSA v: k4.15.0-20-generic
Network:   Card-1: Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V driver: e1000e
           IF: enp0s31f6 state: down mac: 40:b0:34:13:1c:f0
           Card-2: Intel Wireless 8260 driver: iwlwifi
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: 34:f3:9a:dd:f7:02
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 515.8GB (1.2% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: HGST_HTS725050A7 size: 500.1GB
           ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: Cruzer_Switch size: 15.7GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 3.8G used: 1.3G (37%) fs: overlay dev: N/A
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 38.5C mobo: 0.0C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 220 Uptime: 1:04 Memory: 2131.1/7636.1MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.3.56 

I have that problem which seemingly afflicts many using the proprietary Nvidia driver:

Video tearing: fine horizontal lines (usually near the top of my display) when there is a lot of panning or action in the video.

^{(Note: switching back to the default nouveau driver is not an option, as its seemingly nonexistent power-management drains my battery several times faster)}

I've tried Totem, Parole, and VLC, and tearing occurs with all of them. The best result has been to use X11 output in VLC, but there is still tearing with relatively moderate action.

Hardware: MacBook Air 3,2 -- which has an Nvidia GeForce 320M.

There are two common fixes for tearing with Nvidia prop drivers:

1. Turn off compositing, since Nvidia proprietary drivers don't usually play nice with compositing window managers on Linux (Compiz is an exception I'm aware of). But I use an extremely lightweight window manager (Awesome window manager) which is not even capable of compositing (or any cool effects). I also have this problem in Xfce, where I have compositing disabled.

2. Enabling sync to VBlank. To enable this, I set the option in nvidia-settings and then autostart it as nvidia-settings -l with my other autostart programs. This seems to work, because when I run glxgears, I get:

   $ glxgears
    Running synchronized to the vertical refresh.  The framerate should be
   approximately the same as the monitor refresh rate.
   303 frames in 5.0 seconds = 60.500 FPS
   300 frames in 5.0 seconds = 59.992 FPS
   

   And when I check the refresh rate using nvidia-settings:

   $ nvidia-settings -q RefreshRate
   Attribute 'RefreshRate' (wampum:0.0; display device: DFP-2): 60.00 Hz.
   

   All this suggests sync to VBlank is enabled. As I understand it, this is precisely designed to stop tearing, and a lot of people's problem is even getting something like glxgears to output the correct info. I don't understand why it's not working for me.

xorg.conf: http://paste.ubuntu.com/992056/

Example of observed tearing::