appearing to be slightly out of alignment or 'torn' in parts whenever there is any movement - and thus it is referred to as   Tearing . In OpenGL, WGL_EXT_swap_control can be used to turn on or off VSync. [Reference] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Screen_tearing http://www.tweakguides.com/ Graphics_9.html http://hifi-india.blogspot. com/2006/11/faq-what-is- screen-tearing-and-how-do-i. html http://www.opengl.org/ registry/specs/EXT/wgl_swap_ control.txt