When you have an adaptive sync-capable monitor, ALL frame sync activity needs to move to the hardware side. That includes handling of v-sync, which remains a factor. If you enable FreeSync or G-Sync via your NVIDIA or Radeon control panel, but ignore the v-sync setting in there, screen tearing is still likely to occur, especially if your hardware is capable of a faster framerate than that supported by your monitor. In our example game Control, this is especially true if you select an internal render resolution of 1080p with 4K output on a 60Hz panel. Internally, the game runs at nearly 90 FPS, but your monitor is locked to 60Hz. Hence, the GPU outpaces and monitor and needs to wait for the display, so you get tearing.
The solution is surprisingly simple but elusive. V-sync needs to be enabled in graphics driver settings alongside adaptive sync to cover all scenarios. A lot of gamers think that if they have FreeSync or G-Sync they can just turn v-sync off in games, but that may not work.
Right click on your desktop and go to the NVIDIA or Radeon control panel. With NVIDIA, click on 3D settings and scroll down until you find v-sync. Switch the setting on. With Radeon, go to global settings, vertical refresh, then enhanced sync, which is AMD’s term for v-sync. Turn that on.
Now the negotiation between hardware adaptive sync and software v-sync is done all on the same side – the graphics card driver. So if your games ever go outside the range covered by FreeSync or G-Sync, software v-sync will auto kick in to prevent unwanted tearing.