Screen tearing in Xubuntu, no problem with Ubuntu

Question

I have both Ubuntu 14.04 and Xubuntu 16.04 installed on one of my older desktops.

While both work fine, I experience screen tearing while dragging windows around in Xubuntu. However, I do not experience it on Ubuntu.

It is using the motherboard's built-in AMD graphics chip.

Note: This exact situation also holds true for my main desktop with a GTX650 graphics card...

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At this point, I'm thinking it has something to do with Untiy being a 3D DE, and XFCE being a 2D DE...

Solution

Note: these directions have been abridged from the original source of Duncan Lock's blog.

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1. Disable XFCE's built-in compositor:

   

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2. Open up a terminal, and run these commands:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install compton
    cd ~/.config
    nano compton.conf
   

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3. Paste this into Nano (see here for a commented version):

   backend = "glx";
   glx-no-stencil = true;
   glx-copy-from-front = false;
   glx-swap-method = "undefined";
   shadow = true;
   no-dnd-shadow = true;
   no-dock-shadow = true;
   clear-shadow = true;
   shadow-radius = 5;
   shadow-offset-x = -5;
   shadow-offset-y = -5;
   shadow-opacity = 0.5;
   shadow-exclude = [
       "! name~=''",
       "name = 'Notification'",
       "name = 'Plank'",
       "name = 'Docky'",
       "name = 'Kupfer'",
       "name = 'xfce4-notifyd'",
       "name *= 'VLC'",
       "name *= 'compton'",
       "name *= 'Chromium'",
       "name *= 'Chrome'",
       "name *= 'Firefox'",
       "class_g = 'Conky'",
       "class_g = 'Kupfer'",
       "class_g = 'Synapse'",
       "class_g ?= 'Notify-osd'",
       "class_g ?= 'Cairo-dock'",
       "class_g ?= 'Xfce4-notifyd'",
       "class_g ?= 'Xfce4-power-manager'"
   ];
   shadow-ignore-shaped = false;
   menu-opacity = 1;
   inactive-opacity = 1;
   active-opacity = 1;
   frame-opacity = 1;
   inactive-opacity-override = false;
   alpha-step = 0.06;
   blur-background-fixed = false;
   blur-background-exclude = [
       "window_type = 'dock'",
       "window_type = 'desktop'"
   ];
   fading = true;
   fade-delta = 4;
   fade-in-step = 0.03;
   fade-out-step = 0.03;
   fade-exclude = [ ];
   mark-wmwin-focused = true;
   mark-ovredir-focused = true;
   use-ewmh-active-win = true;
   detect-rounded-corners = true;
   detect-client-opacity = true;
   refresh-rate = 0;
   vsync = "opengl-swc";
   dbe = false;
   paint-on-overlay = true;
   sw-opti = false;
   unredir-if-possible = true;
   focus-exclude = [ ];
   detect-transient = true;
   detect-client-leader = true;
   wintypes:
   {
       tooltip =
       {
           fade = true;
           shadow = false;
           opacity = 0.85;
           focus = true;
       };
   };
   

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4. Press CTRL+X and then Y and then Enter to save and exit.

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5. Now, run this command: compton

   Your screen will flicker, and you will no longer have screen tearing!

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6. Finally, just add it to your startup applications:

   

Comments

[Muaad ElSharif]

Could you provide a screenshot of the said tear?

[You'reAGitForNotUsingGit]

@MuaadElSharif - I found the solution

[Santropedro]

I screenshoted my tearing screen and it showed screen tearing at a different place than which I perceive it with my eyes. I'm sure it's not a optical illusion. Screenshots are not accurate representation of what is exactly happening on the screen.

[drewburr]

This worked for me with Ubuntu 16.04 on my Dell XPS 13! I use i3, so I skipped the first step :)

[mja]

Another instruction: duncanlock.net/blog/2013/06/07/…

[aultimus]

I'm running ubuntu mate 18.04 and I was able to switch compositor simply without the commandline, using the mate tweak utility which comes pre-installed, this resolved the issue for me.

[Terrance]

@aultimus This is for Xfce (Xubuntu) desktop. Mate has a different compositor that this answer probably won't help.

[Santropedro]

I just did this and it worked for me, no more tearing, BUT the "compton" command doesn't close the terminal, it keeps open. That is weird and acward. If I close the terminal, I have to force close the process, and the tearing naturally comes back. It seems the compton program doesn't close its own terminal.