[FIX] How to workaround Screen Tearing under Linux

# Start up Compton for compositing compton -b --backend glx --vsync opengl-swc # Start Steam steam

compton -b --backend xrender --vsync opengl

EDIT: I made a more in-depth guide for this workaround:I'm using Linux Mint 17, Cinnamon edition with the binary nvidia drivers. Unity3d engine games (like shadowrun returns) and also XCOM:EU/EW, refuse to vsync when they detect a compositing window manager. Thus, you get terrible screen tearing. I had tried all the other fixes you typically do for vsync issues in linux, like editing /etc/environment with some CLUTTER options, but those didn't work for me. Here's how I fixed it for real, and probably how I'll play games in linux from now on. Hopefully this will save someone else a weekend's worth of time. Note, This will probably work for Ubuntu and other distros.- Install Openbox. I wish I remembered exactly which packages I installed, exactly but it did take a little fiddling.- Install Compton, compositing engine- Create a file: ~/.config/openbox/autostart- Put the following in it.EDIT: For the compton execution, try this line instead. It actually works better for me than what I used above:- Now log out of cinnamon, or whatever desktop you're using. select Openbox as your session and login.- Steam will come up. Play your game that normally refuses to vsync with buttery smoothness- Should at least work with and Unity3d engine games, and probably others.You could also probably do this with any other Desktop environment that doesn't do compositing by default, just as long as you get it to run "compton -b --backend glx --vsync opengl-swc" automatically.Finally, I think the reason this works is that when the Unity3d engine looks to see if there is a compositor running, it doesn't recognize Compton and is tricked into allowing vsync. Performance seems fine to me despite claims on onther Unity game forums that vsync under linux for Unity games is really slow. Like I mentioned briefly, this also works to fix the no-vsync bug in XCOM, which isn't a Unity3d game. So that probably means this setup should ensure you get vsync in any game you need it in, that doesn't work out of the box in your normal desktop env.