Screen tearing in arcade displays can ruin the immersive gaming experience, occurring when the display's refresh rate and the game's frame rate are out of sync. This creates a disjointed image with horizontal lines. Fortunately, several effective methods can prevent this issue.

One of the most common and traditional solutions is Vertical Synchronization, or V-Sync. This technology forces the graphics card to wait for the monitor to complete its refresh cycle before sending a new frame. By synchronizing the frame rate with the refresh rate, V-Sync effectively eliminates tearing. However, it can sometimes introduce input lag or stuttering if the frame rate drops below the refresh rate.

For a more advanced and seamless experience, adaptive sync technologies like NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync are highly effective. These solutions require compatible hardware—a monitor and a graphics card that support the same standard. Unlike V-Sync, the monitor dynamically adjusts its refresh rate to match the exact frame rate output of the GPU. This results in buttery-smooth visuals with no tearing, stuttering, or added input lag, making them ideal for fast-paced arcade games.

Another straightforward approach is to implement a frame rate limiter. Capping the game's frame rate to just below or exactly at your monitor's maximum refresh rate can prevent the GPU from rendering frames faster than the display can handle, thus reducing the chance of tearing. Many games have this option built-in in their settings.

Ensuring your arcade hardware is powerful enough is also crucial. A modern graphics card that can consistently deliver high frame rates, paired with a high-refresh-rate monitor (e.g., 120Hz or 144Hz), provides a much larger window for frames to be displayed, inherently minimizing the visible impact of any minor sync issues.

In summary, the most effective strategies to prevent screen tearing are leveraging modern adaptive sync technologies like G-Sync and FreeSync, using V-Sync as a reliable fallback, applying frame rate limiters, and investing in capable hardware for a flawless arcade visual performance.