Screen tearing fix in Linux Mint 19 on Intel Graphics

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE NOW DONE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE AS DESCRIBED
This set of instructions apply to Firefox v47 (and earlier)

1. Add a correctly written and installed configuration file for in-processor INTEL HD Graphics
1.1 Portreve has kindly described how to do this here: Portreve Link
1.2 After Restart, confirm that TearFree is enabled with this Terminal Command (Cinnamon)
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep TearFree
It should correctly report: 'intel(0): TearFree enabled'
2. Enable Firefox (v 47.0) graphic hardware acceleration
2.1 Launch Firefox
2.2 Type < about:config > without the brackets - It will warn 'Here Be Dragons' - click 'I'll Be Careful, I Promise!
2.3 In the Search Bar enter < layers.acceleration.force-enabled > without the brackets
2.4 It will state 'false' - double click it to change to 'true' and close the Firefox Tab
2.5 Restart Firefox
2.6.1 Confirm GPU Acceleration is active - do this:
2.6.2 In Firefox, type < about:support > without the brackets
2.6.3 Under the heading 'Graphics', discover GPU Accelerated Windows
2.6.4 It should read: 1/1 OpenGL (OMTC) - this means hardware acceleration is active
2.6.5 If it displays: 0/1 Basic (OMTC) - this means hardware acceleration is inactive
2.6.7 Close the Firefox Tab

---

ADDENDUM: 8 August 2016
Firefox 48 for Linux is being rolled out and some of the above is deprecated, ie. it is no longer possible to see 'GPU Accelerated Windows' in the Graphics section of 'about:support'. However, the rest of the instructions remain true.

For your convenience, the instructions as at 8 August 2016 for Firefox 48:
THIS IS WHAT I HAVE NOW DONE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE AS DESCRIBED
This set of instructions apply to Firefox v48 (and later...)
1. Add a correctly written and installed configuration file for in-processor INTEL HD Graphics
1.1 Portreve has kindly described how to do this here: Portreve Link
1.2 After Restart, confirm that TearFree is enabled with this Terminal Command (Cinnamon)
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep TearFree
It should correctly report: 'intel(0): TearFree enabled'
2. Enable Firefox (v 48.0) graphic hardware acceleration
2.1 Launch Firefox
2.2 Type < about:config > without the brackets - It will warn 'Here Be Dragons' - click 'I'll Be Careful, I Promise!
2.3 In the Search Bar enter < layers.acceleration.force-enabled > without the brackets
2.4 It will state 'false' - double click it to change to 'true' and close the Firefox Tab
2.5 Restart Firefox




How to create 20-intel.conf

Create a Intel graphics-specific configuration file in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d, and title it "20-intel.conf":

Step 1: Open your terminal emulator, and enter the following command:

sudo nano /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf


Step 2: Copy from here and paste into nano, using [CTRL] + [SHIFT] + [V]:

Code: Select all

Section "Device"
   Identifier  "Intel Graphics"
   Driver      "intel"
   Option      "TearFree"    "true"
EndSection

The reason I added emphasis above to [SHIFT] is that straight [CTRL] + [V] will not work as you think in a terminal window. It tries to send CTRL + V directly to the program you're running.

Step 3: Exit nano, saving changes:
[CTRL] + [X], y for "Yes, save changes", and [ENTER] to execute this.


Step 4:
exit [ENTER] to close the terminal window.

Step 5: Restart your computer.

These above steps did fix screen tearing and firefox jerky scrolling.