The present disclosure is directed to a method to correct for visual artifacts in a virtual reality (VR) video image where there is significant motion of the video image as a result of user actions. A user may request that the video image be moved, such as a through motion detected through a VR device, i.e., turning the head, or through a request to an application, i.e., joystick feedback to a gaming application. The video image motion can cause stutter and jitter visual artifacts, when the video frame buffer uses a synchronization constraint, such as vertical synchronization (VSync). When the VSync is disabled, a tearing visual artifact can be present. This disclosure presents a frame buffer handling process that operates with VSync disabled. The process allows the display refresh rates to operate at higher frequencies, while correcting for significant motion of the video image, i.e., tearing, through shifting back certain pixels within the scanout frame buffer.