I was wondering if Xubuntu had a pre installed solution for screen tearing, or would I have to actively look for one?
I'm not aware of any of the Ubuntu family that handle this out of the box. I'm running Ubuntu-Mate and it's not overly affected. Mind I'm not running with Compiz enabled.
Kubuntu and gnome do, but kubuntu is buggy, and gnomes isn't configurable ( i don't think)
Where do you experience screen tearing ?
AMD Catalyst driver has an option to fix it. Also, Chromium browser has a toggle that fixes for web videos.
Those are the things that I had to do to remove tearing.
For some ungodly reason, Compositing is disabled by default in the XFCE desktop environment. Enable it by going to Window Manager Tweaks > Compositor > Enable display compositing.
If that doesn't work, then try installing Compiz or Compton (advanced).
Have (tear-free) fun!
Thank you
What video card are you using?