Black "flash" when playing fullscreen games

Games
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1

So, whenever I start playing fullscreen games on my main display (ultrawide 2560x1080 via displayport), I get it “flashing” in black, like it has been disconnected - but without disconnecting. It never happens when playing on my other display (also ultrawide, but via HDMI).

This can happen both with Linux-native games as running games with Wine/Proton.

And I thought it was just about games, but I recently noticed that it also happens when trying to play videos in fullscreen mode, and other programs such as Emulation Station.

Any ideas where to start troubleshooting this?

System:
  Kernel: 6.14.2-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
    root=UUID=25d86c8c-ebff-4afc-ab94-381b01927087 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    quiet resume=UUID=67f41796-edab-4c43-8d65-0a5b35f8c01a loglevel=3 ibt=off
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.4 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.12.0
    wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: G5 5590 v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Dell model: 0CNDTP v: A04 serial: <superuser required> part-nu: 08EA
    uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: Dell v: 1.13.2 date: 05/22/2020
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 38.6 Wh (100.0%) condition: 38.6/60.0 Wh (64.4%)
    volts: 15.8 min: 15.2 model: SMP DELL JJPFK87 type: Li-poly serial: <filter>
    status: full
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-9750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Coffee Lake
    gen: core 9 level: v3 note: check built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6
    model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 0xA (10) microcode: 0xFA
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 6 cores: 6 threads: 12 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB
    desc: 6x256 KiB L3: 12 MiB desc: 1x12 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/4500 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800
    8: 800 9: 800 10: 800 11: 800 12: 800 bogomips: 62399
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Dell
    driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20
    ports: active: none off: eDP-1 empty: DP-2, DP-3, HDMI-A-2, HDMI-A-3
    bus-ID: 0000:00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:3e9b class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile] vendor: Dell
    driver: nvidia v: 570.133.07 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm
    non-free: 550/565.xx+ status: current (as of 2025-01; EOL~2026-12-xx)
    arch: Turing code: TUxxx process: TSMC 12nm FF built: 2018-2022 ports:
    active: none off: DP-1,HDMI-A-1 empty: none bus-ID: 0000:01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:1f11 class-ID: 0300
  Device-3: Microdia Integrated_Webcam_HD driver: uvcvideo type: USB
    rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-5:4 chip-ID: 0c45:671f
    class-ID: 0e02
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.16 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting,nvidia
    unloaded: nouveau alternate: fbdev,intel,nv,vesa dri: iris
    gpu: i915,nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: DP-1 model: LG (GoldStar) HDR WFHD serial: <filter> built: 2018
    res: mode: 2560x1080 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 81 gamma: 1.2
    size: 798x334mm (31.42x13.15") diag: 869mm (34.2") modes: max: 2560x1080
    min: 640x480
  Monitor-2: HDMI-A-1 model: LG (GoldStar) ULTRAWIDE serial: <filter>
    built: 2013 res: mode: 2560x1080 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 112 gamma: 1.2
    size: 677x290mm (26.65x11.42") diag: 628mm (24.7") modes: max: 2560x1080
    min: 640x480
  Monitor-3: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x084a built: 2018 res: 1920x1080
    dpi: 142 gamma: 1.2 size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris drv: nvidia nouveau drv: nvidia
    platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 1 drv: iris device: 2 drv: nouveau
    device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: nvidia wayland:
    drv: iris x11: drv: iris
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.0.3-arch1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL
    GT2) device-ID: 8086:3e9b memory: 7.53 GiB unified: yes display-ID: :1.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.309 layers: 10 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu
    name: Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2) driver: N/A device-ID: 8086:3e9b
    surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland device: 1 type: discrete-gpu
    name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 driver: N/A device-ID: 10de:1f11
    surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland device: 2 type: cpu name: llvmpipe (LLVM
    19.1.7 256 bits) driver: N/A device-ID: 10005:0000
    surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-settings,nvidia-smi
    wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs,snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl bus-ID: 0000:00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:a348 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA TU106 High Definition Audio vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 0000:01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:10f9
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Generalplus USB Audio Device
    driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-4.1:5 chip-ID: 1b3f:2008 class-ID: 0300
  Device-4: Realtek USB Audio driver: snd-usb-audio type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-4.5:10 chip-ID: 0bda:4014
    class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
  API: ALSA v: k6.14.2-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.2 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek vendor: Dell driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000
    bus-ID: 0000:3b:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:2502 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp59s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
    vendor: Dell driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel bus-ID: 0000:3c:00.0
    chip-ID: 168c:003e class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp60s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-3: Realtek RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter driver: r8152 type: USB
    rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 bus-ID: 6-1.2:3
    chip-ID: 0bda:8153 class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
  IF: enp58s0u1u2 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-14:8 chip-ID: 0cf3:e007
    class-ID: e001
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.2
    lmp-v: 8 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c010c
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode]
    driver: intel_nvme_remap v: N/A port: 5060 bus-ID: 0000:00:17.0
    chip-ID: 8086:282a rev: N/A class-ID: 0104
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.73 TiB used: 1.76 TiB (64.5%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Corsair model: MP600 CORE MINI
    size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B tech: SSD
    serial: <filter> fw-rev: ELFMC1.0 temp: 43.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD10SPZX-75Z10T3 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 5400 serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 4514 scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 1.8 TiB size: 1.8 TiB (100.00%) used: 952.98 GiB (51.6%)
    fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 160 MiB (53.4%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 1.8 TiB size: 1.8 TiB (100.00%)
    used: 952.98 GiB (51.6%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
  ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 1.8 TiB size: 1.8 TiB (100.00%)
    used: 952.98 GiB (51.6%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
  ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 1.8 TiB size: 1.8 TiB (100.00%)
    used: 952.98 GiB (51.6%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.43 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (37.2%)
    priority: 100 comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842
    max-streams: 12 dev: /dev/zram0
  ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 16.98 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
    priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 58.0 C pch: 62.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.43 GiB used: 8.34 GiB (54.1%)
  Processes: 392 Power: uptime: 3h 56m states: freeze,mem,disk
    suspend: s2idle avail: deep wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown,
    reboot, suspend, test_resume image: 6.11 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
    power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
    tool: systemctl
  Packages: 1846 pm: pacman pkgs: 1823 libs: 499 tools: octopi,paru
    pm: flatpak pkgs: 23 Compilers: clang: 19.1.7 gcc: 14.2.1 alt: 13
    Shell: garuda-inxi default: Zsh v: 5.9 running-in: kitty inxi: 3.3.37
Garuda (2.7.2-1):
  System install date:     2024-11-20
  Last full system update: 2025-04-18 ↻
  Is partially upgraded:   No
  Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut nvidia-dkms
  Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
  Failed units:

(yeah, I now I need a restart - but this has been happening for a while now, I just didn’t had time to ask for help and look into it before today >.< but I can assure you this problem has been going on for several resets and garuda-updates already)

2

Fist off, you need to reboot after the last update.

Next you can try a different kernel like LTS, if that does not work try with X11 instead of Wayland

3

so, this kind of behavior is known in zen kernel and Wayland?

4

Intel igpu is active
pls read this

  • the same..bios update pls…
5

I read that every time I reinstall Garuda in these past 2 years since I’ve migrated from Windows, but if there’s anything specific in there that you think I should pay closer attention to, it’d be really helpful if you pointed the specifics instead of, you know *waves hands*, all of this.

if you’re able to find a BIOS update for it, please, share it. I’ve been watching out for this ever since I bought this computer and no update ever came =)

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image691×280 26.5 KB

Which points to https://www.dell.com/support/home/pt-br/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=4g5wc

image
image1113×357 37.4 KB

All other links found by Google lead to similarly “driver unavailable” messages, and navigating inside Dell’s website also gives no result when searching for BIOS update for the Dell G5 5590

6

just suggesting a different test, I have some programs that just don’t work correctly with Waylnd

8

Sorry not downloaded..
Btw, 10 h ago, i was on this side, could have download it the bios file (xxxx.exe from 2023)
Info without M$
I would write also..download bios → copy to usb..reboot → press F12 (several times) →
Bios Flash update (that takes a while) → rdy … but now. .not possible.
If you insert there your laptop data / or make a account there and then ?

Now to nvidia-prime.
Open nvidia-settings and you see what´s happend with your dgpu..but is the card in “use” ? Start your game + run over console nvidia-smi → result or use htop to see what´s going on with the memory ? Myself i use btop+ to see what´s going on my system.
Your os “knows” you have a igpu and dgpu (if all correct installed). But which should it use.
Default is the igpu..not your dgpu. With nvidia-prime is it possible to handle this over the igpu. (but more consumption from the battery)
With the command prime-run, the GPU is used instead of the integrated card. To install over konsole
sudo pacman -S garuda-nvidia-prime-config (+ rules for powermanagement)
without this sudo pacman -S nvidia-prime
→ reboot → open now nvidia-settings → you see difference ?

  • start a game use nvidia-smi → result ?
  • check for required packages pacman -Qs nvidia for all relevant nvidia stuff.
  • you type self,

i mean yes, pls do this :innocent: reason → this is Arch Linux

2 Likes
9

This could be related to data transfer speeds on the cable. The displayport standard has different versions supporting different throughput. If throughput is too low, it can result in temporary blank screens. I’ve had this before when I started using my 3440x1440x165hz screen for the first time.

To get maximum throughput, the intended version must be supported by a) the monitor, b) the graphics card, and c) the cable. Note that cheap, bent, or damaged cables can also also reduce throughput.

I would recommend:

  • Try lower resolutions and refresh rates to confirm data transfer is the issue.
  • Try HDMI instead of displayport. That also acts as a cable check.
  • Make sure you use the latest UEFI (BIOS) and graphics card drivers.
  • Check what displayport version your graphics card supports.
  • Check if there are firmware updates for your monitor. It is rare, by my monitor actually allows firmware updates and I actually had to do this to make it run 165hz.

Back when I had the issue, the most common recommendation was to buy a premium, certified displayport cable. I did that and don’t regret it, even though it probably came down to the monitor firmware in my case.

2 Likes
10

I have a Dell account, my warranty ended at the start of 2024 =(

SMI before starting the game:

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SMI with game running:

image
image841×529 45.2 KB

it’s running on the nvidia card :wink:

huh… ok, this makes sense - it’d explain why things are smooth on the HDMI, but randomly weird on the DP side.

this is actually a nice advise. I’ll look into this, since I don’t have two HDMI ports I can use here to support both displays… I have absolutely no idea if there’s a way to update my monitor firmware O.o if there is, I don’t suppose it’s simple, since both are LG and have no USB ports… :thinking:

but yeah, something else to keep in mind.

11

Then monitor firmware is probably not the issue. As I said, it’s very rare and my monitor actually does have a USB port for this very purpose.

The good news is that your RTX2060 does support displayport 1.4a, which is perfect.

I don’t know which monitor you are using specifically, but you may want to check the specs on it. Anything below displayport 1.4 could be an issue.

12

Please do not post pictures of the terminal. They are not searchable and may be difficult to see on different devices. Please always paste the terminal output here via codeblock. Thanks. :slight_smile:

4 Likes
13

I didn’t think this could include nvidia-smi output =x sorry!

I still hadn’t had time to update the BIOS and see if this affects anything… I’ll probably be able to next Thursday, since it’s holiday here. Maybe I’ll just wipe the current Garuda installation and restart from scratch =p