Blackscreen during gaming when Notifications received

Issues & Assistance
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1

Hello Garuda team and all,

First let me thank you for GarudaOS itself, replaced my sloppy windows and i couldn’t be happier with. Primary I use my PC for gaming and I am amazed how it runs. Now to my issue:

For some reason, when I am playing games and I receive a notification such as from discord or from Steam (achievement, friend message, etc.) My screen for few seconds goes completely black and then restores. its like off/on within 3s.

I tried to check on internet and forum but I didn’t find any fix. I found few people advising to force in nvidia settings “Force full pipe composition” however when enabling that I can not launch a game. Other advise I have seen to do alt+shift+f12 to disable the KDE compositor. But that didnt help either, as well I think fullscreen application such as games disable it by default.

I have no clue what causes this issue and its becoming a bit annoying as this can happen anytime a notification is received.

Any help is much appreciated!

╰─λ garuda-inxi
perl: warning: Setting locale failed.
perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings:
LANGUAGE = "en_GB",
LC_ALL = (unset),
LC_ADDRESS = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LC_NAME = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LC_MONETARY = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LC_PAPER = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LC_IDENTIFICATION = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LC_TELEPHONE = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LC_MEASUREMENT = "sk_SK.UTF-8",
LC_TIME = "sk_SK.UTF-8",
LC_NUMERIC = "cs_CZ.UTF-8",
LANG = "en_GB.UTF-8"
are supported and installed on your system.
perl: warning: Falling back to a fallback locale ("en_GB.UTF-8").
System:
Kernel: 6.6.9-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.2.1
clocksource: tsc available: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=a7bf0470-4a53-4449-a9e6-74cd0c7ed817 rw rootflags=subvol=@
nvidia-drm.modeset=1 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.10 tk: Qt v: 5.15.11 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 2
dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: ROG STRIX X570-E GAMING v: Rev X.0x
serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 5003
date: 10/07/2023
CPU:
Info: model: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen 3+ gen: 4
level: v3 note: check built: 2022 process: TSMC n6 (7nm) family: 0x19 (25)
model-id: 0x21 (33) stepping: 0 microcode: 0xA20102B
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 tpc: 2 threads: 16 smt: enabled cache:
L1: 512 KiB desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 4 MiB desc: 8x512 KiB
L3: 32 MiB desc: 1x32 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 3774 high: 4818 min/max: 2200/5084 boost: enabled
scaling: driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: performance cores: 1: 3800 2: 3800
3: 3615 4: 3618 5: 3667 6: 3659 7: 3800 8: 3607 9: 3594 10: 3599 11: 3709
12: 3600 13: 3800 14: 3907 15: 3800 16: 4818 bogomips: 121599
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GA102 [GeForce RTX 3080] vendor: eVga.com. driver: nvidia
v: 545.29.06 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm non-free: 545.xx+ status: current
(as of 2023-10; EOL~2026-12-xx) arch: Ampere code: GAxxx
process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-2023 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
lanes: 16 ports: active: none off: DP-1 empty: DP-2,DP-3,HDMI-A-1
bus-ID: 0b:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:2206 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.10 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.3
compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: nvidia gpu: nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch
display-ID: :0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3440x1440 s-dpi: 109 s-size: 802x342mm (31.57x13.46")
s-diag: 872mm (34.33")
Monitor-1: DP-1 mapped: DP-0 note: disabled model: Dell AW3423DWF
serial: <filter> built: 2023 res: 3440x1440 dpi: 109 gamma: 1.2
size: 800x340mm (31.5x13.39") diag: 868mm (34.2") modes: max: 3440x1440
min: 640x480
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2
drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia x11: drv: nvidia
inactive: wayland,device-1
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 545.29.06
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/PCIe/SSE2
memory: 9.77 GiB
API: Vulkan v: 1.3.274 layers: 11 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu
name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 driver: nvidia v: 545.29.06
device-ID: 10de:2206 surfaces: xcb,xlib
Audio:
Device-1: NVIDIA GA102 High Definition Audio vendor: eVga.com.
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
bus-ID: 0b:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:1aef class-ID: 0403
Device-2: AMD Starship/Matisse HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
bus-ID: 0d:00.4 chip-ID: 1022:1487 class-ID: 0403
Device-3: VIA USB Audio Device driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-4:3
chip-ID: 040d:340a class-ID: 0300
API: ALSA v: k6.6.9-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 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: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: gen: 2
speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 05:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:2723 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp5s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: kernel
pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 06:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8125 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp6s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Device-3: Intel I211 Gigabit Network vendor: ASUSTeK driver: igb v: kernel
pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d000 bus-ID: 07:00.0
chip-ID: 8086:1539 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp7s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel AX200 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-6:8 chip-ID: 8087:0029
class-ID: e001
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.1
lmp-v: 10 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 7c0104
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.59 TiB used: 669.24 GiB (41.1%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:1 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 970 EVO 1TB
size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 2B2QEXE7 temp: 40.9 C
scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 970 EVO 500GB
size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 2B2QEXE7 temp: 46.9 C
scheme: GPT
ID-3: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 850 EVO 250GB
size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 2B6Q scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 198.21 GiB size: 198.21 GiB (100.00%)
used: 47.59 GiB (24.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 584 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 198.21 GiB size: 198.21 GiB (100.00%)
used: 47.59 GiB (24.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 198.21 GiB size: 198.21 GiB (100.00%)
used: 47.59 GiB (24.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 198.21 GiB size: 198.21 GiB (100.00%)
used: 47.59 GiB (24.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 31.25 GiB used: 105.8 MiB (0.3%)
priority: 100 comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 16
dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 34.38 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 39.0 C mobo: 37.0 C gpu: nvidia temp: 31 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 34%
Info:
Processes: 397 Uptime: 1h 2m wakeups: 0 Memory: total: 32 GiB
available: 31.25 GiB used: 5.96 GiB (19.1%) Init: systemd v: 255
default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 13.2.1 Packages:
pm: pacman pkgs: 1829 libs: 547 tools: octopi,paru Shell: fish v: 3.7.0
running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.31
Garuda (2.6.22-1):
System install date:     2023-11-20
Last full system update: 2024-01-04
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut nvidia-dkms
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:
2

Alright I think it maybe related to Steam Overlay. I turned it off now it doesn’t happens so often, but still happens.

Did anyone before have such issue?

Regards,
S.

3

Never really faced this myself and doesn’t really look very well discussed either simplest workaround I can think of is to pause notifs when gaming. Here is the only relevant thread I could find,

https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsupport/comments/106coxz/comment/j6qcjp3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

4

Hello NaN,

As you already mentioned, as a workaround I was doing either set KDE into DnD or changed in Steam to have notification appear only when I am not gaming.

Thank you for the link. This one I missed. I will try it out and report back.

Regards,
S.

5

So tried as mentioned in the reddit post. Sadly this didn’t helped. Not sure what is causing this.

However in order to prevent this to happen at least there is a workaround possible, to set yourself into DnD in KDE. Reason is if you have as well other APPs such as Discord any popup notification from them to Kwin will cause this Blackscreen flick.

This is not exclusive issue only to Steam in APP notifications.

Regards,
S.

6

So this is interesting,

I was playing with the settings, and I came across
Settings > Notifications > “Play sound when a notification toast is displayed”

When disabling this option, and having Notifications in Steam turned on the black flicker doesnt happen anymore if steam pushes a notification.

So far played for 5 hours, I could see notifications like Achievements and My friends going into a game and not flick happening. I will keep an eye into this. Not sure if it was just luck or This really did fix it.

Regards,
S.

7

So,

Just a small status update on this I think I was able to fix this by turning of the settings mentioned above. I am playing now constantly P3R, have around 50h+ and 35h+ from this are being played with Settings > Notifications > “Play sound when a notification toast is displayed” turned off.

Anyway I put together few small steps for those that would hit this problem as well it may help you.

  1. Clear web browser cache:
    Settings > In game > “Delete Web Browser Data”

  2. Disable GPU rendering:
    Settings > Interface > “Enable GPU accelerated rendering” off

  3. Disable notification toast:
    Settings > Notifications > “Play sound when a notification toast is displayed”

  4. Try to disable Gsync/Freesync

From what I have read thru reddit & Steam forums a lot users had problem with Gsync being turned on in their NVIDIA settings even thou they didn’t had a Gsync/Freesync monitor at all or GPU rendering.

One common factor on all of this is (which nobody will be surprised here) all users hitting this issue had NVIDIA GPUs…

For me helped 3.

I advice to try each settings one by one if it helps.

Regards,
S.

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8

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