Video games look like they are stuttering even with a high framerate

Hello, I’m returning to Linux after not using it for quite a while (previous distribution was normal Arch Linux) so sorry for doing and/or saying something dumb!!!

Anyway, I’m using Garuda now and it seems like video games stutter when not meeting my monitor’s refresh rate of 165 Hz. I noticed this in Doom 2016, whenever the framerate drops to 164 fps a noticeable change in smooth-ness occurred, which never happens in Windows 10 operating system, and I cannot recall this being a problem in my old Arch Linux installation. I thought maybe the issue was because the freesync wasn’t enabled so I created a file in the x-org configuration and confirmed that it is now enabled, same issue.

I also tested a game that is locked at 60 FPS (Wolfenstein: The Old Blood) and the game just looks TERRIBLE!!! And again, this wasn’t present in Windows 10 or Arch Linux.

I could not find a solution on this forum, other forums or on the arch wiki.

 ╰─λ garuda-inxi
System:
  Kernel: 6.6.6-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=4d61f724-ea9d-46c2-b593-347d9cdbb8f7 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    quiet loglevel=3 ibt=off
  Desktop: Cinnamon v: 6.0.0 tk: GTK v: 3.24.38 wm: muffin vt: 7 dm: LightDM
    v: 1.32.0 Distro: Garuda Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI (MS-7C91)
    v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: 1.80
    date: 12/15/2021
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 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: 0xA201016
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 6 tpc: 2 threads: 12 smt: enabled cache:
    L1: 384 KiB desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 3 MiB desc: 6x512 KiB
    L3: 32 MiB desc: 1x32 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 2370 high: 3700 min/max: 2200/4650 boost: enabled
    scaling: driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 2747 2: 2200
    3: 2200 4: 2198 5: 2200 6: 2200 7: 2200 8: 3700 9: 2200 10: 2200 11: 2200
    12: 2200 bogomips: 88802
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
  Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Navi 22 [Radeon RX 6700/6700 XT/6750 XT / 6800M/6850M XT]
    vendor: Tul / PowerColor driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2 code: Navi-2x
    process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
    lanes: 16 ports: active: DP-2 empty: DP-1,DP-3,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 2d:00.0
    chip-ID: 1002:73df class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.10 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.3 driver: X:
    loaded: amdgpu dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1440 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 677x381mm (26.65x15.00")
    s-diag: 777mm (30.58")
  Monitor-1: DP-2 mapped: DisplayPort-1 model: ASUS VG32VQR serial: <filter>
    built: 2021 res: 2560x1440 hz: 165 dpi: 93 gamma: 1.2
    size: 697x393mm (27.44x15.47") diag: 800mm (31.5") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 2560x1440 min: 720x400
  API: Vulkan v: 1.3.269 layers: 7 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: AMD
    Radeon RX 6700 XT (RADV NAVI22) driver: mesa radv v: 23.2.1-arch1.2
    device-ID: 1002:73df surfaces: xcb,xlib device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
    (LLVM 16.0.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 23.2.1-arch1.2 (LLVM
    16.0.6) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: xcb,xlib
  API: OpenGL Message: Unable to show GL data. glxinfo is missing.
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Navi 21/23 HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
    gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 2d:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:ab28
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Starship/Matisse HD Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 2f:00.4 chip-ID: 1022:1487 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.6.6-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api 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 AX210/AX211/AX411 160MHz driver: iwlwifi v: kernel
    pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 29:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:2725
    class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: r8169
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: f000 bus-ID: 2a:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8125 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp42s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel AX210 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-9:6 chip-ID: 8087:0032
    class-ID: e001
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.3
    lmp-v: 12 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 7c0104
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 14.81 TiB used: 141.22 GiB (0.9%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital model: PC SN530
    SDBPNPZ-256G-1006 size: 238.47 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: HPS2 temp: 30.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST14000NM001G-2KJ103
    size: 12.73 TiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> fw-rev: SN02 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 870 EVO 2TB
    size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 3B6Q scheme: GPT
  ID-4: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: SanDisk model: Ultra size: 28.64 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB rev: 3.0 spd: 5 Gb/s
    lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1.00
    scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%) used: 128.89 GiB (6.9%)
    fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 512 MiB size: 511 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 71.5 MiB (14.0%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%)
    used: 128.89 GiB (6.9%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
  ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%)
    used: 128.89 GiB (6.9%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
  ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%)
    used: 128.89 GiB (6.9%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.54 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 12 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 44.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 35.0 C
    mem: 34.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: amdgpu fan: 0
Info:
  Processes: 379 Uptime: 1h 44m wakeups: 0 Memory: total: 16 GiB
  available: 15.54 GiB used: 5.49 GiB (35.4%) Init: systemd v: 255
  default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 13.2.1 Packages:
  pm: pacman pkgs: 1219 libs: 373 tools: pamac,paru Shell: fish v: 3.6.4
  running-in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.3.31
Garuda (2.6.19-2):
  System install date:     2023-12-11
  Last full system update: 2023-12-14
  Is partially upgraded:   No
  Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
  Windows dual boot:       Probably (Run as root to verify)
  Failed units:            

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2 Likes

I don’t know if this would be for you as well, I also have a navi based GPU (a 6950xt) and was originally seeing this as well, when I started up conky while gaming, I saw my GPU was mostly sitting at idle, and only occasionally boosting, I installed CoreCTRL and set a gaming profile to the advertised clock speed the GPU was supposed to hit and now I don’t see the stuttering myself.

Hi @The_Teto , its either this three that cause the issue :
Freesync
V-Sync
Window Manager/Compositor (Your are using Cinnamon so i would recommend nothing than KDE)

For amd gaming i would say corectrl is crucial tool, for configuring your gpu and cpu with profiles

Have you tried different proton versions? Sometimes it changes a lot

This is more a question for myself as i also happen to use cinnamon, does kde perform better or is it more a recommendation to just try another composite manager to see if that resolves it? I ask as i just personally prefer how cinnamon looks to everything aside from old gnome, and while its close, i think xfce isnt for me after the xp era

Yes I believe this is the issue, as when I tested Wolfenstein I looked at my monitor’s contral menu and the refresh rate wasn’t matching the the game’s framerate of 60. I will see if freesync got disabled in monitor settings.

Evenn though the vsync option of wolfenstein is kind of broken I’ve had my monitor match the framerate regardless.

Im also not using freesync, turned off because it was making issues

Playing 1920x1080 60hz most of games, or framerate limited

1 Like

All right, it seems that the freesync feature is not working properly, I tried Dark Souls Remastered and it still isn’t matching the 60 fps framerate. My monitor freesync setting is enabled and the xrandr --props output says variable refresh rate is working, but in practice this is not true.

contents of “/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-amdgpu.conf”

Section "OutputClass"
	Identifier "AMD"
	MatchDriver "amdgpu"
	Driver "amdgpu"
	Option "EnablePageFlip" "off"
	Option "TearFree" "true"
EndSection
Section "Device"
     Identifier "AMD"
     Driver "amdgpu"
     Option "VariableRefresh" "true"
EndSection

xrandr --props output

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2560 x 1440, maximum 16384 x 16384
DisplayPort-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	GAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	DEGAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	GAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	CTM: 0 
	DEGAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	TearFree: on 
		supported: off, on, auto
	subconnector: Unknown 
		supported: Unknown, VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DP, Wireless, Native
	HDCP Content Type: HDCP Type0 
		supported: HDCP Type0, HDCP Type1
	Content Protection: Undesired 
		supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
	vrr_capable: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
	Colorspace: Default 
		supported: Default, BT709_YCC, opRGB, BT2020_RGB, BT2020_YCC
	max bpc: 16 
		range: (8, 16)
	underscan vborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan hborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan: off 
		supported: off, on, auto
	scaling mode: None 
		supported: None, Full, Center, Full aspect
	link-status: Good 
		supported: Good, Bad
	CONNECTOR_ID: 113 
		supported: 113
	non-desktop: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
DisplayPort-1 connected primary 2560x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 697mm x 393mm
	_MUTTER_PRESENTATION_OUTPUT: 0 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff0006b3a832b9020300
		191f0104b54627783b7e45ac4f47a627
		125054bfcf00d1c0714f81c081408180
		9500b3000101cef90064a0a015501520
		b800b9892100001a695e00a0a0a02950
		3020b804b9892100001a000000fd0030
		a5fafa41010a202020202020000000fc
		004153555320564733325651520a01dc
		02033a71490102030f0e10042f3f2309
		170783010000e200d567030c00100038
		446d1a0000020130a5000000000000e3
		05c081e606070161561c5aa000a0a0a0
		465030203500b9892100001a6fc200a0
		a0a0555030203500b9892100001a59e7
		006aa0a0675015203500b9892100001e
		000000000000000000000000000000d6
	GAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	DEGAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	GAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	CTM: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		0 1 
	DEGAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	TearFree: on 
		supported: off, on, auto
	subconnector: Native 
		supported: Unknown, VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DP, Wireless, Native
	HDCP Content Type: HDCP Type0 
		supported: HDCP Type0, HDCP Type1
	Content Protection: Undesired 
		supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
	vrr_capable: 1 
		range: (0, 1)
	Colorspace: Default 
		supported: Default, BT709_YCC, opRGB, BT2020_RGB, BT2020_YCC
	max bpc: 16 
		range: (8, 16)
	underscan vborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan hborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan: off 
		supported: off, on, auto
	scaling mode: None 
		supported: None, Full, Center, Full aspect
	link-status: Good 
		supported: Good, Bad
	CONNECTOR_ID: 121 
		supported: 121
	non-desktop: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
   2560x1440    164.55*+ 120.03    96.01    72.00    60.01    50.00    48.01   143.97   120.00    99.95    60.00  
   1920x1200    164.55  
   1920x1080    120.00   119.88    60.00    60.00    59.94  
   1600x1200    164.55  
   1680x1050     59.95  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1440x900      59.89  
   1280x960      60.00  
   1280x800     164.55  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1280x720     120.00   119.88    60.00    59.94  
   1024x768      75.03    70.07    60.00  
   1440x480      60.00    59.94  
   800x600       72.19    75.00    60.32    56.25  
   720x480       60.00    59.94  
   640x480       75.00    72.81    66.67    60.00    59.94  
   720x400       70.08  
DisplayPort-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	GAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	DEGAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	GAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	CTM: 0 
	DEGAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	TearFree: on 
		supported: off, on, auto
	subconnector: Unknown 
		supported: Unknown, VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DP, Wireless, Native
	HDCP Content Type: HDCP Type0 
		supported: HDCP Type0, HDCP Type1
	Content Protection: Undesired 
		supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
	vrr_capable: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
	Colorspace: Default 
		supported: Default, BT709_YCC, opRGB, BT2020_RGB, BT2020_YCC
	max bpc: 16 
		range: (8, 16)
	underscan vborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan hborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan: off 
		supported: off, on, auto
	scaling mode: None 
		supported: None, Full, Center, Full aspect
	link-status: Good 
		supported: Good, Bad
	CONNECTOR_ID: 127 
		supported: 127
	non-desktop: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
HDMI-A-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	GAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	DEGAMMA_LUT_SIZE: 4096 
		range: (0, -1)
	GAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	CTM: 0 
	DEGAMMA_LUT: 0 
		range: (0, 65535)
	TearFree: on 
		supported: off, on, auto
	HDCP Content Type: HDCP Type0 
		supported: HDCP Type0, HDCP Type1
	Content Protection: Undesired 
		supported: Undesired, Desired, Enabled
	vrr_capable: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
	Colorspace: Default 
		supported: Default, BT709_YCC, opRGB, BT2020_RGB, BT2020_YCC
	max bpc: 16 
		range: (8, 16)
	underscan vborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan hborder: 0 
		range: (0, 128)
	underscan: off 
		supported: off, on, auto
	scaling mode: None 
		supported: None, Full, Center, Full aspect
	link-status: Good 
		supported: Good, Bad
	CONNECTOR_ID: 132 
		supported: 132
	non-desktop: 0 
		range: (0, 1)

Nobara is going to use KDE as the default DE , steamOS use KDE , short answer is that KDE win most if not all the benchmarks with rare issues than the other Just works DE , so its just special plus the ability to even customize it .

is there an easy way to switch the DE on garuda and make it seem like it’s just the normal Garuda KDE version or should I just download the KDE iso and just reinstall the whole thing? Also the only reason I chose Cinnamon is because it’s the only one I liked the default configuration of on this distribution.

I truly believe Cinnamon could be an issue because when I was using Arch with DWM on this same computer I remember freesync working fine.

Thats the only way to actually get rid of annoying issues , even if you get one you will find a solutions quickly cause the user base of KDE is just so big and KDE get updated frequently to support the new hardware and technologies, KDE is the best for now for gaming .

alright I’ll just reinstall the whole thing I kind of hate its default look but luckily KDE is very customizeable.

1 Like

Alright, I got the KDE version installed, freesync still doesn’t work.

Ok, so it works fine with Wayland!!! It seems X org won’t use freesync (in my case)

1 Like

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