FreeSync and Linux

Support Graphics & Display
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1

Hi There !!

So I have got a compactible FreeSync compactible display and graphics card, so I enabled it with help of Arch Wiki and this Manjaro Forum.
Now doing

 $ systool -vm amdgpu | grep free                                                     
  freesync_video      = "1"

shows how my freesync is now enabled. But I really don’t know if that is enabled.

I am not quite educated on these topics and hence want to be educated on these things.

  1. Does freesync lower the refresh rate of my screen ? which if is possible would save my battery on my laptop.
  2. What effect freesync has on normal browsing and other things except gaming. I don’t game so I wanna know if enabling free-sync has any effect added on to my system ?

Hope you have a nice day :slight_smile:

2

compactible or compatible?
:grin:

3

I tested freesync with my monitor and AMD GPU a lot, but I noticed there is a big difference of freesync between Xorg and Wayland.

Freesync on X11/Xorg = V-Sync or unreal sync:

Real AMD Freesync does not work on Xorg, but it is like V-Sync → Number of FPS is very changeable/flexible, but a fixed Hz refresh rate is not flexible on your monitor. (example: XX FPS game != 144 Hz monitor, 144 Hz is fixed.)

Freesync on Wayland = real sync:

Freesync works fine on KDE Wayland → When I play some official games on Steam, number of FPS runs the same as number of Hz (refresh rate of my monitor) Of course, this refresh rate is automatically a lot changeable, not always 144 Hz, but 30Hz ← XX → 144Hz.
XX FPS game == XX Hz monitor , that looks like real sync between FPS (on GPU) and refresh rate of the monitor

No tearing screen when you use any browser or other apps without gaming, a fixed refresh rate of your monitor is not changeable except gaming.

You do not need to manually enable Freesync on Wayland, because it has already been integrated into Wayland.

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4

I meant compatible :grin: Gosh ! just a letter and the whole meaning changes.
but you sound like my english teacher :joy:

5

Thanks a lot.
I use X11 and seems like I have no real use of it. I think I will disable that freesync back from kernel parameters. I have one last question however does free sync benefit me if it were functional in my X11 ?
Like would that help reduce battery consumption in my normal browsing and reading pdf kind of things, you know normal people stuff ?

6

I can’t simply answer your question without measurement and proof when you do not play a game.

Theoretically I know Wayland + Monitor freesync is more efficient than Xorg + Monitor freesync when gaming, because:

  • Xorg refreshrate 144Hz is not changeable.
  • Wayland refreshrate 30Hz ← X ← 144Hz reduces power consumption of the monitor.

But overall, Wayland uses less power than Xorg on average:
See Laptops last longer with Wayland than with Xorg

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