What tips do you know to improve video smoothness in games?

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I’m an AMD GPU user and recently learned about two options that really seemed to work together nicely to smooth out my slightly “choppy” visuals I’ve been experiencing… to the point where I was wondering if FreeSync was even working.

  1. The first option likely helps any GPU user, and that was to disable the compositor before starting a gaming session. I noticed some games I’ve launched from Steam do disable the compositor on their own… but not all of them.
  2. The second option was to turn on TearFree @ AMDGPU - ArchWiki. I used the command xrandr --output DisplayPort-0 --set TearFree on… only after making sure to run xrandr -q first to make sure I selected the right monitor/connection

What other tricks/tips have you learned that I might not have considered or know about? I’ve only migrated to GNU/Linux (from Win10) since July this year… and learning things every day.

I’ve also had a habit of disabling VSYNC in games… typically because of the old idea of it generating lag… but maybe times have changed?

Have you ever experienced issues related to multi-monitor setups?

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I use gamemode by Feral Interactive.

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That’s an interesting option @chickengod … nice to see some game developers creating GNU/Linux tools for their games… and I recently installed Tomb Raider (not on the supported list) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (on the list).

I don’t see mention of Steam integration… have you experienced it working for Steam games?

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Not integrated on Steam but, it helped add some speed on xcom 2 wotc frames for my GTX1650.

The game is sadly unoptimized on Linux despite it having a native version.

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In my limited experience so far under Steam, I’ve found that just about all titles with native Linux support run better once set to run under Proton.

The typical reasoning I keep reading is that the “Linux Ports” get an initial release date and then are basically abandoned with little to no updates… unlike the Windows (via Proton) versions that see way more (if not all) love and attention.

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I am using game mode but did some custom settings on my own to make screen more smooth for my viewing.

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Thats only temporary … why not actually create the module options file?
(I will include all of mine because why not)

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-amdgpu.conf

Section "Device"
     Identifier "AMD"
     Driver "amdgpu"
     Option "TearFree" "on"
     Option "SWCursor" "on"
EndSection
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Definitely an option I’m thinking about @cscs ! In the meantime I have the command “auto-running” inside a bash login script.

I looked into the new SWCursor parameter you’ve suggested… and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an issue with the cursor rendering, so I’ll hold onto that knowledge for now… thanks for sharing!

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