Screen Tearing in KDE Plasma (Radeon Graphics / Ryzen 5)

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1

I’m getting screen tearing on a new laptop. I had Manjaro + KDE Plasma on my last laptop, but the last laptop also had a 1660Ti and a Ryzen 7 and now I’ve downgraded to a Ryzen 5 and Radeon graphics (I wasn’t dealing with nvidia driver issues again :slight_smile: ). I’ve attempted a couple of solutions but nothing has worked as of yet. The most prominent result was to turn TearFree on, but doing it manually with xrandr ‘crashes’ (?) KDE Plasma. I get logged out and I have to log back in, but when I check xrandr --props it doesn’t seem to turn it on.

As always, here’s inxi output. Sorry if I’m just foolish, but I’d really appreciate any help.

System:
  Kernel: 5.15.74-3-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15-x86_64
    root=UUID=e6f35551-64ad-4cfa-bd4b-b2623324c91c rw quiet apparmor=1
    security=apparmor resume=UUID=b4aa7ba9-8910-4b33-8e17-9cc10f6dd579
    udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.25.5 tk: Qt v: 5.15.6 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 1 dm: SDDM
    Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Inspiron 15 3515 v: 1.4.0
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: 1.4.0
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Dell model: 04D48M v: A00 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: Dell
    v: 1.4.0 date: 01/10/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT1 charge: 37.8 Wh (92.6%) condition: 40.8/40.8 Wh (100.0%)
    volts: 12.6 min: 11.2 model: ATL 0x47,0x59,0x4D,0x44,0x00,0x00,0x0014
    type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: discharging
Memory:
  RAM: total: 29.27 GiB used: 2.86 GiB (9.8%)
  RAM Report: permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges
    required.
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 5 3450U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx bits: 64
    type: MT MCP arch: Zen/Zen+ note: check gen: 1 level: v3 note: check
    built: 2019 process: GF 12nm family: 0x17 (23) model-id: 0x18 (24)
    stepping: 1 microcode: 0x8108109
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 4 tpc: 2 threads: 8 smt: enabled cache:
    L1: 384 KiB desc: d-4x32 KiB; i-4x64 KiB L2: 2 MiB desc: 4x512 KiB L3: 4 MiB
    desc: 1x4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1221 high: 1223 min/max: 1400/2100 boost: enabled
    scaling: driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 1222 2: 1222
    3: 1222 4: 1222 5: 1221 6: 1221 7: 1222 8: 1223 bogomips: 33547
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm adx aes aperfmperf apic arat avic avx avx2 bmi1
    bmi2 bpext clflush clflushopt clzero cmov cmp_legacy constant_tsc cpb
    cpuid cr8_legacy cx16 cx8 de decodeassists extapic extd_apicid f16c
    flushbyasid fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr fxsr_opt ht hw_pstate ibpb irperf
    lahf_lm lbrv lm mca mce misalignsse mmx mmxext monitor movbe msr mtrr
    mwaitx nonstop_tsc nopl npt nrip_save nx osvw overflow_recov pae pat
    pausefilter pclmulqdq pdpe1gb perfctr_core perfctr_llc perfctr_nb
    pfthreshold pge pni popcnt pse pse36 rapl rdrand rdseed rdtscp rep_good
    sep sev sev_es sha_ni skinit smap smca sme smep ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1
    sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 succor svm svm_lock syscall tce topoext tsc tsc_scale
    v_vmsave_vmload vgif vmcb_clean vme vmmcall wdt xgetbv1 xsave xsavec
    xsaveerptr xsaveopt xsaves
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed mitigation: untrained return thunk; SMT vulnerable
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl and seccomp
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, STIBP:
    disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Picasso/Raven 2 [Radeon Vega Series / Radeon Mobile Series]
    vendor: Dell driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: GCN-5 code: Vega
    process: GF 14nm built: 2017-20 pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
    ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 03:00.0
    chip-ID: 1002:15d8 class-ID: 0300 temp: 47.0 C
  Device-2: Microdia Integrated_Webcam_HD type: USB driver: uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 3-2:3 chip-ID: 0c45:6730 class-ID: 0e02
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.4 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: amdgpu gpu: amdgpu display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1366x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 361x203mm (14.21x7.99")
    s-diag: 414mm (16.31")
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 mapped: eDP model: BOE Display 0x08cd built: 2019
    res: 1366x768 dpi: 101 gamma: 1.2 size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64")
    diag: 395mm (15.5") ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1366x768 min: 640x480
  OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 14.0.6 256 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 22.1.7
    direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP Audio vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 03:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:15de class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_pci_acp3x v: kernel alternate: snd_rn_pci_acp3x,snd_pci_acp5x
    pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 03:00.5 chip-ID: 1022:15e2
    class-ID: 0480
  Device-3: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 03:00.6
    chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403
  Sound API: ALSA v: k5.15.74-3-MANJARO running: yes
  Sound Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.21 running: no
  Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 16.1 running: yes
  Sound Server-3: PipeWire v: 0.3.58 running: yes
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
    driver: rtw_8821ce v: N/A modules: rtw88_8821ce pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s
    lanes: 1 port: 2000 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:c821 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
    broadcast: <filter>
  IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Realtek Bluetooth Radio type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8
    bus-ID: 1-2.4:3 chip-ID: 0bda:c829 class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 2 state: down bt-service: enabled,running
    rfk-block: hardware: no software: yes address: see --recommends
Logical:
  Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
  Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 58.03 GiB (24.3%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: SK Hynix model: BC711 NVMe 256GB
    size: 238.47 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
    lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 41002131 temp: 27.9 C scheme: GPT
  Message: No optical or floppy data found.
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 229.37 GiB size: 224.71 GiB (97.97%) used: 58.03 GiB
    (25.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2 label: N/A
    uuid: e6f35551-64ad-4cfa-bd4b-b2623324c91c
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%) used: 288 KiB
    (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1 label: NO_LABEL
    uuid: BB69-B6B3
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8.8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3 label: swap
    uuid: b4aa7ba9-8910-4b33-8e17-9cc10f6dd579
Unmounted:
  Message: No unmounted partitions found.
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 4 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Hub-2: 1-2:2 info: Terminus Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
    power: 100mA chip-ID: 1a40:0101 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-2.4:3 info: Realtek Bluetooth Radio type: Bluetooth
    driver: btusb interfaces: 2 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s power: 500mA
    chip-ID: 0bda:c829 class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
  Hub-3: 2-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 4 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
  Hub-4: 3-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 3-1:2 info: Logitech Unifying Receiver type: Keyboard,Mouse,HID
    driver: logitech-djreceiver,usbhid interfaces: 3 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
    power: 98mA chip-ID: 046d:c52b class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: 3-2:3 info: Microdia Integrated_Webcam_HD type: Video
    driver: uvcvideo interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s power: 500mA
    chip-ID: 0c45:6730 class-ID: 0e02
  Hub-5: 4-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 1 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 47.0 C mobo: 41.0 C sodimm: SODIMM C gpu: amdgpu
    temp: 47.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Info:
  Processes: 258 Uptime: 24m wakeups: 5 Init: systemd v: 251
  default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 clang: 14.0.6
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1441 libs: 377 tools: pamac,yay pm: flatpak
  pkgs: 0 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.16 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.22
2

does it happen also with different kernels? 6.0.2 or 5.10

1 Like
3

I actually have not checked. I stuck with 5.15 since it was the latest LTS when I started using Manjaro on my last laptop, but I will give it a try and get back to this on whether or not the issue persisted. Thank you for the suggestion.

4

I’ve attempted upgrading to 6.0.2. Currently I am fighting my new laptop to display the UEFI boot loader menu as it won’t show me the different kernel options like my old laptop used to, but as of right now I still have the screen tearing issue.

5

for grub menu to be shown during boot:
kate /etc/default/grub
and edit this line to look like this:
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu
save the file and update grub:
sudo update-grub
reboot and you can select different kernel

1 Like
6

You’re a saint. I’ll get back to you soon on whether downgrading got rid of the screen tearing issue.

7

yes try with the 6.0 kernel and with the 5.10 kernel

8

Trying the laptop out with the 6.0 and 5.10 kernel doesn’t seem to change anything on the screen tearing front. I use this video in order to verify that it’s not just my eyes playing tricks on me, and sure enough screen tearing is still present. Thank you for your help thus far.

9

from arch wiki, on how to disable tearing:
create this file:
kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-amdgpu.conf
and add there this:

Section "Device"
     Identifier "AMD"
     Driver "amdgpu"
     Option "TearFree" "true"
EndSection

save it, reboot and test

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/AMDGPU

10

I’ve attempted this fix before with no luck, however I have a feeling that these settings aren’t actually being applied. I forget which command I ran, but running a certain command showed that after I reboot that TearFree doesn’t set itself to true. I think I attempted manually setting it in the command line only to be met with at least a KDE reboot, but its been a few weeks so I don’t remember the specifics of this attempt.

damn_amd

Screenshot just in case I’m a fool and I had a spelling or formatting error.

11

looks ok…
post output from:

xrandr --verbose | grep "TearFree"
ls /etc/modprobe.d
find /etc/X11/ -name "*.conf"

and was the screen tearing there right after you installed?

12

I’m honestly not too sure. I only really noticed it approximately a week after I bought the laptop and installed Manjaro. Unfortunately I cannot test on Windows to see if it has the same issue since I did a full install / wipe instead of dual booting like on my old laptop.

Here’s the output:

        TearFree: off 
        TearFree: off 
        TearFree: off 
        TearFree: off 
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-amdgpu.conf
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/30-touchpad.conf
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf

The TearFree: off isn’t looking super promising.

13

well it should be ‘on’ …
do you have installed this: xf86-video-amdgpu? check with:
pacman -Qs xf86-video-amdgpu

also post output from:
mhwd -li

14

I did not. I just installed it. Here’s the output of mhwd -li

> Installed PCI configs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  NAME               VERSION          FREEDRIVER           TYPE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           video-linux            2018.05.04                true            PCI


Warning: No installed USB configs!
15

so you didnt have this installed: xf86-video-amdgpu?
so reboot and check again with:

xrandr --verbose | grep "TearFree"