Massive Game Stutter Linux

This is a bizarre stutter issue the is specific to Horizon Zero Dawn on Linux through Proton.

I have several laptops that both have and don’t have this stutter issue.

The laptops with this problem is Lenovo Legion 5 with a 165hz panel.

The two laptops without this problem have 144hz and 240hz panel.

The other difference is that Lenovo Legion 5 has a dgpu and igpu mode while the other laptops only have igpu.

I tried switching to igpu on Lenovo Legion 5 with no fix. I tried connecting an external monitor and disabling the 165hz panel and got no fix.

When I xrandr on Lenovo Legion 5 I only see 165hz as an option.

I’m certain the issue is either related to the display or the mux switch.

In terms of cpu/gpu we are dealing with 5800h on all systems.

Two rtx 3070’s and a 6600m/6700m

regardless of specs the issue is specifically related to Lenovo Legion 5 with mux switch and 165hz panel.

What OS, what kernel version, what mesa version? OGL or Vulkan? You need to give us a little more information to work with.

The stutter issue is either going to be a shader issue, or that the frame rate is outside of the bounds of VRR for your setup.

arch, mesa 22.1.7, kernel 5.19.7 and linux mint 21 kernel 5.15, not sure on mesa, pc not on hand.

But as my post describes the stutter doesn’t happen on either OS, mesa or kernel necessarily. it just comes down to the particular device itself. Lenovo Legion 5 with a mux switch dgpu and 165hz panel.

And the issue is only related to Horizon Zero Dawn on Linux.

It’s extremely odd bug

There seems to be a lot of variables here. Is the stuttering only happening on one make of GPU?

No, it happens on a 6600m and rtx 3070 mobile, but not on a 6700m and another rtx 3070 mobile.

That’s what makes it so weird.

Then it is a shader optimization issue. There is a flag in steam to tell the system to rebuild the shader cache before launching the game.

Just a heads up, if you are using the same drive between systems and they have different GPUs the shader cache will invalidate the other and must be recompile. It is also recommend that games with heavy shader compilation should sit a the loading screen for a few minutes when running AMD hardware.

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How do you rebuild the shader cache in lutris or heroic game launcher? I can play the game indefinitely and the stutter continues indefinitely. The experience is completely unbearable to the eyes, mind and stomach.

Again everything works fine on certain computers, but not with other computers. Even if they both have the same cpu/gpu.

I use raw wine and in steam I use proton. I cannot answer that question.

Then it is a configuration issue. We would need more information to help troubleshoot. As @isaacjohnson said, there are a lot of variables here.

Do understand that VVR is still iffy on GNU/Linux right now, especially Wayland. If you are using wayland, switch to X and see if that makes a difference, and vice versa.

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What OS, what kernel version, what mesa version? OGL or Vulkan? You need to give us a little more information to work with

This is why the site forums.linuxmint.com has a " Before you post please read How to get help ( with how to get help being a link to click and step five ) in which step 5 of that link explains how to post system information.

It saves everyone much time wasting speculation often.

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Doesn’t Mint use XFCE? That needs a bit of configuration for smooth gaming I think (xorg-conf stuff)