Arch Linux

beta990

Member

Registered: 2011-07-10

Posts: 207

AMD R9 270 sync issues

Hi all,

My system specs:
Intel i5-2400
8GB DDR3 RAM
Samsung SSD 256GB EVO 840
Club 3D Radeon R9 270 royalQueen GPU
Arch Linux x64 (UEFI) with Gnome-shell
Windows 8.1 Pro (No issues)

At the moment I'm having a lot of sync/lag issues:
- Moving windows causing stuttering/out-of-sync borders
- Playing a video on VLC causing a lot of sync issues (e.g. refresh rates are incorrect)
- Dual-monitor setup: When scrolling on the first monitor and playing a movie (on VLC) causes lag

I have followed all the steps describe on the ATI ArchWiki:
- Tried switching from EXA to Glamor/Glamor to EXA
- Tried all the tweaks/options that can be set (gartsize, AccelDFS, ..)

What I haven't tried is the AMD drivers. But since they aren't 100% compatible (e.g. with Xorg), I want to check for a solution for the open drivers first.

Thanks!

Last edited by beta990 (2015-01-30 11:35:02)

Morn

Member

Registered: 2012-09-02

Posts: 886

Re: AMD R9 270 sync issues

Catalyst with activated tear free desktop in Catalyst Control Center is the only perfect solution I've found. Everything else (e.g. the KDE compositor's vsync support) still produces some artifacts when playing back video. I think downgrading X is a small price to pay for smooth video playback.

beta990

Member

Registered: 2011-07-10

Posts: 207

Re: AMD R9 270 sync issues

Catalyst with activated tear free desktop in Catalyst Control Center is the only perfect solution I've found. Everything else (e.g. the KDE compositor's vsync support) still produces some artifacts when playing back video. I think downgrading X is a small price to pay for smooth video playback.

Ok Thanks.

KMS doesn't work and AMD hasn't Wayland support (doesn't work proper on radeon, so not a big problem).

Going to move to Catalyst than.

Morn

Member

Registered: 2012-09-02

Posts: 886

Re: AMD R9 270 sync issues

KMS is really only important if you switch back and forth between X and the console a lot…

beta990

Member

Registered: 2011-07-10

Posts: 207

Re: AMD R9 270 sync issues

KMS is really only important if you switch back and forth between X and the console a lot…

Ok thanks!

Now switched to Catalyst.. and indeed all the (sync) problems are gone!
All works smooth and I don't get any weird errors anymore.

Don't blame the open-source drivers, because they may not have all the information.
When I have the time, will investigate and report the issue.

Morn

Member

Registered: 2012-09-02

Posts: 886

Re: AMD R9 270 sync issues

Don't blame the open-source drivers, because they may not have all the information.
When I have the time, will investigate and report the issue.

I don't blame them, but with all the compositing and desktop effects in KDE, Gnome 3, Enlightenment, etc. the Open Source driver is increasingly falling behind. I.e., even if you never play 3-D games on Linux, Catalyst is still far better at the moment. I like Open Source, but sometimes you have to use what works best.

beta990

Member

Registered: 2011-07-10

Posts: 207

Re: AMD R9 270 sync issues

Don't blame the open-source drivers, because they may not have all the information.
When I have the time, will investigate and report the issue.

I don't blame them, but with all the compositing and desktop effects in KDE, Gnome 3, Enlightenment, etc. the Open Source driver is increasingly falling behind. I.e., even if you never play 3-D games on Linux, Catalyst is still far better at the moment. I like Open Source, but sometimes you have to use what works best.

I agree, not everything can be open-source. But just hope it doesn't doesn't lead to lock-ins, etc.
But we will see in the future.