strange artifacts on kde plasma

theodore · 2019-08-06 20:29:47

I have a fairly new installation of a kde plasma desktop environment on new laptop rig where I use optimus-manager in order to switch graphics (intel, nvidia) when needed. However, I have noticed some strange artifacts showing up when I am using the desktop on multiple applications with the issue to be more intense when I am using the intel graphics. Some examples of what I mean could be seen in the images below:

This is happening when I am trying to maximize a window to full screen, and where an instant flickering of a smaller box shows up before the windows finally maximizes to full screen and it happens constantly and both when I am using intel or nvidia graphics:

This happens (not always) when I restore the full screen window to a smaller one and only with the intel graphics. Once I hove my cursor over the window then the second tabs bar gets away and I get the windows as supposed to be:

This happens for example in koloupaint when I am trying to process an image and while I am moving the cursor it leaves "trails" of the cursor over the image (happens always with the intel graphics, not tested with the nvidia):

and here some other artifacts on yakuake, showing up only with the intel graphics:

to be honest I am not quite sure what to blame and whether it is a driver issue (not likely since, I get a similar more or less behavior with both drivers) or a plasma and possible compositor issue? I am also using xserver and not wayland. Thus, any idea or proposal what to test so that to fix it or narrow down the possible cause is welcome.

Last edited by theodore (2019-08-07 13:43:31)

seth · 2019-08-07 13:54:05

Thanks for only posting thumbnails, but there're no links to the full-size images… ;-)

theodore · 2019-08-07 17:01:40

@seth sorry for the thumbnails but I didn't need to upload an image before here thus it was quite tricky to correctly upload the images without abusing the rules. Anyways, here you should be able to find the images in the same order in full size. If you still have issues please let me know.

My understanding is that the problem is due to the compositor, at the moment I am using opengl 3.1 as rendering backend, with accurate scaling method and tearing prevention to automatic. However trying different suggestions found online and supposedly worked for other people like changing the rendering backend (between opengl 3.1, 2.0, xrender), scale method, or changing the tearing prevention to other options, etc did not help in my case. I would say that I have tried almost all combinations. Also setting the framerate (played also with 60 which is the actual framerate of my screen, still did not work) of the compositor with the following under the [Compositing] section of ~/.config/kwinrc did not work as well.

MaxFPS=75
RefreshRate=75

Actually I tried to deactivate the compositor but it seems that this did not make any difference. Also to mention that I am on high resolution 3840x2160 with hidpi and scaled display to 1.8 if that makes any help.

Last edited by theodore (2019-08-07 17:09:44)

V1del · 2019-08-07 17:27:05

Which xorg ddx are you using on intel? modesetting? FWIW you might just run into the current psr issues, do things get better with

i915.enable_psr=0

added to your kernel parameters?

theodore · 2019-08-07 20:23:40

I am using modesetting but I have tried intel as well (before I totally uninstall xf86-video-intel, as you were suggesting in another thread since it seems that it is discontinued), did not make any difference though. Tried the i915.enable_psr=0 kernel parameter did not work. The point is that the issue with the install window flickering shown in the fist images I am getting it with the nvidia driver as well that't why I am saying that the problem might be with the compositor however the strange thing is that even if I disable the compositor the problem insists.

Last edited by theodore (2019-08-07 20:26:45)

seth · 2019-08-07 20:30:39

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … RI3_issues ?

theodore · 2019-08-07 21:08:46

seth wrote:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … RI3_issues ?

Nope, tried that before. Tried it now again, same result.

V1del · 2019-08-07 23:11:35

Well "happens with nvidia as well", doesn't have to be an nvidia issue, as the final display is still done by the intel graphics card, so you could well see a direct effect of that as well. FWIW on my (only nvidia, no Optimus) system I don't have any such artifacts. I will have to dig up my laptop to check whether I get similar issues.

The fact that you can reproduce without the compositor basically shows that it isn't a compositor issue. Can you try the LTS kernel (don't forget nvidia-lts if you do)? As I'd assume it not having included the problematic patches.

theodore · 2019-08-08 12:34:50

@V1del tried the LTS kernel, the issue still there :-(.

V1del · 2019-08-08 12:50:36

Just to check some general things, what output do you get from

qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin supportInformation

theodore · 2019-08-08 13:40:09

$ qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin supportInformation
KWin Support Information:
The following information should be used when requesting support on e.g. https://forum.kde.org.
It provides information about the currently running instance, which options are used,
what OpenGL driver and which effects are running.
Please post the information provided underneath this introductory text to a paste bin service
like https://paste.kde.org instead of pasting into support threads.

==========================

Version
=======
KWin version: 5.16.4
Qt Version: 5.13.0
Qt compile version: 5.13.0
XCB compile version: 1.13.1

Operation Mode: X11 only

Build Options
=============
KWIN_BUILD_DECORATIONS: yes
KWIN_BUILD_TABBOX: yes
KWIN_BUILD_ACTIVITIES: yes
HAVE_DRM: yes
HAVE_GBM: yes
HAVE_EGL_STREAMS: yes
HAVE_X11_XCB: yes
HAVE_EPOXY_GLX: yes
HAVE_WAYLAND_EGL: yes

X11
===
Vendor: The X.Org Foundation
Vendor Release: 12005000
Protocol Version/Revision: 11/0
SHAPE: yes; Version: 0x11
RANDR: yes; Version: 0x14
DAMAGE: yes; Version: 0x11
Composite: yes; Version: 0x4
RENDER: yes; Version: 0xb
XFIXES: yes; Version: 0x50
SYNC: yes; Version: 0x31
GLX: yes; Version: 0x0

Decoration
==========
Plugin: org.kde.breeze
Theme: 
Blur: 0
onAllDesktopsAvailable: false
alphaChannelSupported: true
closeOnDoubleClickOnMenu: false
decorationButtonsLeft: 0, 2
decorationButtonsRight: 6, 3, 4, 5
borderSize: 3
gridUnit: 18
font: Noto Sans,10,-1,0,50,0,0,0,0,0,Regular
smallSpacing: 4
largeSpacing: 18

Platform
==========
Name: KWin::X11StandalonePlatform

Options
=======
focusPolicy: 0
nextFocusPrefersMouse: false
clickRaise: true
autoRaise: false
autoRaiseInterval: 0
delayFocusInterval: 0
shadeHover: false
shadeHoverInterval: 250
separateScreenFocus: false
placement: 4
focusPolicyIsReasonable: true
borderSnapZone: 10
windowSnapZone: 10
centerSnapZone: 0
snapOnlyWhenOverlapping: false
rollOverDesktops: true
focusStealingPreventionLevel: 1
legacyFullscreenSupport: false
operationTitlebarDblClick: 5000
operationMaxButtonLeftClick: 5000
operationMaxButtonMiddleClick: 5015
operationMaxButtonRightClick: 5014
commandActiveTitlebar1: 0
commandActiveTitlebar2: 30
commandActiveTitlebar3: 2
commandInactiveTitlebar1: 4
commandInactiveTitlebar2: 30
commandInactiveTitlebar3: 2
commandWindow1: 7
commandWindow2: 8
commandWindow3: 8
commandWindowWheel: 31
commandAll1: 10
commandAll2: 3
commandAll3: 14
keyCmdAllModKey: 16777251
showGeometryTip: false
condensedTitle: false
electricBorderMaximize: true
electricBorderTiling: true
electricBorderCornerRatio: 0.25
borderlessMaximizedWindows: false
killPingTimeout: 5000
hideUtilityWindowsForInactive: true
inactiveTabsSkipTaskbar: false
autogroupSimilarWindows: false
autogroupInForeground: true
compositingMode: 1
useCompositing: true
compositingInitialized: true
hiddenPreviews: 1
glSmoothScale: 2
xrenderSmoothScale: false
maxFpsInterval: 16666666
refreshRate: 0
vBlankTime: 6000000
glStrictBinding: true
glStrictBindingFollowsDriver: true
glCoreProfile: true
glPreferBufferSwap: 101
glPlatformInterface: 1
windowsBlockCompositing: true

Screen Edges
============
desktopSwitching: false
desktopSwitchingMovingClients: false
cursorPushBackDistance: 1x1
timeThreshold: 150
reActivateThreshold: 350
actionTopLeft: 0
actionTop: 0
actionTopRight: 0
actionRight: 0
actionBottomRight: 0
actionBottom: 0
actionBottomLeft: 0
actionLeft: 0

Screens
=======
Multi-Head: no
Active screen follows mouse:  no
Number of Screens: 1

Screen 0:
---------
Name: eDP-1
Geometry: 0,0,3840x2160
Scale: 1
Refresh Rate: 60.0002


Compositing
===========
Compositing is active
Compositing Type: OpenGL
OpenGL vendor string: Intel Open Source Technology Center
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 (Coffeelake 3x8 GT2) 
OpenGL version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 19.1.4
OpenGL platform interface: GLX
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.50
Driver: Intel
GPU class: Unknown
OpenGL version: 4.5
GLSL version: 4.50
Mesa version: 19.1.4
X server version: 1.20.5
Linux kernel version: 5.2.6
Direct rendering: Requires strict binding: yes
GLSL shaders:  yes
Texture NPOT support:  yes
Virtual Machine:  no
OpenGL 2 Shaders are used
Painting blocks for vertical retrace:  no

Loaded Effects:
---------------
zoom
kwin4_effect_windowaperture
kwin4_effect_morphingpopups
kwin4_effect_translucency
kwin4_effect_login
kwin4_effect_dialogparent
kwin4_effect_fadingpopups
kwin4_effect_logout
kwin4_effect_maximize
kwin4_effect_frozenapp
kwin4_effect_fade
slidingpopups
slide
screenshot
magiclamp
flipswitch
desktopgrid
coverswitch
colorpicker
wobblywindows
presentwindows
highlightwindow
blur
contrast
startupfeedback
screenedge
kscreen

Currently Active Effects:
-------------------------
blur
contrast

Effect Settings:
----------------
zoom:
zoomFactor: 1.2
mousePointer: 0
mouseTracking: 0
enableFocusTracking: false
followFocus: true
focusDelay: 350
moveFactor: 20
targetZoom: 1

kwin4_effect_windowaperture:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_morphingpopups:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_translucency:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_login:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_dialogparent:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_fadingpopups:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_logout:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_maximize:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_frozenapp:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

kwin4_effect_fade:
isActiveFullScreenEffect: false

slidingpopups:
slideInDuration: 150
slideOutDuration: 250

slide:
duration: 500
horizontalGap: 45
verticalGap: 20
slideDocks: false
slideBackground: true

screenshot:

magiclamp:

flipswitch:
tabBox: false
tabBoxAlternative: true
duration: 200
angle: 30
xPosition: 0.33000001311302185
yPosition: 1
windowTitle: true

desktopgrid:
zoomDuration: 300
border: 10
desktopNameAlignment: 0
layoutMode: 0
customLayoutRows: 2
usePresentWindows: true

coverswitch:
animationDuration: 200
animateSwitch: true
animateStart: true
animateStop: true
reflection: true
windowTitle: true
zPosition: 900
primaryTabBox: true
secondaryTabBox: false

colorpicker:

wobblywindows:
stiffness: 0.15
drag: 0.8
moveFactor: 0.1
xTesselation: 20
yTesselation: 20
minVelocity: 0
maxVelocity: 1000
stopVelocity: 0.5
minAcceleration: 0
maxAcceleration: 1000
stopAcceleration: 0.5
moveEffectEnabled: true
openEffectEnabled: false
closeEffectEnabled: false
moveWobble: true
resizeWobble: true

presentwindows:
layoutMode: 0
showCaptions: true
showIcons: true
doNotCloseWindows: false
ignoreMinimized: false
accuracy: 20
fillGaps: true
fadeDuration: 150
showPanel: false
leftButtonWindow: 1
rightButtonWindow: 2
middleButtonWindow: 0
leftButtonDesktop: 2
middleButtonDesktop: 0
rightButtonDesktop: 0

highlightwindow:

blur:

contrast:

startupfeedback:
type: 1

screenedge:

kscreen:

seth · 2019-08-08 14:15:01

Do you maybe make use of https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … cs#Tearing ?

theodore · 2019-08-08 19:27:42

The tearing option I had it enabled since the beginning. After some further trial and error I noticed that switching to intel driver instead of modesetting and setting the "xna" acceleration option (it is provided as an option in the optimus-manager, not mentioned anywhere else) in the xorg configuration file as follows:

Section "Device"
        Identifier "intel"
        Driver "intel"
        BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
        Option "AccelMethod" "xna"
        Option "TearFree" "true"
        Option "DRI" "3"
EndSection

seems to improve a bit the output especially regarding the trailing marks in some applications and the horizontal/vertical lines in yakuake.

I still have the instant flickering window when I restore/maximize the windows though. I also tried the "uxa" option as suggested in the troubleshooting section in the wiki but though it also removed the trailing marks and the lines in yakuake (not worked for the flickering box in the windows as well) it created some other issues like lagging and some kind of "slowness" in the window manager performance thus I decided to keep "xna" for the moment.

if you have any other idea how to get rid of this restore/maximize I am open to try it.

seth · 2019-08-08 19:31:18

The idea was to disable the TearFree feature. Also downgrade DRI to 2 (we'll try to avoid all pot. troublemakers until the problem is gone, then re-enable them one by one until one or a combination of some triggers the issue)

theodore · 2019-08-08 21:21:51

I see. Well setting the TearFeature to false and downgrading DRI to 2 both combined or individually did not help with the flickering thing.

glavin · 2019-08-09 11:58:13

Issue might be from last xorg-server update
https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/62973

Last edited by glavin (2019-08-09 11:59:10)

theodore · 2019-08-09 13:45:35

@glavin you might be right, it could be due to this bug. Actually, today once I logged in again I noticed the issue was back even with setting "xna" as acceleration method while yesterday night that was working partially fine. I will try to downgrade to 1.20.4-1 if possible and see whether this helps or not.

Thanks for the reporting.

theodore · 2019-08-12 19:53:31

well trying to downgrade xorg-server, had the result of not being able to load the desktop manager so I switched back to the latest version. However, since the update of the kernel yesterday the modesetting driver performs better (e.i. trailing artifacts and horizontal lines are gone, I still have the flickering window thing). It seems that it is an upstream issue, I guess I will just need to leave with it until it is fixed with an update or something.

Arch Linux

#1 2019-08-06 20:29:47

strange artifacts on kde plasma

#2 2019-08-07 13:54:05

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#3 2019-08-07 17:01:40

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#4 2019-08-07 17:27:05

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#5 2019-08-07 20:23:40

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#6 2019-08-07 20:30:39

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#7 2019-08-07 21:08:46

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#8 2019-08-07 23:11:35

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#9 2019-08-08 12:34:50

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#10 2019-08-08 12:50:36

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#11 2019-08-08 13:40:09

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#12 2019-08-08 14:15:01

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#13 2019-08-08 19:27:42

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#14 2019-08-08 19:31:18

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#15 2019-08-08 21:21:51

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#16 2019-08-09 11:58:13

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#17 2019-08-09 13:45:35

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

#18 2019-08-12 19:53:31

Re: strange artifacts on kde plasma

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