SteamOS
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ValveSoftware
External display game mode performance issues
Your system information
- Steam client version:
- SteamOS version: 3.5.5 / 3.6
- Opted into Steam client beta?: [Yes/No]
- Opted into SteamOS beta?: Tried both
- Have you checked for updates in Settings > System?: Yes
Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
I have huge performance degradation when Steam Deck is connected to external display in game mode and display's resolution is above 1080p. Game mode shell is VERY luggy in 4k now, its around 15fps only with a lot of freezes.
It also impact on the game performance.
The second bug is the new fps/hz limiter is broke deck's performance when enabled on external display. Check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3fa135hcEg
When limiter is enabled, game will only runs in 20-25fps. When I clicked on the steam menus buttons - it become 40fps, so it runs normal while menus shown. After that I rotate camera in game a little and it become 20-25fps again. But if I disable limiter, the game will run smooth with 40-45 fps.
These issues doesnt exists on 3.5/3.6 builds, that was BEFORE 3.5.5 release builds. Also desktop mode seems to work well too.
Steps for reproducing this issue:
- Connect steam deck to external display
- Set resolution to 1440p/4k
- Game mode is very luggy
Some more info on 3.5.9:
Looks like it have 30fps cap, because it will never go above 30 anywhere in game mode (library, any game etc). It also works with kind of x0.5 coefficient with limiter (still caped to 30fps) For example, when I choose 120fps/hz in limiter, it caped 30fps. 60fps/120hz limit is also caped to 30fps. 40fps/120hz limit will be caped to 20fps. 30 -> 15 24 -> 12 20 -> 10.
It is VERY annoying regression, because now I have to choose 1080p120hz and can’t use 4k anymore. But just before 3.5 releases (oled merged to branches) it was OK.
It also works without any issues in 4k120hz in desktop mode.
Returning to legacy limiter and any other limit/unlimit combinations doesn’t help
Hello, are you able to tell me if you had a scaling filter such as FSR/NIS enabled when testing this?
Thanks!
Hello, are you able to tell me if you had a scaling filter such as FSR/NIS enabled when testing this?
Thanks!
Hello! No. Upscaling is off. I can provide detailed info with videos, if you want, just tell me what to show/check
Hello,
I ran into the same issue today. I was able to get some games to run at 4k60hz by manually setting the GPU clock to 1600. The steam menus would also report above 30fps after this, but they were still super choppy and laggy. No matter what I did I still couldn't get anything to go above 60hz unless I turned the resolution down to 1080p.
My completely uninformed guess says it has something to do with the way they turned the power curves for the OLED and the new APU. since the steam deck doesn't seem to want to devote a lot of power to run the menus, which makes sense but it's needed at 4k.
When connecting my OLED deck to my 4k60hz display, it's locked to 15fps :/
@Joshua-Ashton Sorry, after testing I realized that my issue was caused by NIS/FSR. Turning these off fixed it.
It feels very uncomfortable and unfair that my deck can’t do 4k now. Because it was able to
It should be fixed in Preview like I mentioned above. If it isn't, let me know.
It should be fixed in Preview like I mentioned above. If it isn't, let me know.
Im on some of the january builds, not the latest though. And the problem is still exists. I will try with the latest soon. But I can't notice anything related to this problem in the release notes. But i will test
Just tested with latest. It’s bugged. Game mode steam seems like caped to 40fps in 4k120 resolution. It’s very laggy and slow. Maybe it is not cap but performance limit, I don’t know.
in games it goes above, but fps/refresh limit seems to be bugged as well. I tried new (combined) and old. It’s weird. No fsr/nis.
It was much better just few months before. Desktop mode seems to work well.
I think it is gamescope bug.
Another weird thing that old fps limit options are for 4k144 resolution. It is 144/72/36. New one is 120/60/40/30/24.
Just tested today, using preview channel, and somewhat seems cap at 30fps (the tv is 60), at least, it is not 15 anymore. I changed the gpu clock and it did not affect anything, it was hard locked at 30fps using FSR, other methods were fine.
Build is 20240212.1 and kernel is 6.1.52-valve16-1-neptune-61.
@Joshua-Ashton Still seem to see people reporting the problem here on the bug report thread on the steam deck community hub. Seems like its hovering around 30 fps now when docked to an external display with fsr on instead of 15, though it seems like people are saying games like Tetris Effect used to run at 60 fps and such
I can confirm that the issue still exists. With 3.5.17 fps still going down from 60 to 30 when using FSR and the deck is connected to an external display (4k OLED over HDMI).
Happens on 3.5.17 as well on my 4k TV, framerate drops down to 15. I don't observe such a drop on my FHD projector.
It seems to be just the same: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/1/4295942652159365989/
it’s such a shame we have a 4k120 compatible device that is still limited due to some bug :(
@Joshua-Ashton
Still happening, 4K @ 60hz (manually set in Steam settings) w/ FSR enabled caps framerate in game to 30. I'm assuming wontfix with how long this has been open with no resonse
@polyjitter FSR'ing from 720p up to 4K is expensive. Realistically I should add a limit or something to 1080p then have the HW scale it up from there.
@polyjitter FSR'ing from 720p up to 4K is expensive. Realistically I should add a limit or something to 1080p then have the HW scale it up from there.
I do understand that it's expensive, but also this is experienced attempt to go from 1080 -> 4K. It kinda makes FSR pointless because I get higher framerates than that at native 4K anyways lol (just not full 60FPS, like I was hoping to hit in older games like Sonic Generations)
@polyjitter FSR'ing from 720p up to 4K is expensive. Realistically I should add a limit or something to 1080p then have the HW scale it up from there.
Is it the cause of 4k120 being stuck at 30fps on gaming mode though (as it happens in any case)?
Anything we can do to fix it?
@francois-pasquier Even without FSR? I do not see that behaviour here on my display. Can you give details as to what your setup is?
@francois-pasquier Even without FSR? I do not see that behaviour here on my display. Can you give details as to what your setup is?
On the screenshot you can see, the framelimit is at 60fps but the chosen resolution@refresh was 4k@120
Yes, 4k@120 is locked on 30fps max without FSR. Enabling FSR lowers it to 20fps.
basically 4k@60 works fine but as soon as I enable a higher refresh rate, everything is super slow including launching games and menus. (Here it’s not only the static screen but also interacting with it and the game itself)
I am on Beta channel, version 3.5.17 20240228.2
regarding my setup: I tried multiple configurations:
deck-official dock-dp to hdmi 2.1 adapter-hdmi 2.1 cable-tv Deck-usb c hub-hdmi 2.1 cable-tv Deck-3rd party dock (hdmi 2.1)-hdmi 2.1 cable-tv
- variants with my receiver before TV
Everything is hdmi 2.1 certified
I know others are experiencing the same issue (discord, steamcommunity) and confirmed it was fine some updates before.