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Unplayable framerates in game but specific kernel versions work, maybe amdgpu problem

DISCUSSION [email protected] 2 participants 6 messages May 7, 2025 – Oct 10, 2025

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#0 lore raw

Hello kernel/driver developers,

I hope, with my information it's possible to find a bug/problem in the kernel. Otherwise I am sorry, that I disturbed you. I only use LTS kernels, but I can narrow it down to a hand full of them, where it works.

The PC: Manjaro Stable/Cinnamon/X11/AMD Ryzen 5 2600/Radeon HD 7790/8GB RAM I already asked the Manjaro community, but with no luck.

The game: Hellpoint (GOG Linux latest version, Unity3D-Engine v2021), uses vulkan

---

I came a long road of kernels. I had many versions of 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.1 and 6.6 and and the game was always unplayable, because the frames where around 1fps (performance of PC is not the problem). I asked the mesa and cinnamon team for help in the past, but also with no luck.
It never worked, till on 2025-03-29 when I installed 6.12.19 for the first time and it worked!

But it only worked with 6.12.19, 6.12.20 and 6.12.21 When I updated to 6.12.25, it was back to unplayable.

For testing I installed 6.14.4 with the same result. It doesn't work.

I also compared file /proc/config.gz of both kernels (6.12.21 <> 6.14.4), but can't seem to see drastic changes to the graphical part.

I presume it has something to do with amdgpu.

If you need more information, I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Marion

#1 lore raw
Quoted 25 lines · On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM <[email protected]> wrote:

Hello kernel/driver developers,

I hope, with my information it's possible to find a bug/problem in the kernel. Otherwise I am sorry, that I disturbed you.
I only use LTS kernels, but I can narrow it down to a hand full of them, where it works.

The PC: Manjaro Stable/Cinnamon/X11/AMD Ryzen 5 2600/Radeon HD 7790/8GB RAM
I already asked the Manjaro community, but with no luck.

The game: Hellpoint (GOG Linux latest version, Unity3D-Engine v2021), uses vulkan

---

I came a long road of kernels. I had many versions of 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.1 and 6.6 and and the game was always unplayable, because the frames where around 1fps (performance of PC is not the problem).
I asked the mesa and cinnamon team for help in the past, but also with no luck.
It never worked, till on 2025-03-29 when I installed 6.12.19 for the first time and it worked!

Quoted 2 lines

But it only worked with 6.12.19, 6.12.20 and 6.12.21 When I updated to 6.12.25, it was back to unplayable.

Can you bisect to see what fixed it in 6.12.19 or what broke it in 6.12.25? For example if it was working in 6.12.21 and not working in 6.12.25, you can bisect between 6.12.21 and .25.

Alex

Quoted 12 lines

For testing I installed 6.14.4 with the same result. It doesn't work.

I also compared file /proc/config.gz of both kernels (6.12.21 <> 6.14.4), but can't seem to see drastic changes to the graphical part.

I presume it has something to do with amdgpu.

If you need more information, I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Marion

author Acked-by Alex Deucher
#2 lore raw

Hi,
sorry for the delay.
Besides less time, I had to make myself familiar with bisecting and again kernel compiling. Last time I compiled the kernel myself was around 2010 I think.

Anyway it seems I found the bad commit. The result after bisecting 10 commits is:

a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf is the first bad commit commit a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf

Author: Christian König <[email protected]>
Date:   Thu Mar 20 14:46:18 2025 +0100

drm/amdgpu: immediately use GTT for new allocations

commit a755906fb2b8370c43e91ba437ae1b3e228e8b02 upstream.

Only use GTT as a fallback if we already have a backing store. This prevents evictions when an application constantly allocates and
frees new
memory.

Partially fixes
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2833985.

Fixes 216c1282dde3 ("drm/amdgpu: use GTT only as fallback for

VRAM|GTT")

 drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/amdgpu_object.c | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Marion

Am 2025-05-08 15:18, schrieb Alex Deucher:

Quoted 47 lines · On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM <[email protected]> wrote:
Quoted 25 lines

Hello kernel/driver developers,

I hope, with my information it's possible to find a bug/problem in the kernel. Otherwise I am sorry, that I disturbed you.
I only use LTS kernels, but I can narrow it down to a hand full of them, where it works.

The PC: Manjaro Stable/Cinnamon/X11/AMD Ryzen 5 2600/Radeon HD 7790/8GB RAM
I already asked the Manjaro community, but with no luck.

The game: Hellpoint (GOG Linux latest version, Unity3D-Engine v2021), uses vulkan

---

I came a long road of kernels. I had many versions of 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.1 and 6.6 and and the game was always unplayable, because the frames where around 1fps (performance of PC is not the problem).
I asked the mesa and cinnamon team for help in the past, but also with no luck.
It never worked, till on 2025-03-29 when I installed 6.12.19 for the first time and it worked!

Quoted 2 lines

But it only worked with 6.12.19, 6.12.20 and 6.12.21 When I updated to 6.12.25, it was back to unplayable.

Can you bisect to see what fixed it in 6.12.19 or what broke it in 6.12.25? For example if it was working in 6.12.21 and not working in 6.12.25, you can bisect between 6.12.21 and .25.

Alex

Quoted 12 lines

For testing I installed 6.14.4 with the same result. It doesn't work.

I also compared file /proc/config.gz of both kernels (6.12.21 <> 6.14.4), but can't seem to see drastic changes to the graphical part.

I presume it has something to do with amdgpu.

If you need more information, I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Marion

#3 lore raw
Quoted 29 lines · On Fri, Jun 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi,
sorry for the delay.
Besides less time, I had to make myself familiar with bisecting and again kernel compiling. Last time I compiled the kernel myself was around 2010 I think.

Anyway it seems I found the bad commit. The result after bisecting 10 commits is:

a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf is the first bad commit commit a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf

Author: Christian König <[email protected]>
Date:   Thu Mar 20 14:46:18 2025 +0100

drm/amdgpu: immediately use GTT for new allocations

commit a755906fb2b8370c43e91ba437ae1b3e228e8b02 upstream.

Only use GTT as a fallback if we already have a backing store. This prevents evictions when an application constantly allocates and
frees new
memory.

Partially fixes
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2833985.

Fixes 216c1282dde3 ("drm/amdgpu: use GTT only as fallback for
Quoted 8 lines

VRAM|GTT")

  drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/amdgpu_object.c | 4 ++--
  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Unfortunately reverting that commit will reintroduce a similar performance issue for lots of other uses. See:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2827990
for a description of the fundemental problem.

Alex

Quoted 54 lines

Marion

Am 2025-05-08 15:18, schrieb Alex Deucher:

Quoted 49 lines · On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM <[email protected]> wrote:
Quoted 27 lines

Hello kernel/driver developers,

I hope, with my information it's possible to find a bug/problem in the kernel. Otherwise I am sorry, that I disturbed you.
I only use LTS kernels, but I can narrow it down to a hand full of them,
where it works.

The PC: Manjaro Stable/Cinnamon/X11/AMD Ryzen 5 2600/Radeon HD 7790/8GB
RAM
I already asked the Manjaro community, but with no luck.

The game: Hellpoint (GOG Linux latest version, Unity3D-Engine v2021), uses vulkan

---

I came a long road of kernels. I had many versions of 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.1 and 6.6 and and the game was always unplayable, because the frames where around 1fps (performance of PC is not the problem).
I asked the mesa and cinnamon team for help in the past, but also with no luck.
It never worked, till on 2025-03-29 when I installed 6.12.19 for the first time and it worked!

Quoted 2 lines

But it only worked with 6.12.19, 6.12.20 and 6.12.21 When I updated to 6.12.25, it was back to unplayable.

Can you bisect to see what fixed it in 6.12.19 or what broke it in 6.12.25? For example if it was working in 6.12.21 and not working in 6.12.25, you can bisect between 6.12.21 and .25.

Alex

Quoted 12 lines

For testing I installed 6.14.4 with the same result. It doesn't work.

I also compared file /proc/config.gz of both kernels (6.12.21 <> 6.14.4), but can't seem to see drastic changes to the graphical part.

I presume it has something to do with amdgpu.

If you need more information, I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Marion

#4 lore raw

I feared that.

It seems a crazy problem, when many people are affected and in opposite ways.
This ReBAR/UEFI thing is also new to me, but I don't have this on my system either (using BIOS/MBR).

I hope, it can be fixed for all scenarios.

Marion

Am 2025-06-16 15:29, schrieb Alex Deucher:

Quoted 102 lines · On Fri, Jun 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM <[email protected]> wrote:
Quoted 31 lines

Hi,
sorry for the delay.
Besides less time, I had to make myself familiar with bisecting and again kernel compiling. Last time I compiled the kernel myself was around 2010 I think.

Anyway it seems I found the bad commit. The result after bisecting 10 commits is:

a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf is the first bad commit commit a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf

Author: Christian König <[email protected]>
Date:   Thu Mar 20 14:46:18 2025 +0100

drm/amdgpu: immediately use GTT for new allocations

commit a755906fb2b8370c43e91ba437ae1b3e228e8b02 upstream.

Only use GTT as a fallback if we already have a backing store.
This
prevents evictions when an application constantly allocates and
frees new
memory.

Partially fixes

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2833985.

Fixes 216c1282dde3 ("drm/amdgpu: use GTT only as fallback for
Quoted 8 lines

VRAM|GTT")

  drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/amdgpu_object.c | 4 ++--
  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Unfortunately reverting that commit will reintroduce a similar performance issue for lots of other uses. See:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2827990
for a description of the fundemental problem.

Alex

Quoted 54 lines

Marion

Am 2025-05-08 15:18, schrieb Alex Deucher:

Quoted 49 lines · On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM <[email protected]> wrote:
Quoted 27 lines

Hello kernel/driver developers,

I hope, with my information it's possible to find a bug/problem in the kernel. Otherwise I am sorry, that I disturbed you.
I only use LTS kernels, but I can narrow it down to a hand full of them,
where it works.

The PC: Manjaro Stable/Cinnamon/X11/AMD Ryzen 5 2600/Radeon HD 7790/8GB
RAM
I already asked the Manjaro community, but with no luck.

The game: Hellpoint (GOG Linux latest version, Unity3D-Engine v2021), uses vulkan

---

I came a long road of kernels. I had many versions of 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.1 and 6.6 and and the game was always unplayable, because the frames where around 1fps (performance of PC is not the problem).
I asked the mesa and cinnamon team for help in the past, but also with no luck.
It never worked, till on 2025-03-29 when I installed 6.12.19 for the first time and it worked!

Quoted 2 lines

But it only worked with 6.12.19, 6.12.20 and 6.12.21 When I updated to 6.12.25, it was back to unplayable.

Can you bisect to see what fixed it in 6.12.19 or what broke it in 6.12.25? For example if it was working in 6.12.21 and not working in 6.12.25, you can bisect between 6.12.21 and .25.

Alex

Quoted 12 lines

For testing I installed 6.14.4 with the same result. It doesn't work.

I also compared file /proc/config.gz of both kernels (6.12.21 <> 6.14.4), but can't seem to see drastic changes to the graphical part.

I presume it has something to do with amdgpu.

If you need more information, I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Marion

#5 lore raw

Hi again,

I have a question:

Would it be possible to make the "memory management/buffering" methodes switchable through a conf file (obviously amdgpu.conf)? So that I don't have to keep an old kernel version installed just to play my game.

Marion

Am 2025-06-17 11:42, schrieb [email protected]:

Quoted 112 lines

I feared that.

It seems a crazy problem, when many people are affected and in opposite ways.
This ReBAR/UEFI thing is also new to me, but I don't have this on my system either (using BIOS/MBR).

I hope, it can be fixed for all scenarios.

Marion

Am 2025-06-16 15:29, schrieb Alex Deucher:

Quoted 102 lines · On Fri, Jun 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM <[email protected]> wrote:
Quoted 31 lines

Hi,
sorry for the delay.
Besides less time, I had to make myself familiar with bisecting and again kernel compiling. Last time I compiled the kernel myself was around 2010 I think.

Anyway it seems I found the bad commit. The result after bisecting 10 commits is:

a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf is the first bad commit commit a53d959fe660341788cb8dbc3ac3330d90a09ecf

Author: Christian König <[email protected]>
Date:   Thu Mar 20 14:46:18 2025 +0100

drm/amdgpu: immediately use GTT for new allocations

commit a755906fb2b8370c43e91ba437ae1b3e228e8b02 upstream.

Only use GTT as a fallback if we already have a backing store.
This
prevents evictions when an application constantly allocates and
frees new
memory.

Partially fixes

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2833985.

Fixes 216c1282dde3 ("drm/amdgpu: use GTT only as fallback for
Quoted 8 lines

VRAM|GTT")

  drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/amdgpu_object.c | 4 ++--
  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Unfortunately reverting that commit will reintroduce a similar performance issue for lots of other uses. See:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3844#note_2827990
for a description of the fundemental problem.

Alex

Quoted 54 lines

Marion

Am 2025-05-08 15:18, schrieb Alex Deucher:

Quoted 49 lines · On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM <[email protected]> wrote:
Quoted 27 lines

Hello kernel/driver developers,

I hope, with my information it's possible to find a bug/problem in the kernel. Otherwise I am sorry, that I disturbed you.
I only use LTS kernels, but I can narrow it down to a hand full of them,
where it works.

The PC: Manjaro Stable/Cinnamon/X11/AMD Ryzen 5 2600/Radeon HD 7790/8GB
RAM
I already asked the Manjaro community, but with no luck.

The game: Hellpoint (GOG Linux latest version, Unity3D-Engine v2021), uses vulkan

---

I came a long road of kernels. I had many versions of 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.1 and 6.6 and and the game was always unplayable, because the frames where around 1fps (performance of PC is not the problem).
I asked the mesa and cinnamon team for help in the past, but also with no luck.
It never worked, till on 2025-03-29 when I installed 6.12.19 for the first time and it worked!

Quoted 2 lines

But it only worked with 6.12.19, 6.12.20 and 6.12.21 When I updated to 6.12.25, it was back to unplayable.

Can you bisect to see what fixed it in 6.12.19 or what broke it in 6.12.25? For example if it was working in 6.12.21 and not working in 6.12.25, you can bisect between 6.12.21 and .25.

Alex

Quoted 12 lines

For testing I installed 6.14.4 with the same result. It doesn't work.

I also compared file /proc/config.gz of both kernels (6.12.21 <> 6.14.4), but can't seem to see drastic changes to the graphical part.

I presume it has something to do with amdgpu.

If you need more information, I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Marion