Flickering maybe most noticeable in Chromium (141.0.7390.122 (Official Build) snap (64-bit)), very noticeable when I type in a WYSIWYG editor in a web app.
I’ll be given a new computer fairly soon, so I’m not particularly troubled by this, but it’ll be nice to have a workaround (or fix), if possible, for the next few weeks.
System info below. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Operating System: Kubuntu 25.10
KDE Plasma Version: 6.4.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.17.0
Qt Version: 6.9.2
Kernel Version: 6.17.0-6-generic (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 8 × Intel® Core™ i7-4710MQ CPU @ 2.50GHz
Memory: 32 GiB of RAM (30.5 GiB usable)
Graphics Processor 1: Quadro K1100M
Graphics Processor 2: Intel® HD Graphics 4600
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Product Name: HP ZBook 17 G2
System Version: A3009DD10203
IIRC Nouveau is used (I can’t recall where to find this info).
The issue was first observed with 25.04. I didn’t use Linux (on real hardware) before that.
Flickering at the lock screen:
A photograph does not capture the true effect (it’s far worse than seen above).
Also – this might help to diagnose:
- the issue is never apparent when I attempt to capture the effect with Spectacle or OBS Studio – as if, running these applications suppresses the effect.
Recorded with an iPad:
The frequency of flickering in this SDDM example is far slower than when I’m trying to type in Chromium.
One of three suggestions from https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1ol1im4/comment/nml7shl/?context=1:
Taking a hint from How do i set up zink and mesa for an AMD GPU? : r/linux_gaming (although I don’t have AMD):
grahamperrin@mowa219-gjp4 ~> MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink glxinfo | grep 'renderer string'
MESA-INTEL: warning: Haswell Vulkan support is incomplete
WARNING: Some incorrect rendering might occur because the selected Vulkan device (Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 (HSW GT2)) doesn't support base Zink requirements: have_EXT_custom_border_color
OpenGL renderer string: zink Vulkan 1.2(Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 (HSW GT2) (INTEL_OPEN_SOURCE_MESA))
grahamperrin@mowa219-gjp4 ~>
I have no idea how to interpret that (sorry) … can anyone tell whether NVK+Zink is an option for my old-ish GPUs?
I do need to use the NVIDIA GPU (for external displays).
TIA
My initial guess was, that issue is with NVidia. But error message is about try Zink on Intel. So Intel is probably your card doing the wrong rendering. I am not sure which drivers are used in Chrome, but Firefox is built on top of outdated core22 snap with its old Mesa drivers.
So maybe we should focus on fixing Intel instead of NVidia? I am not sure if Ubuntu installed Mesa or legacy driver Mesa Amber. If you have not installed Mesa Amber, I would try to install it. It should be supported on latest Plasma according to reddit article plasma_64_dropped_support_for_mesaamber_drivers (sorry, Discuss is blocking urls…)
But I am not sure yet how to switch to that driver in Ubuntu. I see packages like libgl1-amber-dri, but I am not sure which one should be installed and which one removed…
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I have the same laptop running openSUSE.
Let me boot it and see if i can reproduce.
Do you have the same issue with a live stick?
i see you’re in Wayland. What happens in X11?
I used 1 user in Wayland and my default in X11 with no issues.
Have not use this computer for sometime and there are 1000+ updates waiting. Let me update and see what happens.
Operating System: openSUSE Tumbleweed 20250826
KDE Plasma Version: 6.4.4
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.17.0
Qt Version: 6.9.1
Kernel Version: 6.16.3-1-default (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: X11
Processors: 8 × Intel® Core™ i7-4810MQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
Memory: 32 GiB of RAM (31.0 GiB usable)
Graphics Processor 1: Intel® HD Graphics 4600
Graphics Processor 2: Quadro K3100M
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Product Name: HP ZBook 17 G2
System Version: A3009DD10303
Originally in the title:
but never in Firefox
The Universe heard me, and sulked. This afternoon, for the first time ever, a little flickering in part of a (very heavily extended) Firefox window, whilst scrolling through a Wayback Machine capture of an old Reddit view of a Reddit post.
Updated:
almost never in Firefox
Thinking about what might have changed recently, one thing alone is outstanding: the (unwanted) change to a snap, for Firefox, during the OS upgrade from 25.04 to 25.10.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┤ Configuring firefox ├───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Upgrade to the firefox snap │
│ │
│ Starting in Ubuntu 22.04, all new releases of firefox are only available to Ubuntu users through the snap package. │
│ │
│ This package update will transition your system over to the snap by installing it. │
│ │
│ It is recommended to close all open firefox windows before proceeding to the upgrade. │
│ │
│ <OK> │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
(I disbelieved the statement, but allowed the transition.)
Based on prior experience with FreeBSD 15.0-CURRENT, I believed that this Intel GPU could drive the ZBook display alone (can not also drive what’s on DisplayPort). My (FreeBSD) recollection was that with hybrid graphics disabled, external displays were blank. Maybe I’m mistaken.
Does this screenshot of GPU-Viewer help to answer NVIDIA-related questions? I see NVK:
I disabled hybrid graphics, surprised myself: the external display worked, as an extended desktop.
Unfortunately: Chromium was unusable – only the title bar was responsive (I could close the window (quit the app)). So, I reverted:
Also, I installed four amber packages. No improvement.
IIRC (I’m not certain): yes. I don’t have the 25.10 stick handy.
IIRC (before the upgrade to 25.10): bug-free.
I preferred Wayland, because brightness of the display on DisplayPort was not controllable with X11.
Whether the difference from K1100M is significant, I have no idea.
Thanks
