Hello team,
Following the recent Plasma update, I am encountering screen tearing while gaming, despite setting Plasma’s adaptive sync to “automatic” or “enabled.” Using Gamescope with the --adaptive-sync parameter resolves the issue, indicating a Plasma-specific problem. This tearing is particularly noticeable in isometric games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Age of Mythology: Retold, and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. It also impacts first- and third-person perspective games, becoming more pronounced when the frame rate approaches my monitor’s 165Hz refresh rate; tearing is especially visible in the 100–165 FPS range and somewhat less so around 80 FPS. I have tried capping the frame rate at 160 and 150 FPS, but this has not mitigated the tearing. While Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 appear unaffected, titles such as Hogwarts Legacy, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and various Resident Evil games exhibit the issue.
Additionally, I am noticing performance degradation in certain games, which I believe may also be tied to the recent Plasma update. For instance, Kingdom Come: Deliverance struggles to maintain stable frame rates, dropping from 90 FPS down to as low as 30 FPS. When launched through Gamescope, however, performance remains consistently above 100 FPS, sometimes exceeding 200 FPS. Previously, Gamescope’s performance closely matched or was slightly below that of Plasma, which has been my default gaming environment.
The same pattern is present in Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, where frame rates are highly unstable without Gamescope, occasionally dipping below 50 FPS. With Gamescope, however, I experience a smooth 140+ FPS. I have also observed an approximate 10 FPS drop in Cyberpunk 2077, along with occasional stuttering.
I am confident that my system is configured correctly, with all necessary drivers and optimizations in place, as I have been gaming on Linux for over three years. My system specifications are as follows:
- OS: Arch Linux (Kernel 6.11.5-zen)
- Vulkan/Mesa: Up to date
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5 6000 MT/s
Since Gamescope seems to mitigate both the screen tearing and performance issues, it appears that this may be related to Plasma. I am surprised that no one else has reported similar issues. Do you have any insights on recent changes that could potentially impact VRR functionality and gaming performance?