The open-source community continues to enhance AMD’s CPU and GPU drivers for Linux, resulting in substantial improvements for AMD and SteamOS-based devices like the Steam Deck. A recent update to the AMD P-State on Linux has addressed a specific issue affecting performance.
Meta’s David Vernet, who spearheaded the patch, identified that a game’s main or render thread often experiences blocking, leading to a drop in frequency and resulting in stutters. To rectify this, Vernet implemented an opt-in, per-core EPP (Energy Performance Priority) boost, significantly improving game performance without negatively impacting low-power SoC devices like the Steam Deck.
According to testing data reported by Phoronix, the adjustments made to the drivers resulted in an impressive 31.8% increase in the 1% low FPS metric for Civilization VI and a 4.1% enhancement in overall frame times. While Civ VI was already functioning well on the Steam Deck, this new boost effectively mitigates significant frame rate dips, providing a smoother gameplay experience. Additional testing on other games is anticipated to reveal similar performance enhancements for CPU-bound titles across AMD-based handhelds.
However, it’s important to note that this patch has not yet been integrated into the mainline AMD Linux kernel, so users cannot access these enhancements just yet, though their success makes integration likely.
For those looking to improve the Steam Deck’s performance before this patch becomes available, options such as undervolting the handheld could help stabilize performance and extend battery life.
Get More Info about undervolting the Steam Deck.
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