[ABANDONED] Low GPU Performance Mint 20.2

[ReyJohnson]

Hello.
I switched from Windows to Linux around 1 year ago.
I really enjoy Linux and I would love to keep using it. I used to game a bit long time ago and would like to do some gaming again. However, I have faced an issue with some browser game where I am not able to get more than 60 fps, which is weird, because I remember I was able to run GTA V at 60 FPS easily, and I can't run a simple browser game at 60 fps? Seems very bizarre, so I think this may be driver or settings related.

I feel like this could mainly be related to the fact that I own an ASUS Laptop that uses Nvidia Optimus technology (where the Intel GPU is the one that displays the data, but Nvidia GPU processes it. But If I remember correctly, Mint has this covered, so perhaps I am missing something, therefore I would like some help with this if possible.

To begin, here is the basic info:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxxxrz

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-91-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.7 wm: muffin 5.0.2 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: Strix GL704GM_GL704GM v: 1.0 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: GL704GM v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: GL704GM.308 date: 07/11/2019 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 50.3 Wh condition: 50.3/66.0 Wh (76%) volts: 15.7/15.7 
  model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Not charging 
CPU:
  Topology: 6-Core model: Intel Core i7-8750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Kaby Lake rev: A L2 cache: 9216 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 52799 
  Speed: 3901 MHz min/max: 800/4100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 3900 2: 3900 
  3: 3900 4: 3900 5: 3900 6: 3900 7: 3900 8: 3901 9: 3900 10: 3900 11: 3900 
  12: 3900 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 630 vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel 
  bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile] vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: nvidia v: 495.44 bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1c20 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting,nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~144Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 495.44 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a348 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:10f1 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-91-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9560 [Jefferson Peak] driver: iwlwifi 
  v: kernel port: 5000 bus ID: 00:14.3 chip ID: 8086:a370 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: eno2 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.14 TiB used: 77.34 GiB (6.6%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital 
  model: PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G-1002 size: 238.47 GiB speed: 15.8 Gb/s 
  lanes: 2 serial: <filter> rev: 20110000 scheme: GPT 
  ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST1000LM035-1RK172 size: 931.51 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 5400 rpm serial: <filter> rev: SDM4 scheme: MBR 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 210.26 GiB used: 77.34 GiB (36.8%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 
  ID-2: swap-1 size: 22.89 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 75.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 56 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 5400 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/asbru-cm-release.list 
  1: deb https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/asbru-cm/release/deb/linuxmint ulyana main
  2: deb-src https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/asbru-cm/release/deb/linuxmint ulyana main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/obsproject-obs-studio-focal.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/obsproject/obs-studio/ubuntu focal main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://mirror.karneval.cz/pub/linux/linuxmint/packages uma main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sublime-text.list 
  1: deb https://download.sublimetext.com/ apt/stable/
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list 
  1: deb https://linux.teamviewer.com/deb stable main
Info:
  Processes: 336 Uptime: 26m Memory: 15.49 GiB used: 3.98 GiB (25.7%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

Please, help me figure this out. Let me know if you need any other information.

[MikeNovember]

Hi,

Optimus allows your NVIDIA GPU to be used only for 3D display (or for computational purposes with OpenCL), so power consumption is reduced (compared to a solution where the NVIDIA GPU would work permanently). However, Optimus is not really well taken into account by Linux, and NVIDIA GPU is always powered. This normally does not affect the performance.

Your graphics cards seem to be correctly installed.

Browsers are not the best to display videos with high fps.

On my computer I compared Firefox and Chromium, in both cases with hardware acceleration enabled, and found that Chromium displays WebGL web pages much faster than Firefox.

So, try Google Chrome or Chromium.

And don't forget that, as soon as you get at least 25 - 30 fps, human vision is not able to make the difference (60 fps is perceived the same way as 30).

Regards,

MN

[SMG]

I feel like this could mainly be related to the fact that I own an ASUS Laptop that uses Nvidia Optimus technology (where the Intel GPU is the one that displays the data, but Nvidia GPU processes it. But If I remember correctly, Mint has this covered, so perhaps I am missing something, therefore I would like some help with this if possible.

Your computer should have the nvidia-prime-applet installed and running in the lower right of your screen. There are three modes to the applet, Intel-Powersave, On-Demand, and Nvidia-Performance. To switch modes, one changes the setting and then reboots the computer for it to take effect.

Your data seems your system may be in the Nvidia-Performance mode.

Graphics:
Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 630 vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel
bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b
Device-2: NVIDIA GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile] vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: nvidia v: 495.44 bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1c20
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting,nvidia
unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~144Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 495.44
direct render: Yes

Intel-Powersave mode stops the Nvidia driver from loading and does help preserve battery life. (That is a changes from how that mode was handled in the past.)

Feedback from others on the forum has indicated those with 8th-gen Intel and newer tend to see better performance using the a kernel newer than the 5.4 LTS kernel. You can upgrade to a newer kernel in Update Manager. That may help with some of the performance issues you are seeing and may help keep your computer's CPU a bit cooler.

Instructions for upgrading to the 5.11 kernel:

• Open Update Manager.
• Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue.
• Make sure 5.11 is selected on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear.
• Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active.

You may also want to check to see if there is a newer BIOS/UEFI available. ASUS sometimes makes changes that help with performance (based on feedback I've received from others who have updated when updates were available) that they list as "improve system stability".

[ReyJohnson]

I feel like this could mainly be related to the fact that I own an ASUS Laptop that uses Nvidia Optimus technology (where the Intel GPU is the one that displays the data, but Nvidia GPU processes it. But If I remember correctly, Mint has this covered, so perhaps I am missing something, therefore I would like some help with this if possible.

Your computer should have the nvidia-prime-applet installed and running in the lower right of your screen. There are three modes to the applet, Intel-Powersave, On-Demand, and Nvidia-Performance. To switch modes, one changes the setting and then reboots the computer for it to take effect.

Your data seems your system may be in the Nvidia-Performance mode.

Graphics:
Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 630 vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel
bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b
Device-2: NVIDIA GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile] vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: nvidia v: 495.44 bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1c20
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting,nvidia
unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~144Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 495.44
direct render: Yes

Intel-Powersave mode stops the Nvidia driver from loading and does help preserve battery life. (That is a changes from how that mode was handled in the past.)

Feedback from others on the forum has indicated those with 8th-gen Intel and newer tend to see better performance using the a kernel newer than the 5.4 LTS kernel. You can upgrade to a newer kernel in Update Manager. That may help with some of the performance issues you are seeing and may help keep your computer's CPU a bit cooler.

Instructions for upgrading to the 5.11 kernel:

• Open Update Manager.
• Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue.
• Make sure 5.11 is selected on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear.
• Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active.

You may also want to check to see if there is a newer BIOS/UEFI available. ASUS sometimes makes changes that help with performance (based on feedback I've received from others who have updated when updates were available) that they list as "improve system stability".

Hello. Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Unfortunately, for some reason, I do not have the Nvidia-Prime applet in the bottom right corner, however I am able to find it via the list of programs. I have made sure to enable the Performance mode.

I have also installed the 5.11 Kernel, but, unfortunately it doesn't seem to have changed anything.

Another thing that I had discovered with Discord.
I noticed that my Discord felt very laggy so I went through the settings and I found out that Hardware acceleration is turned on. I decided to turn it off and to my surprise, this fixed all the laggs that I had, so it seems like something is indeed wrong with the GPU, since it isn't even able to load discord properly.

Hi,

Optimus allows your NVIDIA GPU to be used only for 3D display (or for computational purposes with OpenCL), so power consumption is reduced (compared to a solution where the NVIDIA GPU would work permanently). However, Optimus is not really well taken into account by Linux, and NVIDIA GPU is always powered. This normally does not affect the performance.

Your graphics cards seem to be correctly installed.

Browsers are not the best to display videos with high fps.

On my computer I compared Firefox and Chromium, in both cases with hardware acceleration enabled, and found that Chromium displays WebGL web pages much faster than Firefox.

So, try Google Chrome or Chromium.

And don't forget that, as soon as you get at least 25 - 30 fps, human vision is not able to make the difference (60 fps is perceived the same way as 30).

Regards,

MN

Hello. Thank you for your response. Unfortunately this is not the case of stable FPS. My FPS is constantly fluctuating from 25 to 60, 70 but never above. This behavior causes massive FPS drops and therefore lags which results into very unplayable experience. If I had stable 60 FPS I wouldn't have any issues whatsoever.

[ReyJohnson]

The case with Discord is really bothering me. I think that GTX 1060 would be able to load discord ui despite the fact that it has many gifs, emojis and etc, I mean we are talking about gaming grade GPU, even if it's a little outdated by today's standards.
I suppose something might be wrong, I would love some help in investigating this issue deeper if possible.

[SMG]

Hello. Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Unfortunately, for some reason, I do not have the Nvidia-Prime applet in the bottom right corner, however I am able to find it via the list of programs.

What do you mean you were able to find it via the list of programs? It is an app installed by default on all Linux Mint installs. I am specifically asking because people have been known to install similar sounding programs which end up causing problems.

I have made sure to enable the Performance mode.

What mode was it in before you changed it?

Another thing that I had discovered with Discord.
I noticed that my Discord felt very laggy so I went through the settings and I found out that Hardware acceleration is turned on. I decided to turn it off and to my surprise, this fixed all the laggs that I had, so it seems like something is indeed wrong with the GPU, since it isn't even able to load discord properly.

The GPU does not "load Discord". Discord is an app and the settings for the app and how the app uses the hardware is a function of the Discord software.

This does not sound like an issue with your GPU. It sounds like an issue with the Discord app and how it handles hardware.

[ReyJohnson]

Hello. Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Unfortunately, for some reason, I do not have the Nvidia-Prime applet in the bottom right corner, however I am able to find it via the list of programs.

What do you mean you were able to find it via the list of programs? It is an app installed by default on all Linux Mint installs. I am specifically asking because people have been known to install similar sounding programs which end up causing problems.

I have made sure to enable the Performance mode.

What mode was it in before you changed it?

Another thing that I had discovered with Discord.
I noticed that my Discord felt very laggy so I went through the settings and I found out that Hardware acceleration is turned on. I decided to turn it off and to my surprise, this fixed all the laggs that I had, so it seems like something is indeed wrong with the GPU, since it isn't even able to load discord properly.

The GPU does not "load Discord". Discord is an app and the settings for the app and how the app uses the hardware is a function of the Discord software.

This does not sound like an issue with your GPU. It sounds like an issue with the Discord app and how it handles hardware.

1. This is what I mean. I didn't install this by hand. I think it was there already after I installed drivers.
2. Pretty sure it was already in Performance mode already when I checked first time.
3. Fair enough I guess. Could be the issue related to how linux version of Discord works.

In the end I just want to make sure that my GPU works as intended, which is the one thing I am worried about the most.

[SMG]

1. This is what I mean. I didn't install this by hand. I think it was there already after I installed drivers.

Nvidia X Server Settings app is different from the nvidia-prime-applet.
Run the following dpkg -l | grep -i prime-applet to see if the applet is installed.

Nvidia-prime-applet is explained under the NVIDIA Optimus section in the Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon: New Features. In the graphic in that section the applet is the Intel icon. (It can be either an Intel or Nvidia icon.)

3. Fair enough I guess. Could be the issue related to how linux version of Discord works.

I am not familiar with what differences (if any) there might be, so I can not help you with that. I did find this two-year-old topic Can we take a moment to recognise how little Discord cares about Linux users? where people mention performance issues, but I do not know if that is still the case today.

[ReyJohnson]

Nvidia X Server Settings app is different from the nvidia-prime-applet.
Run the following dpkg -l | grep -i prime-applet to see if the applet is installed.

Nvidia-prime-applet is explained under the NVIDIA Optimus section in the Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon: New Features. In the graphic in that section the applet is the Intel icon. (It can be either an Intel or Nvidia icon.)

It seems that the nvidia-prime-applet is not installed.
I also read through the article you provided and tried the

Code: Select all

nvidia-optimus-offload-glx
nvidia-optimus-offload-vulkan

and here is the output:

Code: Select all

nvidia-optimus-offload-vulkan: command not found

I have also checked for "Run with NVIDIA GPU" option as per the article instruction and I do not have this option when selecting an application.
Perhaps I should try re-installing the driver?

Edit: I tried re-installing the driver by switching from one version to another and switching to open-source one and then going back to nvidia but that didn't fix this.

[SMG]

It seems that the nvidia-prime-applet is not installed.

Did you at any point try purging Nvidia drivers using a terminal command? If so, then you probably deleted the Linux Mint code along with the Nvidia driver code.

Re-install the applet with sudo apt-get install nvidia-prime-applet.

I also read through the article you provided and tried the

Code: Select all

nvidia-optimus-offload-glx
nvidia-optimus-offload-vulkan

and here is the output:

Code: Select all

nvidia-optimus-offload-vulkan: command not found

I do not know why you would do that. The "article" describes Linux Mint code. Just because the name Nvidia is in the description does not mean that is Nvidia driver code.

I have also checked for "Run with NVIDIA GPU" option as per the article instruction and I do not have this option when selecting an application.
Perhaps I should try re-installing the driver?

Edit: I tried re-installing the driver by switching from one version to another and switching to open-source one and then going back to nvidia but that didn't fix this.

You are missing Linux Mint code. Changing the Nvidia driver will not fix the fact you are missing Linux Mint code because Linux Mint code is separate from the proprietary Nvidia driver code.

[Professor_Slughorn]

Hi,

And don't forget that, as soon as you get at least 25 - 30 fps, human vision is not able to make the difference (60 fps is perceived the same way as 30).

Regards,

MN

Hello

I was wondering what was meant by the above statement? If you go to https://frames-per-second.appspot.com/ you can see the difference between 25 fps and 60 fps.

If you go to sites like https://www.tomshardware.com/ you will find they are always talking about high fps (60fps+).

Cheers
Bob

[MikeNovember]

Hi,

And don't forget that, as soon as you get at least 25 - 30 fps, human vision is not able to make the difference (60 fps is perceived the same way as 30).

Regards,

MN

Hello

I was wondering what was meant by the above statement? If you go to https://frames-per-second.appspot.com/ you can see the difference between 25 fps and 60 fps.

If you go to sites like https://www.tomshardware.com/ you will find they are always talking about high fps (60fps+).

Cheers
Bob

Hi,

Retinal persistence is 1/18 th of second. And movies are projected at 24 images par second.

Regards,

MN

[ReyJohnson]

It seems that the nvidia-prime-applet is not installed.

Did you at any point try purging Nvidia drivers using a terminal command? If so, then you probably deleted the Linux Mint code along with the Nvidia driver code.

Re-install the applet with sudo apt-get install nvidia-prime-applet.

I also read through the article you provided and tried the

Code: Select all

nvidia-optimus-offload-glx
nvidia-optimus-offload-vulkan

and here is the output:

Code: Select all

nvidia-optimus-offload-vulkan: command not found

I do not know why you would do that. The "article" describes Linux Mint code. Just because the name Nvidia is in the description does not mean that is Nvidia driver code.

I have also checked for "Run with NVIDIA GPU" option as per the article instruction and I do not have this option when selecting an application.
Perhaps I should try re-installing the driver?

Edit: I tried re-installing the driver by switching from one version to another and switching to open-source one and then going back to nvidia but that didn't fix this.

You are missing Linux Mint code. Changing the Nvidia driver will not fix the fact you are missing Linux Mint code because Linux Mint code is separate from the proprietary Nvidia driver code.

Didn't solve my FPS issue in the browser game, but the applet appeared. Either way I gave up on playing that game and doing other stuff now. Thanks for your help.

[SMG]

Didn't solve my FPS issue in the browser game, but the applet appeared. Either way I gave up on playing that game and doing other stuff now. Thanks for your help.

If your issue was just with the one specific game and thus you are no longer seeking help on this, please go to your first post in this topic, click the pencil icon, and add [ABANDONED] to the title. If you do still want help, then leave the title as it is.

[ReyJohnson]

Didn't solve my FPS issue in the browser game, but the applet appeared. Either way I gave up on playing that game and doing other stuff now. Thanks for your help.

If your issue was just with the one specific game and thus you are no longer seeking help on this, please go to your first post in this topic, click the pencil icon, and add [ABANDONED] to the title. If you do still want help, then leave the title as it is.

Done