Linux games get faster
AMD has been working on making Ryzen processors work better with Linux.
Back in LXF280 we reported on how Valve was preparing to launch its Steam Deck handheld console, which runs Linux in the guise of its Arch-based SteamOS 3.0 distro, and it appears that work is bringing benefits to other Linux gamers as well. As Tom’s Hardware reports (https://bit.ly/lxf282valveamd), Valve has been working with AMD to create a new CPU driver that will improve the performance and power efficiency of Zen-based AMD processors on the Linux platform – which includes the Steam Deck.
As AMD developer Ray Huang explained at the recent X.Org Developers Conference (XDC2021), Valve discovered issues with the current ACPI CPUFreq driver, which was impacting performance with games running on Proton. Proton is a fork of Wine that was co-created by Valve to enable Windows-only games to run on Linux. Valve is understandably keen to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, which meant creating a new driver to replace the ACPI driver that had originally been created by Intel for its firstgeneration Core processors.
So, according to Huang in a presentation (which you can view at https://bit.ly/ lxf282xdcpres), Valve contacted AMD, and the companies worked together on a new CPPC driver that will use a specialist P-state driver to control CPU clock speeds depending on workload. As Tom’s Hardware reports, early results are very promising, with a Ryzen 7 5750G system seeing a boost to performance per watt of 10-25 per cent, with games such as Horizon Zero Dawn seeing a particular boost. Best of all, this driver – which AMD is planning to get into the official Linux kernel once it’s stable – will benefit all Linux gamers with AMD hardware, not just Steam Deck owners.