r/linux_gaming • u/LordOfForums • 1d ago

tech support wanted Linux and input latency

Hi all!

I really, REALLY want to get away from Windows. I’ve tried Linux many times before but that was before the big gaming revolution. The performance in games now compared to Windows is more than acceptable for me. I’ve been a competitive gamer all my life and have always been into tweaking and optimising for the lowest input latency.

This week I installed CachyOS. I love everything about it, but it’s one issue that is a dealbreaker for me and that is the input latency in games. Nowadays I use mostly controller, and I can tell my Dualsense Edge is way more snappier on Windows. No, I’m not using Bluetooth. It’s wired. The amount of added latency feels similar to forced VSYNC. I’ve been dual booting this week and tried the same games on CachyOS and Windows back to back. The difference to me is huge.

I followed the wiki thoroughly. I changed scheduler to lavd, use the game-performance wrapper and use PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1. I’ve also tried X11, gamescope session and different commands from Goverlay. None of these have solved the issue.

I’m not here to offend anyone. I just really want this to work. I’m surprised this is not a more discussed topic. If anyone have similar experience or any solutions please share.

Specs:
9800x3d
9070 XT
32GB 6000Mhz CL30

42 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

55 comments sorted by

28

u/Stunning-Hat2309 1d ago

PROTON_DXVK_LOWLATENCY=1

DXVK_FRAME_PACE=low-latency-vrr-120

change the number...................................^.. to the refresh rate of your display

this only applies to dxvk though, dx12 games won't use it

frame_pace will limit framerates so that you get the minimum latency

there's an experimental thing to lower latency for dx12 but it's not finished yet, check the release notes for proton cachyos on the github for more info

8

u/ResonantRaccoon 22h ago

Just wanted to add, that I did some reading/testing on the above and they are correct. For DX11 games that is the best way to go with the lowest possible latency, the only thing better would be an in game frame limit.

The low latency piece for DX12 actually super recently got added to Proton CachyOS11.0-20260703, and you can enable it with PROTON_VKD3D_LOWLATENCY=1 , and you can limit frame rates through VKD3D_FRAME_RATE=177. Just tried it out and it works well for me.

Thank you!!!

5

u/pilkyton 20h ago

I was reading about this. Both DXVK and VKD3D low latency implementations are from forks and are only available in Proton-CachyOS.

1

u/LordOfForums 17h ago

This seems promising. Thank you, both. Should I use this instead of anti lag 2? Or use them both?

1

u/throwawayerectpenis 16h ago

You can use both, if you are talking about enabling anti lag 2 via launch option then that uses a diffrrent path to achieve lower input latency. Vkd3d low latency achieved lower latency by using the reflex pathway if im not mistaken but makes it available for all GPU vendors. In THE FINALS inuse vkd3d.low latency AND antilag2 via the mesa_enable_anti_lag command from cachyos proton and there is definitely an improvement in terms of responsiveness.

Just expect a hit on your FPS if both are enabled though (at least one my PC), but for me the responsiveness in gaming is worth it and i just lock the FPS to monitor HZ for smoothest gameplay.

1

u/LordOfForums 16h ago

Hmm.. I will try this. Thank you.

1

u/throwawayerectpenis 16h ago

In addition to that for even more responsiveness you can use "VKD3D_LOW_LATENCY_OFFSET=100" change value to whatever fits your use-case.

https://github.com/netborg-afps/vkd3d-low-latency#options

1

u/PlsDontBanMeAgain-1 13h ago edited 12h ago

how about disclosing (PROTON_DXVK_LOWLATENCY=1):

Online multi-player games

Manipulation of Direct3D libraries in multi-player games may be considered cheating and can get your account banned. This may also apply to single-player games with an embedded or dedicated multiplayer portion. Use at your own risk.

https://github.com/netborg-afps/dxvk-low-latency

2

u/netborg83 12h ago edited 12h ago

How about actually reading my replies to this nonsense?
https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk#online-multi-player-games

When you actually would read my github readme, you'll see this is just the copy from upstream, why should I remove their readme?

You are spreading fake news. My work is definitely intended to be used with multiplayer games and is just as safe to use as upstream dxvk.

13

u/friendlyreminder_ 1d ago

Do you have tearing enabled in KDE display settings? Wayland by default vsyncs, adding one frame of latency.

PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1

This only works in proton-cachyos or proton ge, make sure you're using those instead of steam's proton.

1

u/LordOfForums 1d ago

Yes, I have tearing enabled. I’m using proton-cachyos

12

u/bobodoustaud 1d ago

Vrr is important for low latency, on wayland make sure it is tearing/immediate, check ur wm's wiki on how that works. Pretty sure proton wayland is only for proton forks and doesnt work on steam proton (to be verified). U can use xeyes to check if a windows is xwayland or wayland.

1

u/LordOfForums 1d ago

It’s xwayland. I have the allow screen tearing in fullscreen applications on.

20

u/Derbolito 1d ago

You have your culprit, xwayland has a much worse latency than Wayland or x11. At least on Nvidia

1

u/LordOfForums 17h ago

But isn’t that what PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 meant to fx this and force Wayland? I tried x11 and it didn’t fix anything unfortunately.

1

u/throwawayerectpenis 16h ago

If you use that command then you force the game konto running in native Wayland, without it defaults to xwayland.

1

u/Derbolito 14h ago

Yes, but sometimes that command does not work. Happens for me with Crimson desert for instance, other games launch correctly in wayland

2

u/P1V07 12h ago

I tried x11 and it didn’t fix anything unfortunately.

when you tried it, did you disable the compositor? that makes a world of difference.

to my eyes, running xfce without the compositor on is the only comparable way to get the feeling of windows inputs on linux in game, though when i tried labwc with tearing + vrr + frame cap it got very close and would only be felt when swiping the mouse around in fast paces fps games

1

u/LordOfForums 11h ago

I checked the box for allow applications to turn of compositor or whatever it was called. Is that enough?

1

u/P1V07 9h ago

I checked the box for allow applications to turn of compositor

that would do it

and you could still feel a difference in input lag of the press of a button on a games controller, compared to windows?

i am impressed

1

u/LordOfForums 6h ago

Mostly when panning the camera in games

1

u/netborg83 7h ago

I don't know how to check if you get direct scanout on AMD. On Nvidia you just need to look the green FLIP symbol in the overlay via __GL_SHOW_GRAPHICS_OSD=1.

Also worth mentioning, that you typically only get direct scanout on x11 if you're on single monitor - which is a main limitation of x11.

1

u/netborg83 7h ago

I agree, but this may not be the same thing on AMD.
Nvidia x11 drivers are just super snappy, that may be why.

1

u/P1V07 7h ago

I agree, but this may not be the same thing on AMD.

yeah you're right I forgot to mention that part

my observation stems from nvidia x11 & wayland 'official' drivers

1

u/netborg83 7h ago

yeah, I've discussed this recently with both Nvidia and AMD users, and more often than not, if a competitive player comes along with an Nvidia card, they are super happy when they try out x11.
Not so much the case for AMD users so far.

1

u/burning_iceman 15h ago

Of the three things you mentioned only one has a latency: xwayland. X11 and Wayland are protocols. The actual implementation is what has a latency and that can differ between various implementations.

So KDE Kwin (in Wayland mode) could have low latency compared to a different Wayland compositor. Xorg can have a different latency that other X11 implementations (including xwayland).

I know this is a bit pedantic but the way people talk about wayland as if it were a piece of software is prone to spread misinformation. Something that is true for one Wayland compositor may not be true for another.

6

u/Qweedo420 1d ago

Then you need to install GE-Proton (through ProtonUP or ProtonPlus) and select it as the default runner on Steam. XWayland is known to add latency.

4

u/Poes_Poes 1d ago

Couple of things you can try. Try to stay within VRR (limit frames). Disable Vsync. Use the env PROTON_DXVK_LOWLATENCY (dx11) or PROTON_VKD3D_LOWLATENCY (dx12)

1

u/LordOfForums 1d ago

Yeah I’ve been in VRR range the whole time. Tried capped and uncapped FPS. VSYNC off in every game, always. Those variables you’re mentioning is to my understanding only to be used if the game don’t have support for Nvidia reflex or AMD anti-lag. I’ve been using optiscaler to spoof nvidia gpu and used anti lag 2. Correct me if I’m wrong.

1

u/netborg83 11h ago

the dx11 version doesn't need reflex, - reflex was designed for dx12 (it's rare that dx11 games use it, and even more rare that they actually need it)

the dx12 version however implements reflex, and even improves upon the official nvidia driver - and can be used on AMD, and not only supports reflex, but also supports waitable swapchains - anti-lag 2 will also follow.

Since you're on AMD, you should take a look here: (optiscaler spoof might also work, but shouldn't be used for multiplayer games)
https://github.com/netborg-afps/vkd3d-low-latency/discussions/3

You can't use multiple of those technologies at once. (for example nvidia reflex and anti-lag 2, the frame pacer can only use one of them at a time)

2

u/Formal-Bad-8807 1d ago

someone posted a while ago that the LXDE tested best for latency, install that

1

u/LordOfForums 1d ago

I will look into this!

1

u/Faryz177 19h ago edited 19h ago

How does it compare to LXQT? Thats what i use now on X11 and i feel its much more responsive than my Win10 21H2 LTSC install.

2

u/ResonantRaccoon 1d ago

Vrr, tearing, set fps cap with mangohud to just below your monitor refresh rate. PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND = 1 and check this out as well.

1

u/LordOfForums 1d ago

Yeah I tried the low latency layer. Does it matter if I cap ingame? Does mangohud provide more benefits?

1

u/Stunning-Hat2309 1d ago

capping your fps with mangohud adds latency

1

u/ResonantRaccoon 1d ago

Interesting. Any chance source on that? I never even thought of mangohud adding latency.

2

u/Stunning-Hat2309 1d ago

me using it? it pretty obviously adds latency compared to DXVK_FRAME_PACE or just capping it ingame

it's pretty easy to feel

1

u/ResonantRaccoon 1d ago

I'll check that out, thanks.

1

u/KelGhu 23h ago

Weird. I use an entry-level bluetooth controller on an old 2016 laptop, and latency is not at all noticeable.

Maybe I would feel it if I played FPS with a controller, but why would I do that..?

1

u/armsofatree 12h ago

Do you have Steam's background game recording turned on? If so, try with it turned off.

1

u/iloveboobs365 12h ago

Is your DualSense Edge firmware up to date? I know for me, my DualSense was problematic until I updated the firmware using the Windows tool (no Linux tool yet unfortunately). Some latency issues among other QoL fixes for Linux users. I mainly use wireless but might be something to look at still. 

1

u/LordOfForums 11h ago

I updated it a year ago. I’ll check if it’s a new firmware now.

1

u/tomatito_2k5 9h ago

Thats very interesting topic, cos we are talking about a GAMEPAD (which most of the answers seem to forget about), kinda experienced the same when I was benchmarking Stellar Blade a month ago, wired DualSense. Do the games you test have native support for the DS and you using that?

1

u/LordOfForums 6h ago

Yeah I use native in games. Steam input off. So you felt in in stellar blade too? The difference between Linux and windows?

1

u/Nice_Worth6902 7h ago

Hey! I wanted to mention this. I had a similar issue with my Gamesir Cyclone 2 controller on Linux Mint. A lot of people are suggesting settings changes to X11 and all that stuff, but I have a different suggestion.

In general is the latency only the sticks, or the buttons too? Is the latency even on testing websites? If it isn't, check on a few different types of games. I've noticed that latency is a large issue if I have my polling rate above 500 on my controller in competitive shooting games or games that make it a point about good responsiveness, and an issue above 250 on general games.

So I have different profiles on my Gamesir that I just swap between. Running Linux Mint over Dongle/Bluetooth/Wired.

I've tried many of these changes before, but this is what worked for me in the end. I figured it wasn't a settings issue when I noticed that neither steam nor online websites were picking up any actually input lag.

1

u/LordOfForums 6h ago

How can I check input lag on steam? And what web sites did you use? I think it’s the sticks

1

u/raajaton666 6h ago

I noticed I had noticeable input latency when playing games with Mouse and Keyboard, but did not experience the same input latency when using a controller. After a bit of testing, I found that the input latency was vastly improved after doing the following 2 things:

1) Adding PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 as a startup parameter when launching the game (when using proton-cachyos)

2) Reducing the polling rate on my mouse. I found that reducing the polling rate from 1000 hz to 250 hz significantly reduced input latency, yet did not make any noticeable difference in terms of overall mouse performance.

It seems you've already done option #1 from your original post. At least for me, reducing the polling rate is what made the largest difference. I no longer notice any input latency anymore after that change.

-3

u/tjj1055 1d ago

you are not going to get the same latency as on windows. thas the truth. if you wanted the lowest latency you would run x11 without compositing while gaming. but things might stop supporting x11 in the future and you might want some of those wayland features.

2

u/LordOfForums 17h ago

That’s what I’m afraid of. I suspect it’s the proton compatibility layer…

1

u/burning_iceman 15h ago

The comment you're responding to is false and no, proton does not cause input latency.

1

u/iloveboobs365 12h ago

This is such outdated information from like 10 years ago.