AMDGPU FreeSync / Adaptive-Sync Is Set To Land For Linux 4.21

[juno]

\o/

But is it really? Or does it require some hardware bits?

Nvidia hardware is capable of sending out frames in a VRR manner, otherwise G-Sync wouldn't work (obviously).
Nvidia GPUs in notebooks offer G-Sync via eDP and without having the additional G-Sync module on the monitor-side.

I'm pretty sure it's a political thing and Nvidia could support VESA Adaptive Sync tomorrow.



Does anybody know if any Wayland compositor's devs have said/done something concerning adaptive sync?

[chithanh]

Yes, the display hardware has to support it. The earliest AMD hardware with freesync support is the CIK family (bonaire, hawaii, etc.) IIRC.

I think AMD originally said that all GCN chips support FreeSync. However, the 1st gen GCN parts (tahiti, pitcairn, etc.) only support FreeSync for video playback, not for 3D applications.

However at some point, AMD removed all mentioning of FreeSync for those older parts, as well as for the Kabini APUs (which are CIK).

[joecampos]

I'm not pretending no one likes them. I'm just saying that if you want a new monitor, looking for a curved one will make your search narrower every day you wait, and you'll probably won't find any bleeding edge model.

All but two of Samsung's 2018 monitor lineup are curved, other manufacturers often have a couple models.

[castlefox]

Does this mean FreeSync 2 (HDR) will also work?

[treba]

Does anybody know if any Wayland compositor's devs have said/done something concerning adaptive sync?

I'm wondering about that, too. Mutter (Gnome) just got support for hardware reported refresh rates (https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutte...e_requests/171) , maybe it already includes it?

There's more in the pipeline, though (https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/merge_requests/73), so I wouldn't be surprised to see support coming for Gnome 3.32

[dungeon]

I think AMD originally said that all GCN chips support FreeSync. However, the 1st gen GCN parts (tahiti, pitcairn, etc.) only support FreeSync for video playback, not for 3D applications.

However at some point, AMD removed all mentioning of FreeSync for those older parts, as well as for the Kabini APUs (which are CIK).

Even 4W Temash/Mullins also supports it, but who would game synced on that These could sync Angry Birds or such old games.

Q. Which AMD Radeon™ GPUs are compatible with AMD FreeSync™ technology?
A. AMD FreeSync™ technology will utilize DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync protocols to enable dynamic refresh rates for video playback, gaming and power-saving scenarios.
All AMD Radeon™ graphics cards in the AMD Radeon™ HD 7000, HD 8000, R7 or R9 Series will support AMD FreeSync™ technology for video playback and power-saving purposes. The AMD Radeon™ R9 295X2, 290X, R9 290, R9 285, R7 260X and R7 260 GPUs additionally feature updated display controllers that will support dynamic refresh rates during gaming.
AMD APUs codenamed "Kaveri," "Kabini," "Temash," "Beema" and "Mullins" also feature the necessary hardware capabilities to enable dynamic refresh rates for video playback, gaming and power-saving purposes. All products must be connected to a display that supports DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync.


It is our current understanding that the software architecture of select games may not be compatible with dynamic refresh rate technology like AMD FreeSync™ technology. In these instances, users will be able to toggle the activation of FreeSync in the AMD Catalyst™driver.

https://community.amd.com/docs/DOC-1339

[shmerl]

Great news! Besides Displayport, doest this change support also HDMI through the VESA HDMI VRR standard? A lot of Freesync TVs have only HDMI ports available

Better avoid HDMI to begin with, if you can.

[shmerl]

Does anybody know if any Wayland compositor's devs have said/done something concerning adaptive sync?

Good question. I'll try to find if KWin has anything in this regard.

[discordian]

So does this work if you have something thats not very Linux-y, like having 2 Monitors?

[clapbr]

YES, I have been following this for a while and tested the patches and even reported a couple bugs directly to the responsible dev. Hope they sort the vsync stutter bug upstream, the workaround is on bugzilla and works great. Then finally the 75hz+ mclck flickering bug and I will be a happy camper.