linuxmint / linuxmint/cinnamon
Animations not matching monitor's FPS (possible VSync issue)
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Description
Distribution
Mint Cinnamon 22
Package version
6.2.1 (latest from Mint's ISO)
Specifications:
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 5350 with Radeon(tm) R3 (4) @ 2.05 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 8400 / R3 Series [Integrated]
Memory: 3.27 GiB
Kernel Drivers in use: radeon or amdgpu experimental
Frequency
Yes
Bug description
In other Desktop Environments like XFCE and KDE Plasma, which have been tested a few months ago with Debian 12.5 bookworm (by mid 2024), when I was transitioning from Plasma, I've noticed Cinnamon as an option. There was a problem where the animations were pretty slow, which is weird, considering that a lower end laptop (that I used to have) handled the animations in normal 60FPS.
Time has passed, and by trying out Linux Mint 22 today, the problem still seem to persist. Almost everything like scrolling or dragging the slide, minimize/maximize animations and the start menu is painfully lower than the 75FPS that my monitor has and seems to work in mouse cursor and window dragging.
Searching up on Google, I have found that the problem seems to be more common that I thought. On Google, the problem regarding that slow animations has come to two fixes: altering vsync options and disabling the animations.
The problem rises up because VSync options is not a thing anymore, and disabling the animations is a bit weird to read when I wanna scroll. One of the most notable reports about it is #11373, however it has been closed after a Merge, which reports about an issue but didn't seem to be the cause of animations being capped at around 24FPS or smth.
Important Specs:
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 5350 with Radeon(tm) R3 (4) @ 2.05 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 8400 / R3 Series [Integrated]
Memory: 3.27 GiB
Kernel Drivers in use: radeon or amdgpu experimental (didn't check)
Steps to reproduce
1- Get a certain computer (cannot tell which one, but I'm using AM1-A/BR for this example)
2- Install Linux Mint Cinnamon 22 in your computer or access Live Mode
3- Log in and start navigating. Scroll with the mouse wheel, minimize/maximize and test every animation possible
3.5- You might want to change the resolution to 74.952Hz if your monitor works
Expected behavior
Every animation will work in 75FPS, instead of being capped at an unusual rate
Additional information
Many of the computers that had a similar issue was about the drivers, but the case described here doesn't have an impact in other Desktop Environments, which may lead the cause to something else, but I have no clue.
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the animation behavior on Linux Mint Cinnamon 22 with a 75 Hz monitor, comparing scrolling, window transitions, and the start menu against the reported frame rate. Read issue #11373 and investigate whether the radeon or amdgpu driver context changes the result; done means animations consistently match the monitor's refresh rate without disabling them.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- linux
- Domain
- desktop, operating-systems, performance
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100