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KDE Neon / Pipewire issues when gaming

Hi guys! So I seem to have audio issues. Audio will mute for like 5 seconds every 20 seconds or so. It’s very annoying, as it can make you miss whole parts of dialog. It only happens on linux, and only on gaming, so I guess it means the amp/surround system is ok. I use the TV HDMI output for audio, as it gets redirected to the 5.1 amp via ARC. This works flawlessly for most scenarios, but somehow it seems to get into trouble when in games. I’ve tried so far games based on Proton (Cyberpunk, Alan Wake…original, not remake). I’m using lates KDE Neon, with Pipewire. What would you recommend to check? If I boot back to WiIndows, the games run fine.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

So, here’s my final update on this issue, and a possible solution/workaround: As the problem is due to crappy audio latency when using Wine, a way to avoid it is by giving it higher priority. If anyone has the issue, you can try using Feral’s gamemode. Launch your problematic app via gamemoderun, and it will decrease stuttering very significantly. If the game is really intense on CPU or you have other stuff getting it busy, it will still stutter, but it’s way less frequent on the game I’m currently playing (Outer Worlds), which is not very resource intensive. I’ll let you know once I try harder games.

huskypenguin ,

Have you opened up a pipewire patch bay app to see if it’s routed correctly? There’s also a pulse audio virtual interface for pipewire that could help.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Just for the sake of testing, I went back to PulseAudio…the problem is still here. These are Wine games. And on Windows, they work fine :(

huskypenguin ,

Have you tried using proton via steam?

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Yup. Still happens. Tested on Alan Wake.

huskypenguin ,

At this point I would connect a usb audio device. You can get them for $10.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Thanks…I’m starting to think I’m dealing with HDMI noise on the audio. I’ll try to get newer/clearer cables.

huskypenguin ,

In another comment you said the head phones jack on the monitor is busted. It might be that the system thinks headphones are plugged in. Just a random guess, I don’t even know if Linux can do that (windows can).

PseudoSpock ,
@PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Please try some Linux native games and see if they have the same issue. If not, it would be a WINE/Proton issue and then the problem would belong to them. If it happens on Linux native games, then it’s a Linux issue.

This is the primary reason I dislike WINE/Proton… ambiguity as to whether it’s the WINE/Proton compatibility layer or the Linux distro itself.

PseudoSpock ,
@PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Wow, got downvoted for giving practical diagnostic advice. Someone out there is a Proton fanboy who can’t admit this is a valid thing to test to help finding root cause.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Which one would you advise as a proper native game to test? After the whole Bioshock Proton version running better than native, I stopped paying attention to truly native ports, and just played whichever Steam would install by default…or just Lutris my way around it.

PseudoSpock ,
@PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

SuperTuxKart.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Thanks. I didn’t have much time until now, but 10 minutes playing SuperTuxKart saw exactly zero audio glitches, and playing The Outer Worlds right after it, started glitching again. It really looks to be Wine/Proton issues, and I was ready to blame the HDMI cables…

PseudoSpock ,
@PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

If the game is from Steam, I’d hit them up for some official support. I bet they can help.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Thanks, but…I’m not so sure. I mean, I’m using the Proton compatibility layer, it’s not like they did anything besides providing Windows support, then Valve adding the rest.

PseudoSpock ,
@PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Understood.

huskypenguin ,

Try anything out of the discover app. Like someone else said super tux cart. You’re just looking for an audio signal to figure out if this is a wine thing or a system thing.

backhdlp ,
@backhdlp@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Do standard wired headphones that are directly connected to your PC work fine?

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Siiiigh. Seems the monitor earphones plug is busted (physically broken, just found out). The one on the PC is too hidden, it’s behind the TV and quite some meters away from where the actual keyboard/mouse etc are. Not a good option :(

backhdlp ,
@backhdlp@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

You might be able to get an AUX extension cord for cheap at your local tech store. Would be suboptimal, but for anything better, you might need to rearrange your setup.

Carter ,

I gave up with pipewire and just switched to pulseaudio. All issues gone.

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Thanks…I might have to do just that. Everybody talked about pipewire like it’s the solution to everything…but it clearly also brings bugs.

rishado ,

Did you switch to pipewire because you had issues with pulse or?

iturnedintoanewt OP ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

Nah, I switched because of bluetooth stuttering issues on PulseAudio, I think when switching to AptX. At any rate, on Pipewire BT worked flawlessly.

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