I recently switched from Windows 11 to Bazzite Linux. My system has an RTX 4070 Ti Super, an Intel CPU, an MSI motherboard, and games installed on an NVMe SSD. My TV is set to 144 Hz. Games initially run extremely well, usually above 100 FPS with great image quality, but after about two or three minutes they begin hitching every 10–30 seconds. The issue affects Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Elden Ring, and Cyberpunk 2077. The frame-time graph spikes during the hitches even when the displayed FPS does not drop much. I have tried multiple Proton and Proton-GE versions, various launch options, disabling Bluetooth, and disabling GPU firmware from the terminal. I suspect shader compilation, a background process, or a hardware-related issue involving memory voltage, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. I am also using MangoHud. What troubleshooting steps should I try, and would switching to an X11 session or another NVIDIA-friendly Linux distribution help?
4 Answers
Bazzite does support NVIDIA hardware, so changing distributions should not be the first step. First verify that the system is fully updated, the correct NVIDIA driver is loaded, and that the games are using the intended display session. Also check whether the issue changes when Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are disabled independently, rather than changing several settings at once.
NVIDIA's shader cache may be getting pruned and rebuilt repeatedly. As a test, enable the disk cache and increase its size with launch options such as `__GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE=1 __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE_SIZE=10737418240 %command%`. If the recurring stutters stop, the cache was probably being discarded too aggressively.
The timing sounds consistent with shaders compiling when new areas or objects appear. In Steam, enable both shader pre-caching and background Vulkan shader processing under Settings > Downloads. You can also temporarily add `DXVK_HUD=compiler %command%` to the game's launch options. If a compiler indicator appears during a hitch, shader compilation is likely involved. Make sure the games are installed on the Linux filesystem rather than being run from a Windows-formatted drive.
Since this is an NVIDIA setup, try running the desktop in an X11 session instead of Wayland. Installing an X11-based desktop such as XFCE and launching the games there can help determine whether the compositor or display session is causing the frame-time spikes.
The stutters may happen when new objects load after I have been playing for a while, so shader compilation could be the cause.