Worse gaming (FPS) performance after upgrading PPD 0.21-1 to PPD 0.23-1

Framework Laptop 16 Linux
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So I recently upgraded my KDE Plasma from 6.0.5 to 6.1.5… and while I was testing things out to make sure all was well, I ran into an issue where the frame rate for Starfield (launched via steam with DRI_PRIME=1) had plummeted from over 60 fps down to 9-15 FPS.

What threw me for a bit too was that the dGPU detection appimage no longer reported anything using the dGPU, so I initially thought DRI_PRIME wasn’t working… this ended up not being the case, and I suspect the appimage needs an update to support KDE 6.1.5 under wayland.

The “issue” I suspect is PPD and/or it’s integration with Plasma 6.1.5.

In plasma 5.x and 6.0.5 it looked like PPD did suggest/set a lower idle CPU frequency, but everything would ramp up and act like Power Save mode meant nothing as full power kicked in when I’d launch something beefy, So I just defaulted to leaving PPD set to Power Save to at least get the benefits of lower idle temps.

Perhaps PPD is more serious under plasma 6.1.5, because while troubleshooting and trying different things my FPS jumped up to expected ranges as I moved the Plasma/PPD slider from “Power Save” to Balanced and Performance.

Part of me felt I found my “fix”, but I’m not so sure while paying attention to the CPU temps between the PPD modes in plasma 6.1.5.

In plasma 5.x and plasma 6.0.5 I was getting respectable frame rates while keeping the CPU in the 70-80C range in Power Save. PPD versions used during this time were 0.20-1 and 0.21-1.

Now under plasma 6.1.5 and PPD 0.23-1… with PPD in Power Save the temps still stay in the 70-80C range but frame rate is ~10 FPS… while Balanced now restores frame fates to normal but at the cost of CPU temp being pinned at 100C!

Something still doesn’t feel right… were power profiles not working properly before, or now? How was I getting great framerates in “Power Save” while keeping the temps in the 70-80C range before? 100C in “Balanced” just doesn’t feel like the solution knowing where I came from.

Besides using TimeShift to revert back to Plasma 6.0.5, how might I try restore my performace/temps to previous levels? I don’t suspect amdgpu changes via the kernel as while my kernel definitely got updated too, I’m still using the current LTS 6.6 version.

Might downgrading PPD from 0.23-1 to 0.21-1 be a good first step? Might the changes in PPD really be relying on new amdgpu features in linux 6.10+?

Operating System: Manjaro Linux 
KDE Plasma Version: 6.1.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.6.0
Qt Version: 6.7.2
Kernel Version: 6.6.54-2-MANJARO (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 16 × AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS w/ Radeon 780M Graphics
Memory: 30.5 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: AMD Radeon 780M
Manufacturer: Framework
Product Name: Laptop 16 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series)
System Version: AJ
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I suspect user error regarding the dGPU detection AppImage… I think I was launching it before (not after) launching my games. Can’t reproduce the problem, the detection seems to be working fine post launch.

So, I did some deeper digging and found that included with the Plasma 6.1.5 updates… PPD 0.23-1 and amd-ucode 20240928 were also updated.

Since I wasn’t happy with my “Balanced restored performace” workaround, I performed the following downgrades/re-upgrades with hopes to isolate/reverse the issue:

  1. Downgraded amd-ucode to 2024-0809… sudo mkinitcpio -P && sudo update-grub… rebooted and tested Grim Dawn performance @ 23 FPS in character select and 35 FPS in game.
  2. Downgraded PPD to 0.21-1… rebooted and Grim Dawn performance returned to 100FPS in character select and in game
  3. Upgraded amd-ucode back to 20240928… sudo mkinitcpio -P && sudo update-grub… rebooted and Grim Dawn performance remained at 100FPS in character select and in game
    3.1. Remembered my initial FPS drop experience was 10-ish FPS in Starfieild… retested and was getting 55-60 FPS (limited by gamescope -r 60) inside a busy city… expected/normal

Having narrowed the issue down to a PPD update, I thought to check git issues and I think I found a match for my issue… AMD iGPU frequencies are capped to 200MHz after last update (#164) · Issues · upower / power-profiles-daemon · GitLab

@Mario_Limonciello and @Matt_Hartley, are you able to confirm if this is a known “Framework” issue… and if so, what is the recommended course of action for FW-16 users?

For the time being I am keeping PPD downgraded to 0.21-1, blocking PPD updates in pacman.conf, and watching the git issue for the "fix’ release.