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diff --git a/guides/setups/hardware.org b/guides/setups/hardware.org deleted file mode 100644 index bae0c21..0000000 --- a/guides/setups/hardware.org +++ /dev/null @@ -1,451 +0,0 @@ -* Where to buy -Some untested resources to buy laptops or desktops: - -- https://starlabs.systems -- https://www.tuxedocomputers.com - -FSF's [[https://h-node.org/][h-node]] rates hardware according to its compatibility with free -software. -* LDLC PC Zenifier-SSD -** assembly woes -Lots of impedance mismatches between "documentation" and actual -hardware: -- CPU cooler (fan) has spring screws; diagrams show retention clips. - Had to dig into the [[https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/cpu-7][AMD knowledge base]] to find that some - motherboards come with "speculative" clips, which must be unscrewed - and removed in order to install the spring-screw cooler. -- Diagrams say to add thermal paste, but the fan already comes with a - pre-applied layer. -- Documentation shows RAM clips for both ends of the sticks; the - motherboard seems to only have clips for one end. -- =SYS_FAN1= header has 4 pins; front fan plug has 3 holes. The - Internet[[https://old.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/4139k8/3_pin_sys_fan2_vs_4_pin_sys_fan1/][[1]]][[https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/sys_fan1-and-sys_fan2.3195778/][[2]]] says it's fine. -- Motherboard has [[https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B550M-A-PRO/Specification]["8 mounting holes"]] but covers only 6 of the case's - standoffs; none of the diagrams in the case's manual match the - format of the motherboard. -- The diagram for inserting the power supply unit leaves a lot to the - imagination. -- The [[https://www.snia.org/forums/cmsi/knowledge/formfactors#U2][SSD dimension nomenclature]] is weird as hell. The SSD's user - manual seems to imply that I have a 2.5″ model, but my measuring - tape says the drive is 2.75″×3.875″ (diagonal 4.625″). -- The link to the LDLC guide for mounting the SSD is dead; the page is - [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170901191800/http://www.ldlc.com/guides/AL00000817/comment-installer-un-ssd-dans-un-pc/][archived]], and merely contains a link to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1dHVb6VuWU][video]]. No matter though, - since it does not describe how to mount the drive on a 2.5″ bay. -- The case user manual says to use specific screws for the SSD drive; - the SSD comes with its own set of screws. Are they meant for the - 3.5″ adapter? 🤷 - -For novices, some steps range from "not very reassuring" to "downright -hostile": -- The amount of force needed to connect the CPU fan's first two - diagonal screws is terrifying. -- The fan's case is asymmetric: one side has a small bump featuring - the maker's brand. If one does not attention when mounting the fan, - there is a 50% chance that this bump will get in the way of a RAM - stick. -- No instruction on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAWNzd-gc3Q&t=74s][how to force that I/O shield in]]. -- No instruction on how to snap the motherboard into the I/O shield. -- Holy =$DEITY= that power supply unit has a *lot* of cables. And of - course I enthusiastically passed most of the small-headed ones - through the designated case hole, and had to pass them back out - because there was no room left to pass the 20-pin ATX connector. -- Power supply user manual was taped to the bubble wrap, so part of - the "warnings" section got torn off. -** maintenance -*** Front panel -The case's manual has a terse illustration with two arrows to pull the -front panel "away and up" from the rest of the case. - -Here too, the amount of force required to do that is terrifying. -Notice how [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUD0HyzVpLg][our friend here]] cuts abruptly at 8:17; that's because the -levels of violence required to tear that panel off are too graphic for -YouTube. -*** Front fan -Remember that fan from earlier, the one with only 3 holes for the -motherboard's 4 pins? Turns out - -1. that last "optional" pin is supposed to allow speed control; - without it, the fan always spins at full speed; -2. the fan itself (ZA1225ASL) is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd6gDY7LPlU][complete and utter crap]]: it cannot be - disassembled, so no cleaning off the dirt, no greasing. - -So the thing is loud, it always spins at full speed, and if one day it -decides to become even louder than usual, you're SOL. -*** Motherboard -**** Firmware updates -Quoth ~fwupdmgr get-devices~: - -#+begin_example -WARNING: UEFI capsule updates not available or enabled in firmware setup -See https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd/wiki/PluginFlag:capsules-unsupported for more information. -#+end_example - -Quoth the wiki: - -#+begin_quote -Most typically entering the firmware setup screen and enabling capsule -updates will cause this warning to disappear, and also make firmware -updates possible. The relevant option may be poorly labelled, for -example "allow Windows UEFI updates". -#+end_quote - -Not seeing any such option in the boot menu. - -#+begin_quote -It is possible, but unlikely, that flashing the latest vendor BIOS, -using either Windows or a LiveCD, will add support for [the thing that -correlates with capsule updates being enabled]. -#+end_quote - -Well then. [[https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B550M-A-PRO/support#bios][Vendor says]] "put this on a stick; reboot; ask the menu to -flash from the stick". Putting some feelers out first: - -#+begin_quote -If you execute a UEFI update, this update might delete the existing -UEFI boot entries - -— [[https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB#Installation][ArchWiki]], 2024 -#+end_quote - -#+begin_quote -Like others in this forum, I too suffered from a reformatted EFI -partition following a BIOS update on my desktop pc. I had no idea -that the MSI BIOS team doesn’t care about Linux installs, so to my -surprise, following the update, my system booted straight to windows. - -[…] - -Ultimately, I completely wiped and recreated the EFI partition with -gparted (fat32), changed the structure to GPT with gdisk, and then -mounted that partition in the /mnt/efi location, and then proceeded to -generate a new fstab with genfstab. After arch-chroot’ing into my -endeavoros install, I ran bootctl install (which complained about boot -loader not setting esp information) and then reinstall-kernels. I -updated the loader.conf with the correct default boot ID, and set the -recommended options. That got me back into my system after quite a -bit of trial and error. - -— [[https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/endeavoros-efi-partition-wiped-by-msi-bios-update/54740][EndeavorOS forums]], May 2024 -#+end_quote - -#+begin_quote -when updating the bios, it cleared all my settings. Apparently, this -includes clearing the list of boot loaders, which it set back to the -default of just Windows. Sadly this bios does not provide the tools -to add boot entries as, apparently, some do. To fix it, I managed to -boot to a Linux live USB and add the missing entry using the efiboomgr -command line tool. - -— [[https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/updating-to-bios-7a32v1q1-wont-see-linux-uefi-boot.388109/][MSI AMD forums]], August 2023 -#+end_quote - -Welp. - -OT1H, I could dedicate a couple of week-ends learning the joys and -wonders of efibootmgr, gdisk & friends. OTOH I sort of like keeping -my desktop station… not bricked? - -Pity, because otherwise I've had smooth and incident-free firmware -updates on other stations with ~fwupdmgr~ 🤷 -*** SSD -**** Failure -On November 19 2024, LDLC's off-brand SSD died on me. RIP. -Re-installed Tumbleweed on the replacement (Kingston SA400S3) on -November 28. Since then… -***** Performance loss -Getting uncannily reproducible frame drops (60 ↘ 40±10, movement -visibly choppy) in Hades Ⅱ when moving toward effects/particles-heavy -areas. No idea WTF, those areas ran fine before. - -- "High" graphics setting at native 1920×1080 resolution. - - Tried "Low" graphics, lowered resolution, disabled vsync: symptoms - persist. -- Not forcing any "compatibility tool" version, assuming this yields - "Proton Experimental". - - Tried a couple of old Proton versions: symptoms persist. -- Reinstalled game & nuked everything under - - =~/.cache/mesa_shader_cache*= - - =~/.cache/radv_builtin_shaders*= - - =~/.config/unity3d= - - =~/.local/share/Steam= - - =~/.local/share/vulkan/= - - =~/.steam*= - in case "stale shaders" were to blame or something. -- Tumbleweed/Plasma/Wayland session. - - Tried X11: symptoms persist. -- Reducing noise with =balooctl6 suspend=, =swapoff -a= (RAM nowhere - near exhausted). - -Well then. -****** CPU frequency scaling? -Started by noticing that the Plasma "Power Management" tray widget -says "Power Profile" is "Not available". Not 100% sure whether that -was the case with the old installation; maybe I had had something -configured or installed to enable this? - -Internet says "install and enable power-profiles-daemon", except -that's on: - -#+begin_example -$ systemctl status power-profiles-daemon.service -● power-profiles-daemon.service - Power Profiles daemon - Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/power-profiles-daemon.service; disabled; preset: disabled) - Active: active (running) since Sun 2024-12-01 11:46:32 CET; 45min ago - Invocation: b2545a02bc9642b7aeb5f370e8b50e7c - Main PID: 2289 (power-profiles-) - Tasks: 4 (limit: 18320) - CPU: 52ms - CGroup: /system.slice/power-profiles-daemon.service - └─2289 /usr/libexec/power-profiles-daemon -#+end_example - -But: - -#+begin_example -$ powerprofilesctl -,* balanced: - PlatformDriver: placeholder - - power-saver: - PlatformDriver: placeholder -#+end_example - -Internet says I am missing the right scaling driver, and seems very -keen on enabling =amd_pstate=, which I do not seem to have available: - -#+begin_example -$ cpupower frequency-info -analyzing CPU 5: - driver: acpi-cpufreq - CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 5 - CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 5 - maximum transition latency: Cannot determine or is not supported. - hardware limits: 1.40 GHz - 3.70 GHz - available frequency steps: 3.70 GHz, 1.70 GHz, 1.40 GHz - available cpufreq governors: ondemand performance schedutil - current policy: frequency should be within 1.40 GHz and 3.70 GHz. - The governor "schedutil" may decide which speed to use - within this range. - current CPU frequency: Unable to call hardware - current CPU frequency: 3.30 GHz (asserted by call to kernel) - boost state support: - Supported: yes - Active: no - -$ zcat /proc/config.gz | grep -i pstate -CONFIG_X86_INTEL_PSTATE=y -CONFIG_X86_AMD_PSTATE=y -CONFIG_X86_AMD_PSTATE_DEFAULT_MODE=3 -# CONFIG_X86_AMD_PSTATE_UT is not set -#+end_example - -=/proc/config.gz= suggests the kernel configuration supports it, but -=cpupower= does not seem to know about it. =dmesg= offers: - -#+begin_example -$ sudo dmesg -H -[…] amd_pstate: the _CPC object is not present in SBIOS or ACPI disabled -#+end_example - -Though: - -#+begin_example -$ lscpu | grep -i cppc -Flags: […] cppc […] -#+end_example - -So ACPI problem? Lots of posts mentioning =amd_= parameters on the -kernel command-line but AFAIU those are stale with newer kernels (6.11 -here) which automatically (attempt to) load the =amd_pstate= driver. - -Went through the UEFI menu and found nothing related to ACPI or -[[https://forum.level1techs.com/t/amd-p-state-driver/197885/24][X2APIC]]. Skeptical UEFI settings anyway, since I did not change them -between the old and new installations. - -/Some time later/ - -Probably not ACPI, =dmesg= is choke full of ACPI noise. OTOH, using -some diagnosis methods from [[https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=218171][this kernel bug report]]: - -#+begin_example -$ find /sys/devices -name '*cppc*' -🦗 -#+end_example - -(=acpidump ; acpixtract ; iasl ; grep -i cpc *.dsl= also yields 🦗, -but =iasl= complains about "unresolved" "control methods", so 🤷) - -/Some time later/ - -[[https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/CPU_frequency_scaling#amd_pstate][ArchWiki]] does say "Change /Enable CPPC/ […] from /Auto/ to /Enabled/". -My UEFI menu tucks that under /Overclocking → Advanced CPU -Configuration → AMD CBS → CPPC CTRL/. That change *does* convince -Linux to enable =amd_pstate=; going over the previous tests in reverse -order: - -#+begin_example -$ [… acpidump && acpixtract && iasl … ] && grep -i cpc *.dsl -ssdt1.dsl: Name (_CPC, Package (0x17) // _CPC: Continuous Performance Control -[… repeats 12 times …] - -$ find /sys/devices -name '*cppc*' -o -name '*pstate*' | tr -s '[:digit:]' N | sort -u -/sys/devices/system/cpu/amd_pstate -/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policyN/amd_pstate_highest_perf -/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policyN/amd_pstate_hw_prefcore -/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policyN/amd_pstate_lowest_nonlinear_freq -/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policyN/amd_pstate_max_freq -/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policyN/amd_pstate_prefcore_ranking -/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuN/acpi_cppc - -$ sudo dmesg -H -[… ominous silence about amd_pstate …] - -$ cpupower frequency-info -analyzing CPU 1: - driver: amd-pstate-epp - CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1 - CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1 - maximum transition latency: Cannot determine or is not supported. - hardware limits: 400 MHz - 4.31 GHz - available cpufreq governors: performance powersave - current policy: frequency should be within 2.38 GHz and 4.31 GHz. - The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use - within this range. - current CPU frequency: Unable to call hardware - current CPU frequency: 3.57 GHz (asserted by call to kernel) - boost state support: - Supported: yes - Active: yes - AMD PSTATE Highest Performance: 255. Maximum Frequency: 4.31 GHz. - AMD PSTATE Nominal Performance: 219. Nominal Frequency: 3.70 GHz. - AMD PSTATE Lowest Non-linear Performance: 141. Lowest Non-linear Frequency: 2.38 GHz. - AMD PSTATE Lowest Performance: 24. Lowest Frequency: 400 MHz. - -$ powerprofilesctl - performance: - CpuDriver: amd_pstate - Degraded: no - -,* balanced: - CpuDriver: amd_pstate - PlatformDriver: placeholder - - power-saver: - CpuDriver: amd_pstate - PlatformDriver: placeholder -#+end_example - -And lo, the 🍃↔🚀 slider appears in the Power Management tray widget. - -Nervous about entering the "Overclocking" UEFI zone tho, and concerned -about these "Maximum frequencies". - -/And does it even help with the game?/ - -🥁 - -No. No it does not; no discernible difference in FPS nor vibes. - -Will assume this new baseline cannot hurt - OT1H "overclocking" is -scary, OTOH Linux now has a finer handle on the CPU and hopefully will -not overwork it to death? -****** Sᴇᴠᴇʀᴀʟ Wᴇᴇᴋꜱ Lᴀᴛᴇʀ -- [[https://www.gamingonlinux.com/forum/topic/5475/page=1/][ridge reports]] "bad frame pacing on ADMGPU", - - when vsync is turned off: a non-factor in my testing, - - lots of useful information in that thread tho and - interesting-sounding pointers, - - [[https://www.gamingonlinux.com/forum/topic/5475/page=2/#r42519][Shmerl]] says: - - games can cause stutter by underloading the GPU, causing it to - drop out of "high performance mode", - - (=amdgpu_top= and =radeontop= do confirm that lag spikes - correlate with GPU usage drop) - - see [[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/1500][drm/amd#1500]]: - - /lots/ of sysfs noodling there; unfortunately, none of the - suggested settings for =power_dpm_force_performance_level= & - =pp_power_profile_mode= change the symptoms. - -- In [[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3618#note_2689087][this drm/amd#3618 thread]], @agd5f suggests "6.11 stable kernels" - include a fix for the issue at hand there and a further rework "was - submitted to 6.13"; @mattipulkkinen reports happy results with - 6.13-rc2 (FTR, symptoms persist here with 6.12.8). - -- Piggybacked onto [[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/issues/11300][mesa/mesa#11300]]: - - common: Hades Ⅱ, iGPU, recent kernel & Mesa, Proton Experimental, - - differences: Fedora, GNOME, X11, - - noteworthy: good performance on Windows, - - suggestion by @Venemo: downgrade & bisect Mesa; - - tempting, though scared of bricking graphical sessions and/or - ending up with a frankensystem (intalling binaries under a - prefix is probably easy, but then keeping track of config tweaks - and cache artifacts sounds fraught). - -- In [[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/upower/power-profiles-daemon/-/issues/164][upower/power-profiles-daemon#164]], @Nyan reports problematic iGPU - capping; not convinced this is applicable though, given the reported - symptoms (video playback is fine here). - -- Seen reports of Variable Refresh Rate causing problems: - - searched high and low to understand why VRR appears nowhere in - Plasma settings, despite the start menu turning up "Display - Configuration" when searching for "VRR", - - mystery solved by ~kscreen-doctor -o~: =Vrr: incapable= 🤷 - -- [[https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/what-fixed-stuttering-and-random-framerate-spikes-in-games-for-me.327264/][aska33j proclaims]] that /disabling CPPC/ "fixed stuttering and random - framerate spikes in games for [them]" so… roundtrip to UEFI, - disabling that. The =amd_pstate= warning is back; the "Power - Profile" slider is no longer accessible in the systray widget; no - discernible effect in-game anyway. - -- Looking at Steam forums, [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/1145350/discussions/1/596260472619121965/][some folks]] do report FPS drops /shortly - after the update/: - #+begin_quote - it started fine after the major update, now suddenly im stuck with 40~50 fps with micro sutters - — December 6 2024 - #+end_quote - -- After AMD drivers & Mesa, figured I could look at vkd3d's issue - tracker. [[https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/issues/4436][doitsujin/dxvk#4436]] and - [[ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#11446]] looked somewhat promising: - reports of lag on "KDE Tumbleweed Wayland", reported not long before - my symptoms began (November 2024)); alas, ~LD_PRELOAD=~ does not - help. - - - #+begin_quote - Alternatively, remove the offending line in =/usr/share/drirc.d/00-radv-defaults.conf= - #+end_quote - - /discovers [[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/blob/main/src/util/00-radv-defaults.conf][=/usr/share/drirc.d/=]]/ - - Computers were a mistake. - -- Peeked at [[https://github.com/HansKristian-Work/vkd3d-proton/blob/master/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md][vkd3d-proton's issue template]] and idly ran with - ~PROTON_LOG=1~. Over the course of 30 seconds or so, the log file - gets flooded with 3MB's worth of =trace:unwind:dump_unwind_info= 🤨 -****** This is insane -Selected subset of moving parts; "testability" considering ease of -clean reverts: - -| Part | Testability | -|--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -| Linux kernel | 🫣 [[https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:InstallNewerKernel][some distro documentation]]; afraid of side-effects | -| AMD drivers | 🤷 no clue; maybe inextricable from kernel? | -| Mesa | 😬 easy to recompile; hard to control transient state in cache & config folders | -| Steam | 🫥 under Steam's control | -| Wine | 🫥 under Steam's control | -| Proton | 👌 as long as I stick to versions under Steam's control; have not considered GE yet | -| vkd3d-proton | 🫥 under Steam's control | -| Hades Ⅱ | 🫥 under Steam's control | - -That's looking at software packages as individual blackboxes; -config-wise, worth noting: - -| Part | Testability | -|------------+-------------------| -| AMD pstate | 😬 UEFI roundtrip | -| sysfs | OK | - -Let's throw in: - -| Part | Testability | -|---------------+-----------------------------------| -| Mobo firmware | 🔥 reports of nuked boot settings | - |