Performance Bug: GPU Stuck at Low Clock Speed - SOLVED

[ferrius]

Background:

Recently, my SteamDeck experienced an abnormal startup, and ever since then, the performance has been severely impacted. Previously, I could easily achieve a smooth 60fps in most 3D games, but after the issue arose, the frame rate struggled to reach even 20fps.

Upon investigation, I noticed that my GPU usage was consistently pinned at 100%, but the clock speed was limited to a range of 200-300MHz. This was significantly lower than what I had seen before, and it affected multiple games consistently.


Attempts to Resolve:

I contacted Steam Support and followed their suggestions, but none of the provided steps could solve the issue. I also tried switching to beta and preview branches, but unfortunately, that didn't help either. I also pursued various methods from the community that were popular suggestions on various threads on the issue.

I felt like I had exhausted all options except for formatting and factory resetting the device.


Solution:

Finally, I decided to enable Developer Mode on my SteamDeck and discovered a new setting called "Show Advanced Update Channels.".

Enabling this option allowed me to switch to the "Main Channel" (running version 3.5) instead of the default choices (Stable, Beta, and Preview) available in version 3.4.8.

After updating to version 3.5, the 200MHz clock speed issue was completely resolved. I can now again enjoy 60fps gameplay in the previously affected titles.



Noteworthy Information:

To confirm the effectiveness of this solution, I reverted back to the default 3.4.8 stable build (dated July 4th, 2023). Fortunately, the issue did not reappear, and my SteamDeck is performing flawlessly.

Steam Support suggested I'd create this post, when I asked them how I best could prevent this bug from showing its face again.

[Lil B_999]

Nice

[Tbird]

Unfortunately, I did the same operation as you about a week ago, including: upgrading the system version to 3.5, upgrading the BIOS version to F7A0116, and then resetting to the stable version 3.4.8, with the BIOS version still being F7A0116. At first, everything seemed fine, but when I unplugged the power adapter and used the battery for a longer time, the same problem reappeared, with the GPU frequency locked at 200MHz and the CPU frequency locked at 400MHz. This issue has been bothering me for a long time, and I haven't found a permanent solution yet.

[ferrius]

Originally posted by Tbird:

Unfortunately, I did the same operation as you about a week ago, including: upgrading the system version to 3.5, upgrading the BIOS version to F7A0116, and then resetting to the stable version 3.4.8, with the BIOS version still being F7A0116. At first, everything seemed fine, but when I unplugged the power adapter and used the battery for a longer time, the same problem reappeared, with the GPU frequency locked at 200MHz and the CPU frequency locked at 400MHz. This issue has been bothering me for a long time, and I haven't found a permanent solution yet.

Do you happen to recall at what battery level the issue reappeared, or was it just sudden? (And could you re-do the update, and it'd be solved once more?)

[Tbird]

Just about 10 minutes ago, in order to eliminate the last influencing factor I could think of, I deliberately entered the BIOS to read the default settings, and did a battery storage mode setting. Then I booted into SteamOS again and reconfirmed that the system version was 3.4.8 and the BIOS version was F7A0116. After all this, my battery level was 54%. Then, without plugging in the power adapter, I started Diablo 4 with default settings and high graphics quality. Everything was normal at first, and after about 7 or 8 minutes of operation, the power level dropped to 44%. The problem appeared, the GPU/CPU frequency was locked to 200/400. I waited for 2 minutes and it returned to normal, then after running for another 2 minutes it happened again. So, I stopped the test.

[pain_x02]

Originally posted by Tbird:

Just about 10 minutes ago, in order to eliminate the last influencing factor I could think of, I deliberately entered the BIOS to read the default settings, and did a battery storage mode setting. Then I booted into SteamOS again and reconfirmed that the system version was 3.4.8 and the BIOS version was F7A0116. After all this, my battery level was 54%. Then, without plugging in the power adapter, I started Diablo 4 with default settings and high graphics quality. Everything was normal at first, and after about 7 or 8 minutes of operation, the power level dropped to 44%. The problem appeared, the GPU/CPU frequency was locked to 200/400. I waited for 2 minutes and it returned to normal, then after running for another 2 minutes it happened again. So, I stopped the test.

Hi! Did you check your fan speed? It looks like the same issue I have (F7A0116 and 3.4.8/3.5 OS version). My fan doesn't work faster than 480 RPM. So I think 200/400 happens because of temperature and throttling

[pain_x02]

My problem with 400/200 was resolved with a fan replacement