Console/Gaming Mode - Set External Monitor Resolution/Refresh?

[Schneider(9er) Zero]

It appears that there is simply no way to specify the resolution and refresh rate output of the steam deck to external monitors while in the 'gaming mode' (rather than desktop mode).

My Steam Deck will default on my tv to 4k30.. which seemingly adds an INSANE amount of input lag while gaming, whether im using a Bluetooth controller or the built in controls. Is that the same experience everyone else is getting? The only way I've been able to fluidly game on the Steam Deck (with my tv) is to go into Desktop mode and manually set the resolution to 1080p@120... then everything feels great.

Is there any hope that we will be able to specify the external monitor output while in gaming mode in the future?

[Schneider(9er) Zero]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Jaycee:

I'm gonna piggyback onto this thread, since what I'm facing is very similar.

More than adjusting resolution/refresh rate, the gaming mode seemingly also lacks the option to choose which external display to output to.

I have a multi monitor setup which I often connect a laptop to via a USB-C hub.
Over the years I have come to appreciate having one monitor in Portrait orientation (for reading articles etc.), but when connecting the steam deck, it only outputs to that monitor in gaming mode.
I have no problem choosing the other monitor (or both) in desktop mode, but these settings don't persist when switching back.

Definitely think this is an oversight which should be fixed alongside your issues.

Ah.. im not shocked to hear this. Thank you for the note.

[ugafan]

Valve, please fix this.

It's automatically setting the resolution to 4096x2160 at 30Hz. This causes black bars on the left and right of the image when playing a game.

Please allow us to choose the resolution and refresh rate while in game mode.

[Marlock]

heads up for what looks like a way to finally set the output resolution, in SteamOS 3 Beta Preview channel
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/07/steam-deck-beta-gets-scaling-for-external-displays-new-qpreviewq-testing-branch/

[ugafan]

That will give you a slider to adjust scaling.

No option to change resolution or refresh rate.

[Marlock]

thanks for confirming that... i was afraid this was the case... sigh!

[Schneider(9er) Zero]

Someone on Reddit told me this.. but I have yet to confirm.

"Yup! Update was pushed at the beginning of the month. In game mode, you can go to a game's Properties page (from the Steam Library) and under General, you can set the target resolution for either when using an external display or all the time. If setting it for an external display, the external screen resolution will be capped to what you configure. The screen resolution will still be the default in handheld mode.

Here's an article on it: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/06/steam-deck-now-lets-you-override-display-resolution-for-games/

No more hacking for custom resolutions in Game Mode!

The only issue with this solution so far is the Game Scope (performance graph tool) is not affected by the custom resolution. If you configured a 4k screen to use 1080p, the Game Scope will use the native resolution and be tiny. This is minor at this point."

[Drowhunter]

Digital Foundry has called Valve out on the issue , yay!

https://youtu.be/UZKBSf3aLf4?t=11m57s

[Martin]

+1 yes please

[Marlock]

Początkowo opublikowane przez drowhunter:

Digital Foundry has called Valve out on the issue , yay!

https://youtu.be/UZKBSf3aLf4?t=11m57s

It's important to remember that Valve never promised the Steam Deck would hold a decent performance rendering heavy games in 4K (or any game for that matter)

What they did fail to provide was a way to force output to 720p while plugged to a 4K TV so that it can perform as promised despite the screen supporting higher resolutions than its performance target

Their original design for FSR was meant to bring internal rendering from lower than 720p to the target 720p resolution wirhout looking horrible like a plain upscaling, so games that the Deck would normally not be able to play at 720p with reasonable quality became playable at 720p with reasonable quality... it was unfortunately also kicking in automatically to bring 720p to 4k (a much much heavier task) when plugged to FullHD and 4K external screens

IMHO they took to long to fix this in Gaming Mode, considering the underlying pieces of the linux system have been perfectly capable of changing the screen resolution to lower than the supported max on a given screen, for years (including on the Deck in Desktop Mode)

All this to say the title of the video might be a bit misleading, because OF COURSE the Deck isn't "fit for a 4K TV", because it is meant for 720p... it should at least be able to output to a 4k TV, but not fit

[Tsukiko]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Schneider(9er):

Someone on Reddit told me this.. but I have yet to confirm.

"Yup! Update was pushed at the beginning of the month. In game mode, you can go to a game's Properties page (from the Steam Library) and under General, you can set the target resolution for either when using an external display or all the time. If setting it for an external display, the external screen resolution will be capped to what you configure. The screen resolution will still be the default in handheld mode.

Here's an article on it: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/06/steam-deck-now-lets-you-override-display-resolution-for-games/

No more hacking for custom resolutions in Game Mode!

The only issue with this solution so far is the Game Scope (performance graph tool) is not affected by the custom resolution. If you configured a 4k screen to use 1080p, the Game Scope will use the native resolution and be tiny. This is minor at this point."

I'll have to try this later but i came here with the same feature request.
Same thing happens when using an OG Skull'n'co Jumpgate (FV16) - it forces a 4k30 output when the jumpgate can do 720p60 or 1080p60 so having the option to choose would be good. I'll try setting it per game to see if it helps later if my monitor/tv detects it as 1080p/720p or if it will stick to 4k30.

Would be nice to see some movement on this, but the UI scaler is definitely helpful, but changing that alters the icons on your desktop in desktopmode fyi (i returned to desktop to find some icons had gone off the screen and had to connect in a mouse to be able to scroll down to get it back up haha).

[RelentlesS]

Bump as I ran into this issue multiple times now with game mode using an external display, I am able to change the refresh rate to 144hz and the resolution manually in desktop mode, but this doesn't stick for game mode and I am stuck with the 60hz or 30hz and resolution set by steam in game mode. Having the option to manually set my own resolution and refresh rate in game mode would fix this.

[TmTigran]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Schneider(9er):

Someone on Reddit told me this.. but I have yet to confirm.

"Yup! Update was pushed at the beginning of the month. In game mode, you can go to a game's Properties page (from the Steam Library) and under General, you can set the target resolution for either when using an external display or all the time. If setting it for an external display, the external screen resolution will be capped to what you configure. The screen resolution will still be the default in handheld mode.

Here's an article on it: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/06/steam-deck-now-lets-you-override-display-resolution-for-games/

No more hacking for custom resolutions in Game Mode!

The only issue with this solution so far is the Game Scope (performance graph tool) is not affected by the custom resolution. If you configured a 4k screen to use 1080p, the Game Scope will use the native resolution and be tiny. This is minor at this point."

This doesn't seem to work for non steam games.

Also for people who have gotten it to work in desktop mode.. How? When I try to use a controller in Desktop mode on any game.. The controllers stay in "Desktop" configuration, and no buttons work, except for start... which is just keybound to escape.

[RelentlesS]

+1

[Schneider(9er) Zero]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Marlock:

Początkowo opublikowane przez drowhunter:

Digital Foundry has called Valve out on the issue , yay!

https://youtu.be/UZKBSf3aLf4?t=11m57s

It's important to remember that Valve never promised the Steam Deck would hold a decent performance rendering heavy games in 4K (or any game for that matter)

What they did fail to provide was a way to force output to 720p while plugged to a 4K TV so that it can perform as promised despite the screen supporting higher resolutions than its performance target

Their original design for FSR was meant to bring internal rendering from lower than 720p to the target 720p resolution wirhout looking horrible like a plain upscaling, so games that the Deck would normally not be able to play at 720p with reasonable quality became playable at 720p with reasonable quality... it was unfortunately also kicking in automatically to bring 720p to 4k (a much much heavier task) when plugged to FullHD and 4K external screens

IMHO they took to long to fix this in Gaming Mode, considering the underlying pieces of the linux system have been perfectly capable of changing the screen resolution to lower than the supported max on a given screen, for years (including on the Deck in Desktop Mode)

All this to say the title of the video might be a bit misleading, because OF COURSE the Deck isn't "fit for a 4K TV", because it is meant for 720p... it should at least be able to output to a 4k TV, but not fit

You're right that they never promised anything, however our issue isnt with 4k performance specifically.. its with the ability to force a specific resolution (4k or not) with a specified refresh rate while in gaming mode.

[Schneider(9er) Zero]

Początkowo opublikowane przez RelentlesS:

Bump as I ran into this issue multiple times now with game mode using an external display, I am able to change the refresh rate to 144hz and the resolution manually in desktop mode, but this doesn't stick for game mode and I am stuck with the 60hz or 30hz and resolution set by steam in game mode. Having the option to manually set my own resolution and refresh rate in game mode would fix this.

try this out... https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/06/steam-deck-now-lets-you-override-display-resolution-for-games/