Window resizing in Ubuntu using Unity slow when Steam client is running

[Kitanii]

Without Steam running it's mostly smooth as butter and as responsive as can be, but when I run Steam every attempt to resize a window becomes extremely slow. Be it the Steam client itself or for example the file manager nautilus. What causes this and how can I fix it?

EDIT: With Unity I mean the desktop env.

[Kitanii]

Originally posted by Max Payne:

What's your GPU and which drivers are you using? Are you running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS? Is the system fully up to date?

Yeah sorry should've posted all that. Yes. 16.04.4 fully up to date. Stock kernel 4.13.0-38-generic.
Using proprietary drivers for my gtx 1070. Driver version 390.49 or 384.111 behaves the same. This has been an issue for me as long as I can remember in Ubuntu using Unity. A 6700K @ stock 4GHz and 16GB DDR4.

Windows being dragged around are still being refreshed properly. It's just the resizing that bogs down to a standstill.

[Kitanii]

Am I the only one here?

[Kitanii]

As a temporary solution I've decided to use Compiz Config Settings Manager to set the resize mode to "stretch" instead of the normal mode. Stretch pretty much takes a static image of the current state of your focused window and stretches it only to re-draw the window when you let go of the resize operation. This makes the transition from where you start dragging your mouse smooth, but instead you don't get the window re-drawn in real-time so to speak. It beats having to wait for the window to catch up all the time.

To do the above open CCSM and go to 'Window management' -> 'resize window' -> general and change the mode.

[Marlock]

Have you tried to disable steam overlay? Just a wild guess, but it might be involved in the issue...

Also, regardless of finding a tolerable workaround, I would recommend you to report this as a bug on the steam-on-linux github so Valve Linux devs know this is happening.

I've looked for similar issues there:
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/search?p=1&q=resize+window&type=Issues&utf8=%E2%9C%93

And foud these, that may be related:
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/2831
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/1308
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/1741
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/679

If your case is the same as one of the already reported issues, just warn them you are having it too and give your details (distro, version, gpu, driver, steam version, etc) as instructed on the site.

If none is the same, open a new issue and give all requested info.

Be clear, be detailed, be accurate and be polite. Its a work platform for the actual developers, not just another forum. What you write may help them with valuable clues and that is what gets bugs fixed faster.

[Kitanii]

Originally posted by Marlock:

Have you tried to disable steam overlay? Just a wild guess, but it might be involved in the issue...

Also, regardless of finding a tolerable workaround, I would recommend you to report this as a bug on the steam-on-linux github so Valve Linux devs know this is happening.

I've looked for similar issues there:
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/search?p=1&q=resize+window&type=Issues&utf8=%E2%9C%93

And foud these, that may be related:
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/2831
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/1308
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/1741
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/679

If your case is the same as one of the already reported issues, just warn them you are having it too and give your details (distro, version, gpu, driver, steam version, etc) as instructed on the site.

If none is the same, open a new issue and give all requested info.

Be clear, be detailed, be accurate and be polite. Its a work platform for the actual developers, not just another forum. What you write may help them with valuable clues and that is what gets bugs fixed faster.

This is with just the client running. When no games are running and thus the overlay isn't running.

[Marlock]

Its true that Unity will not have Cannonical support beyond Ubuntu 16.04, and the issue is likely linked to it.

But for now it is still supported on 16.04 since it is an LTS version and not at EOL yet, and Valve also supports Steam on it as its main platform.

Anyway, it is a good idea to test a different DE to see if it works properly, to confirm the issue is in Steam x Unity interaction as suspected.

@Kitani
If you are willing to do some testing, try installing a supported lightweight DE (such as MATE or XFCE) and choosing that instead of Unity when logging in.
Its a bigger change than your current workaround, but might help isolate the issue (and as a side effect it might perform a bit better when gaming).

[Kitanii]

Originally posted by Max Payne:

Originally posted by Kitanii:

EDIT: With Unity I mean the desktop env.

Originally posted by Kitanii:

This is with just the client running. When no games are running and thus the overlay isn't running.

I think the issue is with Unity. It isn't actively developed by Canonical anymore. I would switch to a different DE, for example KDE.

Unity is part of the problem sure, but not at fault I'd say since it is Steam as an app that causes the issue when you run it. It's been this way even when Unity was still actively developed. Which is strange since the mainline flavour of Ubuntu used to use Unity. If it weren't for gnome being so unresponsive and sluggish in comparison (in the mainline flavours of Ubuntu) I might make the Switch.

[Kitanii]

Originally posted by Marlock:

Its true that Unity will not have Cannonical support beyond Ubuntu 16.04, and the issue is likely linked to it.

But for now it is still supported on 16.04 since it is an LTS version and not at EOL yet, and Valve also supports Steam on it as its main platform.

Anyway, it is a good idea to test a different DE to see if it works properly, to confirm the issue is in Steam x Unity interaction as suspected.

@Kitani
If you are willing to do some testing, try installing a supported lightweight DE (such as MATE or XFCE) and choosing that instead of Unity when logging in.
Its a bigger change than your current workaround, but might help isolate the issue (and as a side effect it might perform a bit better when gaming).

Yeah I know. That's why the thread title specifically mentions Unity. Gnome in Fedora for example or Cinnamon (based on gnome) in Mint doesn't have the problem. Not to the same extent in any case.