Bugs on SteamOS with Intel Skylake

[leatherback_turtle]

I'm trying to build a small Steam Machine based on Intel Skylake (i3-6320).
I managed to install SteamOS without problem, except that I needed the kernel parameter i915.preliminary_hw_support=1 to boot.

However after the boot in Big Picture mode, the screen is flickering a lot and I have a lot of bug in the menu (once in a sub-menu, not possible to go back with ESC, back button or the mouse).

In Desktop mode, I also cannot use the mouse, as the display becomes crazy (big black square following the mouse pointer when I click).

I had a look at the logs (syslog, kern.log, Xorg.0.log), but couldn't find any relevant error.

I also tried installing the linux kernel 4.3.0 from Debian, but didn't see any improvement.
vainfo reports that the settings for VAAPI are correct.

I am connected through HDMI (I tried DisplayPort though, and it makes no difference) and I am using the very last version of SteamOS.

I am out of idea to try or to debug this. Can someone help me ?

[liberodark]

Why is your configuration ?

[Shark]

You do not have a dedicated graphics card? If not, that is probably your problem. You'll probably have to wait for Valve to implement fixes for the gpu on your cpu.

Do make sure you are running the latest bios, though.

[Flyhigh]

Using the GPU on Skylake CPUs needs very new kernel and Mesa to run it well.

I'm actually need kernel 4.4.0 on openSUSE Leap 42.1 (Mesa 11.0.8) for my Skylake 6600T CPU Shuttle System to get my games running well on Steam.

I think, you have to wait till SteamOS is upgraded to kernel 4.4 or newer.

PS: I disabled i915.preliminary_hw_support

[leatherback_turtle]

Originally posted by liberodark:

Why is your configuration ?

Just the i3-6320 (no dedicated graphics), connected through HDMI on a Full HD screen.

[leatherback_turtle]

Originally posted by Shark:

You do not have a dedicated graphics card? If not, that is probably your problem. You'll probably have to wait for Valve to implement fixes for the gpu on your cpu.

Do make sure you are running the latest bios, though.

No dedicated graphics card. My previous build was identical except for the Haswell CPU, and it worked like a charm.

I am running the latest bios but I doubt that it is the problem.

[leatherback_turtle]

Originally posted by Flyhigh:

Using the GPU on Skylake CPUs needs very new kernel and Mesa to run it well.

I'm actually need kernel 4.4.0 on openSUSE Leap 42.1 (Mesa 11.0.8) for my Skylake 6600T CPU Shuttle System to get my games running well on Steam.

I think, you have to wait till SteamOS is upgraded to kernel 4.4 or newer.

PS: I disabled i915.preliminary_hw_support

I tried kernel 4.3.0 but I haven't tried the new Mesa. Thanks for the hint, I'll try to update Mesa manually as well.
i915.preliminary_hw_support=1 is indeed not needed, starting from kernel 4.3.0.

Waiting for SteamOS to integrate kernel 4.4 would take a long time. I think I'll try to backport some packages (like Mesa).

Thanks !

[leatherback_turtle]

I have tried the following configuration :
- kernel 4.3.0 with Mesa 11.2
- kernel 4.3.0 with Mesa 11.1
And it doesn't work : I still have a lot of flickering.

On the other hand, I solve the problem of the menu bugs:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/1/494631873667524299/

I have opened a bug report on this issue :
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamOS/issues/477

[XÆЯO_Vince]

It could be the Intel driver SteamOS uses. Since you know how to get Kernel 4.3 and Mesa 11.x working, maybe try the latest GIT driver?

https://packages.debian.org/sid/xserver-xorg-video-intel

With that driver, you might also try the bleeding-edge DRM

https://packages.debian.org/sid/libdrm-intel1

I've had flickering on my laptop on SteamOS too and this is based off the old Sandybridge Intel iGPU so it isn't just bleeding-edge ones I don't think.

The solution that solved it for me is to run BPM within Openbox or GNOME rather than SteamOS session. You can setup GNOME or Openbox to automatically launch Steam BPM when those desktop environments log in.

The command for SteamOS BPM that you can use for the autostart script or launcher is:

steam -tenfoot -steamos -enableremotecontrol

However, steam -tenfoot (without the -steamos) is just as good if not better, as it lets you exit BPM easier.

[Flyhigh]

I tested the PBM on my machine and got flickering screens, too.

It seems a general problem with INTEL GPU and Steam PBM

[leatherback_turtle]

I suppose you mean BPM instead of PBM.
Anyway I installed SteamOS on Intel Haswell and I got absolutely no problem. So the problem is mainly with Intel Skylake.
I'll try what XÆЯO is proposing.

Thanks

[Flyhigh]

Oh, sorry .. yes I mean BPM

[orphum]

Hi leatherback_turtle, I'm having the same issue as you. I'm running a Skylake build (i3-6100) off the iGPU driver (after having enabled i915.preliminary_hw_support=1) and I'm getting the same flickering in the menus, and games are skipping/crashing on me.

Let me know if you figure anything out, thanks!

[leatherback_turtle]

Hello orphum and XÆЯO,

I tried XÆЯO suggestion, and indeed if you start steam inside Gnome desktop, there is no flickering.
Unfortunately the games don't like this (L4D for exemple) and crash at startup.

With the default mode (i.e. not going through the desktop), some games, once launched, don't have any flickering and run at acceptable performance (L4D for instance).
For some other games, I can see some flickering.

Orphum, can you tell me if you are able to use the desktop ? For me the screen is blacked out as soon as I use the mouse. And what are the games which crash ?

[orphum]

@leatherback_turtle, I can get to the desktop - it does not crash, but when I move the mouse part of the screen gets strange in whichever direction I'm moving the mouse.

Here's a video of what I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4iehJO4Uc

So far I've noticed this game crashes:

* Stanley Parable

These games have not crashed and seem to work fine with no flickering:

* Super Meat Boy
* 140

This game doesn't flicker, but the controller doesn't respond once I actually get into the game:

* Portal 2

This game works, but I get the same screen artifacts when I'm in the game's menu that I see when I'm on the desktop

* Left 4 Dead 2

So, all sorts of different experiences.

[XÆЯO_Vince]

I think the Skylake problems mainly come down to SteamOS needing a core upgrade to kernel 4.4, Mesa 11, plus a bleeding edge xf86-video-intel driver. SteamOS has outdated software components, which can translate to a bad experience on bleeding-edge hardware. My suggestion for desktop Skylake system owners would be to install an Nvidia graphics card and run the proprietary driver instead of the Skylake Intel HD / Iris iGPU. If installing a graphics card is not possible, I would just switch to Arch, Antergos, or Manjaro or wait for Ubuntu 16.04. These distros have a much newer stack to handle Skylake graphics better.