Linux Scheduler Improvements Boost Gaming Performance on Old "Potato" Hardware
Intel engineer develops Linux kernel scheduler patch, improving gaming performance on older hardware like Sandy Bridge CPUs and Radeon RX 580, with benchmarks showing frame rate gains.
Linux Kernel Scheduler “Flattening” Benefits Older Hardware
Noted Intel Linux kernel engineer Peter Zijlstra is working on a patch set for the scheduler. This patch aims to improve operation and performance on aging hardware, which he refers to as “potatoes.” The specific test environment used was a combination of an Intel Sandy Bridge generation desktop CPU and an AMD Radeon RX 580 Polaris graphics card.
An Attempt to Alleviate Scheduler “Pain”
Zijlstra describes the current Linux cgroups scheduling as a “pain,” citing issues from weight distribution to hierarchical pick processing. To address this, he is developing a patch series titled “sched: Flatten the pick.” The goal is to eliminate inefficiencies in scheduling code, especially as core counts increase in modern processors.
Benchmark Results on “Potato” Hardware
As a “small experiment” on older hardware, engineers conducted tests using the game title “Shadows: Awakenings” (GOG version). The test environment was configured with Lutris, GE-Proton10-34, and Steam Runtime 3, featuring an Intel Core i7-2600K and an AMD Radeon RX 580.
With the default slice setting, running eight “nice spin.sh” scripts in the background rendered the game nearly unplayable. However, shortening the slice time (base/10) improved the state to playable. Benchmark results recorded with MangoHUD are as follows:
- Default Slice: Min FPS 3.8, Avg 48.0, Max 87.4. Frame time Min 9.4, Avg 34.5, Max 107.4
- Shortened Slice (base/10): Min FPS 20.6, Avg 57.2, Max 80.3. Frame time Min 8.4, Avg 19.5, Max 37.2
The results particularly show a significant improvement in minimum FPS, leading to smoother gameplay.
Future Outlook and Impact
This work is still in an exploratory stage, but if integrated into the mainline Linux kernel, it could enhance the gaming experience on older hardware. Benefits may also extend to workloads beyond gaming. Future developments are worth watching.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is this scheduler patch expected to be integrated into the Linux kernel?
- No specific integration timeline has been announced at this time. The patch series is still in the development and testing phase and must undergo review and approval within the kernel community. While future merging is anticipated, the timing remains uncertain.
- Does this improvement also affect newer hardware?
- Current testing focuses on older "potato" hardware, but scheduler improvements could potentially enhance scheduling efficiency even on modern CPUs with high core counts. In the future, it is expected to positively impact overall workload performance across a wide range of hardware.
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