[Software] Kubuntu 25.10 Issues. Games and programs occasionally laggy and choppy.

[BenLinux]

Running Kubuntu 25.10 and I have this issue since about 1-2 months or so, maybe end of december 2025 onwards and it's been growing worse every update I do. Games and software lag a lot, FPS drops to like 1-2 FPS and it does so for like 10-20 seconds, Discord and browser when watching streams, sometimes even longer (specifically in games) and I get disconnected from game-server (this is a WoW specific issue). I've tried a bunch of things. Checked Network for packet losses, no losses. Swapped Proton versions, didn't do any difference. The more I've digged, the less I know what to pinpoint. Anyone know what this could be caused by and how to solve it? I'm quite new to Linux, only been a user for about 7 months or so.

EDIT. I've also noticed that the GPU fan spins up a lot more nowdays compared to when I first intalled and used Kubuntu which was 24.x version. Back then the GPU fan didn't spin up much when not doing anything heavy (like gaming) but now it kind of hums more offten to a point almost all the time, except if I close all software and just have the desktop.

Some data for clearer picture:
GPU Dual Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC 16GB
Mesa version is the latest - Wayland - KDE - I've done no changes there. All updated on a daily basis, when available.
WoW is played via Lutris - Wine - Proton (latest available)

[Snowhog]

Kubuntu 25.10 uses Plasma (Wayland) by default; Plasma (X11) isn't installed. But it can be, and you might find (maybe?) that things run better under Plasma (X11).

Open Konsole and type: sudo apt update && sudo apt install plasma-session-x11

Logout and log back in, selecting Plasma (X11) at the SDDM Login Screen.

[claydoh]

Mesa version is the latest - Wayland - KDE - I've done no changes there. All updated on a daily basis, when available.

I recommend Kisak's Mesa PPA, especially for AMD graphics, as it is current and often has useful improvements over the stock Mesa for these cards.
Wayland vs X11 *shoudn't* be a major factor factor here especially as it (I assume) was working well before. That low an FPS is probably a Wine Proton config thing, then maybe Mesa bugs as a second place to look.

Try booting a previous kernel just to see if it is better there.

Another thing to experiment with might be to create a new, separate WoW setup in a clean 'prefix', seeing if that makes any difference.

Sometimes, specific cards may do better with kernel parameters set via Grub edits. But also check out other Lutris and WoW users for wine/proton specific tweaks - often a specific runner version works better than a current one.

I have not played WoW much, only as a test to prove that Lutris (and Wine via Flatpak) could play WoW just fine with zero futzing, and NOT using the stock *buntu Wine version or WineHQ. Not my cup of tea. You don't really need a system-installed Wine with Lutris, when using Proton runners. This was ~2 years ago on an rx6600 on a 12th gen i5, but things can change over time.