[System] Screen Smearing / Frame Buffer Ghosting on Kubuntu 26.04 (Wayland)

[Trinity-108]

• CPU: Intel Core i3-8100 (Coffee Lake)
• RAM: 8GB (4+4 DDR4)
• GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
• Storage: SATA SSD + HDD
• OS: Kubuntu 26.04 (Plasma 6 - Wayland)

The Problem: I am seeing "screen smearing" or a "ghosting effect." When I switch windows or close a browser, the previous window remains visible for a few hundred milliseconds as a partial image. It feels like the display buffer isn't clearing instantly.

Context:

• This was NOT happening on Linux Mint (X11).
• I currently have intel-media-va-driver-non-free installed.
• I suspect it's a synchronization issue between the Intel i915 driver and the KWin Wayland compositor.

Kindly help me to solve this .

[claydoh]

Plasma is at least a litle more GPU-needy than Cinnamon, so have you tried allocating more memory to the graphics in your BIOS, if possible?

How was it doing before you added intel-media-va-driver-non-free? It might be worth checking that out, too, at least to eliminate some easy things. The non-free isn't necessarily better unless you need hardware video encoding which is the main or only difference. I am using it explicitly for the hardware video encoding, as I am ripping 1000+ DVDs on my Racoon box.

I haven't seen tearing on my weaker i5-7500T with the same graphics,though I do have more RAM.

[Trinity-108]

actualy want to record screenehnce i get this reccomandation from gemini to install va-api driver and intel non free media drivers ...so suggest me accodingly .by the never tired to increas e graphics meory from bios, i don't want daily hedeach ..i jst want tokeep my work running,,but ilke beautiful animations and cutomaistion hence installed kubantu ..wlse y linux mint 22.3 woking fine . withextensio brnmy windows.its awesome but no window border or much customisations, pls reple suggest me what is right for me .thanks in advance.

[Trinity-108]

Step 1: Revert to Stable Open-Source Drivers


The non-free media driver can cause sync issues with KWin Wayland. The standard open-source driver is fully optimized for 8th Gen Intel Quick Sync.

1. Remove the proprietary driver: sudo apt purge intel-media-va-driver-non-free
2. Install the stable VA-API driver: sudo apt install intel-media-va-driver vainfo (Note: This provides full Hardware Acceleration/Quick Sync support without the sync bugs.)

Step 2: Disable Intel PSR (Kernel Level)


PSR is a power-saving feature that often causes frame-sync delays on Intel Coffee Lake chips.

1. Edit the GRUB configuration: sudo nano /etc/default/grub
2. Modify the boot parameters line: Change GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" to: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash i915.enable_psr=0"
3. Update GRUB to apply changes: sudo update-grub

Step 3: Optimize KWin Environment


Disable Atomic Mode Setting (AMS) mismatches which can cause lag on older Intel integrated graphics.

1. Edit the environment file: sudo nano /etc/environment
2. Add this line at the bottom: KWIN_DRM_NO_AMS=1

Step 4: Verification (After Reboot)

1. Check Quick Sync: Run vainfo. Look for VAEntrypointVLD and VAEntrypointEncSlice to confirm hardware encoding/decoding is active.
2. Check PSR Status: Run cat /sys/module/i915/parameters/enable_psr. It should return 0.

is these steps are ok to follow..?

Pls guide me ..thanks in advance.

[claydoh]

Try adjusting video RAM in bios, if you haven't done this yet.

The steps shouldn't break anything, but do not do them all at once. Try each to see.

If increasing video ram does not help:
Try step 1. See if it helps. You can always go back to the non-free easily.

If it does not help
Try Step 2, this can be reverted easily as well .
If this DOES help, you can try reverting step 1 and see if it still works.

Else try step 3


Keep track of the steps you have done so you have a record.

[Trinity-108]

i didn't increased graphics ram in bios, ,becsaue i afraid to do that, but removed non free driver and installed free ,but stil isee persists so disabled psr but itsnotlat minute so can't test it.andno confirmation whether it works or not..but felt tittle smooth aftertheat. if stil geti isse ..iwiltryby intal x11 or willsetich backto lnux mint or directly to windows 10 ,,beacuse i reallised thatmy office pc had celeron processr and4 gb ram and win 10 instaleed but runs approx my system ..while minewas on corei3 8th gen adn 8gb ram,.
is this issue of chrome then i wil linstall firefox ,,.what's your suggestion ??
waiting for your response ,..

[claydoh]

Firefox won't necessarily be better than Chrome if the desktop is stuttering and ghosting.

Add some ram to your video. You likely can't add a lot, and it might be set to the lowest. It won't hurt, and can be switched back. More buffer for your frames won't hurt.

While my lowly HP low-watt i5 is weaker than yours, and has the same graphics, I can't say what causes this. It is not something that should be happening, and isn't really known to be a widespread problem, in general.

You will need to keep experimenting.

You can try x11, and it is easy to log into it or Wayland, but I do not think this will help for this specific problem. But you never know.