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    Good news regarding tearing and low EmulationStation performance on Pi 4

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion and Gaming
    performancevsyncpi 4kernel 5.4
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    • dankcushionsD
      dankcushions Global Moderator @JUM
      last edited by

      @JUM please read https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first for how to format code blocks correctly. what you've pasted is unreadable.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
      • J
        JUM @akamming
        last edited by JUM

        @akamming said in Good news regarding tearing and low EmulationStation performance on Pi 4:

        @Rudd23

        These are my /boot/config.txt settings which sped up my pi 4:

        over_voltage=6
        arm_freq=2100
        v3d_freq=815
        gpu_freq=750
        hdmi_enable_4kp60=1
        dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d-pi4,noaudio
        dtparam=audio=on
        

        I had some instability, which was fixed by bringing down v3d_freq from 825 to 815 since the last post i made here...

        In the individual emulators i set all settings to the fastest settings. Also bringing down the screen resolution helps a lot to get better fps. (e.g. N64 games i can only run at intern resolution of the emulator of 640x480, so i use runcommand to set screen resolution to 848x480. This gives much better framerate than 720p or 1080p)

        I tried to switch for kms driver but I only have a black screen on the boot screen.

        Could share your config.txt

        My settings

        My config.txt

        alt text

        Does this part of the config go under [pi4] or [all]?

        hdmi_enable_4kp60=1
        dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d-pi4,noaudio
        dtparam=audio=on
        

        My config must be wrong in that part.

        # Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
        dtparam=audio=on
        
        [pi4]
        # Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
        dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d-pi4,noaudio
        max_framebuffers=2
        
        [all]
        #dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
        gpu_mem=256
        hdmi_enable_4kp60=1
        
        
        A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • A
          akamming @JUM
          last edited by

          @JUM you should really the link which was provided by @dankcushions. Instead of updating the previous post you now made another one, making the thread even more unreadable….

          anyway. Another suggestion is that if you make changes in files like config.txt you should know what you are doing and not just copy / past what you got from the last forum post, but check the entire thread and/or study the official documentation before making the changes. Making the wrong changes can brick your pi (e.g. too aggessive overclock settings) !

          The original forum posts contains links which quite clearly describe how to modify the config.txt. Also a lot of info on overclock settings can be found here.

          anyway if it helps: Here's my current config.txt:

          # For more options and information see
          # http://rpf.io/configtxt
          # Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details
          
          # uncomment if you get no picture on HDMI for a default "safe" mode
          #hdmi_safe=1
          
          # uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
          # and your display can output without overscan
          #disable_overscan=1
          
          # uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
          # goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
          #overscan_left=16
          #overscan_right=16
          #overscan_top=16
          #overscan_bottom=16
          
          # uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus
          # overscan.
          #framebuffer_width=1920
          #framebuffer_height=1080
          
          # uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
          hdmi_force_hotplug=1
          
          # uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
          hdmi_group=2
          hdmi_mode=82
          
          # uncomment to force a HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
          # DMT (computer monitor) modes
          #hdmi_drive=2
          
          # uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
          # no display
          #config_hdmi_boost=4
          
          # uncomment for composite PAL
          #sdtv_mode=2
          
          #uncomment to overclock the arm. 700 MHz is the default.
          over_voltage=6
          arm_freq=2100
          v3d_freq=800
          gpu_freq=750
          hdmi_enable_4kp60=1
          
          
          # Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
          #dtparam=i2c_arm=on
          #dtparam=i2s=on
          #dtparam=spi=on
          
          # Uncomment this to enable infrared communication.
          #dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17
          #dtoverlay=gpio-ir-tx,gpio_pin=18
          
          # Additional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README
          
          # Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
          dtparam=audio=on
          
          [pi4]
          # Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
          #dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
          dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d-pi4,noaudio
          max_framebuffers=2
          
          [all]
          #dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
          
          # NOOBS Auto-generated Settings:
          gpu_mem=256
          
          
          J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • J
            JUM @akamming
            last edited by

            @akamming said in Good news regarding tearing and low EmulationStation performance on Pi 4:

            @JUM you should really the link which was provided by @dankcushions. Instead of updating the previous post you now made another one, making the thread even more unreadable….

            anyway. Another suggestion is that if you make changes in files like config.txt you should know what you are doing and not just copy / past what you got from the last forum post, but check the entire thread and/or study the official documentation before making the changes. Making the wrong changes can brick your pi (e.g. too aggessive overclock settings) !

            The original forum posts contains links which quite clearly describe how to modify the config.txt. Also a lot of info on overclock settings can be found here.

            anyway if it helps: Here's my current config.txt:

            # For more options and information see
            # http://rpf.io/configtxt
            # Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details
            
            # uncomment if you get no picture on HDMI for a default "safe" mode
            #hdmi_safe=1
            
            # uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
            # and your display can output without overscan
            #disable_overscan=1
            
            # uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
            # goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
            #overscan_left=16
            #overscan_right=16
            #overscan_top=16
            #overscan_bottom=16
            
            # uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus
            # overscan.
            #framebuffer_width=1920
            #framebuffer_height=1080
            
            # uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
            hdmi_force_hotplug=1
            
            # uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
            hdmi_group=2
            hdmi_mode=82
            
            # uncomment to force a HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
            # DMT (computer monitor) modes
            #hdmi_drive=2
            
            # uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
            # no display
            #config_hdmi_boost=4
            
            # uncomment for composite PAL
            #sdtv_mode=2
            
            #uncomment to overclock the arm. 700 MHz is the default.
            over_voltage=6
            arm_freq=2100
            v3d_freq=800
            gpu_freq=750
            hdmi_enable_4kp60=1
            
            
            # Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
            #dtparam=i2c_arm=on
            #dtparam=i2s=on
            #dtparam=spi=on
            
            # Uncomment this to enable infrared communication.
            #dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17
            #dtoverlay=gpio-ir-tx,gpio_pin=18
            
            # Additional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README
            
            # Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
            dtparam=audio=on
            
            [pi4]
            # Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
            #dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
            dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d-pi4,noaudio
            max_framebuffers=2
            
            [all]
            #dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
            
            # NOOBS Auto-generated Settings:
            gpu_mem=256
            
            

            Thanks

            You have Raspbian Buster installed or Raspberry Pi OS?

            A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • B
              beerninja @akamming
              last edited by

              @akamming with your new clock settings are you able to play Cave shooters with lr-mame2016 without slowdown/audio stutter? For example espgal2 or futaribl both of those make the pi4 cry

              A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • A
                akamming @JUM
                last edited by

                @JUM said in Good news regarding tearing and low EmulationStation performance on Pi 4:

                You have Raspbian Buster installed or Raspberry Pi OS?

                raspbian buster, but i think that's now called raspberry pi os ;-)

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • A
                  akamming @beerninja
                  last edited by

                  @beerninja said in Good news regarding tearing and low EmulationStation performance on Pi 4:

                  @akamming with your new clock settings are you able to play Cave shooters with lr-mame2016 without slowdown/audio stutter? For example espgal2 or futaribl both of those make the pi4 cry

                  don't know, haven't tried that. i use lr-mame2003 for most games. lr-mame2016 is much slower...

                  B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • B
                    beerninja @akamming
                    last edited by

                    @akamming I would use that too (or FBN) except those games were released after 2003 :-( Maybe one day we'll get an optimized cv1000 Cave game emulator that works on pi

                    S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • S
                      SeraphisCain @beerninja
                      last edited by

                      @beerninja Last I heard, the FBNeo team definitely want to add cv1k support, they just need someone who can write the required sh4 dynarec for the CPU emulation.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • X
                        xanstin
                        last edited by

                        So is the latest update suppose to fix this? I updated everything and still get tearing on NES games such as Metroid and even punch out.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • R
                          RetroWhirl
                          last edited by

                          @xanstin Not really, and I'm pretty sure we are not getting a fix anytime soon. Most "retro enthusiasts" on youtube are happy with PI4 performance, so fixing stuff like this seems to be pretty low priority.

                          dankcushionsD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • dankcushionsD
                            dankcushions Global Moderator @RetroWhirl
                            last edited by

                            @RetroWhirl said in Good news regarding tearing and low EmulationStation performance on Pi 4:

                            @xanstin Not really, and I'm pretty sure we are not getting a fix anytime soon. Most "retro enthusiasts" on youtube are happy with PI4 performance, so fixing stuff like this seems to be pretty low priority.

                            what will expedite a fix is someone logging the issue with the raspberry pi firmware team, but to do that someone needs to recreate the issue in a small test program, not something with so many other factors like emulationstation/emulation.

                            right now i don't think this issue is on their radar.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • B
                              Brunnis
                              last edited by

                              I’m currently trying to put together a RetroPie installation consisting of:

                              • Linux kernel 5.9 64-bit
                              • Mesa 20.3

                              I started from the latest Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit desktop beta. Upgraded to kernel 5.9, which is simple now since it’s available in the ”next” branch of rpi-update since a few days. Upgrading from the almost year-old Mesa 19.3 to 20.3 was a bit more involved, but was successful. Currently installing RetroPie from source and hoping it will work as expected.

                              Testing this will be interesting, since it contains major updates to both the full-KMS driver as well as Mesa. Also, using 64-bit for RetroPie will be a first for me, so that is interesting as well.

                              DarksaviorD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • DarksaviorD
                                Darksavior @Brunnis
                                last edited by

                                @Brunnis Are they still not providing kernel headers even if it's in the "next" branch? My snes pad driver needs it. It's why I've never bothered using bleeding edge kernels.

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                                • B
                                  Brunnis @Darksavior
                                  last edited by

                                  @Darksavior I’m not sure about that. I haven’t seen that they do, though, so maybe not then.

                                  EmulationStation started up fine on my build, but there’s no sound. Need to get that working before I do any testing.

                                  B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • B
                                    bluestang @Brunnis
                                    last edited by bluestang

                                    @Brunnis If you are using the KMS audio driver then you need to replace the code in vc4-hdmi.conf in usr/share/alsa/cards with the following:

                                    # Configuration for the VC4-HDMI sound card using software IEC958
                                    # subframe conversion
                                    
                                    <confdir:pcm/hdmi.conf>
                                    vc4-hdmi.pcm.hdmi.0 {
                                    	@args [ CARD AES0 AES1 AES2 AES3 ]
                                    	@args.CARD {
                                    		type string
                                    	}
                                    	@args.AES0 {
                                    		type integer
                                    	}
                                    	@args.AES1 {
                                    		type integer
                                    	}
                                    	@args.AES2 {
                                    		type integer
                                    	}
                                    	@args.AES3 {
                                    		type integer
                                    	}
                                    	type iec958
                                    	slave {
                                    		format IEC958_SUBFRAME_LE
                                    		pcm {
                                    			type hooks
                                    			slave.pcm {
                                    				type hw
                                    				card $CARD
                                    				device 0
                                    			}
                                    			hooks.0 {
                                    				type ctl_elems
                                    				hook_args [
                                    				{
                                    					name "IEC958 Playback Default"
                                    					optional true
                                    					lock true
                                    					preserve true
                                    					value [ $AES0 $AES1 $AES2 $AES3 ]
                                    				}
                                    				]
                                    			}
                                    		}
                                    	}
                                    	status [ $AES0 $AES1 $AES2 $AES3 ]
                                    }
                                    
                                    # default with plug
                                    vc4-hdmi.pcm.default {
                                    	@args [ CARD ]
                                    	@args.CARD {
                                    		type string
                                    	}
                                    	type plug
                                    	slave.pcm {
                                    		type softvol
                                    		slave.pcm {
                                    			@func concat
                                    			strings [ "hdmi:" $CARD ]
                                    		}
                                    		control {
                                    			name "PCM Playback Volume"
                                    			card $CARD
                                    		}
                                    	}
                                    }
                                    

                                    If you are trying to use the firmware Broadcom audio driver with the KMS audio disabled (vc4-kms-v3d,noaudio) then at present the 5.9 kernel is broken. A fix has been committed, but rpi-update has not been updated with the latest change.

                                    B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • B
                                      Brunnis @bluestang
                                      last edited by

                                      @bluestang Ahh, thanks, that worked nicely! So, compared to current RetroPie images, I now have an installation that runs:

                                      • 64-bit kernel and userland
                                      • Linux kernel 5.9
                                      • Bleeding edge Mesa ("20.3")
                                      • The full KMS video driver
                                      • The new ARM-side HDMI audio driver

                                      That's quite a lot of under the hood changes. Despite this, I actually once again ran into the dreaded 30 FPS issue in EmulationStation. To the best of my knowledge, this only plagues the Pi 4, right? No other Pi and no other platform has this issue?

                                      DarksaviorD B 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • DarksaviorD
                                        Darksavior @Brunnis
                                        last edited by Darksavior

                                        @Brunnis Last time I checked, ES runs at 60fps on my pi3b+ using the default low-res scraped box art. I switched to the pegasus-frontend with higher res box art, and it really lags on my pi3b+ (because of the box art) but on my pi4 it's butter smooth.

                                        Also, Is there a real reason to go bleeding edge? I thought that in time, the pi4 would have drivers to handle the crt-pi shader at 4k, or at least the pc crt shaders at 1080p. I expected too much, I suppose.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • B
                                          bluestang @Brunnis
                                          last edited by

                                          @Brunnis the "30 FPS issue" in EmulationStation on a Pi4 is something that requires a more in-depth investigation.

                                          The only way I can overcome this issue is by setting v3d_freq_min=500 in /boot/config.txt, however, this is not a solution that works for everyone.

                                          What I found out is that once v3d_freq is downclocked (~200-250MHz) when at idle the FPS will drop to 30 FPS in EmulationStation. Once v3d is taken off of idle (i.e. video playback, 3D game, etc) EmulationStation's FPS will jump up back to 60 FPS.

                                          I've spent more time than I care to admit trying see what is the cause but have come up empty.

                                          The one thing I have not tried is Batocera's implementation of EmulationStation. I'd be curious to know if it also has the same FPS issue. The reasoning behind my curiousity is that Batocera's OpenGLES implementation of EmulationStation was completely re-done.

                                          If Batocera's EmulationStation doesn't have the same issue than that would narrow down what is causing the FPS problem.

                                          DarksaviorD B 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • DarksaviorD
                                            Darksavior @bluestang
                                            last edited by

                                            @bluestang I'd test out batocera but I get a black screen. Might be the usb boot, I don't know (I'm not opening up my snes case to use the microsd).

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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