Hello, I have been having some strange issues with performance on a new installation (via bootable USB) of Ubuntu on a gaming machine that used to have Windows 10. I have asked this question on a Reddit post but I have a haunch that the underlying issue may require more technical assistance than can be handled there. Some of this post is copied over. I’ll try to be detailed as possible. I would greatly appreciate any assistance!!!
Ubuntu Version: I am using Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS.
Desktop Environment GNOME. In particular, I installed the vanilla GNOME session, instead of using the Ubuntu flavor. The issue below predates the switch to vanilla GNOME so I do not believe it contributes to the issue.
Problem Description:
I am having strange issues with performance on a fresh install of Ubuntu (via bootable usb drive) on a gaming machine that used to have Windows 10. I’ll list the issues in no particular order.
First of all, all my apps are slow to open. They will rarely open in a usual manner, but opening the default terminal and the default text editor can take about 5 seconds, firefox can take like 10 seconds, and steam about hald a minute. These apps are all individually inconsistent in their performance as well. Sometimes I can watch Youtube videos just fine, othertimes just opening a new tab will be laggy.
Even on a fresh restart (nothing else open), opening the defauult text editor, and typing too fast randomly, like say asdfjklsdfjkdjklsdfjk....etc will cause it to freeze momentarily, until the rest of the text renders. The same happens with every single text field, including this forum. Even the first-time login screen text field has this issue.
Apps like vscode are too choppy to be usable. I understand it may be a bloated app, but I had absolutely none of these issues when I was using windows, and my system should be able to handle it without issue, just like my other systems. I tried playing tabletop simulator, and parts will run very smoothly, but then just crash.
I also have some weird pixelation (included in images below), around graphical borders.
Something to mention: I have this exact same os setup on a light laptop, and my work rig (which has similar specs) and they have no issue. A difference is that they did not have windows 10 installed beforehand at any point.
Relevant System Information:
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| Disk Memory | Crucial 1TB SSD |
| OS Type | 64-bit |
| Motherboard | ASUS TUF Gaming x570-PLUS WIFI |
| Kernel Version | Linux 6.14.0-33-generic |
| Monitor | Viotek GN27DW (1440p and 144hz) |
| Mouse | HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 |
| Keyboard | Keychron K3 |
| PC Case | NZXT H510 |
What I’ve Tried:
I disabled wayland completely; I went into the GDM config file and erased the comment out of #WaylandEnable=false so that it doesn’t force wayland on startup. The settings recognizes that I am using X11. I am absolutely not using wayland.
I opened my system monitor, with no other apps open. By default usage of the 12 cores is around 1-5%. If I flick my mouse, some cores, like CPU 1 and 2 will jump to 30%. I tried this with another mouse, a Logitech G402 Hypeherion Blue and had the same result. Both give the same result even when I unplugged my keyboard.
Then I removed my mouse, left only my keyboard plugged in, and doing the same random key presses as mentioned before, made the pc freeze momentarily, with some of the CPU cores jumping to 30%, and anther one to 50%!!! I’m not sure what’s going on.
Before I tried the above, I thought it would be a GPU driver issue, but the computer recognizes my GPU. I have the NVIDIA X Server Settings app and it also recognizes everything about my GPU and monitor. None of the settings seem out of the ordinary, and the GPU temperature hovers around 27C. On the Software & Updates app, I have the “NVIDIA Corporation GA106 [Geforce RTX 3050]” section. At first I had the first radio button that says “Using NVIDIA driver (open kernel) metapackage from nvidia-driver-580-open (proprietary, tested)” and after doing sudo ubuntu-drivers install it switched to “Using NVIDIA driver (open kernel) metapackage from nvidia-driver-570-open (proprietary)”.
I have not yet checked exact CPU temps. I was planning to reapply thermal paste soon, and get a new CPU cooler, but the aforementioned jump from completely low-power idle, to high cpu usage from keyboard and mouse makes me think that’s not the cause.
Pictures:
Sorry these aren’t screenshots, but this of course would not appear otherwise.
Could all of these issues, including CPU spikes on inputs, really be caused by a GPU driver issue?