Valve has just published a new SteamOS Beta, version 3.9.6, which aims to improve frame timings in games. While these improvements are welcome on their own, this revision also contains other changes that will benefit gamers using displays with high refresh rates and HDR support.
The complete patch notes are available to read on Valve’s latest Steam Deck blog post, but these changes will benefit the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and any other devices running SteamOS such as the Legion Go S. The update naturally includes all the amends from Valve’s latest stable release, version 3.9, in addition to these latest alterations.
There are a dozen changes in SteamOS Beta 3.9.6, but these ones are likely to prove the most impactful:
- Improved frame timing when using the frame rate limiter with variable refresh rate.
- Improved frame timing when using the frame rate limiter without VRR. A capped game whose frame rate is a multiple of the limit no longer drops below it, e.g. a 30fps game with a 60fps limit at 120Hz running at 24fps.
- Reduced missed frames on fixed refresh caused by slow wakeups from deep CPU idle states.
- Fixed games running below the refresh rate on 240Hz and higher displays.
- Fixed SDR content looking oversaturated on HDR10 output on displays that are not wide gamut.
We rightly place a lot of importance on frame rates in measuring smoothness, but frame times (also known as pacing) are just as important. If you’ve played a game that’s running at a consistent 60fps but stutters, or otherwise doesn’t feel as smooth as it should, you’ve felt the effects of poor frame timing.
You can see the effects of poor frame timing in action using the SteamOS performance overlay. If you’re maintaining a consistent level of performance, you should see a relatively flat graph materialise. Any fluctuations will show up as spikes, varying in size. It’s easy to figure out whether frame times are behaving as they should be by dividing your frame rate by 1,000, so in the case of 60fps they should be 16.67ms.
Both Valve’s Steam Deck OLED and LCD handhelds use a variable refresh rate (VRR) display, with many new monitors and televisions sporting the same technology. For those unfamiliar with the tech, it allows you to play games at frame rates that deviate from the screen’s native refresh rate by dynamically changing it on the fly, eliminating unsightly screen tearing artefacts.
I’ve personally had frame pacing issues with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered on my Steam Deck, and I’m keen to see if this beta can address those problems. Regardless, any system-wide improvements like this are welcome.
I’ll be downloading the SteamOS Beta imminently, and I recommend others do the same if you’re experiencing stuttering in games. You can always rollback to the stable release if you’d prefer. Regardless, Valve should implement these changes into the stable release channel in due course.
