who can use Linux but not windows? Share your Linux setup

WhisperingWind

Was that the sapphire pulse version?

https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-radeon-rx-6600-8g-gddr6

I think I remember you posted about one bothering you before. Is this a different card ?

These are two different graphics cards, but the same model. I bought the first one and sold it after a couple of months because it made my eyes hurt. Later on, after digging around in the Linux driver source code, I bought the same model again for experiments. But when I had the first card, I didn’t know that I needed to set 59.94 Hz instead of 60 Hz, so in theory, the first one might have been fine too.

jordan

WhisperingWind Did you tweak the driver or have to disable any dithering too? How did you find out about the refresh rate change? I assume thats specific to your tv? I forgot what motherboard are you running too?

WhisperingWind

jordan

Did you tweak the driver or have to disable any dithering too?

Out of the box, temporal dithering is disabled on Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11 24H2 when using the RX6600. I can’t say for sure about spatial dithering, but I believe it might be present in the DITHERING: DRIVER_DEFAULT mode [ColorControl], since when switching to DITHERING: DISABLED [ColorControl] , only 96.08% of the pixels remain unchanged on the test image—the rest change their color.

I don't use Windows 11 regularly, so I can't comment on how comfortable it is for the eyes when using the RX6600.

In ColorControl, I set DITHERING to DISABLED. In my graphics card settings, color depth is set to 8-bit, RGB 4:4:4. The driver version is Adrenalin 24.12.1.

How did you find out about the refresh rate change?

I stumbled upon this completely by accident while experimenting.

I assume thats specific to your tv?

yes

I forgot what motherboard are you running too?

Motherboard: Z390 AORUS MASTER G2 Edition (rev. 1.0); BIOS F20; Resizable BAR enabled; Compatibility Support Module disabled.

jordan

WhisperingWind Why did you stick to 22h2? Did you try 1809 or other builds but found 22h2 to be best? What do you mean by driver default mode? is that a setting in color control or in the driver? Did you try other driver versions too but also found 24.12.1 to be best?

Thinking of trying that card. Would prefer linux but sounds like windows is pretty safe.

simplex

WhisperingWind

Hi! You dont have any nvidia cards… to check drivers difference?

WhisperingWind

simplex

No, I don't have any NVIDIA cards.

karut

I just noticed that the latest KDE Plasma Version on Wayland offers me a setting in the KDE system settings menu to limit to color depth to 8bit instead of 10bit. The screen feels calmer afterwards (placebo?). Using an Intel UHD 770.

jordan

karut Which distro

karut

jordan Cachyos but its not a distro thing

Sunspark

All.. and you can do it from the command line as an environment variable even in the 5 series.

export KWIN_DRM_PREFER_COLOR_DEPTH=24

(A value of 30 is for 10-bit.)

Save it in one of your startup files if you want the setting to stay on a reboot.

WhisperingWind

jordan

Why did you stick to 22h2? Did you try 1809 or other builds but found 22h2 to be best?

I haven’t tried any other Windows 10 versions with the RX 6600—just 22H2. 22H2 has been solid for me. If I find the time, I’ll give 1809 a shot down the line and compare a few screenshots from an HDMI capture device.

For context, my main OS is macOS. I only use Windows 10 on the TV for YouTube and gaming. So your experience with Windows 10 22H2 and an RX 6600 when you'r reading off a screen eight hours a day, five days a week might be a bit different.

What do you mean by driver default mode? is that a setting in color control or in the driver?

That’s the dithering setting in ColorControl.

Did you try other driver versions too but also found 24.12.1 to be best?

I installed 24.12.1 and I’m holding off on updates for now—I don’t want to break anything. Sticking to the old sysadmin rule: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it 🙂

Thinking of trying that card. Would prefer linux but sounds like windows is pretty safe.

I’ve switched from Linux to Windows 10, since Windows 10 gives me a bit more in terms of software and gaming than Linux.

Sunspark

Linux gaming has come a long way with Proton and desktops like KDE. In some cases, it is actually more compatible with old Windows games than Windows because Windows has lost functionality for the old stuff.

Drivers are always going to be a second-class citizen, but even that is starting to change now because if all the AI people are using Linux or whatever for their modelling, Nvidia and others have no choice but to make sure the drivers aren't completely broken. e.g. AMD recently decided to end their in-house RADVLK driver and are instead putting their support behind the Mesa driver (which didn't start with AMD).

I do agree that Windows 10 is a stable platform.

markdotpeters5

I've just tried PopOs and it works for me out of the box, Wayland desktop environment no tweaks at all. I can see that it's running in 8-bit colour but haven't had to tweak anything else at all!

gety9

WhisperingWind

command was 8 for this DP output. I used an RX6600 card for the test. This means not all adapters are suitable for this purpose.

Meanwhile, a Type-C DP (Intel Xe) -> Belkin USB-C Video Adapter -> DVI allowed switching to 6 bits.

WhisperingWind

it turns out that the minimum 8-bit limitation for HDMI on my Intel UHD Xe (12th gen CPU) is not a hardware issue; it's a driver limitation in both Linux and Windows. In Windows, I was able to force a switch to 6-bit mode over HDMI by writing a specific value to the video controller pipeline state register.

will i be able to set 6bit on amd gpu with hdmi connection by modifying appropriate registry https://github.com/skawamoto0/ditherig/blob/master/ditherig/database.csv?

or do i need dp port active adapter?

currently both dp and hdmi allow minimum 8 when connecting hdmi to hdmi (amd Ryzen 5 5500u to Dasung 13k BW):

xrandr --verbose
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2400 x 3200, maximum 16384 x 16384
DisplayPort-0 disconnected primary (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
        max bpc: 16 
                range: (8, 16)
HDMI-A-0 connected 2400x3200+0+0 (0x57) right (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 277mm x 220mm
        max bpc: 8 
                range: (8, 16)
DisplayPort-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
        max bpc: 16 
                range: (8, 16)
DisplayPort-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
        max bpc: 16 
                range: (8, 16)

WhisperingWind

gety9

will i be able to set 6bit on amd gpu with hdmi connection by modifying appropriate registry

AMD does not publicly document their display engine registers (unlike Intel). So, it's unlikely that anyone will be able to tell you exactly which register you need off the top of their head - there are many of them, and the ditherig.exe configuration file only contains one register, which controls dithering. Whether that register also affects desktop color depth is unknown.

Your GPU uses Lucienne architecture with DCN 2.1, while the ditherig.exe configuration references DCN 1.0 - compatibility between these is uncertain.

The utility I used for working with registers on Intel is only suitable for Intel GPUs. You need a different one. You can install UMR (User Mode Register Debugger); it can read/write AMD GPU registers. But you will need to do a bit of investigation to find the right register(s).

currently both dp and hdmi allow minimum 8 when connecting hdmi to hdmi

This is a driver limitation - the protocol itself supports 6 bits. But you probably won't be able to bypass these limitations. Although you could probably try to override the monitor's EDID (setting 6 bits there), but again I haven't tried doing that, and the AMD driver might force temporal dithering.

or do i need dp port active adapter?

The simplest option is an HDMI-DP adapter. But as I understand it, you need an active HDMI-DP adapter - if you buy a passive one, Linux will treat it as an HDMI connection.

WhisperingWind

gety9

Do you have a Type-C port with video output support? If so, that is DisplayPort. Any Type-C - DP cable will work.

gety9

WhisperingWind

Your GPU uses Lucienne architecture with DCN 2.1, while the ditherig.exe configuration references DCN 1.0 - compatibility between these is uncertain.

This is a driver limitation - the protocol itself supports 6 bits. But you probably won't be able to bypass these limitations. Although you could probably try to override the monitor's EDID (setting 6 bits there).

Did i understand it right that

-, amd GPU dithers if pixel color data has a bpc than whatever display cable + monitor can consume

-, if monitor doesn't have EDID bpc value (example my monitor uses EDID 1.3) it assumes 8

then to disable amd GPU dithering it's enough to xrandr --set "max bpc" 8?

Or should i still try to set it to 6? (for Eink monitor)

gety9

WhisperingWind

minipc has dp port and hdmi outputs, eink monitor has mini hdmi and usb type-c inputs

update: actually minipc also has type-c 🙂 (i used it for keyboard, but according to gemini it also does video)

Beelink SER5 5500U (Outputs)

1x HDMI 2.0: Located on the rear (supports up to 4K @ 60Hz).

1x DisplayPort 1.4: Located on the rear (supports up to 4K @ 60Hz/144Hz).

1x USB Type-C: Located on the front (supports DP Alt Mode for video, plus data).

WhisperingWind

gety9

-, amd GPU dithers if pixel color data has a bpc than whatever display cable + monitor can consume

Not only. Dithering can occur even if the monitor is true 8-bit and 8-bit is set in the GPU settings. This dithering will not add colors (since we did not explicitly request it), but it will smooth out gradients.

then to disable amd GPU dithering it's enough to xrandr --set "max bpc" 8?

On my RX 6600, spatial dithering for gradient smoothing will still remain.

If you have spatial or temporal dithering, you need to install UMR and disable it. I don’t have a Linux machine + AMD GPU handy right now, so I can’t provide detailed guidance. But I think if you feed my post to an AI and push it a bit, it’ll give you the answer.

-, if monitor doesn't have EDID bpc value (example my monitor uses EDID 1.3) it assumes 8

It depends on the driver logic, but it is generally accepted to be 8. This field was added in EDID 1.4.

1x USB Type-C: Located on the front (supports DP Alt Mode for video, plus data).

Or should i still try to set it to 6? (for Eink monitor)

DisplayPort is the native protocol for Type-C with video output support. Use a Type-C to Type-C cable.

I have a 6-bit + FRC monitor, which is why I was concerned about 6-bit output. You have a true 8-bit monitor. I don't see the point in worrying about 6 bits in your case. What exactly is bothering you right now?

gety9

WhisperingWind

I have a 6-bit + FRC monitor, which is why I was concerned about 6-bit output. You have a true 8-bit monitor. I don't see the point in worrying about 6 bits in your case.

that's the part i was missing. i didn't understand that you were setting 6 bit to disable FRC on monitor. I was thinking you are doing it to disable it on GPU 🙂 And i assumed i need to the same. Plus this thread suggested i need to disable amd gpu dithering by using dp and setting to 6.

If you have spatial or temporal dithering, you need to install UMR and disable it. I don’t have a Linux machine + AMD GPU handy right now, so I can’t provide detailed guidance. But I think if you feed my post to an AI and push it a bit, it’ll give you the answer.

how i can test?

i defintely have spatial, cause when i do the gradient test it's relatively smooth, not striped. But i think it's coming from monitor, not GPU. Cause on Dasung gradient picture is relatively smooth in all modes, while on Boox Tablet (also Eink) in highest quality mode, gradient picture is not smooth, it's even striped gradient transiton (meaning no spatial dithering)

Temporal i don't see flickers, so i guess i don't have it? But honestly ideally i would love to have some exact way to test, some command to run or smng. This way it's no subjective but exact.

What exactly is bothering you right now?

So i was termux (linux like emutator) on android Eink tablet (Boox Note Air 2) for 3-4 years. It's great for eyes, but slow (cause of hardware). So i decided to upgrade to mini pc and eink monitor. (still relatively mobile but more powerful setup)

I like it, much faster (hardware), and Eink display is much faster, no lags… But it's a bit less comfortable for eyes. Don't know why. I adjusted font settings, everything… Still much better than LED/LCD though.

So basically i am just trying to understand what are optimal setting, and how to set them so i can get best of this new setup in terms of eye comfort.

WhisperingWind

gety9

If the static image on your monitor is truly static without any movement, then there is no temporal dithering. I think this would be visible on your monitor's slow matrix, though I'm not a specialist in such screens.

To detect spatial dithering, for example a checkerboard pattern, you would need to see each individual pixel - this is impossible with the naked eye and difficult with a standard phone camera. Although perhaps a microscope and a phone could help with that. But this pattern still needs to be found and identified, which can also be difficult.

Linux

I advise you to install UMR and figure out how to disable spatial dithering. Then go by how it feels.

Windows 10

As an option, install Windows 10 22H2. The ColorControl application completely disables dithering on my RX6600. But here people were complaining about update KB5075912: it was released on February 10, 2026. Find an older version of Windows 10 without this update and don't update. For me, Windows 10 with updates up to October 2015 works. Together with an RX6600, it's a delight for the eyes. Since you also have AMD GPU, maybe it will work for you too.

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