I’ve got an AMD graphics card in the mail, and for the occasion, I’m considering a move to Bazzite, because I heard it’s a simple to use distribution, and I also heard AMD works well on Linux.
My decision isn’t made, but if this could work better than it does on Windows, it’d encourage me.
So, I have two displays plugged into my computer:
- At my desk, plugged in through DP, 32-inch, 4K, 60 Hz, SDR monitor, used for when I actually sit at the computer to research something, or similar. Image doesn’t need to be amazing on this one.
- In the next room, plugged in through a long HDMI cable that reaches through the wall, a 55-inch, 4K, 120 Hz, HDR TV, for all my gaming needs.
Currently they’re set up as mirroring each other, because it’s frankly annoying to have to worry about constantly switching main monitors, sending games into the right one, and it’s really annoying to have a monitor to lose windows and cursors in when you can’t even see it. Plus, the TV is not only used by me and it’s pretty annoying to have my screens reconfigure themselves just because my mom turned the TV on or off.
Mirroring simplifies day-to-day use by a lot. Games are always on the correct monitor, etc. But it comes with a few disadvantages:
- I’m limited to the lower of the two refresh rates. So I can’t do 120 Hz.
- I can’t use variable refresh rate (G-Sync, FreeSync, etc.), so tearing can become an issue.
- I lose access to HDR
Would Linux improve these issues?
Bazzite uses KDE, with Wayland you can have HDR. Not sure if variable sync works over HDMI, I always use DisplayPort.
I just tried it on my PC and looks like you can adjust each option per screen still, so HDR, different refresh rates and adaptive sync appear to work.
If it doesn’t, the easiest would probably be setting your displays as side-by-side and disabling the one you’re not currently using. You could set up a keybinding to toggle one or the other display for easier switching.
That’s with mirroring ? Sounds great then!
Yep, with mirroring
I have a very similar setup, but rather than mirroring I have KDE shortcuts that invoke 2 very basic scripts that swap between desktop and livingroom display layouts using kscreen-doctor. It also swaps audio output between HDMI and my audio interface.
Works very well, much better than a similar setup I had on Windows with DisplayFusion. The only thing I have to do is hit the shortcut when sitting down at the desk or the sofa, everything else just works.
If mirroring doesn’t work, that sounds promising. Then I could just hit the shortcut from my phone with Unified Remote or something
Not all HDMI cables can handle the throughput for 4k at frame rates higher than 60. When mirroring, it might be possible that it goes with the lesser of the two cables if one has more throughput than the other. I do know that I have been able to set the refresh rate differently on two monitors and any combination in windows for a long time with the right cables.
If the it is the cables then you will get the same results on Linux due to being a hardware issue. You should still check linux out even if it is just the cables.
To clarify, my HDMI cable can handle 48 Gbps just fine. When my displays are set to extend, I can set my TV to 4K, 120 Hz, HDR, without a problem.
The issue is how Windows handles mirroring.
