A new update for the Vulkan driver that handles AMD graphics cards on Linux, called RADV, promises to reduce stuttering during game starts. This happens due to the compilation of shaders, a process that should occur, for example, during loading screens, but which has been happening during gameplay.
Turns out that Samuel Pitoiset, from Valve's Linux graphics drivers team, enabled by default support for the Graphics Pipeline Library ("GPL") feature for the next version of the Vulkan RADV driver, which should allow for separate compilations of four distinct parts of graphics pipelines, which are linked together in the final stage to create an executable pipeline.
This allows for greater pipeline reuse with the same shaders, significantly helping with load times and will reduce stutters in games using DirectX 11 and earlier versions of DirectX.
If you don't want to wait to try the feature, you can enable it using the RADV_PERFTEST=gpl environment variable. For example, in Steam game launch options, you can add: RADV_PERFTEST=gpl %command%
Significant reduction in game shader cache file sizes
Another significant change expected to arrive with the next RADV driver update is re-implemented the Vulkan shader cache, with files being reduced in size by about 60% of their size. For those with a Steam Deck and others who rely on shader caching, this is a real space saver.
All these and other changes should arrive with Mesa 23.1, which will be released in late May or early June. Regardless, these are fantastic improvements to the Vulkan RADV driver and will greatly improve the Steam Deck experience and the Linux desktop overall.
