PC Drivers & Software

[RidgeXR]

Hello everyone!

I recently acquired a Radeon 7900 XTX through a friend, and upon trying to use SteamVR with my Bigscreen Beyond, found that an absurdly high amount of latency had been added to the HMD view, such that the whole scene wobbles upon any minor head movement.

The Issue:

SteamVR, while in Direct Mode, exhibits an extremely strange bug wherein motion-to-photon latency is far higher (2 or even 3 frames higher) than it should be. This occurs at all framerates, and at all times, and is nauseating enough as to make VR entirely unusable.

System Information: (Although I will note that this doesn't really matter, as the issue can be replicated across any and all 7000-Series systems)

GPU: Radeon RX 7900 XTX - Reference Design
CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X3D

RAM: 8GB 3000Mhz Teamgroup T-Force Delta RGB, Two sticks, Dual Channel
Motherboard: Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming 4

VR Headset(s): Bigscreen Beyond, Valve Index, Vive Pro 1, PSVR2 (With PC Adapter)

Current "Fixes":
1. Putting the device in Extended Display mode (Not viable due to far worse performance)
2. Clicking the VSync_Photon_Increment option in SteamVR Debug settings 8 - 10 times, or running the script created by user PiMaker on these forums. (Not viable due to motion sickness, the delay only becomes slightly less noticeable)
3. Using a non-7000-Series GPU. (This issue does not persist on my NVIDIA RTX 3060, Nor on any 6000-Series AMD GPU, ruling out most if not all GPU settings)

What doesn't fix the issue:
1. Updating/Downgrading GPU Drivers. No driver version solves this issue.
2. Updating/Downgrading SteamVR versions. No available version of SteamVR solves this issue.

3. DDU Reinstalling the drivers.
4. Switching CPUs multiple times, between multiple generations. This issue is unrelated to the CPU.
5. Disabling various video settings in both Windows and the Adrenaline software (HAGS, AntiLag, Etc)
6. Trying other VR headsets. This issue prevails across every headset listed above, as well as many others. I believe this issue affects every DisplayPort or HDMI VR device, although I obviously do not own every single one in order to test.

Testing done so far:
I (and others) have tested this issue across multiple Radeon GPUs, and found it to affect the GPUs as follows:
Radeon 7900XTX
Radeon 7900XT
Radeon 7800XT
Radeon 7700XT
Radeon 780M (iGPU)

These tests were done across multiple systems, using various CPUs, Motherboards, and VR Headsets from various companies. This added latency was observable across all of them. Based on these tests, it would seem that this issue affects every 7000-Series GPU when used with any DisplayPort or HDMI VR Headset. Additionally, I have contacted Valve Support, and a couple of people at Valve whom I am in touch with, regarding this issue. This issue does not seem to be caused by SteamVR, rather by the 7000-Series' GPU Drivers. I am aware of the existence of a ticket between Valve and AMD to solve this issue, however it remains incomplete.

It will also be noted that some users were unable to detect this issue with the naked eye before being instructed what to look for, however for many others such as myself, it renders VR completely unusable. This issue has been observed and reported by many others both on this forum and others. I will include some such reports below, to provide additional context in hopes that this issue may be resolved:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/3802777845426075295/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/4757578612645955738/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/4036976796099163351/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/3843305689129585017/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/3781373416971923626/

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDHelp/s/Ldkw58kG4Z

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDHelp/s/wl66p3f5wu

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/s/vQMx4WdBtQ

https://community.amd.com/t5/pc-graphics/7900xtx-steamvr-visual-lag/td-p/708697

https://community.amd.com/t5/pc-graphics/7900-xtx-vr-latency-issue-not-the-known-performance-issue/m...

[RidgeXR]

cc @Matt_AMD as I seem to remember you wanted to be tagged in any future VR related issues.

[AMD-Vik]

Thanks for reporting - we've created a ticket for this internally.

[RidgeXR]

Thank you Vik! Keep us posted, would be wonderful to get this fixed.

[ky56]

Any movement on this?

[AMD-Vik]

Hey there. The issue was successfully reproduced. A fix has been identified and implemented, I believe it's undergone some preliminary testing and things are looking positive.

Unfortunately I've no timelines on ETAs, but I'd imagine this fix will make it into an upcoming driver package release.

[ky56]

Thanks for the reply Vik. That's amazing. Look forward to the driver update.

👍Will this fix also apply to the Linux Mesa drivers as well? When I last tried SteamVR on Arch Linux with the 5700XT, I believe the same issue occurred.

[ky56]

Hi Vik,

Are you aware of the still unresolved Display Error bug for the Valve Index when running at 80Hz or 90Hz? Do you know when we can expect a fix?

Cheers

ky56

[FakeDuck]

Hey Vik,
Just want to echo what ky56 said below your comment:
Are you aware of the still unresolved Display Error bug for the Valve Index when running at 80Hz or 90Hz? Do you know when we can expect a fix?

I am also experiencing this issue and hoping for a fix.
Any news on this?

Thanks.

[ky56]

I would like to add that the GPU driver is stable on my system but only if I haven't initialized my Valve Index with SteamVR. After initializing, wake from sleep will crash the system.

Logging out after initializing used to black screen / crash the system up until the latest GPU driver update a few days ago. I was able to reset it by logging via RDP from another computer and disabling and enabling the GPU in Device Manager. However that had a percentage chance of crashing the system as well.

vsync_to_photon is also an issue under Linux SteamVR under RX 5000 series GPUs (5700XT for me) and presumably other AMD gpus as well. I tried this a couple months ago so I don't know if this has changed? I don't normally run Linux but would like to if this gets fixed.

Currently using a ASUS TUF 7900XTX. Previous GPU is a AMD Reference 5700XT.

[Sepfox]

I can confirm the current driver version causes more than just the photon-latency issue in SteamVR.

I know multiple cases (myself and multiple friends) where the newer driver releases have caused significant connection issues with displays, even when SteamVR is not in use.

On my end, it manifested as a black screen on all displays (including HMD) when the HMD was connected to the GPU. On windows 11, this persisted and would not go away under any circumstance. under windows 10 the picture eventually came back, though it was still taking a bit of time.

My friends had different issues, but all were related to their displays, and fixed with the 24.5.1 driver. I only checked 24.9.1 myself, though 24.10.1 still seems to have the issue.

I know only cases of this happening with fully native SteamVR Direct Mode HMDs (OG Vive, Vive Pro, Vive Pro Eye, Valve Index, Bigscreen Beyond) in combination with RX 7900XTX's and 7800XT's.

So far the only thing that worked reliably for both me and my friends was a clean DDU-reinstall of 24.5.1, or alternatively disconnecting the HMD on every boot, and plugging it back in afterwards.

It might be related, it might not be.

[ky56]

A clean DDU install of 24.10.1 has resolved the black screen on boot and black screen on log out. I am running Windows 10 LTSC 2021 so that could be the difference.

Make sure your primary display is not on a higher order port than the VR DP port. As in plug your display into DP0 and you headset into DP1 or above. These aren't labeled on the graphics card so you'll have to work out the order by trial and error. That said though, on my ASUS TUF 7900XTX card and AMD Reference 5700XT, DP0 is closest to the PCIe slot/bottom of the card.

[Rogabex]

I'm coming in to list my specs for this issue as I want to assist with hopefully finding a resolution. 

CPU : Ryzen 7 7800X3D

GPU : SAPPHIRE PULSE 7900XTX 24GB

Motherboard : Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX

Headset : Valve Index & Bigscreen Beyond

My issue can be "resolved" by pressing the VSync_Photon_Increment in SteamVR debug settings 5 times. Although it is still prominent it makes the headset usable.

I do not have this issue on an identical system using specifically the 4070. I have also attempted switching the cards in both desktops and the issue persists.

[ky56]

Are you sure the offset isn't 9ms as that's in the range RidgeXR reported and what I found to be the nearest correct value? I also thought it was 5ms as first.

[Rogabex]

5ms feels like it's correct because once I go above that, it begins to feel even worse and it feels like it's distorting. I'll give it a shot again later today as I feel there's a chance I may have just gotten used to the latency.

[Rogabex]

Update, 8 clicks feels perfect now. No idea why, I think it was placebo as anything was better than default lol.

[RidgeXR · Accepted solution]

As of Driver version 24.12.1, this issue appears to have been solved! Massive thanks to all at Valve and AMD for helping to fix this.

[AMD-Vik]

Thanks so much for confirming!

[BenchmarkOdysseys]

This issue is not solved with 24.12.1.  Both 80Hz and 90Hz produce "Display Errors" within SteamVR, but 120Hz and 144Hz is fine (and improved over previous drivers). More details here.

[ky56]

I ran into this issue when going back to the Valve Index after needing to send the BSB back. Unfortunately didn't catch this earlier and thought this bug was solved.

Turning off motion smoothing changes the pattern from intermittent display dropout to a repeating pattern dropout.

Using the Debug Command async_mode_toggle "solves" the issue. At the expense of async mode of course.

[ky56]

Hi RidgeXR,

I can confirm as well that the update has fixed the vsync issue. However could you please check if wake from sleep works while a DP VR headset is attached?

My system upon wake from sleep still either crashes or the physical monitor does not come back unless I connect to the PC via RDP from another laptop.

Interestingly this is now happening even without a VR headset plugged in. Do you have wake from sleep issues?

[BenchmarkOdysseys]

This issue is not solved with 24.12.1. VR has become unplayable at 80Hz and 90Hz with 7900 XTX and SteamVR (Valve Index) and latest drivers, but fine with 120Hz and 144Hz.

Problem Description: There is a constant stream of magenta colored 'Display Error' frames in the Steam VR Performance Graph. Occurs immediately upon launching SteamVR. Errors continue into VR games or apps. Visual experience in headset is constant stuttering. These users have also reported the issue and provided an imgur SteamVR graph.

I have tested 24.12.1 with 7900 XTX (XFX MERC 310) on the following systems, using 80Hz and 90Hz, and it is broken:

• Intel 13700K (Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X AX) w/ Win11 Pro 23H2
• AMD 9800X3D (MSI B650M Mortar) w/ Win11 Pro 23H2
• AMD 9800X3D (MSI B650M Mortar) w/ Win11 Pro 24H2
• AMD 9800X3D (MSI B650M Mortar) w/ Win10 Pro 22H2

Error-free and reduced latency with SteamVR is possible on all these systems, however, only when 120Hz or 144Hz is applied (Valve Index) with 24.12.1.

Thank you for your efforts and those of the team 🙂 Getting very close to a solution!

[RidgeXR]

Thanks! This issue actually came up in a Twitter thread of mine, and is being investigated internally at AMD. it's specific to just the Index, not any other headsets, unfortunately.

[FakeDuck]

Thank you for raising this with AMD.  Do you have any updates on a response from them by any chance?

[BenchmarkOdysseys]

I have seen no updates. In fact, the situation is worse 😑 The stable version of SteamVR 2.7 has been removed: now the "previous version" is 2.8, and the newest version 2.9 is also broken.

[ky56]

I just tested my Valve Index at 120Hz on a 7900XTX with driver 25.3.1 and SteamVR 2.9.6 running on Windows 10.

It works fine for me. Still an issue at 80/90Hz.

[FakeDuck]

Yeah I saw that as well.  I am not sure if steam can fix this from their side but haven't heard either company even acknowledge the issue exists. 

[FakeDuck]

Unfortunately 25.3.1 did not fix the issue.  Can you share how you know this is being investigated internally at AMD?  I would like to be able to track progress and follow up if possible.
Thanks.

[KaraDani]

Hi, tested now with the new 25.3.1 and SteamVR 2.9.6 on a 7900xt and win 11 valve index. Issue is still the same 80-90 hz not usuable. 120 and 144hz is ok, had to roll back to 24.10.1 again.

[FakeDuck]

Thank you for testing this, AMD you gotta fix this!

[Rogabex]

25.3.1 is stable for me, using a Valve index at any of the refresh rates and a bigscreen beyond. You may want to attempt to reinstall all drivers including steamVR and your gpu using DDU to see  if that fixes anything. This has been resolved since 24.12.1.

[ky56]

I have used DDU multiple times now. Not to mention a fresh install as of a couple months ago. Are you sure you haven't disabled somehow disabled asynchronous re-projection. This option is accessible through Developer > Debug Commands. Disabling asynchronous re-projection resolves the display stutter. At the expense of asynchronous re-projection.

Are you running with ReBar enabled by any chance? My BIOS is too old to support this but could play a role in why this works for you.

I can also use my Bigscreen Beyond at either refresh rate. Just not on the Valve Index.

[Rogabex]

I personally have been running with ReBAR enabled, but attempted with it off and still did not have any issues.

I'm unfamiliar with Asynchronous re-projection. I'm assuming you're talking about Motion Smoothing but may be wrong. I usually run with it off but running with it on provides a form of latency when playing games at lower framerates than what the headset is attempting to display. I'd be more than happy to try and help you troubleshoot if you have other suggestions you'd like me to try.

[ky56]

Motion Smoothing is different from asynchronous re-projection. I mostly play with motion smoothing off now as well.

Motion Smoothing is adjusted from Menu > Settings > Video > Motion Smoothing

Asynchronous Re-Projection is adjusted from Menu > Developer > Debug Commands > async_mode_toggle

I think for the rest of us in this thread, turning off async_mode_toggle "fixes" this display errors issue. At the expense of the extra latency introduced by turning it off.

Try and see what happens when toggling async_mode_toggle?

[KaraDani]

If I set up my game to always maintain the set 80 or 90hz, is there any downside of turning asynchronous re-projection off? That only kicks in if the framerate dips, right? I'll try this option, thanks for the tip.

I'm running ReBar and facing the issue, so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

[ky56]

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamVR/comments/mc639k/asynchronous_reprojection_is_this_autoon_in/

---

Motion smoothing is a separate system that attempts to interpolate frames from the movement of the previous ones when the headset is reprojecting.

Asynchronous reprojection is always on in SteamVR unless you turn on the "Legacy Reprojection mode".

You should generally not turn off asynchronous reprojection, as SteamVR is designed to rely on it. Its purpose is to reproject every frame just before it is displayed so that it is in the correct position. It is always active, even when you are running at the full framerate.

As long as the application uses the correct headset pose when rendering, it can result in a much smoother experience, particularly with rapid head movements.

---

There is no upside from disabling asynchronous re-projection apart from it "fixing" the display error bug. Disabling it is noticeable in a bad way.

Besides, the all Debug Commands are volatile. As in you can't set them as settings which get remembered on next launch. You would have to disable it every time you start SteamVR.

[FakeDuck]

ky56 thank you for your feedback, I can completely agree with your experience described above.

This issue is just for the valve index at 80 or 90hz, and has been an issue for any update beyond 24.10.1.  You can use the debug command to toggle asynchronous re-projection to "fix" the display errors, but you will introduce so many new bugs by turning this off such as visual artifacts and the main menu being horribly warped.  It is not by any means a fix.

I am currently just locked to 24.10.1 for a playable experience at 80 or 90hz. 

Rogabex, do you use FPSVR or another overlay software with valve index?  FPSvr has an option in the advanced menu to have asynchronous re-projection off permanently, bypassing the need to do it each time you launch via the debug menu.  Did you by chance have this turned on?

[FakeDuck]

I can confirm I am having the exact same issue with a 7900xtx and valve index. Hoping for a fix soon.

[Rogabex]

The fix has already been released. All drivers past 24.12.1 have the problem solved. I have tested this on both a Bigscreen Beyond and Valve Index at 120hz-144hz, and the beyond at 75 and 90hz. Please attempt to perform a DDU uninstall and reinstall to see if its possibly an issue there.

[FakeDuck]

They solved the main problem described by the OP and then introduced a new problem that we are talking about and is the thread you are responding to, unplayable stutters when using the Valve Index with a 7900xtx at 80 or 90hz for all updates beyond 24.10.1.  

Look for the comment I am replying to understand the context of the issue we are facing.

In case you're going to ask me why I can't just use 120 or 144hz, that answer is I am running games that cannot push beyond 100 frames so I need to utilize 90hz mode on the index in order to have a playable experience (iRacing).