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Xaver Hugl
zamundaaa.github.io · Personal blog · on HN since 2021
Xaver Hugl, a KDE KWin developer, writes about Wayland, explicit sync, HDR, color management, and compositor performance.
What HN saysHN links it for explanations of Wayland graphics work, such as explicit sync fixing Nvidia issues and KWin performance on old hardware.
24HN people shared it
11linked it in comments
17stories submitted
136story points
3 months agolast shared
2021people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Explicit Sync Merged into Wayland6 people · 26 points · first shared 2024 · 1 comments on HN
- 2Gaming on Wayland5 people · 78 points · first shared 2021 · 187 comments on HN
- 3Fixing KWin's performance on old hardware3 people · 11 points · first shared 2024 · 1 comments on HN
- 4An update on HDR and color management in KWin3 people · 2 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 5More KMS offloading, with overlay planes2 people · 6 points · first shared 2025 · 1 comments on HN
- 6Making Wl_shm Fast2 people · 1 points · first shared 2026 · discussion on HN
- 7PSA: KDecoration API break in Plasma 6.31 people · 4 points · first shared 2024 · discussion on HN
- 8Brightness, and Calibrating Your Displays1 people · 2 points · first shared 2025 · discussion on HN
- 9Display Next Hackfest 20251 people · 2 points · first shared 2025 · discussion on HN
- 10HDR and color management in KWin: Fixing night light1 people · 2 points · first shared 2025 · discussion on HN
- 11Automatic Brightness in Plasma1 people · 1 points · first shared 2026 · discussion on HN
- 12KDE: HDR and Color Management in KWin1 people · 1 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 13Fixing multi gpu1 people · first shared 2026
What HN people wrote when they linked it
ErenayDev · 2026-08-01
https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2026/07/31/fixing-multi-gpu.html
https://blogs.kde.org/2026/08/01/this-week-in-plasma-emoji-resizing/
eliaspro · 2026-05-08
Blogspam - original post:
https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2026/05/06/making-wl-shm-fast.html
cwillu · 2024-06-27
Sammi · 2024-06-26
The Nvidia 555 diver implements something called explicit sync, which fixes a bunch of issues people had when using Wayland: https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2024/04/05/explicit-sync.html
mythz · 2024-06-25
It flies on my new AMD 7800X3D custom build!
Fedora 40/Wayland worked beautifully out-of-the-box with buttery smooth DE animations which unfortunately started flickering after installing NVidia's proprietary drivers which should be fixed with explicit sync [1] in NVidia's latest 560 drivers which is now available in KDE Plasma 6.1 update, hopefully it'll be available for Gnome in a system update soon - looking forward to running Wayland again.
[1] https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2024/04/05/explicit-sync.html
gotbeans · 2024-06-07
IMHO having a good desktop linux distro (or a proper desktop linux experience) doesn't have to correlate to a gold mine, and I'm not sure why the author conflates the two.
If the linux desktop space is advancing so slowly is precisely and because of the opposite: because desktop linux is made and maintained by a bunch of people who do it for free.
Alas, valve has done a pretty good job with proton and steamdeck which is helping the ecosystem. here's to hoping wayland and nvidia drivers 555 with explicit sync[1] we might get something decent next few months.
https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2024/04/05/explicit-sync.html
orangeboats · 2024-04-25
You are basing your conclusions on a single blogpost. Measurements from other people show that X11 wins in some cases, Wayland wins in other cases, there isn't a clear winner.
https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2021/12/14/about-gaming-on-wayland…
spookie · 2024-03-02
KDE Plasma 6 has HDR support.
https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2023/12/18/update-on-hdr-and-color…
zamadatix · 2023-09-18
Wayland doesn't actually add an additional frame of latency like you'd expect by just saying "vsync" in a normal context. https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2021/12/14/about-gaming-on-wayland…
In cases where your game occasionally dips below 240hz enabling VRR will prevent additional latency without requiring you introduce tearing in the display pipeline.
cycomanic · 2022-11-25
It seems your subjective feeling is not reflected in measurements. At least for kwin wayland is as fast as uncomposited x11
https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2021/12/14/about-gaming-on-wayland…
jagrsw · 2021-12-15
I'm not an expert on the wayland/xorg/xinput/gnome-shell stack, but unless someone smarter takes good measurements of various things (visual and input delays), I'd suggest
1). Xorg + gnome-flashback or Xorg + other non-compositing WM
or
2). Non-gnome compositor under wayland
As for 1).
Xorg b/c it can provide pointer movements at ~native speed via xnput vs Gnome/Wayland 60-240Hz. And gnome-flashback b/c it's a non-compositing WM, so there's no frame buffering (unless you enable it in nvidia's panel, or via TearFree in amdgpu).
As for 2).
Sway, I suppose, doesn't aggregate mouse movements, but
looking at https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2021/12/14/about-gaming-on-wayland… the author used some hack to enable "immediate" "drawing" under KWin. I'm not sure what's the default behavior of e.g. Sway - does it buffer frames?