Bug 504188

Summary: kwin_wayland defaults to llvmpipe (software rendering) on Intel 11th Gen Iris Xe
Product: [Plasma] kwin Reporter: Jacob <jacobnaonao7>
Component: wayland-genericAssignee: KWin default assignee <kwin-bugs-null>
Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME    
Severity: major CC: nate, xaver.hugl
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 6.3.4   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Other   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Jacob 2025-05-14 01:19:24 UTC
SUMMARY
kwin_wayland defaults to llvmpipe (software rendering) on Intel 11th Gen Iris Xe, causing very high CPU usage; MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=iris fixes it.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
- Use a system with an Intel 11th Generation CPU (i7-1165G7 in my case) with integrated Iris Xe graphics.
- Install Kubuntu 25.04
- Log into a Plasma Wayland session.

OBSERVED RESULT
The kwin_wayland process consumes a very high percentage of CPU (80-90%) even when the desktop is idle, causing the basically the entire system to lag, including the cursor.
intel_gpu_top shows minimal (1-2%) usage on the "Render/3D" engine of the integrated GPU
perf report for the kwin_wayland process shows that the majority of CPU time is spent in llvmpipe and libgallium functions, so it's doing software rendering.

EXPECTED RESULT
kwin_wayland should utilize the Intel Iris Xe GPU for hardware-accelerated rendering.
CPU usage for kwin_wayland should be low when the desktop is idle.
intel_gpu_top should show appropriate GPU level for desktop compositing.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Linux/KDE Plasma: Kubuntu 25.04
KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.4
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.12.0
Qt Version: 6.8.3

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
CPU: Intel 11th Generation Core i7-1165G7 (with Iris Xe Graphics)
The X11 session works correctly with hardware acceleration and normal CPU usage.

The issue is resolved by setting the environment variable MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=iris for the Plasma Wayland session (by creating ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/90-mesa_iris_override.sh with export MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=iris and making it executable).

Initial perf report:
"Samples: 937K of event 'cycles:P', Event count (approx.): 915207451975
  Children      Self  Command          Shared Object                  Symbol
+   12.52%     0.00%  llvmpipe-0       libc.so.6                      [.] __GI___clone3                                                                                                                    
+   12.52%     0.00%  llvmpipe-0       libc.so.6                      [.] start_thread                                                                                                                     
+   12.52%     0.00%  llvmpipe-0       libgallium-25.0.3-1ubuntu2.so  [.] 0x000078d4c57cfb9c                                                                                                               +   12.51%     0.00%  llvmpipe-0       libgallium-25.0.3-1ubuntu2.so  [.] 0x000078d4c5b9431f"                                                                                                                                                                                                   

dmesg output (related to i915 or drm) shows the kernel driver loading, but Wayland session still defaulted to llvmpipe
Comment 1 Zamundaaa 2025-10-13 14:47:35 UTC
Does this still happen on Plasma 6.4?
If so, does this also happen on a new user? Also, please attach the output of drm_info and eglinfo (without the override environment variable set)
Comment 2 Bug Janitor Service 2025-10-28 03:47:30 UTC
๐Ÿ›๐Ÿงน โš ๏ธ This bug has been in NEEDSINFO status with no change for at least 15 days. Please provide the requested information, then set the bug status to REPORTED. If there is no change for at least 30 days, it will be automatically closed as RESOLVED WORKSFORME.

For more information about our bug triaging procedures, please read https://community.kde.org/Guidelines_and_HOWTOs/Bug_triaging.

Thank you for helping us make KDE software even better for everyone!
Comment 3 Bug Janitor Service 2025-11-12 03:47:55 UTC
๐Ÿ›๐Ÿงน This bug has been in NEEDSINFO status with no change for at least 30 days. Closing as RESOLVED WORKSFORME.