feat: HDMI refresh boost (Steam Machine, pinned kernel)

The pinned 7.1.6 kernel doesn't read the extra EDID block (HDMI Forum
EEODB) where monitors list their fast modes, and does no HDMI 2.1, so HDMI
displays often stay at 60 Hz. The new menu item reads the display's EDID
over DDC, calculates the highest rate that fits HDMI 2.0 at the desktop
resolution (rounded down to ten, plus the hundred below as a safe option),
tests each step live with a confirmation, and makes the confirmed ones
permanent through drm.edid_firmware (Limine, sdboot-manage or GRUB).
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theupriser committed 2026-09-25 20:33:46 +02:00
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#!/bin/bash
# "HDMI refresh boost" menu item, Steam Machine (Fremont) only: finds the
# highest refresh rate the display runs at the desktop resolution over HDMI,
# tests it live and makes it permanent with an EDID override
# (drm.edid_firmware). Two things keep displays below what they can do:
# - Monitors put their fast modes in an extra EDID block (HDMI Forum EEODB);
# the pinned kernel (7.1.6) only reads the first extension. Newer kernels
# do, and do HDMI 2.1, so it's only offered with the pinned kernel.
# - Their fastest modes need HDMI 2.1 (FRL), which amdgpu doesn't do on
# every kernel; a mode with the display's shortest blanking at a slightly
# lower rate often still fits HDMI 2.0's TMDS limit (600 MHz).
# What a display claims isn't what it accepts: every step is shown and must
# be confirmed, and no answer within 15 s switches back (the screen may be
# black). Sourced by steamify.sh; not meant to be run on its own.
HDMI_FW_DIR=/usr/lib/firmware/edid
HDMI_INITRAMFS_CONF=/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/90-steamify-edid.conf
# No answer within this time switches back; longer for scripted tests.
HDMI_CONFIRM_SECONDS="${WIZARD_HDMI_CONFIRM_SECONDS:-15}"
# amdgpu's HDMI 2.0 limit; the display's own limit (from its EDID) may be lower.
HDMI_TMDS_MAX_KHZ=600000
hdmi_connectors() {
# Connected HDMI outputs, as "<card>-<connector>" (e.g. card1-HDMI-A-1).
local d
for d in /sys/class/drm/card*-HDMI-A-*; do
[[ "$(cat "$d/status" 2>/dev/null)" == connected ]] && basename "$d"
done
}
hdmi_boot_file() {
# The file holding the kernel command line, per boot loader.
if [[ -f /etc/default/limine ]]; then echo /etc/default/limine
elif [[ -f /etc/sdboot-manage.conf ]] && command -v sdboot-manage >/dev/null; then echo /etc/sdboot-manage.conf
elif [[ -f /etc/default/grub ]]; then echo /etc/default/grub
fi
}
hdmi_cmdline_param() {
# The drm.edid_firmware= value we set, or nothing.
local f; f="$(hdmi_boot_file)"
[[ -n "$f" ]] && grep -oE 'drm\.edid_firmware=[^ "]*steamify-[^ "]*' "$f" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1
}
hdmi_available() {
# Stays available while on, so it can be turned off after the pin is gone.
detect_valve_fremont || return 1
hdmi_status || { pinned_kernel_installed && [[ -n "$(hdmi_connectors)" && -n "$(hdmi_boot_file)" ]]; }
}
hdmi_status() { [[ -n "$(hdmi_cmdline_param)" ]] && compgen -G "$HDMI_FW_DIR/steamify-*.bin" >/dev/null; }
hdmi_edid_tool() {
# hdmi_edid_tool <command> ...: EDID parsing and building (python, as
# it's byte work). Commands:
# blocks <edid> number of blocks the display says it has
# id <edid> vendor/product/serial, to recognise it
# plan <edid> <w> <h> <cur_hz> "<limit_hz> <best> <step>..." for w x h
# build <in> <out> <w> <h> <hz>... full EDID plus a DisplayID block
# with those rates at the shortest blanking
python3 - "$HDMI_TMDS_MAX_KHZ" "$@" <<'PY'
import sys
src_khz = int(sys.argv[1]); cmd = sys.argv[2]; args = sys.argv[3:]
def load(p): return bytearray(open(p, 'rb').read())
def le(b): return int.from_bytes(b, 'little')
def cta_blocks(e):
for i in range(128, len(e), 128):
if e[i] == 0x02: yield i
def data_blocks(e, i):
# CTA data block collection: (tag, extended tag, offset, length)
end, p = e[i + 2], i + 4
while p < i + end and p < i + 127:
tag, n = e[p] >> 5, e[p] & 0x1f
yield tag, (e[p + 1] if tag == 7 and n else None), p, n
p += n + 1
def eeodb(e):
for i in cta_blocks(e):
for tag, ext, p, n in data_blocks(e, i):
if tag == 7 and ext == 0x78: return p + 2
return None
def nblocks(e):
p = eeodb(e)
return 1 + max(e[126], e[p] if p and p < len(e) else 0)
def timings(e):
# (hz, clk_khz, ha, hb, hf, hs, hpos, va, vb, vf, vs, vpos)
out = []
def dtd(b):
clk = le(b[0:2]) * 10
if not clk: return
ha = b[2] | (b[4] >> 4) << 8; hb = b[3] | (b[4] & 15) << 8
va = b[5] | (b[7] >> 4) << 8; vb = b[6] | (b[7] & 15) << 8
hf = b[8] | (b[11] >> 6 & 3) << 8; hs = b[9] | (b[11] >> 4 & 3) << 8
vf = (b[10] >> 4) | (b[11] >> 2 & 3) << 4; vs = (b[10] & 15) | (b[11] & 3) << 4
if b[17] & 0x80: return # interlaced
out.append((clk * 1000 / ((ha + hb) * (va + vb)), clk, ha, hb, hf, hs, b[17] >> 1 & 1,
va, vb, vf, vs, b[17] >> 2 & 1))
for o in range(54, 126, 18): dtd(e[o:o + 18])
for i in cta_blocks(e):
d = e[i + 2]
if d >= 4:
for o in range(i + d, i + 127 - 17, 18): dtd(e[o:o + 18])
for i in range(128, len(e), 128):
if e[i] != 0x70: continue
p, end = i + 5, i + 5 + e[i + 2]
while p + 3 <= end:
tag, n = e[p], e[p + 2]
if tag == 0 and n == 0: break
if tag == 0x03:
for o in range(p + 3, p + 3 + n - 19, 20):
b = e[o:o + 20]
clk = (le(b[0:3]) + 1) * 10
hf, vf = le(b[8:10]), le(b[16:18])
ha, hb, va, vb = le(b[4:6]) + 1, le(b[6:8]) + 1, le(b[12:14]) + 1, le(b[14:16]) + 1
out.append((clk * 1000 / ((ha + hb) * (va + vb)), clk, ha, hb, (hf & 0x7fff) + 1,
le(b[10:12]) + 1, hf >> 15, va, vb, (vf & 0x7fff) + 1, le(b[18:20]) + 1, vf >> 15))
p += 3 + n
return out
def tmds_khz(e):
# The display's own TMDS limit: HDMI Forum VSDB, else the HDMI 1.4 VSDB.
hf = h14 = 0
for i in cta_blocks(e):
for tag, ext, p, n in data_blocks(e, i):
if tag != 3 or n < 3: continue
oui = e[p + 3] << 16 | e[p + 2] << 8 | e[p + 1]
if oui == 0xC45DD8 and n >= 5: hf = e[p + 5] * 5000
if oui == 0x000C03 and n >= 7: h14 = e[p + 7] * 5000
lim = hf or h14 or 165000
return min(lim, src_khz)
def max_vrefresh(e):
# Range limits descriptor, the HDMI Forum / AMD VRR maximum.
best = 0
for o in range(54, 126, 18):
b = e[o:o + 18]
if b[0:3] == b'\0\0\0' and b[3] == 0xfd:
best = max(best, b[6] + (255 if b[4] & 2 else 0))
for i in cta_blocks(e):
for tag, ext, p, n in data_blocks(e, i):
if tag != 3 or n < 3: continue
oui = e[p + 3] << 16 | e[p + 2] << 8 | e[p + 1]
if oui == 0xC45DD8 and n >= 10: best = max(best, (e[p + 9] & 0xc0) << 2 | e[p + 10])
if oui == 0x00001A and n >= 7: best = max(best, e[p + 7])
return best
def shortest(e, w, h):
ts = [t for t in timings(e) if t[2] == w and t[7] == h]
return min(ts, key=lambda t: (t[2] + t[3]) * (t[7] + t[8])) if ts else None
if cmd == 'blocks':
print(nblocks(load(args[0])))
elif cmd == 'id':
print(load(args[0])[8:18].hex())
elif cmd == 'plan':
e = load(args[0]); w, h, cur = int(args[1]), int(args[2]), float(args[3])
lim, t = tmds_khz(e), shortest(e, w, h)
if not t: sys.exit(1)
listed = [x[0] for x in timings(e) if x[2] == w and x[7] == h and x[1] <= lim]
best = max(listed) if listed else cur
top = int(lim * 1000 // ((t[2] + t[3]) * (t[7] + t[8])))
vmax = max_vrefresh(e) or int(max(x[0] for x in timings(e) if x[2] == w and x[7] == h))
top = min(top, vmax)
# Not right at the limit: the top rounded down to ten, and the hundred
# below it as a safe option. Rates the display already lists are left
# out (its own timing is the safer one), and so is anything not faster
# than what already works.
steps = sorted({top // 10 * 10, top // 100 * 100})
steps = [s for s in steps if s > best + 1 and not any(abs(s - x) < 1 for x in listed)]
print(lim // 1000, round(best, 2), *steps)
elif cmd == 'build':
e = load(args[0]); w, h = int(args[2]), int(args[3]); rates = [int(r) for r in args[4:]]
t = shortest(e, w, h)
n = nblocks(e)
e = e[:n * 128]
out = b''
for hz in rates:
_, _, ha, hb, hf, hs, hp, va, vb, vf, vs, vp = t
clk = round((ha + hb) * (va + vb) * hz / 1e4)
x = (clk - 1).to_bytes(3, 'little') + bytes([0x08])
for v, pol in ((ha, 0), (hb, 0), (hf, hp), (hs, 0), (va, 0), (vb, 0), (vf, vp), (vs, 0)):
x += ((v - 1) | pol << 15).to_bytes(2, 'little')
out += x
if out:
blk = bytearray(128)
blk[0:5] = bytes([0x70, 0x12, 121, 0x00, 0x00])
blk[5:8] = bytes([0x03, 0x00, len(out)])
blk[8:8 + len(out)] = out
blk[126] = (-sum(blk[1:126])) % 256
blk[127] = (-sum(blk[:127])) % 256
e += blk
count = len(e) // 128 - 1
e[126] = count
e[127] = (-sum(e[:127])) % 256
p = eeodb(e)
if p:
e[p] = count
i = p - p % 128
e[i + 127] = (-sum(e[i:i + 127])) % 256
open(args[1], 'wb').write(e)
PY
}
hdmi_read_edid() {
# hdmi_read_edid <card-connector> <out>: the display's complete EDID,
# read over DDC block by block (the kernel's copy may miss blocks).
local conn="$1" out="$2" bus n i tmp
bus="$(basename "$(readlink -f "/sys/class/drm/$conn/ddc")")"; bus="${bus#i2c-}"
tmp="$(mktemp)"
cat "/sys/class/drm/$conn/edid" > "$out"
if [[ -n "$bus" ]] && sudo modprobe i2c-dev 2>/dev/null; then
n="$(hdmi_edid_tool blocks "$out")"
: > "$tmp"
for (( i = 0; i < n; i++ )); do
# Segment pointer (0x30) selects each pair of blocks.
sudo i2ctransfer -y "$bus" w1@0x30 $(( i / 2 )) w1@0x50 $(( (i % 2) * 128 )) r128@0x50 2>/dev/null |
xxd -r -p >> "$tmp" 2>/dev/null ||
{ [[ $i -lt 2 ]] && { sudo i2ctransfer -y "$bus" w1@0x50 $(( i * 128 )) r128@0x50 | xxd -r -p >> "$tmp"; }; } || break
done
# Keep the DDC copy only when it's whole and the same display as the
# kernel's (not the whole block: a live override changes it).
if [[ "$(stat -c %s "$tmp")" == $(( n * 128 )) &&
"$(hdmi_edid_tool id "$tmp")" == "$(hdmi_edid_tool id "$out")" ]]; then
cat "$tmp" > "$out"
fi
fi
rm -f "$tmp"
}
hdmi_debugfs() {
# debugfs directory of a connector (one of several paths to the same
# GPU). Only root can list debugfs, so the glob runs under sudo.
local d
d="$(sudo sh -c 'for d in /sys/kernel/debug/dri/*/"$1"; do [ -e "$d/edid_override" ] && { echo "$d"; break; }; done' _ "${1#card*-}")"
[[ -n "$d" ]] && echo "$d"
}
hdmi_override_live() {
# hdmi_override_live <card-connector> <edid|reset>: swap the EDID the
# kernel uses right now, without a restart.
local d; d="$(hdmi_debugfs "$1")" || return 1
# The kernel takes exactly "reset", without a newline.
if [[ "$2" == reset ]]; then printf reset | sudo tee "$d/edid_override" >/dev/null
else sudo tee "$d/edid_override" < "$2" >/dev/null; fi || return 1
echo 1 | sudo tee "$d/trigger_hotplug" >/dev/null
sleep 3
}
hdmi_kscreen() {
# hdmi_kscreen current|mode <output> [<w> <h> <hz>]: KDE's view of the
# output: "w h hz" of the current mode, or set the mode closest to hz.
kscreen-doctor -j 2>/dev/null | python3 -c '
import json, sys
what, name = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]
for o in json.load(sys.stdin)["outputs"]:
if o["name"] != name: continue
modes = {m["id"]: m for m in o["modes"]}
if what == "current":
m = modes[o["currentModeId"]]
print(m["size"]["width"], m["size"]["height"], round(m["refreshRate"], 2))
else:
w, h, hz = int(sys.argv[3]), int(sys.argv[4]), float(sys.argv[5])
ms = [m for m in o["modes"] if m["size"]["width"] == w and m["size"]["height"] == h]
if ms: print(min(ms, key=lambda m: abs(m["refreshRate"] - hz))["id"])
' "$@"
}
hdmi_set_mode() {
# hdmi_set_mode <output> <w> <h> <hz>: returns 1 if KDE has no such mode.
local id rate
id="$(hdmi_kscreen mode "$@")" || return 1
[[ -n "$id" ]] || return 1
kscreen-doctor "output.$1.mode.$id" >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 1
sleep 2
rate="$(hdmi_kscreen current "$1" | cut -d' ' -f3)"
[[ "${rate%.*}" -ge $(( $4 - 1 )) ]]
}
hdmi_confirm() {
# No answer (black screen, nobody there) is a no.
local reply
read -rt "$HDMI_CONFIRM_SECONDS" -p "$(echo -e "${c_bold}$1${c_reset} [y/N, ${HDMI_CONFIRM_SECONDS}s] ")" reply || { echo; return 1; }
[[ "$reply" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
}
hdmi_boot_param() {
# hdmi_boot_param <value|"">: set or remove our drm.edid_firmware= in
# the boot loader's command line, then rebuild the initramfs and entries.
local f value="$1"
f="$(hdmi_boot_file)" || return 1
[[ -n "$f" ]] || { err "No supported boot loader (Limine, systemd-boot with sdboot-manage, GRUB) found."; return 1; }
backup_file "$f"
sudo sed -i -E 's/drm\.edid_firmware=[^ "]*steamify-[^ "]* ?//' "$f"
if [[ -n "$value" ]]; then
case "$f" in
# | as delimiter: the value holds a path.
/etc/default/limine) sudo sed -i -E "0,\|^KERNEL_CMDLINE\[default\]\+?=\"|s||&$value |" "$f" ;;
/etc/sdboot-manage.conf) sudo sed -i -E "0,\|^LINUX_OPTIONS=\"|s||&$value |" "$f" ;;
/etc/default/grub) sudo sed -i -E "0,\|^GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=\"|s||&$value |" "$f" ;;
esac
grep -qF "$value" "$f" || { err "Couldn't add $value to $f."; return 1; }
fi
info "Rebuilding the initramfs and boot entries..."
case "$f" in
/etc/default/limine) sudo limine-mkinitcpio ;;
/etc/sdboot-manage.conf) sudo /usr/bin/mkinitcpio -P && sudo sdboot-manage gen ;;
/etc/default/grub) sudo /usr/bin/mkinitcpio -P && sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg ;;
esac
}
hdmi_tune() {
# hdmi_tune <card-connector> <tmpdir>: find and confirm the highest rate
# at the desktop resolution. Sets HDMI_RESULT to "<w> <h> <hz>..." (the
# confirmed new rates) or leaves it empty.
local conn="$1" tmp="$2" out="${1#card*-}" cur w h hz plan lim best steps_str
local -a steps ok_rates=()
HDMI_RESULT=""
# From the display's own EDID: a live one left by an earlier test would
# make its rates look like what the display already does.
hdmi_override_live "$conn" reset 2>/dev/null
cur="$(hdmi_kscreen current "$out")"
[[ -n "$cur" ]] || { warn "$out: KDE doesn't show this output; skipped."; return 0; }
read -r w h hz <<< "$cur"
info "$out: desktop resolution ${w}x${h} at ${hz} Hz. Reading the display's EDID..."
hdmi_read_edid "$conn" "$tmp/$out.orig" || return 1
if ! plan="$(hdmi_edid_tool plan "$tmp/$out.orig" "$w" "$h" "$hz")"; then
warn "$out: the display lists no timing for ${w}x${h}; nothing to calculate."
return 0
fi
read -r lim best steps_str <<< "$plan"
read -ra steps <<< "${steps_str:-}"
info "$out: HDMI limit ${lim} MHz, fastest mode that fits now: ${best} Hz."
if [[ ${#steps[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
ok "$out: already at the highest rate that fits HDMI here; nothing to change."
return 0
fi
info "$out: steps to try: ${steps[*]} Hz. After each one you're asked whether the"
info "picture is OK; no answer within ${HDMI_CONFIRM_SECONDS} s (e.g. a black screen) switches back."
ask_yn "Start the test?" y || return 0
hdmi_edid_tool build "$tmp/$out.orig" "$tmp/$out.test" "$w" "$h" "${steps[@]}" &&
hdmi_override_live "$conn" "$tmp/$out.test" ||
{ err "$out: couldn't load the test EDID (debugfs)."; return 1; }
local s
for s in "${steps[@]}"; do
info "$out: switching to ${w}x${h} at $s Hz..."
if hdmi_set_mode "$out" "$w" "$h" "$s" && hdmi_confirm "Is the picture OK at $s Hz?"; then
ok "$out: $s Hz works."
ok_rates+=("$s")
else
warn "$out: $s Hz doesn't work; stopping here."
break
fi
done
if [[ ${#ok_rates[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
hdmi_override_live "$conn" reset
hdmi_set_mode "$out" "$w" "$h" "$hz" >/dev/null
info "$out: back to ${hz} Hz; nothing changed."
return 0
fi
# Without the steps that failed, so KDE and gamescope never pick them.
hdmi_edid_tool build "$tmp/$out.orig" "$tmp/$out.final" "$w" "$h" "${ok_rates[@]}" &&
hdmi_override_live "$conn" "$tmp/$out.final"
hdmi_set_mode "$out" "$w" "$h" "${ok_rates[-1]}" >/dev/null
HDMI_RESULT="$w $h ${ok_rates[*]}"
}
hdmi_enable() {
if [[ "${BACKEND:-false}" == true ]]; then
err "HDMI refresh boost needs you at the screen: run it from the Steamify menu in Konsole."
return 1
fi
if [[ "${XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP:-}" != *KDE* ]] || ! command -v kscreen-doctor >/dev/null; then
err "Run this from the Plasma desktop: the test switches the display mode through KDE."
return 1
fi
if hdmi_status; then
local conn stale=false
for conn in $(hdmi_connectors); do
[[ -f "$HDMI_FW_DIR/steamify-${conn#card*-}.bin" ]] || continue
[[ "$(state_get hdmi "${conn#card*-}")" == "$(hdmi_edid_tool id "/sys/class/drm/$conn/edid")" ]] || stale=true
done
if [[ "$stale" == false ]]; then
ok "Already set up for the connected display(s). Untick and tick it again to re-test."
return 0
fi
warn "Set up for another display; testing the one connected now."
hdmi_disable || return 1
fi
sudo pacman -S --needed --noconfirm i2c-tools python >/dev/null 2>&1 || { err "Installing i2c-tools failed."; return 1; }
local tmp conn out param="" files=() rc=0
tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
for conn in $(hdmi_connectors); do
out="${conn#card*-}"
hdmi_tune "$conn" "$tmp" || { rc=1; continue; }
[[ -n "$HDMI_RESULT" ]] || continue
sudo install -Dm644 "$tmp/$out.final" "$HDMI_FW_DIR/steamify-$out.bin" || { rc=1; continue; }
state_set hdmi "$out" "$(hdmi_edid_tool id "$tmp/$out.orig")"
state_set hdmi "$out-mode" "$HDMI_RESULT"
param+="${param:+,}$out:edid/steamify-$out.bin"
files+=("$HDMI_FW_DIR/steamify-$out.bin")
done
rm -rf "$tmp"
[[ -n "$param" ]] || return $rc
# amdgpu loads from the initramfs (the kms hook), before the root
# filesystem: the EDID file has to be in there too.
sudo mkdir -p "$(dirname "$HDMI_INITRAMFS_CONF")"
printf '# Written by steamify: EDID override for HDMI refresh boost.\nFILES+=(%s)\n' "${files[*]}" |
sudo tee "$HDMI_INITRAMFS_CONF" >/dev/null
if ! hdmi_boot_param "drm.edid_firmware=$param"; then
# Nothing half-done left behind; the live EDID lasts until a restart.
sudo rm -f "$HDMI_INITRAMFS_CONF" "${files[@]}"
for conn in $(hdmi_connectors); do hdmi_override_live "$conn" reset 2>/dev/null; done
state_clear hdmi
err "Making it permanent failed; the display is back on its own EDID."
return 1
fi
ok "HDMI refresh boost is set up; it's active now and after every restart."
return $rc
}
hdmi_disable() {
local f conn
# Drop-in and files first: the rebuild below leaves them out.
sudo rm -f "$HDMI_INITRAMFS_CONF"
for f in "$HDMI_FW_DIR"/steamify-*.bin; do [[ -e "$f" ]] && sudo rm -f "$f"; done
hdmi_boot_param "" || return 1
for conn in $(hdmi_connectors); do hdmi_override_live "$conn" reset 2>/dev/null; done
state_clear hdmi
ok "HDMI refresh boost removed; the display uses its own EDID again."
}