Linux 7.2 to revert DRM scheduler FAIR default after GPU freezes

Linux graphics maintainers are preparing to revert the DRM scheduler’s new default FAIR policy days before the 7.2 release, after a regression that can freeze games and the desktop under sustained GPU saturation.

Reporter Luke Wildhardt found that on an RX 9070 XT running 7.2-rc and current drm-next, a Proton title held at full GPU load often collapsed to roughly 10 fps or froze while audio kept playing. The KDE Plasma Wayland session could lock up entirely, sometimes needing a reboot or a killed compositor. The same pattern appeared with a game in the background and browser video in the foreground. Easing GPU load (alt-tab or an in-game menu) cleared the stutter immediately. Linux 7.1 and forcing the older FIFO policy were fine; FAIR failed even after related scheduler cleanups were undone.

Tvrtko Ursulin offered a small min_vruntime fix that stopped hard freezes in a short test but left more uniform stuttering under the same load. With -rc7 already out and 7.2 imminent, Danilo Krummrich and Philipp Stanner pushed to land reverts rather than risk a late hotfix across other drivers and workloads. Ursulin has revert patches smoke-tested on a Steam Deck and called that path safer. Further profiling with the reporter is planned if the fair-scheduling work returns in a later cycle.