[ROG Xbox Ally X] High idle power draw on 3.8.6 – CPU stuck at 4.6GHz - 5.0Ghz during idle, excessive fan noise and high temperatures

[BrynnChu]

Your system information

• Steam client version: newest
• SteamOS version: 3.8.6
• Opted into Steam client beta?: [Yes/No] no
• Opted into SteamOS beta?: [Yes/No] yes
• Have you checked for updates in Settings > System?: [Yes/No] yes

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

This issue did not occur on SteamOS 3.7.x on the ROG Ally Z1E, But occur on Steam OS 3.8.x Xbox Ally X Z2E

the system shows abnormally high idle power consumption.

When the device is sitting idle on the desktop or Steam UI with no active downloads or games running:

• CPU frequency stays around 4600MHz on multiple cores
• Fans spin aggressively almost all the time
• Device temperature remains unusually high during idle
• Battery drains much faster than expected
• Idle power usage appears significantly higher

[matte-schwartz]

What performance profile do you have set in the Steam UI when you're seeing this issue (the choice carries over to desktop mode as well)?

[tynyczech]

Just to clarify after further testing: This power management regression is not exclusive to build 3.8.6. The TDP and idle boosting issues have been present ever since version 3.8 moved into the Beta channel, and the broken behavior persists even in the current Main branch (3.9). It seems like a core regression in how Gamescope / CPU governor handles the Z1 Extreme APU across all recent development branches.

[BrynnChu]

Under the Performance preset, the CPU consumes 22W+ TDP while idle, and the total system power consumption is 37W.

Under the Balanced preset, the CPU consumes 17W TDP while idle, and the total system power consumption is approximately 33W.

Under the Low Power preset, the CPU still consumes 13W TDP while idle.

With all three presets, when no game is running and the device is completely idle with no user interaction, the CPU frequency remains above 4000 MHz and continues to consume a significant amount of power. This greatly reduces battery life during standby/idle use and causes unnecessary fan noise.

[matte-schwartz]

Let’s leave the issue in desktop mode as separate for now. If you turn off VRR while idle on the Steam menu, does power usage go down? If so, that part should be fixed with ValveSoftware/gamescope#2115 whenever it gets merged.

[tynyczech]

Issue Context:
Linked to the main issue of high idle power draw and CPU stuck at max boost (4.6GHz - 5.0GHz) in Gamescope.

New Finding / Workaround:
I managed to drastically lower the idle power draw by toggling the VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) setting.

VRR Enabled (Default): System suffers from a thermal/power runaway. In Gamescope idle, the CPU frequency locks at maximum boost, resulting in a total system draw of ~15W with high fan noise and temperatures.

VRR Disabled: Turning off VRR immediately breaks the loop. The CPU governor finally drops frequencies and goes to sleep properly. Total system draw drops down to a healthy ~8W in idle (tested on Performance profile).

Conclusion for Devs:
The CPU governor bug on Z1 Extreme devices seems to be tightly coupled with the VRR implementation in the 3.8 branch. When VRR is active, it constantly triggers/wakes the CPU, preventing it from entering low-power C-states.

Note: A friend on Lenovo Legion Go (running 3.8.6) experiences similar high power draw (~13W-19W), but since Legion Go lacks hardware VRR support, their issue might be linked to the high display refresh rate (144Hz) interaction with the new governor.

[DavidTreeKid]

I would like to add, because no one else is mentioning it, this exact same issue is being present on the Steam Deck (LCD model), with high power draw and CPU frequencies while Idle, and while playing. At the same time this has caused also a notable performance hit.

[matte-schwartz]

the VRR + performance overlay issue will be fixed once we pick up flightlessmango/MangoHud@2c1dc52

I'll see if I can reproduce the other complaints of higher power usage when I have some time.