Jakub conducted latency tests in June 2026 comparing gaming performance on Linux KDE Plasma 6.6 Wayland and Windows 11, finding Windows 11 achieved about 4 milliseconds lower latency under variable refresh rate (VRR) conditions [1].

The tests used two computers—a desktop and laptop—each equipped with Ada-generation RTX GPUs and Zen 4 CPUs. Both ran the same display, an LG C1 at 120 Hz over HDMI, to ensure consistency [2, 3]. Latency was measured using a Teensy microcontroller masquerading as a USB HID mouse paired with a light sensor pressed against the screen, capturing click-to-photon delays [2, 1, 3].

On Linux, the software stack included KDE Wayland 6.6.4, Proton-GE 10-33, and MangoHud 0.8.2 for FPS limiting. Windows 11 testing controlled frame rate via the Nvidia control panel or RTSS [2, 3].

Jakub developed patches for KDE KWin aimed at lowering gaming latency. The proposed improvements boost minimum latency by approximately 1.1 to 1.2 milliseconds, helping close the latency gap with Windows [1]. Jakub said, "The gains in windowed games & apps should be substantial. V-Sync fullscreen games (with direct scanout) should see a benefit of a millisecond or so. Games using VRR, or fullscreen games where tearing is allowed, will generally not see reduced latency from these changes as long as they stay at or below the refresh rate. These improvements go some of the way to closing the gap between Linux and Windows. There’s about 1.1-1.2 ms gained in the minimums, while the gap between platforms in their best measurements with VRR was somewhere around 4 ms" [1].

The patches have not been submitted upstream yet and will miss inclusion in the upcoming Plasma 6.7 release [1].

Jakub noted challenges in tightly controlling hardware and software variables during testing. Some behaviors of the LG webOS display, like toggling black frame insertion and delayed V-Sync mode changes, affected latency measurements [2, 3].

Further testing is planned with Radeon GPUs and gamescope to explore additional avenues for improving KDE Plasma’s low-latency gaming performance on Wayland [2, 1]. Jakub aims to submit the patches for mainstream KDE KWin inclusion in the weeks after June 2026 [1].