Valve has released SteamOS 3.8.28 Beta with a fix for a performance problem affecting systems equipped with discrete AMD graphics cards.
According to the update notes, some games could run at reduced performance after a SteamOS system entered sleep mode and was later resumed. SteamOS 3.8.28 addresses that problem, although Valve has not identified the affected AMD GPU generations or explained how large the performance loss could be.
The fix applies to systems using dedicated AMD graphics, which includes Valve's Steam Machine.
| Detail | SteamOS 3.8.28 Beta |
|---|---|
| Main fix | Reduced game performance after sleep and resume |
| Affected hardware | Systems with discrete AMD GPUs |
| Steam Machine affected | Yes |
| Specific GPU generations | Not disclosed |
| Performance loss before fix | Not disclosed |
| Release channel | Beta and Preview |
| Stable release | Not yet specified |
AMD discrete GPUs could lose performance after waking
The main change in SteamOS 3.8.28 is narrowly focused on sleep and resume behavior.
Valve says it fixed an issue where gaming performance could become degraded after a system resumed from sleep when using a discrete AMD GPU.
The changelog does not provide further technical details.
There is no list of affected Radeon architectures, graphics cards, or performance figures showing how severe the slowdown could become.
That means it is unclear whether the bug affected all AMD dedicated GPUs supported by SteamOS or only certain configurations.
For affected systems, the practical problem was that simply suspending and waking the machine could result in lower gaming performance until the issue was corrected.
Steam Machine is among the affected systems
The fix is particularly relevant to Valve's Steam Machine because it uses discrete AMD graphics.
Sleep and resume behavior is an important part of the console style experience Valve is trying to deliver with SteamOS.
A performance reduction after waking would undermine one of the benefits of being able to suspend a gaming session and return to it quickly.
SteamOS 3.8.28 should prevent that specific GPU performance problem on affected hardware.
Valve has not said whether a restart was required to restore normal GPU performance before this update.
Valve has fixed other resume problems before
This is not the first time SteamOS has received a patch for reduced performance after sleep.
Valve previously addressed a separate Steam Machine problem where CPU performance could remain reduced after the system resumed from sleep.
In that case, restarting the machine was required to restore normal performance.
The new SteamOS 3.8.28 update instead refers specifically to AMD discrete GPUs.
That suggests the latest problem may be separate from the earlier CPU related issue, although Valve has not confirmed whether the two bugs share the same underlying cause.
RDNA1 and RDNA2 systems also received earlier fixes
SteamOS 3.9.1 Preview previously included additional suspend and resume fixes targeting systems using RDNA1 and RDNA2 dedicated graphics.
Valve has not explained whether those earlier changes are related to the new SteamOS 3.8.28 fix.
They may be separate bugs affecting different stages of the sleep and resume process.
Without additional technical notes, there is no confirmation that the latest fix is limited to RDNA1 or RDNA2 hardware.
The only requirement stated in the 3.8.28 changelog is the presence of a discrete AMD GPU.
SteamOS 3.8.28 remains a beta update
SteamOS 3.8.28 is currently available through the Beta and Preview update channels.
These channels include features and fixes that Valve is still testing before wider deployment.
You can opt into them by opening Settings, selecting System, and changing the System Update Channel.
Because this is not yet described as a stable release, anyone who does not experience the AMD GPU issue may prefer to remain on the standard channel until the fix reaches a broader SteamOS version.
For systems affected by degraded gaming performance after sleep, however, SteamOS 3.8.28 provides a direct fix and continues Valve's recent work on improving suspend and resume reliability across SteamOS hardware.
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