Compatibility Report

Game Information

• Name: Geometry Dash
• Steam AppID: 322170

System Information

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB
• Driver: NVIDIA 580 (also tested with 535.309.01)
• Kernel: 6.8.0-134-generic
• Desktop Environment: XFCE
• Display Server: X11
• Distribution: Linux Mint 22.1 (Xia)
• Proton version: Proton Experimental (also tested with Proton GE)
• Monitor: HannStar U171 (1280×1024, 60 Hz / 75 Hz)

I confirm:

• [x] No third-party modifications were used during testing.
• [x] Steam Overlay disabled.
• [x] Tested on a clean installation.
• [x] Proton log attached.

Issue Description

Geometry Dash launches and is fully playable, but gameplay feels significantly less smooth when the monitor is running at 75 Hz.

The FPS counter remains stable and MangoHud shows stable frametimes, yet the game feels as if it is running well below the reported frame rate.

The issue only occurs during gameplay. Menus are generally unaffected unless the FPS cap does not match the game's internal timing.

Changing the monitor back to 60 Hz immediately restores smooth gameplay.

Reproduction Steps

1. Set the monitor to 1280×1024 @ 75 Hz.
2. Launch Geometry Dash using Proton.
3. Start any level.
4. Observe that gameplay feels much less smooth than at 60 Hz.

What I Tested

• Proton Experimental
• Proton GE
• NVIDIA Driver 535.309.01
• NVIDIA Driver 580
• Geode disabled
• Vanilla Geometry Dash
• Steam Overlay disabled
• Custom XRandR modeline (74.90 Hz)
• Stable FPS and frametimes confirmed with MangoHud
• Minecraft runs correctly at 75 Hz on the same hardware.

Additional Observation

I found a reproducible timing pattern.

Using the default 240 TPS:

• 60 FPS → smooth
• 120 FPS → smooth
• 180 FPS → smooth
• 75 FPS → feels much less smooth
• 150 FPS → feels much less smooth

Using 225 TPS (Eclipse mod):

• 75 FPS → smooth
• 150 FPS → smooth
• 225 FPS → smooth
• 120 FPS → feels much less smooth
• 180 FPS → feels much less smooth
• 240 FPS → feels much less smooth

This may be related to frame pacing or timing rather than rendering performance.

Logs

steam-322170.log