ARC A370M Freezes entire OS when running Godot game engine editor

[Grezzz]

Hi,

Attached the template files as requested.

The TLDR is that the Godot game engine editor freezes the entire laptop while the Intel Arc A370M card is active. It becomes impossible to recover, and the machine has to be powered off.

Some additional background behind the issue:

• Started using Godot in December 2023 - I regularly update gfx driver updates and every version of the graphics drivers I've tried since December has produced the same crash issue
• Have also updated all other hardware drivers, including flashing the bios
• Have tried Godot 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 (the two latest releases)
• Have tried all 3 rendering options on Godot (including compatibility mode) and all three freeze
• Disabling the Arc card in device manager allows the game engine editor to run without crashing by just using the Iris Xe card, but obviously the performance is prohibitive to games development
• I have tried enabling the Arc card in device manager but told windows to use the Iris Xe card for Godot - this still produces a crash. I would have expected this to work as the Arc card should be bypassed, but it freezes anyway. Only disabling the card entirely seems to stop the freezes.
• I haven't experienced any crashes while waiting on the project-selection screen of the Godot editor. That's not to say it wouldn't happen eventually, but my experience so far suggests it might not happen until a project is open.
• I also haven't experienced any crashes while playing a Godot game - I can export my project as a separate executable (the same project that kills my OS in the editor), and if I leave it open using the Arc card it doesn't seem to crash. This seems to be specific to the Godot engine editor application.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get any meaningful crash logs from Godot itself as the OS basically just stops functioning at the point of freezing up.

Let me know if you need any more info - I'll do whatever I can do help. I'm at the point where I need to buy a new laptop if there isn't a fix for this.

I'll also report this to the Godot team and see if they have any ideas.

Cheers,

Grezzz

[Grezzz]

Have also tried rolling back to the LTS version of Godot (3.5.3) and this also gives the same freeze issue.

There seems to be something fundamentally broken between the Godot game engine editor and the A370M.

I would appreciate anybody who has access to an A370M card giving this a try and letting me know if they experience the same issues.

Cheers,

Grezzz

[H_Mlysgeek]

Hello there Grezzz...

It seems like you’ve already done a lot of troubleshooting on your own. Here are a few additional suggestions that might help:

1. Driver Updates: Ensure that you have the latest drivers for your Intel Arc A370M card . Sometimes, manufacturers release updates that fix compatibility issues with specific software.

2. Godot Settings: You mentioned that you’ve tried all 3 rendering options on Godot. Have you also tried adjusting other settings within Godot? Sometimes, certain features or settings can cause compatibility issues.

3. System Settings: Check your system’s power settings. Sometimes, aggressive power-saving settings can cause issues with graphics performance.

4. Software Conflicts: Ensure there are no other software that might be conflicting with Godot or your graphics card. This could include other game engines, graphics-intensive software, or even certain background applications.

Remember, it’s always a good idea to back up your data before making any major changes to your system. I hope these suggestions help.

Regards,

Harry

[Grezzz]

---

@H_Mlysgeek wrote:

Hello there Grezzz...

It seems like you’ve already done a lot of troubleshooting on your own. Here are a few additional suggestions that might help:

1. Driver Updates: Ensure that you have the latest drivers for your Intel Arc A370M card . Sometimes, manufacturers release updates that fix compatibility issues with specific software.

2. Godot Settings: You mentioned that you’ve tried all 3 rendering options on Godot. Have you also tried adjusting other settings within Godot? Sometimes, certain features or settings can cause compatibility issues.

3. System Settings: Check your system’s power settings. Sometimes, aggressive power-saving settings can cause issues with graphics performance.

4. Software Conflicts: Ensure there are no other software that might be conflicting with Godot or your graphics card. This could include other game engines, graphics-intensive software, or even certain background applications.

Remember, it’s always a good idea to back up your data before making any major changes to your system. I hope these suggestions help.

Regards,

Harry

---

Hi Harry,

Thanks for the suggestions. I've taken a look at each of the points you raised.

1. I've ensured that the graphics drivers are the latest Intel drivers, but I have also just tried going through the ASUS website to use their drivers - This is a Zenbook Pro 15 Flip OLED (UP6502, 12th Gen Intel) laptop so I have installed the GFX/dGFX drivers they provide. Unfortunately the machine still freezes.

2. This is tricky. A game engine like Godot has hundreds of options so it's hard to know what to change. I think changing the rendering mode seems like the most obvious approach, but I have also switched between Godot 3.5.3 (the LTS version version which uses GLES) and Godot 4 (Latest version which uses Vulkan) and both still freeze the machine when using the Intel Arc card. I'm unsure what else would be worth changing but open to suggestions.

3. I have tried using multiple power options. I run the laptop unplugged at times which uses a balanced power/battery approach, but when plugged in it runs on the highest performance settings. The machine freezes on both settings.

4. I tested this today while reading this post, and the machine crashed with just the Godot game engine and a web browser open. Seems unlikely to be software conflicts.

Since re-enabling the Arc card to test these issues I have noticed another issue while running the Arc card - I get some minor graphical tearing while running my game. I had never noticed this before because I've always had it disabled while developing. This is a fairly simple 2D game, but when I move quickly in-game there is some tearing with certain objects in the scene. This tearing has never occurred using just the Intel Iris Xe GFX, and never occurs on my desktop machine (using an Nvidia card).

Any other ideas that I can test?

Cheers,

Grezzz

[Grezzz]

Just as an FYI on other things I've tried since yesterday:

1. Deleted all Godot related data from my appdata folders, essentially forcing a complete settings reset for Godot
2. Ran a windows reinstall (on the "fix" mode, so not a full reformat)

Unfortunately neither helped with the freezing issue.

Starting to think there's a fundamental compatibility issue.

[Mike_Intel]

Hello Grezzz,

Thank you for posting in Intel community Forum.

Can you help generate the SSU logs of your system for us to further check this issue?

Kindly download the utility here:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18377/intel-system-support-utility-for-windows.html

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Grezzz]

---

@Mike_Intel wrote:

Hello Grezzz,

Thank you for posting in Intel community Forum.

Can you help generate the SSU logs of your system for us to further check this issue?

Kindly download the utility here:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18377/intel-system-support-utility-for-windows.html

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

---

Hi Michael,

This is already attached the the first post in the thread as SSU.txt

Cheers,

Grezzz

[Mike_Intel]

Hello Grezzz,

Thank you for the quick reply.

We may need to do further investigation on this issue so we are still asking for the following details.

1. Did you already updated the BIOS of your laptop?
2. Can you share videos of the issue and how to land in the exact problem that may help us if we try this in our lab?
3. Where can we download this app? is it free?

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Grezzz]

---

@Mike_Intel wrote:

Hello Grezzz,

Thank you for the quick reply.

We may need to do further investigation on this issue so we are still asking for the following details.

1. Did you already updated the BIOS of your laptop?
2. Can you share videos of the issue and how to land in the exact problem that may help us if we try this in our lab?
3. Where can we download this app? is it free?

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

---

Hi Michael,

1. Yes I have updated the BIOS. I'm currently using BIOS version 312 for the ASUS UP6502ZD. I'm unsure what the original bios version was - it will be whatever the machine shipped with.

2. I have recorded steps to download the application, set it up and recreate the issue. There's nothing interesting to show when the issue occurs because it's just the machine frozen - but hopefully the video helps you recreate it. See video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtF93fY6c2s

To set your expectations the freezes usually happen within around 5-10mins, but I have had times when I've managed to use the application for over an hour without a freeze, so it's not completely reliable. I'm unsure whether actively developing things / using background applications etc affects how long it'll run for before freezing, but it's a lot less tedious to test if you have some audio playing so that you can hear when it freezes rather than having to constantly check the machine.

3. Details in the video, but https://godotengine.org/ - yes it's free.

Cheers,

Grezzz

[Mike_Intel]

Hello Grezzz,

Thank you for the information provided.

We will do further research on this matter and post the response on this thread once it is available.
Have a fantastic day, and thank you very much for your patience and understanding!

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician