topic Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580 in Graphics

Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 08:13:14 GMT

I have two errors that are likely connected, but not necessarily. Withing gnome apps (for example the file explorer) I get extreme visual artifacting, making most applications unusable. Setting GSK_RENDERER=gl in /etc/environment fixes this. Secondly, VAAPI is broken. Running vainfo returns

Trying display: wayland
libva info: VA-API version 1.22.0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22
Bus error (core dumped)

Regarding the visual issue, (I only noticed vaapi later, so I didn't check) I tried using Fedora, which has the same issues and Kubuntu, which didn't have any issues, but any installed gnome app has the same issues.
I did some digging and tried to find the cause of this. During that, I found the GSK_RENDERER=gl workaround.
As additional information I found out that:
VAAPI fails on nmap (by running strace -f -o /tmp/vainfo.strace vainfo --display drm)

Also, I think ReBar doesn't work properly. In my BIOS: Rebar is set to auto (there is only auto and disabled), above 4g decoding is on and CSM is off.

I will remove GSK_RENDERER=gl and take some pictures for you shortly.

Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 08:27:16 GMT

Here are two screenshots (second one taken before changes were applied, cropped for privacy). I remember the glitching to be far worse, with colored squares everywhere and similar stuff. Maybe it got better, maybe this was just luck. Additionaly, I want to add two things I forgot: My issues started since my fresh install of ubuntu 25.10, the only major change I made to the system was to switch to kisak-mesa to see if it would help. Also forgot that sometimes VAAPI seemed to work perfectly, altough I havent' been able to reproduce that in the last few boots.

Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

JedG_Intel — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:50:37 GMT

Hello Jonathan_123,

Thank you for posting on Intel Community Forum.

To address the issue properly, please share the information below.

1. What kernel version are you using?

2. Does the visual artifacting occur only in Wayland, or also in X11 sessions?

3. Are you using a laptop or desktop system?

Additionally, to have a better understanding of your system configuration and components please generate a complete copy of the System Support Utility (SSU) report. Please follow instructions here and send the report - Help Guide for the Intel® System Support Utility

I look forward to your response.

Best regards

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:11:24 GMT

Hi Jed,

Thanks for the quick response.

My kernel version, as reported by 'uname -r' is 6.17.0-8-generic.

In Ubuntu 25.10, x11 is not included anymore, so I can't directly test it.
But 'vainfo --display x11' does give the same error.

I am using a desktop pc. I did build it myself, so there is the possibility that I did something wrong.

For some reason I can't upload the system report, so you can download it here: https://we.tl/t-F8Y1mLcvZY

Thanks

Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

JedG_Intel — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 06:41:33 GMT

Hello Jonathan_123,

Thank you for sharing all this information. I'll review them thoroughly and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Best regards

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

JedG_Intel — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 05:50:53 GMT

Hello Jonathan_123,

I’m reaching out to provide you with some additional details based on my recent review. After checking, I found that the officially supported version of Ubuntu for this configuration is 25.04. For your reference, please consult the following documentation: Installing Client GPUs — Intel® software for general purpose GPU capabilities documentation.

To proceed, kindly install Ubuntu version 25.04 and verify if the issue still occurs after the installation. This step will help us ensure compatibility and narrow down the root cause. Please let me know the results so we can determine the next steps together.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 06:13:36 GMT

Hi Jed,
I'll try 25.04 over the weekend and get back to you. But I'm a bit confused, as the page you linked me says that 25.10 has support for battlemage and that 25.04 or newer works well with Battlemage requiring Kernel 6.14.
Thanks

Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

JedG_Intel — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 07:36:35 GMT

Hello Jonathan_123,

Thank you for sharing your feedback, and I apologize for any confusion caused. To clarify, while Ubuntu version 25.10 does include support for Battlemage, version 25.04 is currently more optimized for your graphics card.

Please try installing version 25.04 and let us know if the issue persists. If it does, we’ll be happy to continue troubleshooting and work toward a resolution together.

Best regards

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 20:26:07 GMT

So I installed Ubuntu 25.04 now, the graphical glitches are gone but vaapi and steam don't work. Here is the chain of events, as well as I can remember:

During the installation I left "Install third-party software for Graphics and Wifi hardware" deliberately unchecked. After the installation I updated, changed some settings, installed vainfo and steam over as well as installing flatpak. I then rebooted, got a weird "Internal software has experienced an error" (along those lines) as well as a Ubuntu "Internal system error". After rebooting again, this did not reappear. I then ran vainfo, still getting the same 'Bus error (core dumped)'. Steam doesn't launch, I also tried reinstalling via snap which didn't help. I then followed the guide you linked, rebooted and tried again, both vainfo and steam don't work.
I tried launching with x11, didn't help.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it beforehand, but Steam didn't work at the start on my old system, I don't remember exactly, but I thing using the GSK_RENDERER=gl workaround fixed it. But on the old system, I could run steam from the command line, with it printing the following every few seconds:

reaping pid: 35031 -- sh steamwebhelper.sh[35607]: Starting steamwebhelper under bootstrap steamrt steam runtime via: /home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/steamrt64/steam-runtime-steamrt/_v2-entry-point steamwebhelper.sh[35607]: Starting steamwebhelper with steamrt steam runtime at /home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/steamrt64/steam-runtime-steamrt/_v2-entry-point exec ./steamwebhelper -nocrashdialog -lang=en_US -cachedir=/home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/config/htmlcache -steampid=35030 -buildid=1763795278 -steamid=76561199250080655 -logdir=/home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/logs -uimode=7 -startcount=2 -steamuniverse=Public -realm=Global -clientui=/home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/clientui -steampath=/home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/ubuntu12_32/steam -launcher=0 --valve-enable-site-isolation --enable-smooth-scrolling --disable-gpu-compositing --disable-gpu --password-store=basic --log-file=/home/jonathan-kuhn/.steam/debian-installation/logs/cef_log.txt --disable-quick-menu --disable-component-update --gaia-url=http://disabled.invalid --disable-features=WinRetrieveSuggestionsOnlyOnDemand,SpareRendererForSitePerProcess,DcheckIsFatal,BlockPromptsIfIgnoredOften,ValveFFmpegAllowLowDelayHEVC

but now I can't even run it from the command line, telling me it is a different issue now.

Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

JedG_Intel — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 05:40:07 GMT

Hello Jonathan_123,

Thank you for the detailed response. It's good to hear that the graphical glitches are gone, but since there's still issue with Steam and VAAPI, I'll continue to look into it. I will get back to you with an update as soon as it's available.

Best regards

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re:Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

KentRusselP_Intel — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:09:54 GMT

Hi Jonathan_123,

I hope you're doing well, and thank you for your patience! It appears there is an issue with the installation of Ubuntu 25.04. However, please note that we can only address one issue per Intel Community thread. With that in mind, kindly create a new thread for this specific concern.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Rest assured, we will provide support on the new thread.

I will now proceed to close this inquiry. If you need further assistance or have additional questions, please feel free to submit a new request. Please note that this thread will no longer be monitored once closed.

Best regards,

Kent Russel P.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:56:46 GMT

Are you referring to the errors I had on my first boot and the new issues with starting steam? Otherwise please clarify yourself.
The part of my original issue of concerning VAAPI not working is still not fixed and is exactly the same as before the reinstall. If possible, I would like to keep this open until my original issue is fixed.

Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 09:27:27 GMT

I don't know if ReBAR being disfunctional is connected to VAAPI, but I would anyways like to add that ReBAR also doesn't work on Windows 11. Doing further troubleshooting using GPU-Z shows that Above 4G decoding seems to be disabled, ReBAR disabled and CSM enabled when they are correctly set in the BIOS.

Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

Jonathan_123 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:43:42 GMT

CSM enabled itself after rebooting. Disabling CSM and then forcing Secure Boot to be on (in the same BIOS session) somehow fixed both ReBAR and VAAPI. Why VAAPI is dependent on ReBAR i don't know, but it works now so i don't really care. Steam also launches now. I will mark this as fixed. Thanks for your time.

Re: Graphics glitches and VAAPI broken in ubuntu 25.10, Arc B580

RobertBernecky — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 22:50:32 GMT

I had similar problems with my AMD Thunderbird 3970X system, with vainfo crashing with a bus error.

Eventually, reading Jonathon_123's post of 2025-12-30 (Why can't people write timestamps in

ISO Standard form?), I looked into CSM again and realized that it has to be DISABLED to allow

resize BAR to work. Disabling CSM in the BIOS allowed vainfo to work properly, just in time for

Groundhog Day 2026! Thank you all.