Measuring Input Latency on Linux: X11 vs Wayland, VRR, and DXVK

Measuring Input Latency on Linux: X11 vs. Wayland, VRR, and DXVK

I built a custom device to measure end-to-end input latency on Linux, testing X11 against Wayland, Variable Refresh Rate, and the dxvk-low-latency fork. Surprisingly, the main configurations performed nearly identically, while XWayland added significant lag. My data proves that many popular optimization tips are often just placebo effects rather than genuine performance gains.

"It always bothered me that I did not have a reliable way to verify whether something actually lowered the system latency or if it was just snake oil, a placebo effect, or actually worse without me realizing it."