HOWTO: Jaunty Intel Graphics Performance Guide

[tormod]

I want to bump the -intel driver in the x-updates PPA to 2.9.0 (the last version with UMS support), and of course make sure it works with the Jaunty kernel (this PPA should have as few dependencies as possible).

I would therefore need some volunteers to test the packages I have pushed to the intel-gfx-testing PPA at https://launchpad.net/~intel-gfx-testing/+archive/ppa (libdrm and xserver-xorg-video-intel).

If feedback is good I'll move this to x-updates. Thanks.

EDIT: Done

[alx818]

[quote=tormod;8110205]I want to bump the -intel driver in the x-updates PPA to 2.9.0 (the last version with UMS support), and of course make sure it works with the Jaunty kernel (this PPA should have as few dependencies as possible).

I had problems with xserver-xorg-video-intel version 2.9.0 on my notebook (Intel GMA 4500MHD):
When the external monitor was connected, the maximum resolution was 960x600 pixels on the internal screen, the external monitor didn't work.
When the external monitor was connected, the graphical output was completely unrecognizable (colored thin rectangles).
I'm using Optimal Configuration from this forum post.

Now, I reinstalled version 2.7.1 and it works fine again

If I should test 2.9.0, what infos would you need?

[rbroom]

I want to second problems with the 2.9.0 version of xserver-xorg-video-intel.

My Intel-based video (on the Asus P5Q-EM system board) on Jaunty went to 1280x1024 max, and couldn't detect the monitor type.

I reverted to the previous package version and the problem went away.

If you point me to the right spot for a bug report I'll file one and supply details.

[SteveMcQwark]

Yes, I also have issues with your version. I don't think you should keep this package in X-Updates, since it defeats the purpose of the ppa. You should have tested the functionality of your package before uploading it tbh.

[TrevT93]

Fourthing (that's a word, right?) problems. I'm using an Intel 945GMS Express, and unless I remove the packages we were supposed to upgrade to in the instructions, I cannot set my video resolution to anything higher than 1024 x 768. Also using Optimal.

Any specific reason for this? I've followed these instructions before (in Ubuntu, same computer, though I'm using Kubuntu now) and it has worked wonders on my graphics.

[ednso]

Hi,

Same problem here with Intel GM 965 and updated package xserver-xorg-video-intel, version 2.9.0.

What I did was to downgrade to the Jaunty official package, 2.6.3, and now every thing is working fine again, although I have had a hard system lock.

I am using kernel 2.6.30-02063009-generic. I was wondering if kernel 2.6.31-x would work better with the 2.9.0 version of Intel driver...

Thanks and bye.

[baucha_linux]

Hi,

Same problem here with Intel GM 965 and updated package xserver-xorg-video-intel, version 2.9.0...........



....I was wondering if kernel 2.6.31-x would work better with the 2.9.0 version of Intel driver...

I also confirm newer xserver-xorg-video-intel version 2.9.0 from X-Updates has problem. I am on intelGM965 and as soon as i updated, my screen size went to 880X600 display even though the system settings showed resolution of 1280X800 (resolution was infact 1280X800, only the display area was reduced to 800X600) .

I am using latest kernel 2.6.31.4. I tried with 2.6.28-15 kernel also but it's the same, no change. finally i had to downgrade the package to 2.70.1 which was working then everything was fixed. I warn user to be careful with 2.9.0 till it's fixed.

EDIT: It seems people were facing similar problems while this driver was in Edgers. I found the info in previous page 121 of this thread

1. It is all explained on the xorg-edgers PPA page
2. It has also been reported in launchpad #447181 (how I found this thread)
3. There is nothing wrong with the driver that needs to / will be fixed
4. The latest -intel drivers have dropped support for UMS (user mode setting) and only use KMS (kernel mode setting) so the kernel has to run with KMS enabled
5. The Jaunty kernel needs the "i915.modeset=1" boot option to enable KMS
6. Karmic kernels have KMS enabled by default. They also contain many fixes to the kernel part of the intel driver stack.

So guys it seems we have to enable KMS in jaunty kernel. good luck.

Cheers!!

[Orographic]

Luckily I have a spare internal drive that I do my testing on. It has a fully up to date Jaunty image on it. I have the Safe Configuration here and I tried downloading the update that came this morning via Update Manager, named 'XServer-xorg-video-intel'. It has frozen me to a low resolution on my 22" Ben Q Screen.

Monitor is not recognised anymore and I can't change the settings. I have a Gigabyte 945GZM-S2 with onboard intel graphics. The Safe Configuration has been working fine until now.

I will avoid the update on my main drive for now.

[Orographic]

I should also say that I tested the 'XServer-xorg-video-intel' update from Update Manager on a fully updated Jaunty drive that didn't have the Safe Configuration settings from this thread and everything seemed to work well at first. When I tried full screen video via iView it still had tearing and stuttering. At about 80% fullscreen there does appear to be some improvement from prior to this update but not a lot.

[scarf]

WOW!

i notice a huge improvement with the 2.9.0 version!! yeah! my old laptop is finally performing like i was used to with intrepid! in short, i think all problems are resolved!

i have the 82852/855GM and have followed the safe configuration.

with this new update:

- webpages are loading faster, nearly instantly again
- webpages are scrolling as fast as i want them to using the hyperscroll on my logitech mouse, and stopping on a dime (before there was so much lag, sometimes several seconds before the page view would catch up with me)
- scrolling in man pages (in gnome-terminal), openoffice, and evince is also working correctly again
- penguin racer now runs without turning my whole screen white! i turned up all the settings and ran it at 1280x768, and i was getting 7-15 FPS. i had to turn it down to 640x480 to get a significant improvement to 12-18 FPS

see this thread for my previous gtkperf results:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...&postcount=616

current results using same settings (1000 rounds and maximized):

GtkPerf 0.40 - Starting testing: Sat Oct 17 19:34:56 2009

GtkEntry - time:  0.93
GtkComboBox - time: 27.75
GtkComboBoxEntry - time: 18.74
GtkSpinButton - time:  4.73
GtkProgressBar - time:  8.09
GtkToggleButton - time:  5.12
GtkCheckButton - time:  4.04
GtkRadioButton - time:  7.88
GtkTextView - Add text - time: 165.50
GtkTextView - Scroll - time: 16.29
GtkDrawingArea - Lines - time: 47.55
GtkDrawingArea - Circles - time: 54.72
GtkDrawingArea - Text - time: 14.97
GtkDrawingArea - Pixbufs - time:  1.73
 --- 
Total time: 378.05

the "GtkTextView - Add text" test is still the (very) weak link. why is it so slow to add text?