Guide to Get the Best Performace from the GMA 500

**sammyboy405** · August 2nd, 2009

-------- Ubuntu 10.10 -----------
Requirements:
Ubuntu 10.10 Installed
Internet Connection

These instructions are based off information from this wiki

There are other ways of doing what I do .. Do it how you see fit But these are the Steps I took to get Everything working Properly.

1.

Code:

Open A Term Windows

2.

Code:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gma500/ppa && sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install poulsbo-driver-2d poulsbo-driver-3d poulsbo-config

3.

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Add the Following: Should fix the Brightness Key

Code:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_osi=Linux acpi_backlight=vendor"

If you have 1GB Of Ram Add this:

Code:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="mem=896mb"

If you have 2GB of Ram Add this:

Code:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="mem=1920mb"

Now Run
4.

Code:

sudo update-grub

5. Reboot

6. Open a Term Window
7. Run

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Make your xorg.conf look something like this:

Code:

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Configured Video Device"
        Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"
        Option "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
        Option "ExaNoComposite" "true"
EndSection

(Optional) add the following to the bottom of your xorg.conf file this will allow you to be able to do a CTRL+ALT+Backspace to restart your GUI/X11 session.

Code:

Section "ServerFlags"
        Option  "DontZap"       "False"
EndSection

Add the following Line at your risk. It could have mixed results. Ive have very good luck thus far performance wise with it.

Code:

        "AccelMethod" "UXA"

If you use this you need to change to the following as well.

Code:

        Option "UxaNoComposite" "true"

8. Reboot Once more and your done unless you want Compiz. Continue on if you would like to install compiz.
9. Download http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1338581/poul...004um3_all.deb
10. Open a Term Window
11. Run (from the location you downloaded it to. Most likely [~/Downloads])

Code:

sudo dpkg -i poulsbo-config_0.1.2~1004um3_all.deb

-- Note keep this file around you will need it if you update your kernel.

12. Check you xorg.conf file.. This is only a precautionary measure. A Couple of times my xorg.conf went blank after installing the custom poulsbo-config

Code:

cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

13. Now install Compiz

Code:

sudo apt-get install compiz

14. Reboot and You should now be able to enable effects..

Ive tested this procedures a couple of times on a Dell Mini 1010 and it seems to work fine.

However if ANYONE can figure out how to get Unity to work let me know. The whole reason I put 10.10 back on my Netbook was for Unity and it dont work. There is a Bug open here http://code.google.com/p/gma500/issues/detail?id=39 for more information.

I Hope this helps everyone.

-------------------- Everything Below is Only for 9.10 ----------
*Update* If you are trying Out 9.10 Karmic. You can get some good install Instructions here http://swiss.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1253406 All the Performance tweaks found here on this thread will still work on 9.10 after you have installed the driver. Just Make sure you have the Latest and Greatest Kernel installed before proceeding with the 9.10 version of the GMA 500 drivers *Update*

Im Modifying these procedures and Including New steps, and tweaks that have been proven to work thus far. This should work for any system having a GMA500 Video Chipset. Although it was written using a Dell Mini 10. So I Have not tested it on any other system. But there is no reason why it wouldn't work on other systems.

Before Starting this Make sure you have the Latest Kernel. As of right now its .15 But if there is one Higher Make sure you have it before performing the steps below.

First lets check to make sure you have the latest Kernel version before we proceed.
From the Terminal:

Code:

uname -a

This will display your Kernel version. If it is 2.6.28.15 or Higher You are done. And continue down below. If it is not then do the following steps:

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Reboot
go back into a terminal

Code:

uname -a

Make sure your Upgrade happened. If it did and you want to get rid of your old Kernel you can do:

Code:

sudo apt-get autoremove

If not, no harm done, it wont hurt anything to leave it other than eat up about 100meg of space. Just continue on with the Guide.

---Continue on From here if you have the Newest Kernel Version---

From the Terminal:
Add this to your repository

Code:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-mobile.list

add these 2 lines

Code:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

then ctrl+o (which saves it)
Then ctrl+x (To Exit)

Now you need to authenticate the keys

Code:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys C6598A30

[/code]Now that your Ubuntu-Mobile Key is added do the Following.

The Following Packages need to be Installed Most are Dependences.

* psb-firmware - Binary firmware for the Poulsbo (psb) 3D X11 driver
* psb-modules - Kernel module built for -generic or -lpia kernel
* psb-kernel-source - Kernel module for the Poulsbo (psb) 2D X11 driver
* psb-kernel-headers - Kernel module headers for the Poulsbo (psb) 2D X11 driver
* xpsb-glx - X11 drivers for Poulsbo (psb) 3D acceleration
* poulsbo-driver-3d - Metapackage for the 3D Poulsbo (psb) X11 driver.
* poulsbo-driver-2d - Metapackage for the 2D Poulsbo (psb) X11 driver.

From a Terminal (this should install all the above):

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install poulsbo-driver-2d poulsbo-driver-3d psb-firmware

Reboot
Make sure you have NO USB devices Hooked up as this will cause conflicting results with the poulsbo-driver-3d drivers. (see fix below for stability)

Once rebooted open a terminal and make a back up of your xorg.conf file.(fresh install may have a null xorg.conf file this is normal and ok)

Code:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

Open up your xorg.conf and add the below contents inside it.

Code:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Make the Section "Device" Look like this :

Code:

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Configured Video Device"
        Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"
        Option "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
EndSection

(Optional) add the following to the bottom of your xorg.conf file this will allow you to be able to do a CTRL+ALT+Backspace to restart your GUI/X11 session.

Code:

Section "ServerFlags"
        Option  "DontZap"       "False"
EndSection

Add the following Line at your risk. It could have mixed results. Ive have very good luck thus far performance wise with it.

Code:

        "AccelMethod" "UXA"

Reboot one last time and you should be rocking and rolling. Now what this did is allow the 3d Drivers to be installed and are in Partial use. Compiz and any other 3d Software "May" Not work I haven't 100% tested it. But modifying your xorg.conf with the above setting will allow you to be able to use External USB Devices with out random freezes.

If you have a fresh install you may need to recheck your xorg.conf file after you reboot as when the xserver configures itself it may put back the default settings. Those that had xserver setup before hand you should be fine. But if you feel that something isnt right, you may want to go and check your xorg.conf file again and be sure that the options are still there.

Leave out the xorg.conf if you don't plan on using anything USB. Although since your keyboard / touch-pad is technically USB I still had random Freezes Have 3d Enabled.

So I Highly Recommend using my xorg.conf example. I have had great success with it.

For those who are getting DRM errors after Upgrading from / to a new Kernel after doing the Old Procedures I had listed here do the following.

Code:

sudo apt-get install psb-kernel-source

Reboot and then you should be good to go again. You may want to add the 3d to give you some extra performance. If so just start from the top of this message and start from the beginning like you where installing for the first time. and that should do the trick.

I want to thank the MyDellMini Forum members who helped me sort all this out and been patient with me. meecect and durj. If you have a Dell Mini and need some more additional help or want to be in our community follow the link MyDellMini

Also for those Brave souls who would like to take things a step further and tweak the performance. Follow the Guide / Step / Suggestion found here on the Ubuntu forums. Do not do those Steps unless you know what you are doing. It Does require some Linux Knowledge. And It has you upgrade to the 2.6.30 Kernel. So it "May" not work with the PSB Drivers. The Tweaking guide was written for desktop style Intel Video cards and not Portable. So use this information at your own risk if you decide to play with tweaking the performance. Ive gone as far as I can take it until I decide to bite the bullet and try out the 2.6.30 Kernel. Once I get some more time I will play with 2.6.30.

I wrote this kinda quick, im hoping I haven't left anything out. This should work on Kubuntu and Ubuntu. I have not Tried Xubuntu, But I bet it will work fine on it as well.

I will do my best to keep this updated as new versions come out. And fixes for existing issues like the USB / 3d issue.

**sammyboy405** · August 2nd, 2009

some Typo's fixed and Additional links added.

**duanedesign** · August 3rd, 2009

great contribution.

I am sure GMA500 Video Chipset and Dell Mini 10 owners will greatly appreciate this.

**s-tobe** · August 3rd, 2009

is this procedure valid for netbook remix 9.04 on my asus 1101ha as well or for just plain jaunty j.

I tried this procedure on UNR 9.10 and it failed on install xserver-xorg-video-psb which was failing due to libdrm-poulsbo1. If I install the libdrm-poulsbo1 package the netbook remix and all other xserver packages will be removed. That seems to be destructive.

Is there a solution for Karmic in case the above answer is NO?

**gururise** · August 3rd, 2009

So can anyone confirm if 3d and video acceleration are working? I know there are some patches for Mplayer to add va-api, will those work with this driver? I really want to get rid of Vista on my Acer Aspire One (AO751h)

**sammyboy405** · August 4th, 2009

Originally Posted by gururise

So can anyone confirm if 3d and video acceleration are working? I know there are some patches for Mplayer to add va-api, will those work with this driver? I really want to get rid of Vista on my Acer Aspire One (AO751h)

3d Works. But there is a catch 22

if you dont use anything USB 3d will work. The minute you plug anything in or do anything with USB you will either freeze immediately or have random freezes. I had compiz running quite nicely, I just cant deal with the freezes because I use a USB Mouse and a External HD sometimes.

in the xorg.conf file the option for DRI is disabling the 3d part but still allowing, I think they called the XV drawing feature to still work wich gives you a little bit more of a graphics performance boost.

And yes when I made this I should of just Put Ubuntu 9.04 All Variants.

Glxgears for me is showing an avg of about 124fps Not sure how good glxgears is though.

**crgutierrez** · September 26th, 2009

Nope, it does not. The only reason I keep Vista on my AO751h is that the front ic does not work. everything else fine! Best regards from Costa Rica.Carlos

**foggydude** · August 19th, 2009

Originally Posted by s-tobe

is this procedure valid for netbook remix 9.04 on my asus 1101ha as well or for just plain jaunty j.

I tried this procedure on UNR 9.10 and it failed on install xserver-xorg-video-psb which was failing due to libdrm-poulsbo1. If I install the libdrm-poulsbo1 package the netbook remix and all other xserver packages will be removed. That seems to be destructive.

Is there a solution for Karmic in case the above answer is NO?

i cant get it with cause something that seems close

Code:

/$ sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-glx xserver-xorg-video-psb libdrm-poulsbo1 psb-modules psb-kernel-source psb-kernel-headers xpsb-glx poulsbo-driver-3d poulsbo-driver-2d

(the above are the packages suggested by the how to AND some packages that apt-get said were dependencies that it was not going to install itself

output:

Code:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
libgl1-mesa-glx is already the newest version.
psb-modules is already the newest version.
psb-modules set to manually installed.
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
  libdrm-poulsbo1: Conflicts: libdrm2 but 2.4.12+git20090806.d74c67fb-0ubuntu0sarvatt is to be installed
E: Broken packages

im reaaally not looking forward to downgrade or even to reinstall. so is there a solution? Or just wait till time will solve (and use windows in the meantime: it sucks, but works). but at least this post gives me a sparkle of hope. please tell me that its doable in Karmic...

**divan0** · August 12th, 2009

Great news! Thank you for sharing this!

**lindsredding** · August 21st, 2009

Thanks so much for this.

I was keen to try Ubuntu on my new Acer Aspire One AO751H but having spent a couple of days banging my head off the slow graphics problem which rendered the OS all but unusable and getting nowhere, I was about to uninstall and setle for the pre-installed WinXP.

I followed your (excelent and clear) instructions, and behold - UNR is now snappy, responsive and looking very nice. No problems so far with using the USB ports either.

Thanks again - I've been listening to people banging on about Linux for years and never taken the plunge - now I see what all the fuss is about!

Cheers

Linds

Auckland, New Zealand

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