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View Full Version : [kubuntu] KDE/KInfoCenter not aware of direct acceleration (ATI)



hazica
March 31st, 2011, 07:57 AM
Hi everyone,

I am experiencing a very dubious issue with Kwin/KInfoCenter, namely: I have had inconsistent performance when Desktop effects are enabled (Sometimes it is smooth, when not a lot of apps are running. After the system has been running for a while and a lot of programs are open, the effects get choppy and rather annoying). What I have discovered as of yesterday though is this: glxinfo tells me that direct rendering is actually enabled.



raymears@raymears-laptop:~$ glxinfo | grep direct
direct rendering: Yes


I have also figured out from KInfoCenter that the whole of KDE is relatively uncertain in regards to whether there is any direct rendering available or not. Screenshot: http://img22.imageshack.us/i/kinfocenter.png/

Whereas when I do a kwin --replace, I get this contradictory information (Check out the value of "direct rendering"):



raymears@raymears-laptop:~$ kwin --replace
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
OpenGL version string: 1.4 (3.3.10524 Compatibility Profile Context)
Driver: Catalyst
Driver version: 1.4
GPU class: R700
OpenGL version: 1.4
X server version: 1.9
Linux kernel version: 2.6.35

Direct rendering: no

Requires strict binding: yes
GLSL shaders: no
Texture NPOT support: yes
QInotifyFileSystemWatcherEngine::addPaths: inotify_add_watch failed: No such file or directory
QFileSystemWatcher: failed to add paths: /home/raymears/.config/ibus/bus
Bus::open: Can not get ibus-daemon's address.


So it says it doesn't have access to direct rendering. Is this information actually relevant? Because from within the "Advanced" tab, under the "Desktop effects" configuration screen, in "System settings" I can check and uncheck the box labelled "Enable direct rendering."

And subjectively speaking, I see a difference between the two modes for the first couple of minutes after the switch. But after that, it behaves in exactly the same manner, regardless of the mode used. And I get the same FPS values in both modes.

If everything was running using indirect rendering it would explain the ******, inconsistent performance.

Other information: running Kubuntu 10.10, KDE 4.6, on a Vaio with an ATI graphics adapter, using the ATI proprietary driver, installed manually.



raymears@raymears-laptop:~$ fglrxinfo
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
OpenGL version string: 3.3.10524 Compatibility Profile Context



Any ideas why kwin doesn't play along?

Thanks

PS: I have also tried compiz, as a yardstick of sorts, and its performance is sublime. Too bad it's config and the integration with KDE are crap.