Jaunty + Intel Graphics = very slow Desktop Effects

[vitorsouza]

I just installed Alpha 4, did all the updates, etc. etc. Almost everything is running very smoothly. It's a really nice alpha, this one.

One problem is that desktop effects are very very slow. Don't know why. I had to turn them off for the system to become usable. In fact, at times it would turn itself off automatically because it detected it was being too slow.

Any suggestions other than sit and wait? Anyone knows how to diagnose what the exact problem is (intel driver, xorg config, kde itself)?

Thanks,

Vítor Souza

[dmordan]

I am also seeing the same performance slowdowns on Alpha 4.  I had KDE4.2 installed on 8.10 and did not encounter this issue.  The fade out and fade in from the login screen happens at a snails pace.  This is on a Dell D620 with 2 GB of DDR2 Ram and an Intel 945GM graphics adapter.

Anyone else seeing this?

[ofir]

I also have the same problem

It is annoying! I can't work since it is so slow.

The only solution seems to turn it off.

Anyone has a better idea?

[ofir]

The related bug (I think...):
https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/303011

Is there anyone who knows what to do? If this bug won't be fixed before the release, the desktop will be unusable for users who owns intel graphic cards!

[GreyGeek]

Last August I treated myself to a new Sony VAIO VGN-FW140E/H laptop with dual core 2.16GHz CPUs, 3 Gb RAM, webcam AND the new Intel Mobile 4 Series video chip (G45).  It features a 1600X900 HD display.  That was the reason I bought it, that and the announcement made at the same time this laptop was announced that Intel had released a Linux driver for the video chip.

When I installed Mandriva 2009 PP on it I discovered that I could NOT get accelerated video, so I had to settle on VESA.  I posted a bug report about it and followed it for several months.  Last month they finally found out why the Linux Intel driver didn't work on the IM4S chip.  I figured that it would take another 4 to 6 months for the fix to make it to the kernel and work its way back down to the Intel driver and to Mandriva.

Then I read a posting about Mandriva posting KDE 4.2 rpms on the KDE website.  Sure enough, they were there.  I added that URL to my sources.list, reloaded Synaptic and checked the "task-kde4.2" check box.  500Mb later I rebooted .... and ran into an instant disaster.  While researching how to back the "update" back out I saw a posting about KDE 4.2 being part of Kubuntu 9.04 beta5.   

After I restored 4.1.3 on my Mandriva installation I downloaded the LiveDVD burned it to an DVD, and rebooted.  Was I shocked!        I couldn't believe how fast it  was, and when I checked the display settings I noticed that it was  1600X900 and glxgears reported 850 fps.  So, I installed my video "canary" app, Stellarium, and ran it.  ZOOOOOM!  It displayed almost instantly. 

So, as soon as 9.04 goes gold this laptop is going Kubuntu.

Fantastic job, folks!

[noworry]

Same problem in Kubuntu Jaunty Alpha 5 !!
I am also having very slow graphics performance (xorg) in my HP nc6400 laptop with Intel 945 GM.
Even typing with the keys in firefox (now) or typing any commands in konsole itself is very slow and visibly sluggish.
All the times, Xorg is occupying almost 70 % of cpu and i don't know for what reason !!

BTW, I never had this problem in Kubuntu Intrepid with KDE 4.2 !!

Could somebody please help and resolve this issue before the final release ?

[Kubuntu Computer Geek]

Same problem in Kubuntu Jaunty Alpha 5 !!
I am also having very slow graphics performance (xorg) in my HP nc6400 laptop with Intel 945 GM.
Even typing with the keys in firefox (now) or typing any commands in konsole itself is very slow and visibly sluggish.
All the times, Xorg is occupying almost 70 % of cpu and i don't know for what reason !!

BTW, I never had this problem in Kubuntu Intrepid with KDE 4.2 !!

Could somebody please help and resolve this issue before the final release ?

It is probably because the propritary drivers arent available yet.

[noworry]

This problem is for the default intel graphics available in most of the intel chipsets.

If the drivers are working fine in older versions like intrepid, why not in jaunty?

[Kubuntu Computer Geek]

This problem is for the default intel graphics available in most of the intel chipsets.

If the drivers are working fine in older versions like intrepid, why not in jaunty?

probably a kernel bug

[figura]

I've upgraded my Dell Latitude D620 to Jaunty from Intrepid.  Did a clean install, actually, and I'm seeing similar slow graphics.  My system is similar to dmordan's: 2GB ram, intel 945GM graphics adapter.

kubuntu upgrades up to date as of post time.
I'm seeing about 90-120fps on glxgears, and xorg is taking about 45% of CPU time.  It fluctuates from 30 to 60%.

I see roughly the same behavior whether compositing effects are turned on or off - slow in EITHER case.

The system lags behind drastically when composing email in kmail and other kde-based apps.  I've seen a bunch of people talking about the slow compositing, but I'm seeing dreadful behavior even with NO compositing.

[mando_hacker]

I think the problem is you want xserver-xorg-video-intel to drive your display, but if you look you will find you have xserver-xorg-video-i740 installed also and it is hijacking you display. So do
sudo aptitude purge xserver-xorg-video-i740
and it will remove xserver-xorg-video-i740 and xserver-xorg-video-all. When that is done a reboot will give you much better performance.

[The Liquidator]

A very interesting post mando_hacker. I did wonder at one point why, when I have an intel 915 card, and only that one, the drivers for virtually every other card on the planet are installed too. I had worried about the removal of the "all" package.

Looks worth a go as whilst I can't say my graphics are slow it still doesn't seem to be able to run any desktop effects.

Ian

[yhotg]

hi again
i did that mando_hacker, and it really got better, but i needed to start closing effects (& closing amarok). i was thinking on just close all the effects of compositing (if i knew how to, lol)

any other idea? 'cos it is so cool jaunty WITH the effects

[mando_hacker]

xserver-xorg-video-all is a meta package that exists to depend on all the xserver-xorg drivers. Install it you get the others, like the kde package, install it you get a lot (maybe all) of kde. If you are going to install a new video adapter you probably want to install that package first, or the xserver that you know you will need.

To disable desktop effects use k->System Settings->Desktop.
Select Desktop effects on the left and you will see the controls. You can disable all desktop effects or go to all effects and enable only what you want.

[rmallis]

Is it enough to remove the packages in Synaptic? (or completely remove?) I tried the sudo aptitude purge and it threatened to remove half of kde for some reason. 

Regarding xserver-xorg-video-i740, is it that the system is trying to use multiple drivers at the same time and that's what's causing the bugs?

Do I have to remove xserver-xorg-video-i128 and all other ixxx too?

Thanks.