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ratdude747

Member

From: Madison, IN

Registered: 2013-07-05

Posts: 42

Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

Recently I dug out my old Sony subcompact with a 1.2GHz Core solo (U1400) and an intel 945GME integrated GPU. It has 2GB of ram and a 64GB SSD.

I've noticed that gnome shell runs VERY slow on it when I view the activities screen. Gnome classic and cinnamon run fine. Likewise, an x64 install on a similar Dell XPS M1210 (core 2 duo, also 945 graphics) runs fine.

IIRC my specs, while somewhat meager, should be enough to run the shell, right? Or is this thing just too underpowered? FWIW, it's slightly more powerful than a netbook bit with a higher resolution screen.

Anything I should check? FYI, 3d acceleration is enabled.

ratdude747

Member

From: Madison, IN

Registered: 2013-07-05

Posts: 42

Re: Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

Some other details I've noticed:

1. I didn't have this issue on my other 32 bit installs with pentium M's...
2. It mainly is an issue with loading the icons on the all programs screen... the CPU ramps up and the HDD (well, SSD) activity goes crazy. After viewing said screen once, the issue seems to lessen.

rsoul

Member

Registered: 2013-05-29

Posts: 44

Re: Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

Funnily enough I have just upgraded from a near identical system. I was running 8gb of ram though. Gnome-Shell ran fine on the laptop I was using. Some of the transition animations were a little chuggy. Can't really offer any advice as it was a long time since I set up the system and it's now dead.

---

On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], ‘Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?’ I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
Charles Babbage

Gusar

Member

Registered: 2009-08-25

Posts: 3,607

Re: Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

It's been a while since I've seen Gnome 3... does the activity screen have transparency and, even more important, blurred transparency?

The thing is, the i915 driver now advertises OpenGL 2.1, but some of the features are implemented in software, which kills performance completely if these features are used. Blur is definitely one of these features.

Try this: Create a file in /etc/profile.d with this in it:

export MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=1.4

and reboot. See if Gnome now works better. And check with glxinfo that the OpenGL renderer now says 1.4 instead of 2.1

ratdude747

Member

From: Madison, IN

Registered: 2013-07-05

Posts: 42

Re: Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

Tried it, opengl still running on 2.1. Does the file need a specific name or extension?

Gusar

Member

Registered: 2009-08-25

Posts: 3,607

Re: Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

Does the file need a specific name or extension?

Not that I'm aware of. However, it's possible that all this stuff doesn't get run if GDM is used. So if you're using GDM, exit that, log in on the console, export the variable, then do startx. The idea is to make Gnome believe you only have OpenGL 1.4, so it won't do some of the fancy effects or will do them differently.

Another option is to compile the i915g driver. That one uses dummy shaders instead of software fallbacks. The i915g packages in AUR are a bit outdated, so you'll maybe need to do some tinkering to get the driver.

ratdude747

Member

From: Madison, IN

Registered: 2013-07-05

Posts: 42

Re: Gnome 3 Slow on Intel 945

Forgot to mention: I'm using lightdm instead of gdm. Gdm wasn't any better.