Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

Misfit138 · 2009-03-23 14:03:02

Allan wrote:

Thanks, with that config I can get this "working"...
So, I remove my Xorg config completely, boot with "i915.modeset=1" on the kernel line and things seem to go well. When boot gets to the udev line, the resolution in all my vt/x increases. Go, go, framebuffer. Then X actually works.
From my xorg log, I can see UXA is activated by default so KMS appears to work. glxgears still ~520 FPS, which is slower than with UXA and no KMS. The games I use to test (chromium-bsu and extreme-tux-racer) still run badly.

It's a conspiracy.

nightfrost · 2009-03-23 14:43:25

Allan wrote:

Thanks, with that config I can get this "working"...
So, I remove my Xorg config completely, boot with "i915.modeset=1" on the kernel line and things seem to go well. When boot gets to the udev line, the resolution in all my vt/x increases. Go, go, framebuffer. Then X actually works.
From my xorg log, I can see UXA is activated by default so KMS appears to work. glxgears still ~520 FPS, which is slower than with UXA and no KMS. The games I use to test (chromium-bsu and extreme-tux-racer) still run badly.

Hm. That's too bad. (I don't think the glxgears issue matters though, but the games should run well).

Maybe you could also try updating libgl, intel-dri, and mesa to 7.4-rc1.

I'm gonna install etracer and see where it gets me.

EDIT: Also, there might be something to this: http://jasondclinton.livejournal.com/72910.html

Last edited by nightfrost (2009-03-23 14:46:50)

bangkok_manouel · 2009-03-23 14:45:49

When boot gets to the udev line, the resolution in all my vt/x increases.

this is confusing me a bit. when i'm using vesafb, i'm in framebuffer earlier in the boot process. should i include any module in the kernel image to get this working earlier? i'm not using any special kernel command line BTW, i tried what Allan just used and in that case, the resolution will not change.

nightfrost · 2009-03-23 14:53:51

bangkok_manouel wrote:

When boot gets to the udev line, the resolution in all my vt/x increases.
this is confusing me a bit. when i'm using vesafb, i'm in framebuffer earlier in the boot process. should i include any module in the kernel image to get this working earlier? i'm not using any special kernel command line BTW, i tried what Allan just used and in that case, the resolution will not change.

I put this in /etc/mkinicpio.conf

MODULES="intel_agp drm i915"

bangkok_manouel · 2009-03-23 15:03:14

nightfrost wrote:

bangkok_manouel wrote:
When boot gets to the udev line, the resolution in all my vt/x increases.
this is confusing me a bit. when i'm using vesafb, i'm in framebuffer earlier in the boot process. should i include any module in the kernel image to get this working earlier? i'm not using any special kernel command line BTW, i tried what Allan just used and in that case, the resolution will not change.
I put this in /etc/mkinicpio.conf
MODULES="intel_agp drm i915"

ok it worked, thanks! last thing, not that i care that much but i dont have any logo showing up anymore... any idea?

nightfrost · 2009-03-23 15:11:55

Allan, I just tried etracer here and it runs smoothly @ my native resolution. Nothing to complain about.
I get ~20 fps with the ondemand governor (and its bug). With the performance governor, I get ~30 fps. This is on g45.
What are your figures?

Allan · 2009-03-23 15:26:45

Adding that MODULEs line to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf enables the framebuffer earlier but makes no difference overall.

Where do you get FPS for etracer? I don't see an option to display them. With chromuim-bsu I get ~10FPS with 2.6.29 (with disabled cpufreq governors) but get ~50FPS in 2.6.28 with UXA.

nightfrost · 2009-03-23 15:54:24

Allan wrote:

Where do you get FPS for etracer? I don't see an option to display them.

Configuration -> Graphics -> Display FPS.

nightfrost · 2009-03-23 15:59:39

chromium is one seriously cool game! Nice!

I get ~50 fps with performance governor. And about 40 without.

fijam · 2009-03-25 18:43:53

In the case of tuxracer the choice of governor makes a huge difference for me.
ondemand ~40fps
performance ~120fps

hacosta · 2009-03-25 19:10:57

Anyone knows how am i supposed to enable kms? i read on the dev ml that i had to set option i915 modeset=1 (i supposed he meant options).. anyway, can any one point me to TFM?

Damnshock · 2009-03-25 20:04:21

hacosta wrote:

Anyone knows how am i supposed to enable kms? i read on the dev ml that i had to set option i915 modeset=1 (i supposed he meant options).. anyway, can any one point me to TFM?

Look some posts up and you'll have your answer

nightfrost · 2009-03-25 20:24:43

hacosta wrote:

Anyone knows how am i supposed to enable kms? i read on the dev ml that i had to set option i915 modeset=1 (i supposed he meant options).. anyway, can any one point me to TFM?

Add i915.modeset=1 on the grub command line. I was kinda confused about this at first myself, because the first you'll see after booting is something to the effect of "i915.modeset=1 unknown option". But it actually does what it's supposed to.

eldragon · 2009-03-25 20:30:36

2.6.29 and UXA freezes the computer, only rebooting through sysrq keys work..........anyone experiencing this? UXA used to work with 2.6.28

nightfrost · 2009-03-25 20:34:56

eldragon wrote:

2.6.29 and UXA freezes the computer, only rebooting through sysrq keys work..........anyone experiencing this? UXA used to work with 2.6.28

Are you using the intel driver from [testing]? You could try a git tip to see if that helps? FWIW, I'm not experiencing crashes, but a couple of other weirdnesses.

fijam · 2009-03-25 21:11:01

eldragon wrote:

2.6.29 and UXA freezes the computer, only rebooting through sysrq keys work..........anyone experiencing this? UXA used to work with 2.6.28

I had a similar problem, adding MODULES="intel_agp drm i915" to mkinitcpio.conf fixed it for me. YMMV

ianux · 2009-03-26 01:06:05

Hi Arch users,
I achieved to enable KMS using kernel 2.6.29 and xf86-video-intel 2.6.99.902 (both from testing) on a Lenovo 3000 N200 laptop with a 965GM GC with all the tips given above (thanks guys!).
Everything seems to work fine but there's a few things I wanted to know:
- KMS is enabled only after udev is started. Is there a way to enable it right after kernel boot (I've added intel_agp drm & i915 in mkinitcpio.conf)?
- Switching from X to VT is smooth and fast, but switching back to X still makes the screen flicker. Is that normal? I noticed this in Xorg.0.log:

(II) AIGLX: Suspending AIGLX clients for VT switch
(II) Open ACPI successful (/var/run/acpid.socket)
(II) AIGLX: Resuming AIGLX clients after VT switch

Is that behavior related to AIGLX? I don't think so, since removing xorg.conf make X enable it (and UXA and DRI2) anyway, so I think this is the expected behavior from X and/or Intel driver with KMS...

hacosta · 2009-03-26 01:44:13

I have the exact same problem as ianux, also.. X seems slower and doesn't seem to be using the same depth as before now (using UXA).. Anyone else experiencing this?

mika91 · 2009-03-26 12:53:35

I follow your instructions, but it doesn't work for me.

KMS is not enabled, even if I made modifications in boot and /etc/mkinicpio.conf.
In dmesg, i915.modeset=1 is unknown option.
And when I start X, it freezes on black screen.

without i915.modeset=1, I can start X, but in EXA (no UXA with HAL)

What did I missed ? (2.6.29 kenel and all testing packages)

Last edited by mika91 (2009-03-26 12:55:04)

Allan · 2009-03-26 13:09:43

You have built your own kernel? The kernel in [testing] does not enable CONFIG_DRM_I915_KMS.

mika91 · 2009-03-26 13:24:25

Ok, so I need to compile my own kernel ?
I think it would be enabled in [testing] kernel.
Thanks

nightfrost · 2009-03-26 13:35:29

Allan wrote:

You have built your own kernel? The kernel in [testing] does not enable CONFIG_DRM_I915_KMS.

As far as I understand, modetsetting is now part of the i915 module, period. The CONFIG_DRM_I915 option is merely a question of whether modesetting should be enabled by default or not. If it's not set, as is the case with the arch kernel, you just have to add i915.modeset=1 at the grub boot line (and, possibly, "options i915 modeset=1" to /etc/modprobe.conf).

For what it's worth, I have modesetting working just fine with the official kernel from [testing]. The instructions are all to be found in this thread. Also, I should note that I also see the complaint that "i915.modeset=1 is an unknown option", but still, KMS does work properly on my two laptops.

Last edited by nightfrost (2009-03-26 13:37:26)

Allan · 2009-03-26 13:47:43

nightfrost wrote:

Allan wrote:
You have built your own kernel? The kernel in [testing] does not enable CONFIG_DRM_I915_KMS.
As far as I understand, modetsetting is now part of the i915 module, period. The CONFIG_DRM_I915 option is merely a question of whether modesetting should be enabled by default or not. If it's not set, as is the case with the arch kernel, you just have to add i915.modeset=1 at the grub boot line (and, possibly, "options i915 modeset=1" to /etc/modprobe.conf).

I tried with just the "i915.modeset=1" at the grub boot line and it did not work. I guess you now MUST add the modules to /etc/mkinicpio.conf. I will be trying all this out again at the weekend.

Sharpeee · 2009-03-26 13:49:42

I have KMS working fine here as well, but other than that X is horribly slow! I can't use compiz anymore, as my 3d performance is totally gone. I have tested my 3d performance in 'tuxracer' (the old one as I can't even play 'etracer' with my normal config) and it's unplayable right now. I have gone from ~1450 fps to ~500 fps in 'glxgears' (I know it's not a benchmark, but the performance drop is quite significant I think).

Does anybody know when we will see a brighter future? I'm a little tired of not having proper video overlay with my normal setup (I normally use 'xorg-server 1.4.2' and 'xf86-video-intel 2.3.2').

mika91 · 2009-03-26 13:55:21

For what it's worth, I have modesetting working just fine with the official kernel from [testing]. The instructions are all to be found in this thread. Also, I should note that I also see the complaint that "i915.modeset=1 is an unknown option", but still, KMS does work properly on my two laptops.

How do you see that KMS works ?
I followed all this post instructions, but it doesn't work for me.
The console resolution don't change when I boot, and X freezes my system (only hard reboot possible)

Do you use HAL or have an xorg.conf ?
Please share it thanks

Arch Linux

#26 2009-03-23 14:03:02

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#27 2009-03-23 14:43:25

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#28 2009-03-23 14:45:49

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#29 2009-03-23 14:53:51

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#30 2009-03-23 15:03:14

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#31 2009-03-23 15:11:55

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#32 2009-03-23 15:26:45

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#33 2009-03-23 15:54:24

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#34 2009-03-23 15:59:39

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#35 2009-03-25 18:43:53

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#36 2009-03-25 19:10:57

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#37 2009-03-25 20:04:21

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#38 2009-03-25 20:24:43

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#39 2009-03-25 20:30:36

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#40 2009-03-25 20:34:56

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#41 2009-03-25 21:11:01

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#42 2009-03-26 01:06:05

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#43 2009-03-26 01:44:13

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#44 2009-03-26 12:53:35

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#45 2009-03-26 13:09:43

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#46 2009-03-26 13:24:25

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#47 2009-03-26 13:35:29

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#48 2009-03-26 13:47:43

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#49 2009-03-26 13:49:42

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

#50 2009-03-26 13:55:21

Re: Intel 945GM, Xorg, Kernel - performance

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