lags and freezes on ATI RS880 [Radeon HD 4290] with new xf86-video-ati 7.8.0

H1p8r10n · 11-25-2016, 02:21 AM

Hi,

Since the last Xorg update, I've been experiencing lags and fatal freezes in several apps (ie : MPV, Chromium).

After some troubleshooting, it happens that the problem comes from the move from xf86-video-ati 7.7.0 to xf86-video-ati 7.8.0 on cards like [AMD/ATI] RS880 [Radeon HD 4290].

If you encounter a similar issue, the following config may be needed to fix it :

Code:

Section "Device"
	Identifier  "Radeon"
	Driver "radeon"
	#Option "AccelMethod" "glamor"
	Option "AccelMethod" "exa"
	Option "DRI" "3"
	#Option "TearFree" "on"
	Option "ColorTiling" "on"
	Option "ColorTiling2D" "on"
EndSection

Hope it will be helpful to some

Cheers
JP

imitheos · 11-25-2016, 03:39 AM

In my case it is HD 6750.

Code:

% /sbin/lspci -v -s 01:00.0
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Juniper PRO [Radeon HD 6750] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
	Subsystem: PC Partner Limited / Sapphire Technology Juniper PRO [Radeon HD 6750]
	Kernel driver in use: radeon
	Kernel modules: radeon

Also take a look at this thread.

Are you sure it is xf86-video-ati's fault ? I compiled 7.8.0 version myself and used it for a day or two before it landed on -current and before that i frequently compiled the latest git (so pretty much close to 7.8.0) and didn't have any problems with it until xorg/mesa landed on current. I can't say it for sure of course but it seems more logical that either xorg or mesa is at fault.

H1p8r10n · 11-25-2016, 04:18 AM

Before I found out that a custom config is needed to solve the problem, I tested the following :

1) downgrade to xf86-video-ati 7.7.0 : it SOLVES THE PROBLEM (without any custom config)
2) patching current kernel radeon driver, "just in case" with http://www.spinics.net/lists/dri-devel/msg124318.html : it doesn't solve problem
3) upgrading kernel to 4.8.10 : it doesn't solve problem
4) try to force DRI2 : it doesn't solve problem

The only 2 solutions that work (here) are :
1) downgrade to xf86-video-ati 7.7.0
2) using the following config with xf86-video-ati 7.8.0

Code:

Section "Device"
	Identifier  "Radeon"
	Driver "radeon"
	#Option "AccelMethod" "glamor"
	Option "AccelMethod" "exa"
	Option "DRI" "3"
	#Option "TearFree" "on"
	Option "ColorTiling" "on"
	Option "ColorTiling2D" "on"
EndSection

Edit : refined config above..

polyph · 11-25-2016, 09:47 AM

I posted a similar solution here, looks like a dri2 problem but mesa downgrading don't solve it.

imitheos · 11-25-2016, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H1p8r10n

Before I found out that a custom config is needed to solve the problem, I tested the following :

1) downgrade to xf86-video-ati 7.7.0 : it SOLVES THE PROBLEM (without any custom config)
2) patching current kernel radeon driver, "just in case" with http://www.spinics.net/lists/dri-devel/msg124318.html : it doesn't solve problem
3) upgrading kernel to 4.8.10 : it doesn't solve problem
4) try to force DRI2 : it doesn't solve problem

The only 2 solutions that work (here) are :
1) downgrade to xf86-video-ati 7.7.0
2) using the following config with xf86-video-ati 7.8.0

Code:

Section "Device"
	Identifier  "Radeon"
	Driver "radeon"
	#Option "AccelMethod" "glamor"
	Option "AccelMethod" "exa"
	Option "DRI" "3"
	#Option "TearFree" "on"
	Option "ColorTiling" "on"
	Option "ColorTiling2D" "on"
EndSection

Edit : refined config above..

TL;DR I can confirm that H1p8r10n's solution works as i didn't have any crash since today morning that i did it.

Longer version:

I tried to bisect the changes up to 7.8.0 but didn't get anywhere. Maybe at some step the crash didn't trigger quickly enough and i thought it was ok and marked it bisect good. After that i began to try H1p8r10n's config. The ColorTiling options are on by default for both our cards, so the only modification is the use of glamor and dri3.

I browsed the git log to see if there are any new changes that seem to fix it and saw that glamor/dri3 is enabled for my card in the latest git tree so i compiled it (commit 487aa62, 6 commits after 7.8.0) so i essentially use the same config. I didn't have any crash from the morning till now.

I am sure that i didn't have any crashes with 7.8.0 radeon before xorg/mesa landed on -current so it may be a combination of exa/dri2 acceleration as it was modified in 7.8.0 _and_ mesa / xorg and not just radeon's fault but the bottom line is that H1p8r10n's config worked.

Kudos to H1p8r10n. Thanks.

H1p8r10n · 11-26-2016, 12:13 PM

Thanks for the feedback imitheos

Now these settings are automatically applied to radeon cards in Zenwalk.

Cheers
JP

gmgf · 11-28-2016, 01:36 AM

with mesa-12.0.4, no problem on radeon

H1p8r10n · 11-28-2016, 03:35 AM

Thanks GMG, so we have 3 solutions :

1) downgrade xf86-video-ati to 7.7.0
2) downgrade mesa to 12.0.4
3) use the config I provided above with new mesa & xf86-video-ati versions

jp