Hi...

Hmmm, less than ideal, to say the least. However, apart from trying a another distribution, I have no idea what to suggest. :(

That's an excellent point, I wouldn't mark it as "SOLVED" either.

Regards...

Thinking about trying a different distro.Looks like Lubuntu may be the way to go,seeing that it x11 is native and is what my players seem to want,if I understand it correctly.

I'm assuming being in the buntu family,all the sudu and apt-get stuff is the same,so I don't have to start over.

Will I be able to use all the same software I'm currently using on Mint?

Limitations with Lubuntu vs Mint?

I was searching how to see my video card memory and ran this:

$ lspci -v -s 00:02.0

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Subsystem: Gateway, Inc. Device 0368
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 44
Memory at f0000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
I/O ports at 1800 [size=8]
Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
Capabilities: [90] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-
Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 3
Kernel driver in use: i915

I noticed 2 things here,linux seems to expect 64 bit machine and shows 256MB for video memory,which lead to another search that found this:

Intel GMA X3100 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 memory?

Many graphic-intensive applications (especially games) require a minimum amount of video memory in order to operate correctly (or even to run at all). So how much video memory does an Intel chipset-based system with "integrated graphics" have? The answer: it depends. The amount of video memory is dependent upon the amount of pre-allocated memory set for your system plus something called Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT). DVMT, as its name implies, dynamically allocates system memory for use as video memory to ensure the most efficient use of available resources for maximum 2D/3D graphics performance. The amount of video memory allocated depends upon the amount requested by the operating system. When the memory is no longer required, it is returned to the operating system for use by other applications or system functions. DVMT allocates memory based on system needs. Some newer systems have an option in the system BIOS to adjust the amount of memory available for DVMT. Memory can be allocated up to the maximum limit set by the graphics driver. The maximum limit of video memory allocated by DVMT depends on your specific Intel chipset and the version of the graphics driver installed.


The next search lead to this:

The GMA X3100 is the mobile version of the GMA X3000 used in the Intel GL960/GM965 chipsets and also in the GS965 chipset. The X3100 supports hardware transform and lighting, up to 8 programmable shader units, and up to 384 MB memory. Its display cores can run up to 333 MHz on GM965 and 320 MHz on GL960. Its render cores can run up to 500 MHz on GM965 and 400 MHz on GL960. The X3100 display unit includes a 300 MHz RAMDAC, two 25112 MHz LVDS transmitters, 2 DVO encoders, and a TV encoder. Under Windows, the driver supports DirectX 10.0,[10][11] Shader Model 4.0 and OpenGL 1.5.[11][12] Under Linux, OpenGL 2.1 is supported.


MY laptop specs:

Gateway MT6916 - 15.4" - Core 2 Duo T5250

AUDIO & VIDEO
Graphics Processor Intel GMA X3100
Memory Allocation Technology Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0
Max Allocated RAM Size 384 MB

It's very possible I'm wrong but,it seems that the i915 Kernel driver listed in the above output may be capping video memory causing the crashing of my players,unless they are run in 11x.OpenGL 2.1 is supposed to supported in linux.I would not know if it was available to me because my "Driver Manger" is blank.Like i said,this could all be nothing.

Intel video is native to Linux and you won't see anything in driver manager like you would with nvidia and amd.

Lubuntu will use the same stuff as Mint as they are from the same family tree. Your computer is older (circa Windows Vista) so you can't expect screaming performance and a lighter distro, like Lubuntu, will probably work best. I have an older Toshiba with the same type hardware and I run 32 bit Linux Lite on it and audio & video work OK...

I don't know what screaming performance is but,Mint is very snappy on my box.It handles video just fine except for one stupid bug, as video players crash upon opening,(totem crashed just trying to open the app w/out video).A reboot would correct it for a couple of hours but would happen again.with VLC/Gnome-mplayer set to output x11 I have no problems.

I could could just walk away from this because i'm running great but,it's not right and bugs me to no end.I don't really get why a diff dist would help, wouldn't same video driver be used?

A system is a lot more than just the video driver. A leaner lighter system has less overhead which consumes less memory and runs more efficiently. It's your system, use what you want...

I understand the leaner/lighter/less concept,I'm actually only stupid when it comes to Linux.I'm only using 20% of my 3.9GB of memory with 6 tabs open in chrome and a video playing so I don't think it gets much lighter than that.

Appreciated this:



"Intel video is native to Linux and you won't see anything in driver manager like you would with nvidia and amd"

Lot's threads about this and not one person bothered to put it that way.

It's not just memory, it's CPU cycles as well. Lighter distros tend to be optimized for running well on older hardware where the mainstream distros, like Mint, are not. My old Toshiba laptop runs very well on Linux Lite and MX-14 as both "respect" the older hardware. Again, just giving advice based on actual experience do with it what you will...

MST246, i just read a thread http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ip-4175538635/
- so it seems others have your problem, too, and it is not distro-specific.

the linux world has moved on, and no coder can be bothered anymore to improve implementations for this old chip.
there's no judgement in my words, it's just a fact.
that said, if you search hard and are willing to get your terminal fingers dirty, there might be some "last minute" attempts out there, that never made it into any distros repository, but actually work better than the standard i915.

you also want to enable VLC's advanced preferences and see what you can tweak there.

my first idea was to disable hardware decoding completely and use software only, just for troubleshooting (performance would probably be abysmal). if that works, you can try using similar settings on mplayer or mpv, which are much more lightweight than vlc.

That guy had more problems than I.I'm thinking there are many variables at work here having to do with the implementation of the GM965/GL960 chip by the machine manufacturer and the implementation of the i915 driver and linux kernel per distro.I'm now trying out Linux Lite and after 2 days no video issues at all (VLC video output set to automatic)so far.A lot I like about this dist.Only one problem that I will be soon posting in the software section.I guess I've solved my problem.Thanks to all for the input.

You're welcome, I'm glad you were able to get it resolved. :)

Regards...

Your Welcome-