debugging slow video- nvidia geforce3

mkoco · 12-12-2009, 09:49 AM

Hi all,

I'm trying to debug the slow video performance on this machine using:

Code:

lspci | grep Ge
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV20 [GeForce3 Ti 200] (rev a3)

I installed the nvidia drivers from their website using the automated installer. Enabled "nvidia" in xorg.conf. So, it looks like its working, but things are running very sluggish. For example, running fluxbox, windows are drawn very slowly. I can't enable "opaque window moving" due to the video lag it produces. Virtual terminal windows (urxvt) refresh at a very slow/sluggish rate.

glxgears produces 3150 fps at the default resolution. So why the slug?

Here is glxinfo output:

Code:

GL_VERSION: 1.5.8 NVIDIA 96.43.14
GL_EXTENSIONS: GL_ARB_depth_texture GL_ARB_imaging GL_ARB_multisample GL_ARB_multitexture GL_ARB_occlusion_query GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object GL_ARB_point_parameters GL_ARB_point_sprite GL_ARB_shadow GL_ARB_shader_objects GL_ARB_shading_language_100 GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp GL_ARB_texture_compression GL_ARB_texture_cube_map GL_ARB_texture_env_add GL_ARB_texture_env_combine GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3 GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_ARB_texture_rectangle GL_ARB_transpose_matrix GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object GL_ARB_vertex_program GL_ARB_vertex_shader GL_ARB_window_pos GL_S3_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_env_add GL_EXT_abgr GL_EXT_bgra GL_EXT_blend_color GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_blend_subtract GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array GL_EXT_Cg_shader GL_EXT_draw_range_elements GL_EXT_fog_coord GL_EXT_gpu_program_parameters GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays GL_EXT_packed_pixels GL_EXT_paletted_texture GL_EXT_pixel_buffer_object GL_EXT_point_parameters GL_EXT_rescale_normal GL_EXT_secondary_color GL_EXT_separate_specular_color GL_EXT_shadow_funcs GL_EXT_shared_texture_palette GL_EXT_stencil_wrap GL_EXT_texture3D GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_cube_map GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp GL_EXT_texture_env_combine GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3 GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_lod GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias GL_EXT_texture_object GL_EXT_timer_query GL_EXT_vertex_array GL_HP_occlusion_test GL_IBM_rasterpos_clip GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_KTX_buffer_region GL_NV_blend_square GL_NV_copy_depth_to_color GL_NV_depth_clamp GL_NV_fence GL_NV_fog_distance GL_NV_light_max_exponent GL_NV_multisample_filter_hint GL_NV_occlusion_query GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil GL_NV_pixel_data_range GL_NV_point_sprite GL_NV_register_combiners GL_NV_register_combiners2 GL_NV_texgen_reflection GL_NV_texture_compression_vtc GL_NV_texture_env_combine4 GL_NV_texture_rectangle GL_NV_texture_shader GL_NV_texture_shader2 GL_NV_vertex_array_range GL_NV_vertex_array_range2 GL_NV_vertex_program GL_NV_vertex_program1_1 GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap GL_SGIS_multitexture GL_SGIS_texture_lod GL_SGIX_depth_texture GL_SGIX_shadow GL_SUN_slice_accum 
GL_RENDERER: GeForce3/AGP/SSE2
GL_VENDOR: NVIDIA Corporation
GLU_VERSION: 1.3
GLU_EXTENSIONS: GLU_EXT_nurbs_tessellator GLU_EXT_object_space_tess 
GLUT_API_VERSION: 5
GLUT_XLIB_IMPLEMENTATION: 15

Which brings me to another question. Is this a different version of glxinfo than I'm used to? When I was using Debian, glxinfo had a line near the top, something like:

direct rendering: Yes (or no)

But that's not here at all, is direct rendering working?

Thanks.

allend · 12-12-2009, 10:05 AM

A couple of threads about the NVIDIA 96.43.13

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ml#post3701788
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...howing-752195/

mkoco · 12-12-2009, 11:41 AM

Tried everything listed in those two threads but to no avail.

They also gave the insight that in slackware glxinfo is a symlink to glinfo and gave instructions for compiling glxinfo. I did so and now I can see direct rendering is working.

Yet its still as slow as ever.

mkoco · 12-12-2009, 02:04 PM

Well, I'm going to try compiling nouveau.

No 3D, but I don't use that anyway on this box. Decent 2d would be a start.

mkoco · 12-12-2009, 03:59 PM

Trying to use nouveau with the 2.6.32. `make menuconfig' is not picking up nouveau at all. It worked fine with a previous kernel release.

Code:

[phunk@bluBox]:/usr/src/linux-2.6.320$ ls include/drm                           
Kbuild             drm_dp_helper.h      drm_mode.h      i810_drm.h     savage_drm.h
drm.h              drm_edid.h           drm_os_linux.h  i830_drm.h     sis_drm.h
drmP.h             drm_encoder_slave.h  drm_pciids.h    i915_drm.h     ttm
drm_cache.h        drm_fb_helper.h      drm_sarea.h     mga_drm.h      via_drm.h
drm_core.h         drm_hashtab.h        drm_sman.h      nouveau_drm.h
drm_crtc.h         drm_memory.h         drm_sysfs.h     r128_drm.h
drm_crtc_helper.h  drm_mm.h             i2c             radeon_drm.h
[phunk@bluBox]:/usr/src/linux-2.6.320$ ls drivers/gpu/drm                       
Kconfig           drm_crtc_helper.c    drm_gem.c      drm_pci.c      i915
Makefile          drm_debugfs.c        drm_hashtab.c  drm_proc.c     mga
README.drm        drm_dma.c            drm_info.c     drm_scatter.c  nouveau
ati_pcigart.c     drm_dp_i2c_helper.c  drm_ioc32.c    drm_sman.c     r128
drm_agpsupport.c  drm_drawable.c       drm_ioctl.c    drm_stub.c     radeon
drm_auth.c        drm_drv.c            drm_irq.c      drm_sysfs.c    savage
drm_bufs.c        drm_edid.c           drm_lock.c     drm_vm.c       sis
drm_cache.c       drm_encoder_slave.c  drm_memory.c   i2c            tdfx
drm_context.c     drm_fb_helper.c      drm_mm.c       i810           ttm
drm_crtc.c        drm_fops.c           drm_modes.c    i830           via

As you can see, there's nouveau in the kernel source. But does not show up at all in
Device Drivers --> Graphics Support --> DRM where Nouveau should be.

Puzzled..

adamk75 · 12-13-2009, 11:03 AM

nouveau has not been fully imported into the kernel tree (though that should be changing shortly). You still need to download and compile the DRM separately. I'm not sure why you have a nouveau directory in your kernel source, but it might be the beginning of the import.

Adam

EDIT: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...item&px=Nzc5NQ

mkoco · 12-14-2009, 09:21 AM

adamk:
I was following these instructions here: http://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/InstallDRM

Nouveau is not actually in my tree, I was just linking to it as per the webpage. This method worked when I was using the 2.6.31.6 kernel, but its not working currently.

adamk75 · 12-14-2009, 09:31 AM

Then I think you need to follow up with the nouveau folks :-)

Adam