What should it be: agpgart or nvagp ?!

nykey · 06-03-2006, 10:59 AM

Ok, now I'm about to change kernels to 2.6.16.19 and recompile it. My issue is, should I disable agpgart and dri from kernel and use NvAgp ? And if I should use NvAgp is it ok to remove agpgart and DRI from the kernel or should I leave it as a module at least ? Hope this is enough info for someone to tell me what I should do. If anything more needed please ask and I'll post it right away. Thanks alot.

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/status
Status:          Enabled
Driver:          AGPGART
AGP Rate:        4x
Fast Writes:     Disabled
SBA:             Disabled

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/card
Fast Writes:     Supported
SBA:             Supported
AGP Rates:       4x 2x 1x
Registers:       0x1f000217:0x1f000104

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/host-bridge
Host Bridge:     Intel Corp. 82845G/GL [Brookdale-G] Chipset Host Bridge
Fast Writes:     Supported
SBA:             Supported
AGP Rates:       4x 2x 1x
Registers:       0x1f000217:0x00000104

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/cards/0
Model:           GeForce FX 5600
IRQ:             12
Video BIOS:      04.31.20.64.00
Card Type:       AGP
DMA Size:        32 bits
DMA Mask:        0xffffffff

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/registry
VideoMemoryTypeOverride: 1
EnableVia4x: 0
EnableALiAGP: 0
NvAGP: 3
ReqAGPRate: 15
EnableAGPSBA: 0
EnableAGPFW: 0
SoftEDIDs: 1
Mobile: 4294967295
ResmanDebugLevel: 4294967295
FlatPanelMode: 0
DevicesConnected: 0
VideoEnhancement: 0
RmLogonRC: 1
VbiosFromROM: 0
ModifyDeviceFiles: 1
DeviceFileUID: 0
DeviceFileGID: 0
DeviceFileMode: 438
RemapLimit: 0
UseCPA: 4294967295
DetectPrimaryVga: 1
SaveVBios: 0
EnableBrightnessControl: 0
PanelPWMFrequency: 1018
PanelBrightnessLimits: 65280

Code:

root@nykey:~# lspci
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV31 [GeForce FX 5600] (rev a1)

Linux~Powered · 06-03-2006, 11:27 AM

Quote:

My issue is, should I disable agpgart and dri from kernel and use NvAgp ? And if I should use NvAgp is it ok to remove agpgart and DRI from the kernel or should I leave it as a module at least ?

Try both. On my box I get better performance with the agpgart vs. NvAgp. If you decide to use NvAgp keep the agpgart built as a module.

nykey · 06-03-2006, 11:36 AM

Ok, will do that, but how can I find out wich performs better... will it be clearly visible or I need a testing software or something (benchmark???) if that's needed what would be the name of it.
Oh, and what should I do about DRI support, should I disable it in kernel config or leave it enabled (module or not?).

Linux~Powered · 06-03-2006, 01:49 PM

You can use glxgears to check your frame rates. Just leave DRI as a module. I was getting 3000 fps with the NvAgp and 6700+ with agpgart, so you're going to have to play with it a few times to see what works best with your hardware. Also, check your frames in a game as well. glxgears works well, but games is where it really counts.

nykey · 06-03-2006, 04:05 PM

Ok, well I've tried them all, with NvAGP then AGPGART (compiled as module first and after compiled into kernel), I even changed options on/off PCI/AGP etc for video card in BIOS. Properly rebooted after each modification to ensure all will be loaded ok and ran glxgears each time, but the thing is that I had the same result with any of them +/- 3-4 FPS. I now choosed to use the AGPGART built into my kernel (not as module) and the Intel Chipset support.

Linux~Powered, here are my results (same with every option or AGP used):

Code:

name of display: :0.0
display: :0  screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
server glx vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
server glx version string: 1.4

Code:

root@nykey:~# glxgears
11259 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2251.650 FPS
11269 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2253.763 FPS
11258 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2251.597 FPS
11259 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2251.783 FPS

What video card do you have ? Is it so much different, or what ... how can you get 6700+ FPS and I get 2253-2255 FPS top. What does make the diference besize the video card ? I have in my signature a few more info about the PC if one of those may count. BTW take a look at this:

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/card
Fast Writes:     Supported
SBA:             Supported
AGP Rates:       4x 2x 1x
Registers:       0x1f000217:0x1f000104

and my status shows:

Code:

root@nykey:~# cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/status
Status:          Enabled
Driver:          AGPGART
AGP Rate:        4x
Fast Writes:     Disabled
SBA:             Disabled

If I would to enable Fast Writes and/or SBA, would that make a difference, cause as you see my card supports but they are disabled, and how can I enable them ? And also now, when I click Right Click on some white font and the menu appears (the one with Create New ->...) it leaves a black stain of it's form. It didn't do this before as far as I can remember.
I'm sorry but I really do know so much about video cards/AGP/etc ... Thanks for your help, looking forward to your answer.

Linux~Powered · 06-03-2006, 09:23 PM

Those rates are about right for your card. I had that exact card and those were the rates I was getting with it. I upgraded just a little over a month ago to an Nvida e-GeForce 6800 128MB and I got about 4000+ more frames when I ran glxgears. Enabling Fast Writes and SBA isn't going to increase your rates much, if any. If you want them enabled you have to edit a file when you're installing the Nvidia driver and add this string to your /etc/modules.conf file...

options nvidia NVreg_EnableAGPSBA=1 NVreg_EnableAGPFW=1

nykey · 06-04-2006, 03:06 PM

But if I enable them, can something go wrong and screw anything up ?

pdw_hu · 06-05-2006, 06:54 AM

It is highly unlikely. And even if, you can just reboot with a bootfloppy/cd and disable them.

Old_Fogie · 06-06-2006, 11:35 PM

The only reason I see that one might want to use the gart that comes with the video card is if the linux kernel is not seeing and loading the specific and right gart for your motherboard. If linux didn't know how to work your AGP slot right then you would use the agp that comes with the video card's drivers.

edited for clarity.