Xfree 4.3.0

[laclasse]

Yihahaha, the Open Source DRI modules for the radeon M9 do rock on Xfree 4.3.0.

Here is a brief comparaison:

Radeon vs fglrx :

-Pros : increased stability, ability to use properly all resolutions, DGA extension non proprietary ( needed for correct full screen apps and mouse control in fullscreen ), Same motion compensation in Video Overlay ( Xv version 2.2 ).
As well, when i played OpenGL based 3D games ( quake2, quake3, RtCW etc... ), my processor was always maxing out at 100 %. No matter what. Even a glxgears with the ATI prop drivers will max it out, making the box very hot, and forcing me to throttle the processor to at least 25 % for long games.

But the radeon DRI module, not !!! I play quake3 Arena with no throttle and use only 20/30 % of my 2.4 Ghz processor. Much more stable, i can leave the gamme running for ages with no bad high temperature at all. Please let me know if any can observe this as well.

Cons: Umm, well performance is lower. The Mesa OpenGL library has far less extensions than the ATI provided one, especially pBuffers extensions and textures compressions for ut2k3. So i am afraid, NO ut2k3 on the DRI radeon modules. I have dropped something like 10/30 fps average compare to the ATI drivers, on all games. ;(

Tips:
--When you have Xfree 4.3.0 running accelerated with the radeon module, it default to agp x1. This is why i believe some of us have VERY low performance. To change this, just add the line Option "AGPMode" "4" in the driver section, like this:


Section "Device"
Identifier "ATI 9000 Mobility"
Driver "radeon"
# VideoRam 65536
Option "AGPMode" "4"
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection

If you want to know all the avalaible options of the radeon drivers, here:
http://www.xfree86.org/4.3.0/radeon.4.html

Overall, yes the ATI drivers kick when it comes to performance. Remember that the DRI is in constant developpement, and if you cvs the latest source code, you already will have an improvement over the stock Radeon module of Xfree 4.3.0. Please comment.


:banana: :banana:

[chiphart]

Originally posted by laclasse

Tips:
--When you have Xfree 4.3.0 running accelerated with the radeon module, it default to agp x1. This is why i believe some of us have VERY low performance. To change this, just add the line Option "AGPMode" "4" in the driver section, like this:


As always, THANKS. I'll try it momentarily.

[chiphart]

Originally posted by chiphart
As always, THANKS. I'll try it momentarily.

OK, quoting myself.

I've loaded 4.3.0 (no problems, no changes). Indeed, glxinfo gives me this:

direct rendering: Yes OpenGL
vendor string: Tungsten Graphics, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI R200 20020827 AGP 1x x86/MMX/SSE TCL

However, I've got the following in my XF86Config file:


Identifier "ATI Radeon Mobility 9000"
Driver "radeon"
VendorName "ATI Radeon Mobility 9000" BoardName "ATI Radeon Mobility 9000"
Option "AGPMode" "4"
Option "AGPFastWrite" "1"
Option "ForcePCIMode" "1"

Sure enough, when I check my "Driver Info" in quake, I'm still at 1x AGP and "slow" (slow == 25-50FPS and not the 125+ I was getting).

Thoughts? Typos I've made?

Thanks!

[laclasse]

Chiphart,

Two things :

1) Get rid off or comment the 'AGP Fast Write option' as it does not work on these drivers. It can lead you to bad corruption of your XF86Config file.

2) Get rid of or comment the 'Force PCI' option as well. Try using exactly the same option i have posted.


Then you should get :
OpenGL vendor string: Tungsten Graphics, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI R200 20020827 AGP 4x x86/MMX TCL

Note the AGP 4x. Hope that helps. Let me know if successful.


:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[chiphart]

Originally posted by laclasse
Chiphart,

Two things :

1) Get rid off or comment the 'AGP Fast Write option' as it does not work on these drivers. It can lead you to bad corruption of your XF86Config file.

2) Get rid of or comment the 'Force PCI' option as well. Try using exactly the same option i have posted.


Then you should get :
OpenGL vendor string: Tungsten Graphics, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI R200 20020827 AGP 4x x86/MMX TCL


First, I'll have to boot into Linux after lunch to confirm, but:

I originally only had the "4" option on in XF; IIRC, the glxinfo gave me the right 4x AGP response. However, I was still miiiighty slow (relatively) in Q3.

So, I used the URL you gave that outlines the Radeon driver options and I found those two - turning them on seemed to have no effect. However, now that you point these comments, I realize that I was listed at 4x AGP before I had them on and 1x after...though Q3 is still massively slower. Thoughts?

Thanks.

[laclasse]

Well, i get average of 60/90 FPS in q3a at 1024x768 32 bit Full textures, Trilinear Filtering.

Yes it is 'SLOW' as compare to the fglrx drivers. Let me know you're exact performance.

As well what is your AGP aperture size ? This is set in the Bios. Now if you gonna change that, be AWARE: Are you dual booting Win32 and linux ? If so, my win 2k Adv Serv on my desktop, running an ATI 9000 Hercules Pro 128 DDR, had VERY BAD issues with the change in AGP aperture size. I had to re install the win display drivers. Linux has no problems with this.

I use a 256 Meg AGP Aperture size, with 512 DDR Ram on the system. So try changing the aperture size in the Bios, plus the correct options in XF86Config(-4).

Then, at module load you should have:

Linux agpgart interface v0.99 (c) Jeff Hartmann
agpgart: Maximum main memory to use for agp memory: 439M
agpgart: Detected Intel i845 chipset
agpgart: AGP aperture is 256M @ 0xe0000000
[drm] AGP 0.99 aperture @ 0xe0000000 256MB
[drm] Initialized radeon 1.7.0 20020828 on minor 0

Hope that helps.

[chiphart]

Well, before I go change my apeture size...

My FPS right now is 20-60 (I use the q3tourney file) with the new drivers where, before 4.3.0, I could get 125+. Moreover, changing the AGP option to "4" didn't seem to make ANY difference (q3, glxgears, armegetron).

I'll try it all anyway...booting now.

[NeoCORE]

I was considering updating... but I think I will stick with the ATI drivers for now... and throttle the CPU if need be. Cause... I couldn't live without UT2k3 :D

[chiphart]

OK, made the BIOS change - windows booted fine. However, no change on the Linux side (AGP is 4 now, but speed is still slower).

Thoughts?

[laclasse]

Umm, define slow.
By the way, anychances to launch Xchat or similar chat client and come to irc.damaged.net irc server and to join the #sager channel. I am on there right now. Could probe a bit more.
Cheers.

[NeoCORE]

Wish I could join you's but I am in work, and the only open port is 80 :(

Damn firewall :mad:

[chiphart]

We're chatting now - I never IRC, so it's funny...I had to find a client on my machine...-anyway, what I'm learning:

- running in a window speeds up my FPS
- with the new drivers, my machine only uses ~10-20% of the CPU during Q3. Vs 100%.

More if I learn anything.

[NeoCORE]

hmm... now there is a first... running in a window under windows would definetly slow the game down... and to be honest I would prefer if the game was in a window anyway, especially back in the days when I had anytime dial-up access that dropped every 2 hours when I was quite happily tfc'in

To be honest... on the surface it is all these wee nigly things that make linux so great!

[NeoCORE]

quick question if you's are watching this, when do you recon Xfree will support pBuffers extensions and textures compressions for ut2k3... soon :D?

[laclasse]

Umm, Chip is out. Come back to IRC.

Neocore, are ya working for a reseller ? Qube somit in UK ? Nice.

As well, i am afraid the gamin loose perfs under the DRI radeon driver module, compare to ATI. Let alone the processor usage. But soon i believe it will kick even better a**. The windowed mode is better for me, this is why i have a 1400x1050 screen, so i can play at 1024x768 and still keep on eye on dll, irc, network, and gkrellm monitor. When ya use linux you become control freak, and hate having to fac a GUI that leaves you hopeless in knowing if ya box has crashed or not.

At least in linux, you know. So far i run a few games and they are all FAR running better than playable at these settings ( windowed 1024x768).

Neocore, umm, ya talked about webspace ? Yes please. Got a connection home ? Try to IRC...be nice.

[NeoCORE]

Hey laclasse,

Qube Computer Systems is a UK reseller... basically I got my Sager from PC Toque at an extremely cheap price comparing to the UK and me and a few Uni mates decided that it would be a good way to make some extra income... because as I said I have a 5 years masters ahead of me in CS and I am only half way through the second semester.

I have always been a control freak in windows... but it isnt really possible to tweak it that well... I mean I have tried different shells etc. and registry tweaks etc. but the simple fact is, the changes are so small they make no difference... where as linux is completly different.

btw, what do you work as m8?

I will set you up a bit of space no problem.. just tell me the sub domain you want on neocore.co.uk (it's host space that my dad uses for his work website that I run... so as long as you aint going to use too much bandwidth or space I have no problems... I believe I have 10GB per month... it runs a few sites, but I can't see it going over that limit :D)

Yet again, to access the webspace configuration I need port 2082 which I dont have, so Ill see about hooking my lappy up to the uni network when I get home (sitting in a call center right now board out of my head :eek:)

Anyone know a way to get mirc or something similar to go through port 80, but access post 6667 on an IRC server? :D

neways, cheers again

NeoCORE

[chiphart]

Originally posted by NeoCORE

I have always been a control freak in windows... but it isnt really possible to tweak it that well... I mean I have tried different shells etc. and registry tweaks etc. but the simple fact is, the changes are so small they make no difference... where as linux is completly different.

I still use 4dos (the command.com replacement) on a daily basis. Some of the features it has would actually be an improvement over bash, ksh, etc., and it's years old. I know they have some XP related programs...


Anyone know a way to get mirc or something similar to go through port 80, but access post 6667 on an IRC server?
I know this sounds silly, but can't you do that with ssh? :-)