[gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[Walter Dnes]

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  I'm trying to make an older PC display high-def streaming video.  It's
a Dell Inspiron Desktop 530, with 2 gigs of ram, assembled and shipped
August 2007.  It has an Intel dual core (*NOT* a "Core Duo") cpu like so
(from /proc/cpuinfo).

vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 15
model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU            2140  @ 1.60GHz
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 1595.660
cache size      : 1024 KB

  The original Intel onboard GPU wasn't really up to the task.  I bought
an Nvidia GeForce 6200 video card, set it up, and it handles 1280x720p
video OK, from my HDHomerun TV tuner box.  1920x1080i shows the
occasional hint of stuttering.  I followed the instructions at
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xorg-config.xml including the Nouveau
driver.  I'm running ICEWM to minimize system overhead.  Are there any
other tips and tricks for getting better video performance out of this
admittedly old system?  glxgears shows 382 fps when the system is idle.

  It works without an xorg.conf.  This also happens to my mdev test
machine (no udev).  I'm attaching the Xorg log file for more detail.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>

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Re: [gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[Helmut Jarausch]

On 12/16/2011 12:11:34 PM, Walter Dnes wrote:
>   I'm trying to make an older PC display high-def streaming video. 
> It's
> a Dell Inspiron Desktop 530, with 2 gigs of ram, assembled and 
> shipped
> August 2007.  It has an Intel dual core (*NOT* a "Core Duo") cpu like
> so
> (from /proc/cpuinfo).
> 
> vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
> cpu family      : 6
> model           : 15
> model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU            2140  @ 1.60GHz
> stepping        : 2
> cpu MHz         : 1595.660
> cache size      : 1024 KB
> 
>   The original Intel onboard GPU wasn't really up to the task.  I
> bought
> an Nvidia GeForce 6200 video card, set it up, and it handles 
> 1280x720p
> video OK, from my HDHomerun TV tuner box.  1920x1080i shows the
> occasional hint of stuttering.  I followed the instructions at
> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xorg-config.xml including the Nouveau
> driver.  I'm running ICEWM to minimize system overhead.  Are there 
> any
> other tips and tricks for getting better video performance out of 
> this
> admittedly old system?  glxgears shows 382 fps when the system is
> idle.
> 
>   It works without an xorg.conf.  This also happens to my mdev test
> machine (no udev).  I'm attaching the Xorg log file for more detail.
> 

You could try to install a recent kernel  (3.1.5 for me) and enable
the CONFIG_DRM_NOUVEAU=y  (it's a staging driver, just search for it
by entering / in the make menuconfig environment).

Then re-emerge the x11-drivers/xf86-video-nouveau driver.

I hope this helps a bit,

Helmut.

[gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[James]

Helmut Jarausch <jarausch <at> igpm.rwth-aachen.de> writes:



> >   I'm trying to make an older PC display high-def streaming video. 

> You could try to install a recent kernel  (3.1.5 for me) and enable
> the CONFIG_DRM_NOUVEAU=y  (it's a staging driver, just search for it
> by entering / in the make menuconfig environment).

Additionally, when I use older machines, sometimes minimization
of the compile flags helps on some apps and not on others. You
have to experiment. It usually works for machines that are
design for a single special purpose, not workstations or every
server service you can compile for. I never optimized one
for just streaming video, so I cannot give you specifics.

Here is one I use for a firewall. Note the CFLAGS (Os) setting
for small:

CFLAGS="-Os -march=i586 -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer"
USE="-* -nls mmx hardened  ncurses ssl crypt berkdb tcpd pam perl pcre \
python readline zlib bzip2 nptl nptlonly syslog"

Find the minimal flags and the optimum CFLAGS settings for 
your needs. Refine by testing. USE a fast hard drive.....
Avoid apps that soak up ram. Some video apps are ram_hogs...

I'd be curious to learn what you finally figure out.

hth,
James

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[Walter Dnes]

On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 01:57:58PM +0000, James wrote

> Find the minimal flags and the optimum CFLAGS settings for 
> your needs. Refine by testing. USE a fast hard drive.....
> Avoid apps that soak up ram. Some video apps are ram_hogs...
> 
> I'd be curious to learn what you finally figure out.

  Here's my current setup.  First the cpu flags...

waltdnes@d530 ~ $ grep flags /proc/cpuinfo
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge
mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm
constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl
est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dts

  And what I've specified in CFLAGS and USE

waltdnes@d530 ~ $ grep "\(CFLAGS\|USE\)" /etc/make.conf
CFLAGS="-O2 -march=native -mfpmath=sse -fomit-frame-pointer -pipe"
CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"
USE="-* X a52 aac bzip2 cxx dga dri exif ffmpeg flac fortran gallium gif
intel jpeg mmx mng mp3 mpeg nptl nptlonly nsplugin offensive ogg opengl
png posix sse sse2 ssse3 theora threads tiff truetype vim-syntax vorbis
win32codecs wmf xcomposite xpm xv xvid zlib"

  One more thing.  I just ran "gcc -march=native -Q --help=target" and
got a major shock.  It's a long output listing of what is/isn't enabled
with -march=native on my cpu.  Here are some relevant items...

-march=                               core2
-mmmx                                 [disabled]
-msse                                 [disabled]
-msse2                                [disabled]
-msse3                                [disabled]
-mssse3                               [disabled]

  It has properly identified the cpu as "core2".  But mmx, sse, sse2,
sse3 (aka pni), and ssse3 are disabled!!!  I'll change my CFLAGS to...

CFLAGS="-O2 -march=native -mmmx -msse -msse2 -msse3 -mssse3 -mfpmath=sse -fomit-frame-pointer -pipe"

...and emerge system and world and rebuild the kernel.  Then I'll see
if it helps.  It'll probably be at least an overnight job for each
emerge, if not longer.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>

[gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[James]

Walter Dnes <waltdnes <at> waltdnes.org> writes:

>   It has properly identified the cpu as "core2".  But mmx, sse, sse2,
> sse3 (aka pni), and ssse3 are disabled!!!  I'll change my CFLAGS to...
> CFLAGS="-O2 -march=native -mmmx -msse -msse2 -msse3 -mssse3 -mfpmath=sse
-fomit-frame-pointer -pipe"

I usually try to build these old system  generically so that if I get a 
hardware failure in a mobo, I can just move the Hard Drive or the Compact Flash
drive to another system, power up and go. In your case those flags are very
important to video, so what your are doing seems to be right. 

O2 vs Os might be something to test, particularly if ram becomes saturated
by the apps. You may want to use "iotop" from portage to look at IO
conveniently with 2 different (O2 vs Os) kernels.....

Interested to see how it works out....


James

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[Walter Dnes]

On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 01:57:58PM +0000, James wrote

> Find the minimal flags and the optimum CFLAGS settings for 
> your needs. Refine by testing. USE a fast hard drive.....
> Avoid apps that soak up ram. Some video apps are ram_hogs...
> 
> I'd be curious to learn what you finally figure out.

  What I finally figured out was that "-march=native is *EXTREMELY*
conservative".  As a matter, I started a new thread on exactly that
topic<G>.  To summarize... "-march=native" had disabled  mmx, sse, sse2,
sse3 (aka pni), and ssse3, all of which are available on the cpu.  After
explicitly adding those flags to CFLAGS, emerging system+world, and
rebuilding the kernel, it runs 1080p just fine, thank you.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>

Re: [gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[Walter Dnes]

On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 12:20:44PM +0100, Helmut Jarausch wrote

> You could try to install a recent kernel  (3.1.5 for me) and enable
> the CONFIG_DRM_NOUVEAU=y  (it's a staging driver, just search for it
> by entering / in the make menuconfig environment).
> 
> Then re-emerge the x11-drivers/xf86-video-nouveau driver.

  The instructions at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xorg-config.xml do
mention the staging Nouveau driver, and I did enable it.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>

Re: [gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[Michael Mol]

On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 6:11 AM, Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org> wrote:
>  I'm trying to make an older PC display high-def streaming video.  It's
> a Dell Inspiron Desktop 530, with 2 gigs of ram, assembled and shipped
> August 2007.  It has an Intel dual core (*NOT* a "Core Duo") cpu like so
> (from /proc/cpuinfo).
>
> vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
> cpu family      : 6
> model           : 15
> model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU            2140  @ 1.60GHz
> stepping        : 2
> cpu MHz         : 1595.660
> cache size      : 1024 KB
>
>  The original Intel onboard GPU wasn't really up to the task.  I bought
> an Nvidia GeForce 6200 video card, set it up, and it handles 1280x720p
> video OK, from my HDHomerun TV tuner box.  1920x1080i shows the
> occasional hint of stuttering.  I followed the instructions at
> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xorg-config.xml including the Nouveau
> driver.  I'm running ICEWM to minimize system overhead.  Are there any
> other tips and tricks for getting better video performance out of this
> admittedly old system?  glxgears shows 382 fps when the system is idle.
>
>  It works without an xorg.conf.  This also happens to my mdev test
> machine (no udev).  I'm attaching the Xorg log file for more detail.

Use any nVidia card capable of full, in-hardware decoding of full
h.264 AVC. I've got two GeForce 210s which I purchased because A) they
were $50/pc two years ago, and B) they did exactly this.

Then enable vdpau. (But that means running the proprietary drivers,
disabling KMS, disabling NOVOU, etc)

Then use any media player with support for vdpau. I know mplayer will
do it. I'm unsure about ffmpeg, flash, etc.

With an (old) $50 card, you can get an old Core 2 desktop system to
serve as an HTPC.


-- 
:wq

[gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[Nikos Chantziaras]

On 12/16/2011 04:13 PM, Michael Mol wrote:
> With an (old) $50 card, you can get an old Core 2 desktop system to
> serve as an HTPC.

Core 2 can be an HTPC even with a crap card. You can play 1080p on the 2 
CPUs just fine.

A Core 2 desktop system is certainly not "old".

Re: [gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[Stroller]

On 16 December 2011, at 14:27, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:

> On 12/16/2011 04:13 PM, Michael Mol wrote:
>> With an (old) $50 card, you can get an old Core 2 desktop system to
>> serve as an HTPC.
> 
> Core 2 can be an HTPC even with a crap card. You can play 1080p on the 2 CPUs just fine.
> 
> A Core 2 desktop system is certainly not "old".

There are newer Core2s and older ones, though. The first ones were released summer 2006.

Stroller.

[gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[Nikos Chantziaras]

On 12/16/2011 09:00 PM, Stroller wrote:
>
> On 16 December 2011, at 14:27, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
>
>> On 12/16/2011 04:13 PM, Michael Mol wrote:
>>> With an (old) $50 card, you can get an old Core 2 desktop system to
>>> serve as an HTPC.
>>
>> Core 2 can be an HTPC even with a crap card. You can play 1080p on the 2 CPUs just fine.
>>
>> A Core 2 desktop system is certainly not "old".
>
> There are newer Core2s and older ones, though. The first ones were released summer 2006.

And they're just as good.  I had one (E6600 2.4GHz).  They can deal with 
1080p just fine.  Even better if you have a Core 2 with four cores, then 
you can do other stuff too without affecting video performance.

The only reason I upgraded to an i5 is for video games (in Windows). 
For everything else, the Core 2 from 2006 was very comfortable to work with.

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[Walter Dnes]

On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 04:27:13PM +0200, Nikos Chantziaras wrote

> Core 2 can be an HTPC even with a crap card. You can play 1080p on
> the 2 CPUs just fine.

  See the new thread "-march=native is *EXTREMELY* conservative".  This
was not where I had expected to find the solution.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Any video optimization tips?

[Dale]

Walter Dnes wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 04:27:13PM +0200, Nikos Chantziaras wrote
>
>> Core 2 can be an HTPC even with a crap card. You can play 1080p on
>> the 2 CPUs just fine.
>    See the new thread "-march=native is *EXTREMELY* conservative".  This
> was not where I had expected to find the solution.
>

Isn't that where the solution always is?

Dale

:-)  :-)

-- 
I am only responsible for what I said ... Not for what you understood or how you interpreted my words!

Miss the compile output?  Hint:
EMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS="--quiet-build=n"

Re: [gentoo-user] Any video optimization tips?

[Walter Dnes]

On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 09:13:14AM -0500, Michael Mol wrote

> Use any nVidia card capable of full, in-hardware decoding of full
> h.264 AVC. I've got two GeForce 210s which I purchased because A) they
> were $50/pc two years ago, and B) they did exactly this.
> 
> Then enable vdpau. (But that means running the proprietary drivers,
> disabling KMS, disabling NOVOU, etc)

  Unfortunatunately, the Geforce 6200 series is too old for vdpau
support.  It starts with the Geforce 8400 series.  As I mentioned in
another post, -march=native does not enable mmx, sse, sse2, sse3, and
ssse3 options for gcc.  I'll explicitly put them in CFLAGS, and rebuild
system+world+kernel, and see if it helps.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>