From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org ([69.77.167.62] helo=lists.gentoo.org) by finch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1KqJ3H-0006cB-Kb for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:57:28 +0000 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id BC349E00D1; Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:57:22 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mail-gx0-f19.google.com (mail-gx0-f19.google.com [209.85.217.19]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2078AE00D1 for ; Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:57:21 +0000 (UTC) Received: by gxk12 with SMTP id 12so7518604gxk.10 for ; Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:57:20 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from :user-agent:mime-version:to:subject:references:in-reply-to :content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=2FWAdTKxCpdJYVb8SwzUgweldyYdPdLBZ4wr8oj7x+A=; b=du9i1W0+tFizyGRuQjILsj6HoIjKVrZIkFhKhfFh7hUQadS3B16GpUB0hKhDP2ymq+ naRcVLy8xhPh+rG+/H/NU/ehprXfoDpDlzDsz8oPkGQZYEum0noxiHnd49ZDPWYl3h9k SnxzaTBuhflPz2dURZingBY3phXYcertpdVEQ= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:user-agent:mime-version:to:subject:references :in-reply-to:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; b=pVuFgut8jRgEtECYjc8yY/1dX1KnnBCY5T2eoE2wWsJwKkB8qPx/0tGYbAVfh+30ol M/wymXguXspTpZpnrfR9hprObYQS3b8NImEoAqAlDFi58JdoZShS6lSS3eZgKHHdX4EI bcrv5nBgEBPh3rstUuDRKumRlW7+15O9ufA68= Received: by 10.90.99.3 with SMTP id w3mr2210368agb.111.1224125839684; Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:57:19 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ?10.1.1.39? (CPE0050bf91e318-CM0014e8b58ca4.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com [99.241.58.64]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id 31sm870540wri.36.2008.10.15.19.57.16 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=RC4-MD5); Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:57:17 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <48F6AE09.6090307@gmail.com> Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:59:21 -0400 From: Hal Martin User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.17 (X11/20081010) Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] State of ATi drivers in Linux -- IMO, it's horrific... References: <48DFF578.9070000@gmail.com> <200809290034.10422.volker.armin.hemmann@tu-clausthal.de> In-Reply-To: <200809290034.10422.volker.armin.hemmann@tu-clausthal.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Archives-Salt: cf3cfeb8-afbb-466a-a656-3d11c24106b2 X-Archives-Hash: d131d6115ce855078f70b63e3e126494 Volker Armin Hemmann wrote: > On Sunday 28 September 2008, Hal Martin wrote: > >> Hello all, >> >> I am contemplating building a new computer with an AMD/ATi graphics >> card. I've been following the subject of ATi driver quality in linux for >> a while, but I realize that the experiences I read on Google search >> results are, shall we say, biased, as many people who have perfectly >> working cards don't go out and comment on how great their drivers are. >> >> So, do any of you have newer (HD series) AMD/ATi graphics cards? >> > > HD3870 > I just picked up the HD3850, which is a nice card by all measures. > >> What drivers (AMD closed source, or open source) are you using? >> > > fglrx - the closed source ones. > I installed these drivers (from portage) and tried them. > >> Are they stable? >> > > yes. Switching between vt and X works, and restarting X too - but the ati > scripts in /etc/acpi have to be removed. > With desktop effects turned off 2d is fast and snappy and video is ok. > With desktop effects turned on 2d is fast except manually resizing windows and > xv-video sucks. Luckily kde 4.1 makes it easy to switch ;) - and I don't need > xv ;) > I had a horrid time with the fglrx drivers. I use two displays, and while it was a breeze to setup (even easier than on an NVidia card) the result was horrid. I can't drag windows from one display to another, the windows wrap within the display. The fglrx_gears program renders something that I don't believe heralds from this planet; while glx_gears renders the same thing I get on my NVidia card only 10% slower (which is expected given the performance difference between the 7900GTX and the HD3850.) Trying to exit X11 causes a complete system lockup, requiring a hard reset. > >> How is the performance? >> > > very good. I play ut2004 and vegastrike 0.5. With a but. See above. > I couldn't get any Wine apps that use 3D to work. Call of Duty 4 refused to start, citing that the video card didn't support alpha blending. > >> Any noise issues with your card when it's idle? Under load? >> > > the fan is very quiet in KDE or playing games. Only in the menus of ut2004 or > on a vt it turns up - but is still very bearable. > aticonfig --odgt > > Default Adapter - ATI Radeon HD 3870 > Sensor 0: Temperature - 51.00 C > My card is incredibly, nay, unbelievably loud until you throttle the fan manually from aticonfig, which, I might add, is absent from the Catalyst control centre gui. After throttling the fan down to 3% the card settles around 45.00C and is quiet enough to bare. My attempt to uninstall the portage based ATI drivers (which are slightly dated,) and install the official drivers from ATI proved to wreck my system beyond comprehension. 'eselect opengl list' no longer includes ATI, only xorg-x11. I have no ability to start X11 anyone, and no fan control, meaning I now have a jet engine residing in my computer. There must be something I'm doing wrong. I've heard that ATI drivers aren't supposed to lock up your system when you exit X11, is this still the case? Was this ever the case with two monitors? Is there any way to get the ATI driver to automatically set a reasonable fan speed, or must I do it manually? I've switched back to my original NVidia card, and the kind folks on the #gentoo channel helped me restore my NVidia drivers to their original state. I don't know when I'll attempt to try the ATI card again, as this experience has shown me just how bad things can get. The fact that the Gentoo Wiki dealing with ATI drivers is outdated and references AGPGART so many times I actually began to think that my system had AGP on it. Does someone have a better guide on how to setup an ATI/AMD graphics card in linux using the drivers provided in the portage tree? If I can't run two monitors off the card and keep my system stable, then there's no point, in my mind, of even keeping the card. Also, and I don't know if the Gentoo list is the proper place to voice these concerns (I doubt it is, actually) but *what* is with the fan speed control? It's non-existent! My experience with ATI drivers today remind me of the state of NVidia drivers 3 years ago, it's horrific! -Hal