3d hardware acceleration performance.

[recluse]

I have a Nvidia TNT2 Ultra, I installed the newest drivers and have xfree86 4. installed but 3d performance in linux is poorer than windows. Example: playing a game in blender in win = 30fps in linux= 17=19fps. Any ideas how to improve this? Is there any docs on this because I can't find any?
-geordan

[debiandude]

It really has to do with the drivers. The drivers on windows are more mature and take full advantage of the hardware. The GeForce driver are on par with the windows version but I am not sure about the TNT cards and how they preform. You are using the newest Nvidia drives, 97-5 or something like that.

[Derango]

Yep, At the moment the drivers for linux aren't that mature, so the 3d support isn't as fast as windows (and it might not even be there (I can't get DRI working for my Radeon if my life depended on it))

[Avatar]

With all due respect, you two are way off. With proper installation, the Linux drivers are right there with the Windows counterparts. Some actually report better performance at certain resolutions. There are very few instanced when this is not the case. So, let's see if we can get geordan up to speed.

geordan, can you please give us the specifics of your system hardware, distro, version of the NVIDIA drivers, window manager, and version of XFree86?

[BobjoB]

actually i get fater performance in UT in linux than in windows, you probably did not install the GLX drivers properly. Also compiling in DRI has no significant effect on performance (at least in my case)

[Derango]

Originally posted by Avatar:
With all due respect, you two are way off. With proper installation, the Linux drivers are right there with the Windows counterparts. Some actually report better performance at certain resolutions. There are very few instanced when this is not the case. So, let's see if we can get geordan up to speed.

geordan, can you please give us the specifics of your system hardware, distro, version of the NVIDIA drivers, window manager, and version of XFree86?

In my own experience (even though I can't get DRI working, I did have a TNT2 a while ago) The performace WAS worse. I can only speak for my own experiences. Not wanting to doubt you or anything, I was just curious where you saw this information so I can be correct the next time I answer this type of question.

[Derango]

Originally posted by BobjoB:
actually i get fater performance in UT in linux than in windows, you probably did not install the GLX drivers properly. Also compiling in DRI has no significant effect on performance (at least in my case)

Hey, I was wondering if you could help me with my radeon then. I can't seem to get faster than 3 FPS in any open GL game. Any suggestions?

[recluse]

Ok here's the specs,
AMD Athlon 1ghz
256mb pc133 (Ram of course)
Nvidia TNT2 Ultra Model 64 (16mb ram)
Mandrake 7.2
Xfree86 4.0.2 (I think, I'm pretty sure it was installed during the mdk install, but I'll check ;)
Sawfish
-geordan

[recluse]

Sorry forgot the drivers:
version 0.9-769

[Bradmont]

Originally posted by debiandude:
The GeForce driver are on par with the windows version but I am not sure about the TNT cards and how they preform.

They're the same drivers. NVidia has the same drivers for all their [relatively new] cards.

[BobjoB]

geordan : follow the FAQ and remove the glx/mesa lib files mentioned therein, then reinstall the nvidia_GLX stuff and see if that helps any, also make sure you add the load glx line to your XF86Config file.

Derango: is i dont have a raidon card, my only sugesstion is that you take a look at ati drivers (i think they have linux binaries now) and see if they have GLX stuff to install. ill look into it when i get home

[BobjoB]

heres a quick update taken straight from the ATi www

Where can I obtain ATI driver support for Linux / XFree86?
ATI driver support for Linux is available with all Linux distributions that include XFree86. These drivers have been released open source by the XFree86 Project. The most recent release of XFree86 is available from www.xfree86.org (http://www.xfree86.org) Rage 128, Rage Pro and Rage Mobility support is available with the latest release of XFree86 at www.xfree86.org (http://www.xfree86.org)

Radeon drivers for Linux are in development. XFree86 and the DRI Open Source Project offer Radeon 2D support with their latest released source code. 3D support is scheduled to be released Q1 2001. Please check here for updates.

XFree86 Project provides Open Source ATI support - www.xfree86.org (http://www.xfree86.org)
Direct Rendering Open Source Project provides Rage 128, Rage 128 Pro, Mobility 128 and Radeon support - dri.sourceforge.net
UTAH-GLX Project provides Open Source 3D Rage Pro support - utah-glx.sourceforge.netGATOS Project provides ATI video support - http://www.linuxvideo.org/gatos


i guess for ATi users DRI helps more, but for NV users it doesnt really help (again, in my case at least)

[Derango]

Hmmm...I saw that page, but in the gaming forum someone said they had OpenGL working with DRI. I just can't figure out how to get it to that point. Thanks for the help though.

[BobjoB]

you should check the readmes in the dri site and the utah glx stuff too for installation info, again if i had a radon card i would know more =)

[Derango]

I've read all of the readmes, and the utah-glx stuff dosen't support the radeon, just the other ATI cards. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Molecule Man]

Derango, You need at least kernel 2.4.2, preferably kernel 2.4.3. You also need at least XFree86 4.0.2 though I would suggest 4.0.3 as well. With all that it should work.

[Avatar]

Derango -- My info is from testing, and lots of it. This testing comes from writing several HOWTOs and reviews of NVIDIA cards and drivers.

You mentioned at it was in past you had a TNT2 card. How far in past was this? A lot of improvement has gone into the last few driver sets.


geordan -- Double check that version of XFree86 and make sure it is at least 4.0 or better. Also, did you check out the README for M64 owners that was included in the GLX portion of the NVIDIA drivers? There is a known issue with M64 cards that requires a modification to os-registry.c file. When you make the change, make sure you a "make clean" before you compile the drivers again.