[i945] Heavy CPU (100%) usage when scrolling text in remote (freenx) console and compiz's WM won't load. Driver: server-xorg-video-intel (2:2.4.x and 2.5.x) Hardware: mac mini 945GM [8086:27a2]

[Eugene San]

Binary package hint: xserver-xorg-video-intel

Affects: Heavy CPU (100%) usage when scrolling text in remote (freenx) console and compiz's WM won't load. Driver: server-xorg-video-intel (2:2.4.x and 2.5.x) Hardware: mac mini 945GM [8086:27a2]

Observations: x11perf --aa10text, on local console, shows opposite results, newer drivers are faster:
2.2.1: 320000 reps @ 0.0172 msec ( 58100.0/sec): Char in 80-char aa line (Charter 10)
2.4.1: 560000 reps @ 0.0091 msec (110000.0/sec): Char in 80-char aa line (Charter 10)

Driver: server-xorg-video-intel (2.3.x, 2.4.x and 2.5.x) while 2.2.x is working acceptable.

Hardware: mac mini 945GM [8086:27a2]

Packages source: Intrepid (all versions)

[Marcelo Boveto Shima (marceloshima)]

Compiz will not work inside a nx/freenx session any time soon.

Are you using the nx/freenx packages from freenx-team ppa?

[Eugene San (eugenesan)]

Hi,

I was talking about Compiz in native session, not NX.
And yes. I am using freenx-team/ppa versions of freenx, tried all recent versions.

[Eugene San (eugenesan)]

Hi,
After some digging into the problem it appears that problem resides in xorg driver, in EXA engine to be more specific.
I've changed EXA to XAA and problem disappeared. There are another annoying issue with screen flickering every few minutes/tens of seconds. But I am giving a try to new driver/drm (2.5 from https://launchpad.net/~thjaeger/+archive) until now it's ok.

BTW: I am moved to Gnome after more then 8 years with KDE, and that solved another fewr performance/visualisation problems.

[Eugene San (eugenesan)]

Sadly, but there are problems with XAA engine also.
Screen is flickering and once a while I've got Buffer underun on pipe A, the same problem we had in past (https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/218334).

Actually, it looks like Intel integrated graphics driver for X is broken most of the time :-(

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Hi eugenesan,

Please attach the output of `lspci -vvnn`, and attach your /var/log/Xorg.0.log file from after reproducing this issue. If you've made any customizations to your /etc/X11/xorg.conf please attach that as well.

[Eugene San (eugenesan)]

Hi,

Unfortunately the system is down now and I am going to reinstall Hardy + Early Intrepd kernel to overcome the issue (The only working solution for GMA945 at the moment). So no Xorg logs for now...

Actually current bug is a reincarnation of old and well know one https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=13326 and https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/218334

In few words, to overcome general and scrolling (severe!) performance issue of Xorg-intel 2.4.1 (actually 2.3.1 and up), I've changed EXA to XAA by adding Option "AccelMethod" "xaa" to xorg.conf.

As result performance is good but jittering/flickering and Pipe A underrun returned.

And the system is Mac Mini (945GM [8086:27a2])

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

[This is an automatic notice.]

We'd like to forward your bug upstream, however upstream requires
that you first test it against their newer driver code.

To save you the effort of building the driver from source, we've built
packages for the driver and its new dependencies.

So you have a couple options:

 1. Download and test .debs for intrepid, from:
     https://edge.launchpad.net/~intel-gfx-testing/+archive

 -or-

 2. Download and test the Jaunty alpha-2 (or newer) Live CD,
     (which includes a beta of the new xserver 1.6 as well).
     See http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/9.04/ for ISOs

Thanks ahead of time! You can simply reply to this email to report your
findings.

P.S., if you wish to forward your bug upstream yourself, please follow
these directions to do so:
  http://intellinuxgraphics.org/how_to_report_bug.html

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

We're closing this bug since it is has been some time with no response from the original reporter. However, if the issue still exists please feel free to reopen with the requested information. Also, if you could, please test against the latest development version of Ubuntu, since this confirms the bug is one we may be able to pass upstream for help.