Comments on: Compiz Fusion and ATI http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/ Free Software Chicago Style: letting proprietary solutions sleep with the fishes Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:01:36 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Warbo http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/comment-page-1/#comment-1082 Warbo Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:24:25 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/#comment-1082 Just on the graphics card numbering issue, you haven't been ripped off any more than everyone else with those cards. Graphics cards (especially from the Radeon 9XXX era) are usually made as generic boards, which are then configured with different amounts of RAM and different clock speeds and given different names. It is actually very common for the only difference between two cards to be the clock speed, which is why graphics card overclocking tools are made by hackers. One of my friends bought a Radeon 9550 specifically so he could overclock it to be a 9700 and save a bit of cash. This is a big reason vendors don't like making Vista drivers. At the moment there is one driver download from eg. Nvidia and AMD which supports all of their cards. However, with Vista, and especially for graphics cards due to their involvement with displaying HD DRM-filled content, Microsoft has its killswitch to remotely disable any drivers which might be used to compromise their protected media path. This, combined with the mandated ability for drivers to identify each specific card exactly (to stop anyone building their own DRM-breaking card which is compatible with an already approved driver) means every single individual type and configuration of card needs its own driver, and needs to be able to be uniquely identifiable by a driver. Not only does this make users' lives harder (there isn't just one driver anymore), but it makes driver developers' lives harder since they have to make each driver unique, and it makes the company's lives harder because they can't use generic boards like the 9550, since each needs to be uniquely identifiable (and this ultimately drives up the cost of the cards). But, of course, if they DON'T support HD video on Vista then they'll be waving goodbye to their business. Gotta love them monopolies. Just on the graphics card numbering issue, you haven’t been ripped off any more than everyone else with those cards. Graphics cards (especially from the Radeon 9XXX era) are usually made as generic boards, which are then configured with different amounts of RAM and different clock speeds and given different names. It is actually very common for the only difference between two cards to be the clock speed, which is why graphics card overclocking tools are made by hackers. One of my friends bought a Radeon 9550 specifically so he could overclock it to be a 9700 and save a bit of cash.

This is a big reason vendors don’t like making Vista drivers. At the moment there is one driver download from eg. Nvidia and AMD which supports all of their cards. However, with Vista, and especially for graphics cards due to their involvement with displaying HD DRM-filled content, Microsoft has its killswitch to remotely disable any drivers which might be used to compromise their protected media path. This, combined with the mandated ability for drivers to identify each specific card exactly (to stop anyone building their own DRM-breaking card which is compatible with an already approved driver) means every single individual type and configuration of card needs its own driver, and needs to be able to be uniquely identifiable by a driver. Not only does this make users’ lives harder (there isn’t just one driver anymore), but it makes driver developers’ lives harder since they have to make each driver unique, and it makes the company’s lives harder because they can’t use generic boards like the 9550, since each needs to be uniquely identifiable (and this ultimately drives up the cost of the cards). But, of course, if they DON’T support HD video on Vista then they’ll be waving goodbye to their business. Gotta love them monopolies.

]]> By: Adam Petaccia http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/comment-page-1/#comment-1073 Adam Petaccia Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:47:29 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/#comment-1073 I have an nVidia card, but I had similar symptoms related to ccp. "git pull" on the ccp ... thingy and a make install worked wonders. I have an nVidia card, but I had similar symptoms related to ccp. “git pull” on the ccp … thingy and a make install worked wonders.

]]> By: bert http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/comment-page-1/#comment-1072 bert Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:41:02 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/#comment-1072 To fix the window border problem I installed emerald and emerald-themes and started compiz using "compiz --replace -c emerald" To fix the window border problem I installed emerald and emerald-themes and started compiz using “compiz –replace -c emerald”

]]> By: daniels http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/comment-page-1/#comment-1071 daniels Sun, 08 Jul 2007 10:30:18 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/#comment-1071 option "XAANoOffscreenPixmaps" You shouldn't need this one; it destroys performance. option "AGPMode" "4" #if you have 8, you can try it This is always (really, always) autodetected. Putting it in the config only increases the scope for things to go wrong. option "AGPFastWrite" "true" #enable in bios as well Given that this option caused basically every machine ever on the planet to hardlock, it has been short-circuited to do literally nothing whatsoever. (Note the first results on Google for AGPFastWrite.) option "EnablePageFlip" "true" When it's safe to enable, this will be enabled by default. option “XAANoOffscreenPixmaps”

You shouldn’t need this one; it destroys performance.

option “AGPMode” “4″ #if you have 8, you can try it

This is always (really, always) autodetected. Putting it in the config only increases the scope for things to go wrong.

option “AGPFastWrite” “true” #enable in bios as well

Given that this option caused basically every machine ever on the planet to hardlock, it has been short-circuited to do literally nothing whatsoever. (Note the first results on Google for AGPFastWrite.)

option “EnablePageFlip” “true”

When it’s safe to enable, this will be enabled by default.

]]> By: Zamber http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/comment-page-1/#comment-1070 Zamber Sun, 08 Jul 2007 06:57:52 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/#comment-1070 zamber@rtfm:~$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep WW ... (WW) RADEON(0): Option "DisableGLXRootClipping" is not used (WW) RADEON(0): Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" is not used (WW) RADEON(0): Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" is not used ... I have a few of this stupid warnings but anyway Chris was right ;). zamber@rtfm:~$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep WW
…
(WW) RADEON(0): Option “DisableGLXRootClipping” is not used
(WW) RADEON(0): Option “AddARGBGLXVisuals” is not used
(WW) RADEON(0): Option “AllowGLXWithComposite” is not used
…

I have a few of this stupid warnings but anyway Chris was right ;) .

]]> By: Zamber http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/comment-page-1/#comment-1069 Zamber Sun, 08 Jul 2007 06:43:36 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.07.07/compiz-fusion-and-ati/#comment-1069 Neither the less it works better than my default setup ;) Thanks! Neither the less it works better than my default setup ;)
Thanks!

]]>