so, i got this box with linux RedHat Enterprise (2.69) running ...
it's got a 2.4GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a decent 32MB graphics card.

now here's my question:

when running X in 1280 x 1024 x 32 the display is painfully S L O W ...
the screen "wobbles" every time i move something around, it takes seconds to repaint a window, output in the console takes enough time to go a make a cup of coffee ...

i made sure i had the latest drivers for my graphics card but that didn't change anything ...

is X just slow or is there anything else wrong? the box runs fine, otherwise and it doesn't give me any boot-up errors either ...

Andy

are you pushing it from another box?

If so, network issues.

If its local, welcome to linux.
Look at the patches, and look at the fedora stuff, I find that the fedora stuff is updated faster than redhat.

R

I take it you are running ES 2.x. First thing I would do is to reduce the resolution to see if the problem goes away (also try the 16 bit mode). Second is to make sure that you have updated to the latest patchesand to ensure that you are using the video driver you downloaded with the kernel you are using. On some drivers you need to relink the driver for the kernel you are running.

Is the driver from RH or from the video card manufacturer? If from the RH then I would check for a driver from the manufacturer on their website. I have a GForce FX-56 128MB v-card and their driver works much better than the one that came with X. The X drivers can be very slow.

Just some ideas.

Mike

local (yes rich, they gave me my OWN box! ) ...

latest drivers from RH, so i should go to the manufacturer instead, eh?

damm, this should be FLYING instead, used the same VC under windooze and it's lightning fast ...
Andy

Yes go to the manufacturer if possible. Sometimes you need to modify the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file according to the installation procedures.

What kind of video card is it?

nVidia has a non-GPL driver that is much better than the version that comes with xorg.

I'm not much for hats, but I guess if I were to wear one red would be ok. Isn't Linus from the Charlie Brown comics?

I'm on my debian server right now.

It's my main machine :crazy:

Welcome to the nuthouse andy!

Video is one of the more painful parts of the Linux world. However, it shouldn't be painfully slow, nor should you have to reduce the resolution or the color depth. I'm running X with some insane resolution (1900x1200 or something) at work on a widescreen flat panel, with 32-bit color depth, and it's plenty fast. The nVidia cards seem to be the best supported these days.

Yes you shouldn't have to do anything but put it on and it runs. But this is Linux, a system put together by committee and then changed every day. I make my living modifying Linux and other Unix'es. Saying that it works on a different system doesn't help Andy out.

Andy to find out what is going on you have to first determine what the problem is. Is it the video card itself, is it the driver, is there some type of incompatability with card, etc. My first suggestions were to

1) try and see if the video card works properly at a lower resolution, screen depth, etc. This is an easy step and lets you know the card works and may be a driver problem.

2) the next step (which would be my first one) was to make sure that you had the proper driver for it by going to the video card manufacturer to see if they had a proprietary driver for it.

3) If you had to update the driver, is the driver configurer properly? Make sure to read the installation guide. For the nVidia drivers you do have to modify the config file.

I agree that nVidia supports the product well. I use FC5 at home and get my driver directly from nVidia. The one on the distribution is slow.

thanks guys,
i'll look into this today. i ran it in 1024x768 and even in 800x600. a tad faster, but not much, still get a lot of window "wobbling" when moving around ...

oh well, it's just a test box for a project, so i guess i could live with it, just bugs the hell out of me ...
Andy

Your right. Linux always had the blanket and there is a 'gang' of ladies that wear the 'Red Hats'. They scare me

If you want technical help. Ask me about CPM, IMSAI, S-100 bus and 8080s. I was there. Moved on to the advanced technology of 914s since then

If there are any Vintage Computing Fanatics out there ready to support my 914 addiction. I do have an original IMSAI 8080 (has a Z-80 upgrade!) and a Lear Siegler ADM3A that I've had since 1978..... Will trade for a Jake Raby motor! Otherwise going to donate to the Smithsonian (Will be displayed between HAL and an ALTAIR)

Don't laugh, my computer is newer than my 914 by 5 years!

I started on an IMSAI 8080 and then wire wrapped my second computer (circa 1978 or 1979). 8080 with 1k ram, switches for input (binary) and address, leds and hex segmented displays to see what was going on. Not real useful but fun to play with.

Mike

We should team up and build Andy a new CPU for the 914club!

I have an extra 64K Ram S-100 board I could donate! And a paper tape reader!

And still, they are both newer technology than my 914!

wrote my first machine code program on one of those ... that was in '78 ... been hooked ever since ...

then abused the TRS-80 in school, later upgraded to a C64 at home, re-wrote the kernel (and burned a new one) by removing all the tape-related stuff and added in my own code, had a assembler/disassembler build into the kernel(!). could display/disassemble/edit/save on the fly, even the RAM under the shadow ROMs and the zero-page. used it to hack explorer games and such ...
disassembled illegal opcodes as well ... oh, and that trick where it would load faster from floppy by turning off the screen ... that took a while to figure out ...
and i have pictures to prove it!

those were the fun days!
Andy

Andy, I don't get it. You've got a problem with a graphics card running under a recent distro of Linux, and you're looking for help on a 914 forum ??? If it isn't clear by now, the only thing you're gonna find around here is tons of sentimntal troglodytes who spend all their free time and money trying to keep their Northstar Horizon, Exidy Sorcerer, etc, running. If you really want help, I suggest you go to a forum for Honda DelSol, or maybe Audi TT or sumpn'.

Anyway, graphics under Linux work just fine, unless for some weird reason they don't. The *right* way to fix your problem is prolly to try different driver versions, RTFM, and hack through /etc/X11/Xconfig (or whatever its called.) But one other option for a quick and dirty fix might be to just pop in a different video card; a basic SVGA card w/ a few megs of RAM should be easy enough to come by.

And for the growing data base, I have (at work) a Northstar Horizon (S-100) system, an Apple //e with the add-in card to give a full 80 characters per line, and a complete NeXT system. I grew up (or not!) hacking TRS-80 ROM too. I would say "ah, those were the days", but I actually like hacking Linux code better...

This is why Andy and I connected at the 2005 Laguna Seca SCCA Vintage event. Kindrid Souls via vintage computing!

I started writing assembly code for Data General NOVA mini computers in Cheyenne Mountain (NCMC), and then worked with roomfuls of Honeywells and CDC mainframes as well as wire wrapping my home brew projects like milelsr (per BYTE magazine!). Was a UNIX guy, then a SOLARIS guy, then an X Windows Guy then Open Systems....

the good old days!

I used to have to boot my IMSAI 8080 via the front panel to get CP/M going. Then would play adventure games all night...

Now I work on the 914 all night so I can go play with 911s all day! I do have a traqmate GPS data acquisition system so I still play with my computer alot.

Time goes on....

Andy, looking forward to seeing you again at the Sept SCCA Vintage at Laguna. I'd like to pit with you guys at the 914club trailer again!

A few years a go I finally threw away my Exidy Sorcerer and expansion (S-100). Yep it was great machine. A 32k system that I put 48K into. I still have my Amiga 2000 and gave my Dad my Amiga 1000. At the same time I threw away my wire wrapped 1200 baud acoustic coupler modem. I really enjoyed playing with hardware.

Damn I'm old....

Damn you!

You just brought back memories that I had repressed years ago. My first job out of college was working for the largest Northstar distributor in the U.S. I can remember many hours over the bench soldering the jumpers on the header chips. Now, I'm not going to be able to fall asleep tonight.

The first computer I had in my shop was an 8088 with 15 mega bit hard drive. The salesman told I'd never fill it up.