Slow video/display

[kolfinna]

Hello, all.

I'm not entirely new to Linux, but I am new to OpenSUSE. So far, I love it! I have just installed 11.1 (KDE) 64-bit and have noticed that the video seems to be fine until the screen has to "refresh". The cursor is nimble and there is no lag when I type... but as soon as I need to scroll or switch from the desktop to an application, the display is slow.

I have the following HP laptop:
Product Name: G60-125NR
Product Number: FS185UA#ABA
Microprocessor: 2.00 GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-70 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
Microprocessor Cache: 1 MB L2 Cache
Memory: 3072 MB
Memory Max: 3072 MB
Video Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8200M
Video Memory: Up to 1470 MB
Hard Drive: 250 GB (5400 rpm)

X doesn't seem to be sucking up any resources, either--no more than 3% processor utilization at this point.

Have I just made my video card/driver angry? Or is there a way to optimize within KDE (aside from switching to GNOME )?

Thanks in advance for listening to this newbie...

~Kolfinna

[deano_ferrari]

Run this command from a terminal window:

/sbin/lspci -k

That will list the drivers being used for your internal hardware. (Have a look at the graphics card entry). Maybe you need to install the proprietary nvidia driver for example.

[kolfinna]

This is what I get:

 miriam@linux-hd98:~> /sbin/lspci -k
00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Memory Controller (rev a2)                                                                         
00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation Device 075e (rev a2)                     
00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] SMBus (rev a1)          
00:01.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Co-Processor (rev a2)                                                                            
00:01.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Memory Controller (rev a1)                                                                         
00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a1)                                                               
        Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd                                          
        Kernel modules: ohci-hcd                                                
00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a1)                                                               
        Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd                                          
        Kernel modules: ehci-hcd                                                
00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a1)                                                               
        Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd                                          
        Kernel modules: ohci-hcd                                                
00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a1)                                                               
        Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd                                          
        Kernel modules: ehci-hcd                                                
00:06.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] IDE (rev a1)    
        Kernel driver in use: pata_amd                                          
        Kernel modules: ide-pci-generic, amd74xx, ata_generic, pata_acpi, pata_amd
00:07.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] High Definition Audio (rev a1)
        Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel
        Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
00:08.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Bridge (rev a1)
00:09.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] SATA Controller(non-AHCI mode) (rev a2)
        Kernel driver in use: ahci
        Kernel modules: ide-pci-generic, ata_generic, pata_acpi, ahci
00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Ethernet (rev a2)
        Kernel driver in use: forcedeth
        Kernel modules: forcedeth
00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Express Bridge(rev a1)
        Kernel modules: shpchp
00:14.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Bridge (rev a1)
        Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver
        Kernel modules: shpchp
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h HyperTransport Configuration (rev 40)
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Miscellaneous Control
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Link Control
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Device 0845 (rev a2)
        Kernel modules: nvidiafb
07:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless NetworkAdapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
        Kernel driver in use: ath9k
        Kernel modules: ath9k

Am I correct in thinking I see a combination of generic and other drivers? Or that while there is a kernel module for the VGA compatible controller, there is no actual driver?

Thanks!

~Kolfinna

[deano_ferrari]

Am I correct in thinking I see a combination of generic and other drivers? Or that while there is a kernel module for the VGA compatible controller, there is no actual driver?

No, the output shows the drivers (=kernel modules) used with various parts of your system (including the video driver), so you need to sift through it to find the relevant info. The relevant output from that command is

02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Device 0845 (rev a2)
Kernel modules: nvidiafb

This shows you're using the open source Xorg driver. You might benefit benefit from reading Concepts - openSUSE to give you some useful linux background.

You need to install propietary NVIDIA drivers for the best graphics performance.

[kolfinna]

Aha!

Oh, wonderful, thank you! There's so much I need to brush up on--I've been stuck in Windows for the last year. On the other hand, 7 looked like it had borrowed a few ideas from KDE...

Anyway. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

~Kolfinna