Very Slow Graphics Response

Issues related to hardware problems
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RickyB
Posts: 4
Joined: 2014/11/12 07:21:53

Very Slow Graphics Response

Post by RickyB » 2014/11/26 11:39:30

I hope someone can offer guidance for improving graphics performance on my server. My server has a motherboard with an onboard graphics adapter. Graphics performance is very slow and windows on the Gnome desktop are not smoothly moved or resized (very jerky motion). I am trying to learn more about the command line approach to Linux, but I do rely on the Gnome GUI for many tasks and the poor graphics performance is a hindrance. I have tried lower resolution video modes and this does result in smoother window movement, but the lower res screen is less than ideal. I'm not sure if my system has the correct video driver installed. Listed below is some info about my server and its video adapter and I have also pasted in the results from [getinfo.sh drivers]. Many thanks for any help provided.

Motherboard: SuperMicro X9SBAA-F
Video Adapter: Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd. MGA G200eW WPCM450

Information for driver problems.

Code: Select all

== BEGIN uname -rmi ==
3.10.0-123.9.3.el7.x86_64 x86_64 x86_64
== END   uname -rmi ==

== BEGIN rpm -qa \*-release\* ==
centos-release-7-0.1406.el7.centos.2.5.x86_64
elrepo-release-7.0-2.el7.elrepo.noarch
== END   rpm -qa \*-release\* ==

== BEGIN cat /etc/redhat-release ==
CentOS Linux release 7.0.1406 (Core) 
== END   cat /etc/redhat-release ==

== BEGIN getenforce ==
Enforcing
== END   getenforce ==

== BEGIN free -m ==
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          7808       1600       6208         11          0        414
-/+ buffers/cache:       1184       6623
Swap:         8079          0       8079
== END   free -m ==

== BEGIN rpm -qa kernel\* | sort ==
kernel-3.10.0-123.6.3.el7.x86_64
kernel-3.10.0-123.9.3.el7.x86_64
kernel-3.10.0-123.el7.x86_64
kernel-devel-3.10.0-123.6.3.el7.x86_64
kernel-devel-3.10.0-123.9.3.el7.x86_64
kernel-devel-3.10.0-123.el7.x86_64
kernel-headers-3.10.0-123.9.3.el7.x86_64
kernel-tools-3.10.0-123.9.3.el7.x86_64
kernel-tools-libs-3.10.0-123.9.3.el7.x86_64
== END   rpm -qa kernel\* | sort ==

== BEGIN lspci -nn ==
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 Internal [8086:0c75] (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:0c46] (rev 02)
00:02.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 PCI Express Root Port 2 [8086:0c47] (rev 02)
00:03.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 PCI Express Root Port 3 [8086:0c48] (rev 02)
00:04.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 PCI Express Root Port 4 [8086:0c49] (rev 02)
00:0e.0 IOMMU [0806]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 Internal [8086:0c54] (rev 02)
00:13.0 System peripheral [0880]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 SMBus 2.0 Controller 0 [8086:0c59] (rev 02)
00:13.1 System peripheral [0880]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 SMBus 2.0 Controller 1 [8086:0c5a] (rev 02)
00:14.0 Serial controller [0700]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 UART [8086:0c5f] (rev 02)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor S1200 Integrated Legacy Bus [8086:0c60] (rev 02)
01:00.0 SATA controller [0106]: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88SE9230 PCIe SATA 6Gb/s Controller [1b4b:9230] (rev 10)
02:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: Renesas Technology Corp. uPD720201 USB 3.0 Host Controller [1912:0014] (rev 03)
03:00.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Tundra Semiconductor Corp. Device [10e3:8113] (rev 01)
04:03.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd. MGA G200eW WPCM450 [102b:0532] (rev 0a)
05:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection [8086:1521] (rev 01)
05:00.1 Ethernet controller [0200]: Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection [8086:1521] (rev 01)
== END   lspci -nn ==

== BEGIN lsusb ==
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c05a Logitech, Inc. M90/M100 Optical Mouse
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04d9:1203 Holtek Semiconductor, Inc. Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0557:2221 ATEN International Co., Ltd Winbond Hermon
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
== END   lsusb ==

== BEGIN rpm -qa kmod\* kmdl\* ==
kmod-14-9.el7.x86_64
kmod-libs-14-9.el7.x86_64
== END   rpm -qa kmod\* kmdl\* ==


chemal
Posts: 776
Joined: 2013/12/08 19:44:49

Re: Very Slow Graphics Response

Post by chemal » 2014/11/26 17:32:46

As you have just found out, gnome 3 is unusable without working 3d acceleration. There is no other/better driver for this old matrox chip than the one you are already using. If you really need a gui on your server then you have to switch to another desktop environment that doesn't mandate 3d acceleration, like KDE, Mate, or XFCE.

RickyB
Posts: 4
Joined: 2014/11/12 07:21:53

Re: Very Slow Graphics Response

Post by RickyB » 2014/12/02 05:24:12

Thanks for your reply. Of the three alternate desktop environments you have suggested, is one significantly better? Since I already have gnome 3 installed, can you please tell me how I install and switch to KDE, for example.

walterbyrd
Posts: 66
Joined: 2013/06/28 19:55:29

Re: Very Slow Graphics Response

Post by walterbyrd » 2014/12/18 06:01:42

I have MATE installed, XFCE would not install correctly.

MATE is better than Gnome3, or Gnome Classic. But even MATE is noticeably worse than Gnome2 on CentOS 6.5.

When I move a window, I get tracing. I have not had this problem with Linux in years. And I have ran Linux with some fairly low-end hardware.

I am now using onboard ATI graphics. I am using an quad-cord AMD Phantom II 3200mhz, and have 12GBs of ram.

I am disappointed that with this much hardware I cannot even get acceptable graphics performance.

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TrevorH
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Posts: 33202
Joined: 2009/09/24 10:40:56
Location: Brighton, UK

Re: Very Slow Graphics Response

Post by TrevorH » 2014/12/18 08:49:42

That doesn't sound like a MATE problem, that sounds like a video driver problem. Perhaps you were using the proprietary ATI drivers before and now you're using the opensource version? I believe that ELRepo have the ATI drivers for CentOS 7 packaged up so maybe worth installing those and see if things get better.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

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