Slow graphics in VTK, suspecting video driver issue

[Antech]

Hello.
Sorry for language issues, English is not my native.

I use CentOS 6.5 on a laptop. For my work I need Salome platform that uses OpenCascade and VTK for graphics. The problem is that graphics is extremely slow. In fact it's obvious that VTK and OpenCascade used software rendering when I first installed Salome (official distribution, salome-platform.org, versions 7.5.1 and 7.6.0). When starting, Salome printed error message concerning OpenGL: file nouveau_dri.so was not found. I didn't find any "dri-drivers" package for CentOS containing this file so I copied it together with nouveau_vieux_dri.so from package "mesa-dri-drivers-8.0.5-1.el6.elrepo.x86_64.rpm" to /usr/lib64/dri. Fortunately, OpenCascade graphics in Salome fixed and now it's adequately fast (program's Geometry module). But the mesh module that uses VTK is still slow and unusabale with more or less realistic meshes (on a desktop with Ubuntu 12.04 and onboard Intel video mesh graphics in Salome is OK).

No package? OK, I tried to compile Mesa 9.2.0 library (containing video drivers) from sources. But first time it's configure said that I have DRM library (libdrm_nouveau) version 0.6! I searched the Internet and found this suggestion. I changed version in /usr/lib64/pkgconfig/libdrm_nouveau.pc from 0.6 to 2.4.45 that is shown in Add/Remove software GUI. Configure was OK but multiple errors occured while compiling: undefined unreferences like nouveau_object_new, nouveau_device_wrap e.t.c. Perhaps another problems with DRM compatibility but I don't understand why it happens because libdrm_nouveau 2.4.45 seems to be suitable for Mesa 9.2.0.

I know that I can install NVidia proprietary driver but I'm afraid I will crash the system with some hardly-compiled programs.

Please, help!

Thanks.

[chemal]

This isn't quite the way you treat an rpm/yum based distro like CentOS if you want to get any help. Also, CentOS 6.5 is dead and unsupported. The first step would be to carefully revert all your wrongdoing. Then yum update. Then you will notice that we are already at mesa 10.4.3 and that there's still no nouveau_dri.so, because RH doesn't support that. Installing nvidia's driver is the obvious solution if you don't have ideological problems with this. You have already found elrepo, but please use yum this time. No "hardly-compiled programs" should crash your system.

[Antech]

chemal
Hello.

Thanks for your reply. CentOS 6.5 was chosen because we have 6.2 on a cluster and plan to update (not to reinstall). Our technical support said that we can make an update from 6.2 maximum to 6.5 or 6.6 (we must also keep compatibility with Ansys software). I want to have the same distribution on a laptop and on a cluster.

AFAIR, I was careful and didn't do any too invasive things, maybe installed some packages that I don't remembe, copied to "dri" libraries to /usr/lib64/dri and edited libdrm version.

About programs, I ment the programs that was not easy for me to compile (conjunction of CodeSaturne and ParaView for co-processing with Catalyst). I set it up and backed up configuration files but I'll prefere to not recompile them and not reinstall other software.

OK, I will now try to setup network and make an update. Should I only use "yum update" command from root?

I made full update with yum update
=================================
There was no error messages, OS version displayd at startup is 6.7. But after reboot I don't see graphical CentOS logo, desktop resolution is 1024x768 and cannot be set higher (System => Preferences => Display). Command glxinfo says that direct rendering is ON, but graphics in Salome and ParaView is still slow (maybe a bit faster doe to low resolution, but much slower than on desktop with updated Ubuntu 12.04). Test glxgears looks OK, but performs at only 50...80 FPS at full screen, 360 FPS at default resolution (window). Video in the laptop is nVidia GT555M, here is what lspci says:

Code: Select all

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev b5)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev b5)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 (rev b5)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 5 (rev b5)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev b5)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM67 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 4 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.5 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 2 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 05)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF116M [GeForce GT 555M/635M] (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GF116 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 1030 [Rainbow Peak] (rev 34)
04:00.0 USB controller: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 04)
0a:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 06)

I also attached glxinfo output.

I think I solved the problem
=======================
I installed official proprietary nVidia driver:
1. Downloaded the driver (*.run) appropriate for my card from nVidia website.
2. Prepared kernel to disable nouveau and let proprietary driver install. I used this simple manual.
3. Quit from X-Window (telinit 3) and ran the driver installer (*.run).
4. Let the installer create X-Window configuration file. It's very important because without creating this file X-Server didn't start on my system.
5. Launched nvidia-settings utility and set PowerMizer to Prefere Maximum Performance (suggestion from the Internet). Before this I had not Gnome panel displayed for some reason.

Operations was performed after yum update, I think it may be important.
Now I need to press a spacebar to login when graphical desktop starts (I don't know why), but I have correct resolution, nice effects in X-Server GUI and relatively fast graphics in Salome!

IMHO, current kernel (it was updated with yum) doesn't support my video chip. If so, installing nVidia drivers was the only simple way in my case.

Small update: I fixed the problem with login screen. I needed to unplug external monitor cord from the laptop (my video system doesn't work with it correctly under Linux anyway) and enable only one monitor in display settings GUI.

Thanks for support.

[chemal]

Again, carefully revert all your wrongdoing. This time this means the nvidia driver installation from their run file. Then use elrepo to install via yum. Instructions are here: http://elrepo.org/tiki/kmod-nvidia

[Antech]

Sorry, but I have correctly working system now (I fixed minor issues and updated my previous post). IMHO, it's not needed to replace the proprietary driver.
I have read the instructions you mention but I didn't find my GT555M or 635M in list of supported chips so that time I decided not to install kmod-nvidia.

[chemal]

Suit yourself.