On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 02:00:35PM -0400, Simon Hunt wrote: > I posted this on the forums but I want some more information. I have a > bit of a dilemma. With these settings, > > xf86-video-intel: 2.6.3-r1 xorg-server: 1.6.2-r1 and 1.6.3 kernel > module: i830 kernel: gentoo 2.6.29-r5 and 2.6.30-r4 > > sometimes when stopping or starting X my computer would freeze and there > would be no video output. However, other than that, inside Gnome Firefox > ran pretty smoothly, not incredibly fast, but not sluggishly at all. > With these settings, > > xf86-video-intel: 2.8.0 xorg-server: 1.6.3 kernel module: i915 kernel: > vanilla 2.6.31_rc7 > > > X starts and stops very smoothly without ever freezing, I think because > of the KMS. But Firefox runs sluggishly and my whole machine freezes in > Firefox frequently. According to this, > http://www.x.org/wiki/IntelGraphicsDriver, the 2.8.0 driver drops > support for XAA and EXA, but has no UXA support for my graphics card > (865G), so I think I'm getting no 2D acceleration. Could that be the > reason Firefox is so slow? As for the freezes, I think that's just > because the newer driver is unstable. What are the optimum driver and > kernel versions for my graphics card, the 865G? Also, the reason I'm > using the 2.6.31 kernel is because that X.Org wiki page says it works > best with the 2.8.0 intel driver. Oh, and what exactly is the kernel > module for and what are the differences between the i830 and i915? > > Pappy told me I should use kernel .27, and that KMS support right now > for my card is very unstable. Anyway, I just want to know the best > options right now for my card which is the 865G.
Okay, my current setup is xf86-video-intel: 2.7.1 xorg-server: 1.6.3.901 kernel: 2.6.30-r4 with i915 and it never freezes while starting or stopping, and it never lags in Firefox. The only way this differs from my old setup is the xorg-server, so I think they may have fixed the freezing issue in the version. I tried both suggestions, and I don't know why but they just didn't work for me. Thanks for all the help though! Oh by the way, the only reason I even tried this was because I had to use a different kernel to get into X and it just happened to work perfectly!
