J.C., Thanks a bunch for this really informative response...
> On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:00:24 -0400 (EDT) "Aaron W. Hsu" > <arcf...@sacrideo.us> wrote: > > > Section "Module" > > Load "dbe" > > Load "dri" > > Load "extmod" > > Load "glx" > > Load "freetype" > > EndSection > > > > The above are not necessary. They are all loaded by default. See your > Xorg.0.log for details. Removed without any problems. Thanks. > > Section "Monitor" > > #DisplaySize 330 210 # mm > > Identifier "Monitor0" > > VendorName "LEN" > > ModelName "4053" > > Option "DPMS" > > EndSection > > > > Section "Monitor" > > #DisplaySize 330 210 # mm > > Identifier "Monitor1" > > VendorName "LEN" > > ModelName "4053" > > Option "DPMS" > > EndSection > > > > Something doesn't make sense here. The closest I've found to your > description is an LCD for a laptop? > > LENOVO Y730 4053-2EU LAPTOP LCD PANEL 17" GLOSSY WUXGA > http://www.247laptoplcd.com/servlet/the-61437/LENOVO-Y730-4053-dsh-2EU-LAPTOP/Detail > > or > > LENOVO Y730 4053-2AU LAPTOP LCD PANEL 17" GLOSSY WUXGA > http://www.247laptoplcd.com/servlet/the-61436/LENOVO-Y730-4053-dsh-2AU-LAPTOP/Detail > > The LCD itself might be used in stand-alone displays as well as > laptops, but I couldn't find one, let alone the specs for the LCD. > > I'm sure you're thinking, "Why the hell does that matter?" but sadly the > display really does matter with the intel(4) driver. One of the crazy > things the intel(4) driver does is query the display, and if it's a > fixed resolution LCD, the driver tries to "rescale" the resolution you > stated in your xorg.conf to what the display can actually handle. > > Though this new "feature" is required for some laptops and other LCD's > to operate, it does not work very well, and it does cause problems for > devices which do not need this "feature" present. I had no idea that they were pulling those kinds of stunts. At any rate, this is a Lenovo T500 Laptop, so yes, it has a single LCD screen. > > Section "Device" > > ### Available Driver options are:- > > ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False", > > ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz" > > ### [arg]: arg optional > > #Option "NoAccel" # [<bool>] > > #Option "SWcursor" # [<bool>] > > #Option "ColorKey" # <i> > > #Option "CacheLines" # <i> > > #Option "Dac6Bit" # [<bool>] > > #Option "DRI" # [<bool>] > > #Option "NoDDC" # [<bool>] > > #Option "ShowCache" # [<bool>] > > #Option "XvMCSurfaces" # <i> > > #Option "PageFlip" # [<bool>] > > Identifier "Card0" > > Driver "intel" > > VendorName "Intel" > > BoardName "GM45 Video" > > BusID "PCI:0:2:0" > > EndSection > > > > Section "Device" > > ### Available Driver options are:- > <snip> > > Identifier "Card1" > > Driver "radeon" > > VendorName "ATI" > > BoardName "Mobility Radeon HD 3650" > > BusID "PCI:1:0:0" > > EndSection > > > > good, you've actually got two cards in the machine. A number of > dual/multi head cards can be run "Zaphod Mode" (i.e. two or more > "Device" sections for a single card), but the new intel(4) driver does > not support this. Actually, while there are two cards in the machine, and I can run with both of them enabled in the BIOS, it saps a lot of power. I can't seem to get good use out of the ATI one at the moment, so I've been using the Intel, with the ATI disabled in the BIOS. > > (II) intel(0): Selecting standard 18 bit TMDS pixel format. > > This is probably correct, but some newer LCD's use a 24-bit pixel > format. See the "LVDS24Bit" option in the intel(4) man page. I tried it the other way, and 18 bit TMDS mode is most certainly the correct way. :-) > Now here's my suggestion for video playback; try disabling either DDC2 > or DCC (both 1 & 2). > > In your "Device" section you can use: > Option "DDC" "false" # Both version 1 and 2 > Option "DDC1" "false" # Only version 1 > Option "DDC2" "false" # Only version 2 > > The above will prevent the intel(4) driver from attempting anything > stupid in the way of rescaling, because without DDC the driver will no > longer be able to tell what type of display is attached. > > You will most likely need to add a "Modes" line to your "Display" > subsection to keep the intel(4) driver from running off into the weeds > trying to use the *MAX* resolution. > > Section "Screen" > Identifier "Screen0" > Device "Card0" > Monitor "Monitor0" > SubSection "Display" > Viewport 0 0 > Depth 24 > Modes "1680x1050" "1280x768" "whatever" > EndSubSection > EndSection > > NOTE: The above is just me guessing. You *need* to put the right > resolutions for you display, which means you need to find the > documentation for it. --I tried, but I'm too lazy, and my mind > reading skills leave a lot to be desired. (; > > Sure, running at max resolution is fun, but the other funky thing about > the intel(4) driver (and chipsets) is if you are running at MAX > resolution, you cannot play video very well, or in some cases, at all. > I suspect the reason for this limitation is due to using up all the > (shared) resources trying to push the larger resolution(s). The solution > I've found here with other Intel chips is to just use a lower > resolution and video plays fine. It even plays fine full-screen, > something the previous driver ("i810(4)") could never do. Thank you again for providing this very informative answer. I think that I will definitely try this if I have problems again, but...*sheepish grin*...I can reproduce any of the tearing, slow playback, or otherwise in my latest build. I don't know if I did something or messed something up (I know at one point I was running the expiremental Intel driver for testing, maybe that was it?), but when I recompiled from yesterday's source, and rebuilt Xenocara, with the only xorg.conf modification being that mentioned above, the video which had given me trouble now plays just fine. :-S So, apparently, I don't need to edit the DDC options right now. I'm still not sure why it is working now and wasn't just a week ago, but maybe I missed something in my usually quick browse of the source changes. Thanks again so much for this great info. -- Aaron W. Hsu <arcf...@sacrideo.us> | <http://www.sacrideo.us> "Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." -- Frederic Bastiat +++++++++++++++ ((lambda (x) (x x)) (lambda (x) (x x))) ++++++++++++++