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  • Linux and game performance

    For a year or more, I've noticed problems with running Enemy Territory: Quake Wars in Linux.

    One problem, is micro-stutter, and another problem is mouse lag (especially when zoomed w/ sniper rifle)

    My memory may not be correct, but I don't recall having these problems several kernels ago... Like around the time Quake Wars came out.

    I've searched quite a bit online, tried several workarounds, like disabling compositing, using OSS or ALSA, different recent kernels, and different nvidia driver versions, to no avail.

    Even setting the details to low and disabling anti-aliasing does not seem to make a difference.

    Upgrading my CPU from an AMD dual core 5000+ (which IIRC, used to work fine, many kernels ago) to a quad core Phenom II X4 945 seems to have made no difference.

    Out of curiosity, I tried installing the game in Vista, and it seems to exhibit none of these problems... Runs perfectly fine.

    One of the posts in my internet searches stated that using the BFS scheduler fixed the problem... I've not tried it myself.

    So is there something screwy going on with Linux CPU scheduler/xinput that degrades game performance?

    Just something I'm curious about. Wondering if others are having similar experiences.

    -Andy

  • #2
    This should probably be moved to the gaming forum, sorry.

    -Andy

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    • #3
      Not noticed any problems myself, that's was on a amd 3800xp and a 7800 gtx.

      On a amd 1095 BE and a 5870 and still fine.

      Is it on a certain map?


      Pete

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      • #4
        Sorry, I guess I could have given more info.

        It's actually the demo.

        My system runs Kubuntu 10.10 64-bit, though I've tried earlier versions and even a 32-bit install. Same issue.

        Tried Ubuntu's kernel, compiling my own kernel, optimizing it for K8, and 1000hz, and preempt, etc. etc.

        Think I even tried an RT kernel.

        I do seem to recall hearing somewhere that it could be a problem specific to the demo... If you end up with some time and bandwidth to kill, I'd be curious if the demo might act up for you where the full game does not?

        System is:

        AMD Phenom II X4 945 @ 3Ghz
        GeForce 8800GTS 640MB (think it is an MSI)
        Thermaltake 480W power supply
        GA-M57SLI motherboard (nForce 570 based)
        4GB DDR-800 Corsair RAM
        Seagate 500GB SATA hard drive
        Sound Blaster Audigy

        I'm not sure if this is related or not, but I also seem to get micro-stutter when playing Vice City in WINE.

        I realize one shouldn't expect perfect performance from WINE, but on this system I would expect it to be better than it is, particularly for an older game.

        WINE seems broken in 10.10 for me, so I'll have to wait to see if that is still an issue.

        -Andy

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        • #5
          On another note, I've been using nVidia since the GeForce DDR, recommending it since the TNT2, but I'm seriously considering getting my first ATI card, a 5870.

          Has comparable performance to the high-end fermis and is about $100 cheaper. How do you like it?

          Comment


          • #6
            i miself used geforce 8800GTS pretty long time and at the beginning of this year i switched to ATI (hd 5770), so far so good, native games run defenetly better than with my old card, but some wine games have more ati related issues (alltho its slowly getting better on that area).

            basicaly im happy with ATI and dont have any bad words about their driver..except their late xserver support.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by personman View Post
              So is there something screwy going on with Linux CPU scheduler/xinput that degrades game performance?
              It's entirely possible.

              Just something I'm curious about. Wondering if others are having similar experiences.

              -Andy
              Not having experienced it with my main machine, my HTPC, or my laptop- but then, I have a bit more aggressive hardware.

              I guess I could check and see if there's something noxious going on- I know for a fact that behaviors in the scheduler can make or break you. fglrx had a performance hit for the longest time because of a mis-match with the scheduler and it's handling of things. Stall the pipeline at the wrong time and you can lose half or more of your performance- or worse, go to slideshow framerates. I've seen it happen with X1950's back when those were the big thing.

              Comment


              • #8
                i do not take credit for this script, the credit for this script goes to "cogadh" at the ubuntu forums
                here's how the script works it launches a seperate x server to gain some performance boost, all you have to do is open the terminal, make sure your logged in as root
                and type this

                #!/bin/sh
                #uncomment if launching from console session
                #sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
                #KDE use this instead
                #sudo /etc/init.d/kdm stop

                # Launches a new X session on display 3. If you don't have an Nvidia card
                # take out the "& nvidia-settings --load-config-only" part
                X :3 -ac & nvidia-settings --load-config-only

                # Goto game dir (modify as needed)
                cd "~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Game/Directory/"

                # Forces the system to have a break for 2 seconds, X doesn't launch instantly
                sleep 2

                # Launches game (modify as needed)
                DISPLAY=:3 WINEDEBUG=-all wine "C:/Program Files/Game/Directory/game.exe"

                Comment


                • #9
                  I might use

                  metacity --replace &

                  or disable compiz/kde 4 effects in the menu by default as i don't need em at all, but using a new xserver is certainly also possible. You should not shutdown your dm as you can easyly switch using ctrl+alt+fX. If you want to start your game via cli (no need for root!), just run

                  startx $(which xterm) -- :1

                  be sure you config it to use full screen res.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    i do not take credit for this script, the credit for this script goes to "cogadh" at the ubuntu forums
                    here's how the script works it launches a seperate x server to gain some performance boost, all you have to do is open the terminal, make sure your logged in as root
                    and type this . Real time chicago Real Estate listings!

                    #!/bin/sh
                    #uncomment if launching from console session
                    #sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
                    #KDE use this instead
                    #sudo /etc/init.d/kdm stop

                    # Launches a new X session on display 3. If you don't have an Nvidia card
                    # take out the "& nvidia-settings --load-config-only" part
                    X :3 -ac & nvidia-settings --load-config-only

                    # Goto game dir (modify as needed)
                    cd "~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Game/Directory/"

                    # Forces the system to have a break for 2 seconds, X doesn't launch instantly
                    sleep 2

                    # Launches game (modify as needed)
                    DISPLAY=:3 WINEDEBUG=-all wine "C:/Program Files/Game/Directory/game.exe"

                    Comment

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