4870 Xorg.conf

[mtippett]

Ok.
Heres what I got so far, 7800GT vs HD4870:
glxgears-> 7800:~12000fps 4870:~9000fps
PTS UT2004-Demo (ONS-Torlan, 1680x1050)-> 7800: 67fps 4870: 57fps
Lightsmark (1680x1050)-> 7800:~60fps 4870:~290fps
Quake4 (1920x1200,HIGH/ULTRA)-> 4870:~100fps (capped?)
Tremulous (1680x1050)-> 7800: 110fps 4870: 120fps

The only test the 4870 excels at are the Lightsmark test.

Do some have other suggestions for good tests that could really bring to light the benefits of the HD4870?

I won't start on glxgears and it's relative value.

Almost all of those are CPU, not GPU limited. Increase your CPU and you get more FPS. As Michael hsa shown on some of his PTS tests, you can drop down to a 3870 or 2600 before you start getting GPU limited in some of these tests.

What you are actually measuring is the efficiency of some aspects of the driver, not the GPU itself.

There are very few GPU limited benchmarks under Linux - ETQW and the Unigine tech demos are really the only two that I have seen that are GPU limited.

You can run "watch aticonfig --odgc" to see the GPU utilization while an application is running windowed. You will see that most tests don't make the 4870 get anywhere near 100%.

If you are interested in working out how to detect a GPU limited application, you can look at how the application responds to increasing resolutions. See the example PTS plot at

http://www.phoronix-test-suite.com/screenshots/unigine-1.png

Regards,

Matthew

[energyman]

a) check with glxinfo that 3d works correctly at all
b) which driver are you using?

[NeoBrain]

You can run "watch aticonfig --odgc" to see the GPU utilization while an application is running windowed. You will see that most tests don't make the 4870 get anywhere near 100%.

Heh, yet another undocumented function
Seriously though, for what cards does this command work?
(fails for me on an X1600, but I'm going to buy a 3850 soon)

[energyman]

nope, it is documented.
aticonfig --help:
--odgc, --od-getclocks
Lists various information regarding current core and memory clock
settings.
Including: current and peak clocks
the theoretical range clocks can be set to
the current load on the GPU

and it works with my 3870

[NeoBrain]

nope, it is documented.
aticonfig --help:
--odgc, --od-getclocks
Lists various information regarding current core and memory clock
settings.
Including: current and peak clocks
the theoretical range clocks can be set to
the current load on the GPU

and it works with my 3870

Ah yeah, I forgot that I had downgraded to 8.7 last monday
So, thanks for the info.

[mtippett]

Heh, yet another undocumented function
Seriously though, for what cards does this command work?
(fails for me on an X1600, but I'm going to buy a 3850 soon)

No.

Fully documented in aticonfig --help. Also noted in the release notes [http://www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/ca...ux.html#194695]. Finally also covered in a Phoronix article [http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...ve_linux&num=1]

I *never* talk about the undocumented capabilities. In general the "tunable" options in within the driver are visible in aticonfig and amdccle.

Regards,

Matthew

[zhark]

UPDATE: Have recently run Quake 4 with everything in AMDCCLE at max. 8xFSAA with filter, edge-detect, 24 samples. Adaptive AA at quality. 16xAF. High quality mipmap.
Quake 4 in Phoronix Test Suite, 1920x1200 at ULTRA setting averages at a little above 70 fps. So this card is definately fast enough for Quake 4

[oblidor]

Hello!
1. Random crashes. Sometimes my computer hangs instantly when loading Xorg from a fresh boot, most times not. One time it crashed when I just dragged a Nautilus window.

What is your motherboard and powersupply?

[zhark]

What is your motherboard and powersupply?

Mist 500W. GA-P35-DS3.

[energyman]

try a different power supply. Something non-cheap. And a bit more powerfull. You are using a powerhungry card on a powerhungry board.