Karmic Power!

195.30? Where did you get those? The latest I see on nVidia's site is 190?

And the -a command added two monitors and two screens... my xorg.conf looked identical to yours before I ran the -a command...

EDIT: Nevermind. Didn't realize that nVidia added beta drivers for linux to their normal beta drivers section... I'm going to try those drivers.

 

yes don't run the -a command, it's usefull when you want to a dual display setup

Here is the 195.30 drivers

 

Well I don't usually run the -a command... just the --sli=Auto... So I'm going to try out those drivers and see if I have the same issue. They seem to have better support for the 200 series than the 190 and 185 drivers.

 

I am really interested to see a few benchmark results from the Phoronix tho

 

Yeah its downloading ET Quake Wars right now... at a ridiculously slow pace... I think it has like 120 tests in all... lol.

Honestly though, it amazes me how efficient Linux is. I checked my memory usage and swap usage... 589MB for mem, 1.1MB for swap... Windows is a total memory hog. I can actually run VMWare with 3 gigs under linux without it swapping... in Windows, it will sometimes swap at even 2GB... And file operations are ridiculously fast on linux. It extracted the entire ET:QW file (659MB) in about 40 seconds.

 

Pretty amazing indeed. I use a partition on my external hard drive without swap for linux and the speed of the OS is still very good. memory usage right now is 15% programs 15% cache. Could you run the following command and post the results?

sudo hdparm -tT /dev/sdb (the sdb could be something different for you) if you don't use raid or

sudo hdparm -tT /dev/mapper/nvidia_ejbifdgg (if you have your disks in raid)

it will test the speed of the hard drive

what i get is:

/dev/mapper/nvidia_ejbifdgg:
Timing cached reads: 15154 MB in 1.99 seconds = 7607.77 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 502 MB in 3.01 seconds = 166.62 MB/sec

 

/dev/sda:
Timing cached reads: 3480 MB in 2.00 seconds = 1741.10 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 288 MB in 3.02 seconds = 95.45 MB/sec

I'm doing stuff with the computer right now though (I had to get the new beta of Phoronix's suite because the other one crapped out - 9GB to be installed - going to bed lol) but still, that's a lot faster than one of my desktop drives. :/

 

guys, I've never used linux for gaming but wouldnt there be some kind of performance loss using wine or smt ?

 

First of all there would be a lot of tweaking to even make the current games playable under linux. However, if you're into it and don't mind some extra hours of learning this OS and adjusting it to your needs, you'll find it's much more potent :
1. Faster and less resource demanding than Windows
2. More customization (pretty much everything from the core to visual effects can be attuned to your needs)
3. No DPCLatency issues, no stuttering and no sound problems
4. Less security issues (no need of an expensive antivirus software, anti-spyware etc)
5. Everything is free.

Again a huge but - it requires a lot of learning !
But if you're into it - check this for some examples of the visual effects.

 

This is how my desktop looks like after just a little customization.

 

Did you find the stock (185) drivers to have some issues?
I didn't notice any slowdowns when switching to and from battery.
In addition I could use function keys to change the brightness without any problem (with visuals)...

 

ok, ty


10car

 

I didn't try the 185 at all. By the time I had the the wifi enabled I downloaded the beta drivers. Just make sure you have the SLI enabled in xorg.conf I would like to see if there is any performance improvement between those two versions

 

Sorry, haven't reverted to 185 yet. Was busy with eyecandies
Installed Compiz and Avant.
Useful software so far (tested with no issues):
Shiretoko Web Browser (aka Firefox 3.5.8)
Shredder 3 Mail (aka Thunderbird 3)
Sun Java 6 (especially for remote control software like Logmein)
Audacity (audio editing program)
Skype
Cheese Webcam Booth (Youcam equivalent)
Gxine, VLC Player, MPlayer, (media players)
VMWare Player (virtualization software)
Wine and PlayONLinux (progs for playing games in linux)

If you stumble across some useful programs that work fine in Ubuntu - feel free to bring 'em on.

 

Ok, so SLI only works with the latest 195 drivers, but still far from being perfect, so I disabled it till a better support arrives.

 

Even though I haven't tried the 185 drivers, I believe that by running the:
sudo nvidia-xconfig --SLI=Auto

or

sudo nvidia-xconfig --SLI=AFR

you can use the SLI mode, otherwise try to load my xorg.conf and see if it's ok, if not revert back to your xorg.conf Maybe it will work...

 

Tried it with 190 got completely messed colors on reboot. Updated to 195. it worked but stuttered with any 3D activity. So I turned it Off.

 

Steam in Ubuntu. Installing Kings Bounty The Armored Princess...
Chat works too.

 

Ok, The installation was successful (including directx). Now when I run the game directly from Steam, it freezes (I mean Steam).
So hereby I embark on a perilous journey to WineHQ tweaks&tricks. If I make my games playable from Steam under PlayOnLinux - I'll officially remove my windows partition...
Wish me luck

 

Ok so here it is. I managed to run Kings Bounty Armored Princess in Steam in PlayOnLinux! in Ubuntu!!!
Here is a screenshot. It's not perfect, still need to adjust the optimal settings but it's working!

 

Hooah! After turning off Compiz and Avant I managed to run the game SMOOTH all maxed out 1900X1200 and 16XAA! Looks like the drivers are really good even though the game isn't too demanding.
Moreover, I heard Steam is preparing its linux client, which supposed to make a huge improvement into linux gaming.

 

Stamatisx,
how is your SLI doing? Did you manage to make it working with no stutter? I'm still searching here.

 

Aikimox, I never had stutter in Linux. Is there any specific game that you have stuttering or you experience stutter in general? Usually composite and compiz are two factors that affect many applications. Even the docking bar could be a culprit. Do you see any weird error messages on dmesg ?

 

By stutter I mean a crappy SLI performance. When SLI is enabled (195) even the mouse pointer is lagging. Glxgears lag like crazy, so I thought the SLI support is not very good. But if you're saying that you don't have any problem with it enabled, then I assume something is wrong with my drivers' installation (I went 180.x->185.x->190.x->195.x).

 

Don't see any errors on dmesg, but when I run glxgears with SLI enabled I get 11-13k frames in 5 sec while with a single card I'm getting 20k

 

Sorry, my bad, if I turn off Compiz I get no stutter and 40k...

 

That might be the case because by just installing the newer driver on top of the older one the installer doesn't completely remove all the files. For sure it uninstalls the module from the kernel but still not good enough. I had a fresh install with only the 195 drivers installed. I am on my netbook right now so i can't check the framerate of glxgears. counter strike 1.6 tho was 71 fps all maxed out, I would install counter strike source but I have Ubuntu installed on an external hard drive in a 10GB partition so there is not enough space left...

 

Has anyone managed to get HDMI out working on Ubuntu yet? I have played around a bit, but no luck yet. Post your xconfig here if you have!

 

So is there a way of reinstalling the driver completely (like with CCleaner in Windows)?
I'm reluctant to reinstall the entire system.
BTW, with SLI I'm getting 38-39k in glxgears and with a single card - 40+k. So the SLI option is only lowering the performance.

 

It just crossed my mind, try envyng. It saved me in the past with the ATI cards. I haven't tried it yet but I am sure it will help. The drivers downloaded from nvidia can be uninstalled via console using the sudo ./(the NVidia drivers) --uninstall If the drivers were installed via synaptics then you can uninstall them from there too. you could try also the sudo apt-get remove nvidia-something (I can't try the commands because I am still on my netbook and I won't have access to my laptop for the next week too )
use the command locate nvidia (try many variatios in case it's case sensitive, I don't remember for sure) and see if there are any files left and where after the uninstall

*EDIT*

sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-glx just remembered this one too, its for the ubuntu drivers

Sorry that I can't be of any more assistance right now

 

Looks like I need to learn a lot before switching to linux entirely. Was installing and reinstalling drivers for the whole day today and so far the 195. was the best but only with SLI disabled. Highest performance in glxgears and games. I did another clean OS reinstall and just put the latest drivers but SLI worked even worse and eventually after reinstalling drivers again got a total freeze, with an error message on boot "kernel is confused unable to mount root..." so I'm giving it a little break, to chill out

 

Try NvTV TV OUT you can install it through the software centre.

 

Ok, installed EnvyNG, 195.30 drivers. So far the performance is low - 15k in glxgears using a single card.

 

Yea I did try that but it doesnt work. It wont start, gives the following message:

Fatal: No supported video card found.

 

Ok, so my biggest problem is to get max performance from the GPUs.
Should we wait for the next drivers update or try tweaking the current config?
Honestly, I don't know what else to try. I'm sure the SLI should hit 100k+ easily in gears but the best I had was 39k + poor performance. I'm even thinking of re-flashing the BIOS...

 

No, reflashing won't help. It's drivers compatibility issues and configuration of the xorg. I read somewhere that pulse drivers could affect the fps. Can you check the powermizer while running the gears? Does it fluctuate at all? can you type

glxinfo | grep rendering

and see if it says direct rendering: Yes

could you also try to add

Option "UseEvents" "false"

under the screen section of the xorg.conf and check the results?

I would suggest a reboot of the machine every time a change is performed. I would try them myself before posting but I can't

*EDIT*
Forgot to tell you about this, if you are willing to try then take a look at this, there are many options that could make the difference

 

First off all reflashing BIOS did return the ability to change the brightness (both in W7 and Ubuntu) using function keys.
Now testing other settings....

 

glxinfo returns yes.
However I was shocked to see my xorg.conf :
"
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Default Device"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "True"
EndSection
"
That's ALL
As I recall it should much-MUCH bigger...
Something is wrong here.
Any Ideas?

 

the Load "glx" indicates that it's the ubuntu drivers and not the Nvidia ones, yeah something is wrong with the installation I guess. After a clean installation of Ubuntu did you install the 195.30 or the ubuntu drivers?

 

I added ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu karmic to the repositories and the 195.30 drivers appeared in the Hardware Drivers. I just activated them.

 

ok, so now my xorg looks exactly like yours. What puzzles me is the performance , as it is clearly worse than before. With SLI I'm getting only 14k in glxgears with all eyecandies disabled. I can't even get the 40k I had before with a single card.... Needless to say that I can't even load games like Dragon Age...
And I have absolutely no Idea, what is wrong.

 

Did you check the powermizer and see if is on level 3? I think that it stays at level 0 or 1 that's why the performance is so bad. One option is to try drivers without the powermizer and see the difference

 

Yes, the powermizer is on 1 and never goes higher.... But how can we try drivers without it? Do you mean running older drivers?

 

Yes either install older drivers without the powermizer, or force level 3 through xorg.conf I think there is an option that does that but I don't know how it will perform in SLI mode.

Check this link

I haven't tried it yet so I can't guarantee it will work

 

Now is the tough question, how to safely remove the current and install the older drivers? Can I remove the 195 through the Hardware Drivers and then just activate the 185 ? I can't do it with EnvyNG since it's not working on my system (installed it through the Software Centre but every time I try to load it - nothing happens)

 

Well, I guess you could, I don't know what is going to be left after the uninstall and how it will affect the next driver. What I suggest is to make a clean install of ubuntu, install all the programs you want except compiz and make a back up of the partition. This way if something goes wrong just use the back up and try anything you want without worrying how to undo it. Give me a few minutes to check as there is a command that will perform the back up you want and compress it into a file.

*EDIT*
Take a look at this

 

Thanks, I will first try reverting to the 185, then if it fails will re-install the system and do as you suggested. Normally, I'd backup with Acronis, but the native linux way looks to good not to try.

 

Take a look at this too before you proceed

 

Ok, If you just click activate on older drivers it does the job automatically deactivating the current ones. I'm on the 185 - 20k in gears. still not good enough... The re-install is looming

 

It's too old to consider relevant...Dunno...