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Intel 945 Video Hint

By Rich Johnson on Published: December 30, 2007 at 11:14 pm

Are you rocking an Intel 945GM chipset with the integrated Intel 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)? If so, this little tweak has helped 3 of us thus far in #kubuntu-devel with KDE 4 and compositing effects.

Step 1: xorg.conf editing

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Intel Corporation Mobile Integrated Graphics Controller"
        Driver          "i810"
        BusID           "PCI:0:2:0"
        Option          "AccelMethod"   "xaa"
EndSection

This is what our device section for the graphics card looks like. We added the “AccelMethod” “xaa” option.

Step 2: ~/.bashrc

export INTEL_BATCH=1

Added that line to our ~/.bashrc file.

We then restarted X with a swift Ctrl+Alt+Backspace and then tested this setup with glxgears and we all received an average FPS of well over 1000. Prior to this, my highest FPS was a low 900. After these little tweaks, composite never worked so smoothly in KDE 4 in the past.

Does this tweak work for others using say Compiz? Are there some more Intel tweaks that you know of that help out as well? If so, add them to the comment and attempt to explain exactly what they do. Thanks!

Posted in Linux | Tagged , | 17 Responses

Cooling recommendations needed

By Rich Johnson on Published: December 29, 2007 at 12:27 am

What CPU cooler do you recommend? My specs are this right here:

  • CPU: Pentium 4 D (dual-core) 2.66GHz
  • Mobo: MSI PM8M3-V (micro-atx) LGA775
  • Case: This one

I am looking for a cooler that isn’t to expensive, somewhat quiet, very good, and hopefully doesn’t have those plastic motherboard connectors I previously warned about. Thus far I have read a few reviews, but I don’t always trust those, since most websites tend to BS their results in order not to piss off the person who sent them the free components. Some of the shops I buy from and trust are Newegg, Directron, Tiger Direct (local), Frys (local), Microcenter (local), and sometimes hit up Amazon for stuff. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Posted in Personal | Tagged | 13 Responses

CPU Cooling FYI

By Rich Johnson on Published: December 28, 2007 at 1:17 pm

If you are planning on building a new computer in the near future, I would like to recommend you stay away from CPU coolers that have the plastic push/snap pins such as those in the image.

cpu cooler mounts

The past couple of days I noticed that while compiling code, my CPU temperatures went up above 70°C. After further inspection, I noticed that one of the corner posts on the CPU cooler came loose from the motherboard, therefor not coming in full contact with the CPU itself. So if you have a choice of CPU cooling, remember to shy away from the coolers with the plastic posts that snap into the motherboard. These are flat out garbage. After cleaning up the CPU and cooler, I remounted it, and now my temps when compiling are a toasty 60°C. I will be purchasing a new cooler in the near future to replace my current one, as even 60°C is a little to high for my liking. My server is watercooled with a custom setup I built many years ago, and when I have a couple of builds going on, it never gets above 35°C.

Posted in Personal | Tagged | 3 Responses

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