Low OpenGL Performance
 

This is my last place of hope before I email nvidia. My problem is lack of FPS in RTCW or Quake3 in linux, specificly Gentoo.

Using a reference point and RTCW, I get 70fps in windows, and 47fps in linux. Oddly enough if I launch the app from a 16bit desktop, rather than 24, I get 70fps just fine. I know people will argue about X switching depths, but in that scenario I can switch the game to 16bit and it looks much worse and fps goes up even higher. Problem with that scenario is a strange 'overlay' of sorts in game, so it's not a solution, just an example that my hardware can run windows like performance in linux, as it should.

I have tried just about everything, multiple kernels, removing agpart and using nvagp, mtrr support, low latency, preempible kernel, you name it I've tried it, fps goes no higher than 47.

My hardware is pretty standard, BX chipset, GeforceSDR, SB16, P3 at 1ghz. I once screwed up the X config file and my fonts where all wrong, 60hz at desktop, but the game launched in 1024x768x32 at 85hz and gained about 10fps. There must be some little trick that I'm missing, I know it can do it but if I mess with it much more I'll be put in an insane asylum. I'm on day# 5 as I type this. If anyone has any ideas please shoot them my way. TIA.

Make sure you don't have a framerate cap on.

I sure wish it was a framerate cap problem. ;) I use the same configs as the windows versions of quake3 and rtcw, and with all I've read around the net, I expect similar performance.

Thanks for responding though.. I have a feeling I'm either screwed, or maybe nvidia themselves can help. Figured I'd post on here as requested before emailing them.

Make sure you used timedemos to compare the performance and not just fps in the game itself (like a lot of people do).

It seems a lot of people are having this same problem ... how do the opengl screen hacks run ( gears glpanet ) ? I have not tried switching to 16bit yet ... but I am having the same problem you are.

No, not using timedemo. I'm backing myself into a corner on a map and putting the crosshairs on a specific object. A time demo would tell me the same thing.

Prometheus: I havn't used those programs as I have no point of reference for them. If you are having the same problem and don't have mtrr compiled in the kernel, give that a shot, that fixed it for someone on the gentoo forums, maybe you'll fair better than I. Eitherway if I do get a solution I'll be sure to post it here as well.

Read up on pageflipping, it really can make a difference in speed... The problem is it only works at certain resolutions :)

- r0gu3

mtrr is compilled in :(

The only way are timedemos. When you use timedemos you will see that linux and windows are about as fast.

Er.. ok. So the fact that while I'm in the base on the map in windows and the fps is locked at it's cap, but in linux it's 15-25fps below that won't show up on a timedemo? Just for you I'll record a short demo tonight and timedemo it in windows and linux and post the results. :) Please don't take offense, but your logic makes no sense.

To the person that mentioned pageflipping.. yeah when I saw that option in the config I was like "Yes! that's the problem!" and I set it to "True". Reading further the docs say it defaults to true. doh.

*EDIT* The timedemo results are in:
WindowsXP: 1669 Frames, 21.4 Seconds: 78.0 FPS
Linux: 1669 Frames, 39.8 Seconds: 42.0 FPS
Just to clear up that the slowness is not in my head. :)

At our site we still have a doc related to pageflipping but it was written for 1.0-23xx. Check out www.evil3d.net and check articles.