64-bit or not?

th3
th3
Joined: 24 Aug 06
Posts: 208
Credit: 2208434
RAC: 0

RE: When a new kernel is

Message 87931 in response to message 87930

Quote:
When a new kernel is released, it takes a few days for an updated video driver package to be released.


You are using the precompiled kernel modules then, and you don't need them. Install the kernel headers and gcc and you are good to go, the driver installer is pretty intelligent and can automatically clean up older drivers if needed.

install headers and gcc
download driver from nvidia
log in console
sudo sh NVIDIAandsoon.run
- or, if you need to specify which gcc version to use set the CC environment variable:
sudo CC=gcc-4.x sh NVIDIAandsoon.run

jedirock
jedirock
Joined: 11 Jun 06
Posts: 23
Credit: 1517411
RAC: 0

RE: RE: When a new kernel

Message 87932 in response to message 87931

Quote:
Quote:
When a new kernel is released, it takes a few days for an updated video driver package to be released.

You are using the precompiled kernel modules then, and you don't need them. Install the kernel headers and gcc and you are good to go, the driver installer is pretty intelligent and can automatically clean up older drivers if needed.

install headers and gcc
download driver from nvidia
log in console
sudo sh NVIDIAandsoon.run
- or, if you need to specify which gcc version to use set the CC environment variable:
sudo CC=gcc-4.x sh NVIDIAandsoon.run


That still means you have to remake the graphics drivers with each kernel release, which still is annoying.

th3
th3
Joined: 24 Aug 06
Posts: 208
Credit: 2208434
RAC: 0

I wouldnt know, i dont often

Message 87933 in response to message 87932

I wouldnt know, i dont often upgrade kernel, on the main rig i changed it only twice in 2008. I upgrade drivers far more often, both in Debian and Windows. Are there distros that upgrades kernel many times in one month?

May be off topic but got to say linux 180.xx beta drivers are great, i played around with VDPAU (GPU-accelerated video decoding) and got exited about it, playback of 720p H264 material with only 2-8% CPU time (normal decode ~20-30%), thats a lot of CPU cycles that can be put to use for E@H instead (so it wasnt totally off topic). VDPAU is still in a buggy beta state and cant play everything but its a good start, let the GPU do what the GPU does best.

ML1
ML1
Joined: 20 Feb 05
Posts: 347
Credit: 86307557
RAC: 604

RE: My main problem that

Message 87934 in response to message 87930

Quote:
My main problem that I've had with Linux video drivers is that every package I've found seems to be kernel-dependent. When a new kernel is released, it takes a few days for an updated video driver package to be released.


That's where you have DKMS whereby any kernel dependant modules are automatically recompiled for you during boot up if a new kernel is in use for the first time.

All sweetly automatic.

If not working, then please put in a bug report, or help to put in a fix for everyone.

Cheers,
Martin

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

th3
th3
Joined: 24 Aug 06
Posts: 208
Credit: 2208434
RAC: 0

RE: That's where you have

Message 87935 in response to message 87934

Quote:
That's where you have DKMS whereby any kernel dependant modules are automatically recompiled for you during boot up if a new kernel is in use for the first time.


I experienced this during reboot after kernel change for Alsa and some other stuff, but not for nv and vmware kernel modules. Lots of distros today dont install compilers and build depandant stuff by default anyway.

Btw, nvidia is maintaining their own set of precompiled modules, they may be much faster in updating than some distromaintainers. The driver installer will ask if you want to connect to nvidia.com to check if theres precompiled modules for your distro, if so no compile is needed.

Novasen169
Novasen169
Joined: 14 May 06
Posts: 43
Credit: 2767204
RAC: 0

RE: Long story short, my

Message 87936 in response to message 87926

Quote:
Long story short, my top performing host is my workstation at home. Even by today's standards it's a very high performance machine (See here for system details). It's running Vista Ultimate x64 and the only problems I've had to date were with instabilities during overclocking. 32-bit apps work just fine (it's running the E@H power app 6.05) and I can assure you, it flies compared to any other system I've worked on (XP or Vista). If your system can actually run Vista x64 (i.e. gets at least 4.5 on all Vista benchmark scores) then use Vista. Drivers are stable, the major kinks have been worked out with SP1, and you'll probably find that it's a much easier OS to use than XP.


Thanks, great post!

I've been convinced and I'll change to x64 once I have a backup drive. Been meaning to buy it but haven't gotten around to it yet. I want an external drive for movies / music anyway.

My score is 4.2 overall (aka the lowest) which is the graphics. It's a laptop so the graphic card is terrible. I think it should be okay though, even though vista does require some half-way decent graphic card it should be okay. The rest is 5.0+.

Zxian
Zxian
Joined: 23 Oct 06
Posts: 40
Credit: 5121474
RAC: 0

Gaming graphics, or Aero

Gaming graphics, or Aero performance? Gaming graphics doesn't matter unless you're doing gaming. If that's sub 5, then it's not that big of a deal.

Novasen169
Novasen169
Joined: 14 May 06
Posts: 43
Credit: 2767204
RAC: 0

RE: Gaming graphics, or

Message 87938 in response to message 87937

Quote:
Gaming graphics, or Aero performance? Gaming graphics doesn't matter unless you're doing gaming. If that's sub 5, then it's not that big of a deal.


It's Aero, gaming is at 4,9.

Does it really require more resources than gaming? It's pretty hard to imagine that..

Edit: Microsoft says 2.0 is "usually sufficient" at Desktop graphics performance (aka. Aero), would it be okay then to upgrade to x64? I don't really get why it wouldn't be anyways since - according to what I know about x64, which isn't a lot - it would only become more efficient, right? So performance should only improve...

ML1
ML1
Joined: 20 Feb 05
Posts: 347
Credit: 86307557
RAC: 604

RE: Btw, nvidia... I'm

Message 87939 in response to message 87935

Quote:
Btw, nvidia...


I'm using nVidia here with Mandriva Linux and it all works very well, including any updates. All too easy!

Happy crunchin',
Martin

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Zxian
Zxian
Joined: 23 Oct 06
Posts: 40
Credit: 5121474
RAC: 0

RE: It's Aero, gaming is at

Message 87940 in response to message 87938

Quote:

It's Aero, gaming is at 4,9.

Does it really require more resources than gaming? It's pretty hard to imagine that..

Edit: Microsoft says 2.0 is "usually sufficient" at Desktop graphics performance (aka. Aero), would it be okay then to upgrade to x64? I don't really get why it wouldn't be anyways since - according to what I know about x64, which isn't a lot - it would only become more efficient, right? So performance should only improve...

That rating should still be fine. Aero and gaming resources are different. I'm not entirely sure about the differences, but in any case, a 4.0 should still be good enough for most daily use.

x86-64 (aka x64) is simply an extension of the tried-and-tested x86 instruction set. There are hardware improvements over x86 as well (more registers for one), so Windows itself will run faster than the 32-bit version. Go ahead, take the plunge. =D

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.