I'd noticed recently that my CPU usage had crept up on my ACER laptop with an ATI graphics chip and was slowing down simple things like scrolling. I switched off my folding@home client straight away, and then delved deeper.
I tried the usual fix-all of moving my .gconf path so it would be recreated next time I started the Gnome GUI but this made no difference.
I discovered an option however on the Xorg file xorg.conf which controls the graphical setup. Simply adding the following 2 lines to my xorg.conf file and then restarting gdm and all was back to normal. I love it when a problem like this can be fixed by typing 2 lines into vi ;-)
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "ati"
Option "Accel"
Option "AccelMethod" "XAA"
Sweet potatoes, as they say.
JB
12 comments:
Thanks mate. That seems to have helped on my missus's old Dell Latitude.
Chris
Always a pleasure, knowing that knowledge has come to your aid for an annoying problem.
Cheers - JG
Fixed my xorg slowness on an old Dell Latitude as well. Thanks!
A pleasure mate, glad it helped you.
I have tried it. I hope it helps. Sometimes X.org had 100% CPU load and disabled tv out. After reboot everything was fine.
I believe in your solution :)
Thx.
Peter
Ubuntu newbie here. Sounds like your solution will work for my Latitude D600 but I don't know how to edit the xorg.conf file to insert the new code. Could someone help with the process?
Many thanks AP
If you don't feel happy using the vi editor, then don't worry. I'm a bit of a stickler for the korn shell hehe ;-)
Simply open a terminal and type the following:
gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
There you edit it, similar to Notepad on Windows. Make the changes as shown on my blog by inserting the two entries. Shown below for convenience:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "ati"
=======INSERT THESE 2 LINES=====
Option "Accel"
Option "AccelMethod" "XAA"
=======INSERT THESE 2 LINES=====
Save your changes, and give it a reboot. Alternatively, logout and restart your X server.
Cheers
JG
Many, many thanks for the assist. PC seems to be working just fine now.
AP
Thanks...I was having the same problem of the CPU stuck at 100% and I solved following you code. I'm from Montevideo, Uruguay, cheers from here.
O en español: un gran saludo y gracias por la ayuda.
De nada ;-)
JG
Hi
I tried out your fix and it worked like awesome! Thank you very much.
I'm still using Karmic Koala and now CPU time is limited to less than 10% instead of the 30-40 it was before.
Only difference is that 'fglrx' appears as the Driver instead of 'ati' in my xord.conf file, but it's not a problem.
Post a Comment