digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at makeuseof.com

Check if Compiz will run well on your Linux

makeuseof.com — Compiz works perfectly on most hardware that has good drivers - however, problems do exist and sometimes it may not work so well with your computer ’s graphics card. Depending upon the kind of drivers and support, Compiz may not work at all, or it might throw up errors when activated.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • jggube, on 05/05/2008, -10/+5Very cool application!
    • t1n0m3n, on 05/05/2008, -1/+6It says nothing about issues that cause infinite wobbling windows, context menu (and the main menu for that matter) slowdowns when running two x servers, and other "bugs" that are inherent with closed source drivers. For now I just disable it entirely, but one day I hope to be able to run compiz with rock solid stability. Come on NVidia! Open up your drivers! FYI, I run Ubuntu 8.04 64 bit on a laptop with a NVidia Quadro FX2500M video card.
      • bitterbug, on 05/05/2008, -0/+6Compiz is cool, but things like the stuck wobbly window can be quite frustrating.
        If I'm doing anything I consider important, I turn compiz down to the minimal settings so it doesn't leave me unable to access an app. It's no fun being in the middle of an SSH session and having the terminal window go into a seizure when you move it near the edge of the desktop.
        • Hermmunster, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1You can turn off the stickiness of the wobbly windows. Search synaptic for compiz. Choose the compiz configuration manager. Once it is installed launch the manager. Find the Wobbly window plugin. When you click on it it will bring up the configuration settings for it. Un-click the "snap inverted". That'll turn off the snapping aspect of it.

          The snapping should not be on by default.
      • init100, on 05/05/2008, -3/+1"slowdowns when running two x servers"

        Who does still use XGL these days?
      • rpgmaker, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2Dude, Compiz should work on your machine. Did you tried disabling the wobbly windows plugin?
      • Biznarie, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1I hate wobbly windows, I'd much rather have snapping windows.
  • ritubpant, on 05/05/2008, -8/+38i wish this comes integrated with ubuntu
    • weizbox, on 05/05/2008, -1/+26I would rather see a GUI developed for it than to have the users type even more commands into the terminal. I personally don't mind the terminal method... but if this is supposed to be the distro for the masses and to be converting Windows users, a GUI would be very nice and make the transition smoother.

      Another good idea would be to have that error message about 'Desktop effects could not be enabled' list WHY they can not be enabled, and show the results similar to how this script shows them. Some links to where to get some help based on what did not pass would also be a plus :)
      • FvckingFvck, on 05/05/2008, -0/+9I agree with this post completely. I'd also like to see Ubuntu come with a GUI for editing xorg.conf.
        • ikkefc3, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1There is a gui for editing xorg.conf: gedit on GNOME or kwrite on KDE (or another text editor), and nVidia (binary driver) has a control panel where you can set some settings.
          BTW: Xorg 7.3 supports hotplugging, so in the most cases, you don't have to edit your xorg.conf (it will automaticly detect your monitor's / resolution etc.).
      • Hermmunster, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2I downloaded the utility on one of my laptops. I had 7.10 installed previously and it worked with compiz, but with 8.04 compiz (though installed) didn't work. After running this utility it explained why it wasn't working and offered to make it work. The disclaimer was that there is an awful bug in the driver for this chipset that can cause X to lock up. I had run 7.10 with it for months without being unhappy, so I chose to bypass the feature that the dorky ubuntu developers put in there.

        Now the compiz works again on my laptop. Couldn't be happier. It would have been better for them to f'ing fix the bug in the driver instead of crapping on us already somewhat unhappy laptop users (by having them disable even more features). The choice all along should have been mine, not theirs. This utility returned the choice back to me.
    • yuanzhoulu, on 05/05/2008, -5/+0are you kidding? compiz-fusion IS integrated with ubuntu. just enable the "advanced desktop effects" or whatever the name is in english (i use german ubuntu) in the same place where you set the desktop background. it's been there since 7.10 i think, it's definitely there in 8.04

      install compiz-config to get more advanced settings manager as well.

      now on some graphics cards some more advanced tweaking may be necessary. for nvidia cards you'll need to go into the hardware drivers dialog and add the NVIDIA proprietary driver, for instance.
      • Flooded, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1I think ritubpant meant that he wished this tool be integrated with ubuntu. My laptops graphics card (radeon x300) was blacklisted in compiz when upgrading to hardy from gutsy, but the only reason I know this is because I dug around the ubuntu forums. Had this tool been integrated, it would have saved me a LOT of time and frustration.
    • megamod, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2This is awesome...it was able to unblacklist my radeon card driver. For some reason it wouldn't load the drivers correctly and this did it for me!! =)
  • SirPopper, on 05/05/2008, -13/+5Hm, [wanna have a quad!]
    I have seen the function on a video, looks amazing.
    Have used a similar software on my system, but my eyes run wild therefore I switched it off.
    Now I will wait for a better system with a power graphic card in it and RAM as much as possible.
    Then the future can come!
  • sloppychris, on 05/05/2008, -4/+62How cool. When this was first released I left a comment detailing that it wasn't working perfectly with my nvidia video card. He said he didn't have a nvidia card to test with so he used my feedback to improve the script's performance. That means in my own small little way I helped open source! I rule!
  • abhim12, on 05/05/2008, -4/+9I predict a lot of people will be using this script....its a cool tool!
  • orange2blue, on 05/05/2008, -17/+3This has been dugg before: http://digg.com/linux_unix/Introducing_Compiz_Chec ...
  • esengulov, on 05/05/2008, -13/+2@ orange2blue

    So ... ? It never made it !
    • weizbox, on 05/05/2008, -1/+11No need for @ing someone unless you can't reply. And in this case, you can reply just fine.
  • HealthyElijah, on 05/05/2008, -11/+2This needs to be in the next release of Ubuntu!
  • l800LEMMINGS, on 05/05/2008, -3/+9vmware has a really bad monitor and video card detection making it that much more a pain in the ass
  • GIFF3, on 05/05/2008, -3/+3Where can I get that wallpaper on the cube??
  • SAOSiN, on 05/05/2008, -3/+4Does ubuntu have network bridging? My first box forwards its connection to this computer and i bridge my network on this computer to my xbox 360? Also would ubuntu see the forwarded connection from the first box? i want to make the switch, but i cant find info like that available.
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4http://ubuntuforums.org
      • SAOSiN, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1thanks, i just registered there as seduction.
    • vibrokatana, on 05/05/2008, -0/+3Yes, if you want to share the connection from the linux box check out firestarter as it has a simple GUI to get you started.
    • ikkefc3, on 05/06/2008, -3/+1PCLinuxOS (http://pclinuxos.com) has a nice gui for setting up a network bridge. I'd recommend the PCLinuxOS Gnome Remaster -> has also some codec's preinstalled and has a nice control center.
  • dattaway, on 05/05/2008, -2/+10If it works great on my eeepc, it should work well on any late model pc.
  • bcardarella, on 05/05/2008, -3/+3While I have found Compiz to be great there are still some big time performance issues to be taken into consideration before adopting it. The Emerald theme package really slows things down. For example, I have a Vista Aero Emerald theme applies, if I am using any app that rewrites its own title bar (i.e. Evolution, composing a new email) it slows to a crawl. I have a top of the line system (Sager 9262) and this still occurs. I have also noticed this happening sometimes in Gnome Terminal. The text input will lag sometimes (especially in Vim).

    Other than that Compiz is great and I make every jealous with my cube and other desktop effects.
    • yetAnotherCroc, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Emerald is officially discontinued. The Compiz-fusion people are working on a new and better theme manager for compiz. They have admited that Emerald was never very stable or light on the system.
  • jasonlfunk, on 05/05/2008, -1/+5I'm good to go.
  • stargatesteve, on 05/05/2008, -1/+10well, IDK, is _my_ Linux different from _your_ Linux?
    • yetAnotherCroc, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1yes, _my_linux uses a better package manager and boots faster than _your_linux. Though I hear that _your_linux 2.6 beta is faster with installing packages. Edit: No I am not and will never be much of a comedian
    • 1timeuser, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1dunno, what version of the kernel are you using?
  • Mafuzzy, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1It has to work on linux otherwise the world doesn't go round
    • cesclaveria, on 05/05/2008, -0/+7I don't know about the world, but the cube certainly would not go around.
  • hadak, on 05/05/2008, -7/+4I just tried it on 10.5.2. As expected, it ***** a brick.
  • beeplogic, on 05/05/2008, -4/+0You lost me at "works perfectly"....grumble...
  • scy1192, on 05/05/2008, -5/+3this is like a utility that checks to see if you can run Aero on Vista getting front paged. That is to say, it's not needed.
    • Hermmunster, on 05/05/2008, -2/+1Actually it doesn't just check it will fix issues too.
    • pHr34kY, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2With Vista you can just go off the sticker on the front of the PC...oh, wait.
  • mrogi, on 05/05/2008, -12/+1As a desktop home user, why in the hell would I run Linux when the damn thing don't run 90% of the software I love to use?
    • OneLess, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1Por ejemplo...?
    • coleki, on 05/05/2008, -1/+6As another desktop home user who has switched to linux, i can tell you that i have been able to do all of the everyday things i could do with windows, and most of the "once-in-a-while" things. For free.

      If it's just a matter of not knowing where the software is, or what distro to go for, I'd suggest trying Ubuntu linux first (though maybe stick with version 7.10... 8.04 just came out and still has some issues IMO). Then to get software, open up a command line and use 'aptitude'. The command will look like 'sudo apt-get install NameOfPackage'

      If you want to know what is what as far as software, you can google for sites like this one: http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Linux_software ...
    • mrogi, on 05/05/2008, -1/+2Thanks coleki. Your link to the Linux questions website is a real eye opener. Just for ***** & giggles I'm gonna load Ubuntu on my old laptop and take a hands-on look at what the hype is all about.
  • bombula, on 05/05/2008, -9/+4Compiz is overrated. Even when it works, it just doesn't look that good. Not worth the CPU and memory overhead unless you have an awesome system. On a laptop, it's just a waste of battery power. I have a decent radion mobility graphics card in my laptop, and there is still tearing and stuttering when you drag and move windows around - vsync is not working perfectly yet, at least in ATI cards/drivers. My advice: don't bother. Also, it basically IS bundled with Ubuntu - just find compiz and hit install in the Synaptic Packages Manager. Easy. Nice thing about Ubuntu/Linux: software is all free, so there's simply a list of it all in SPM, and you just click what you want to download and install.
    • Hermmunster, on 05/05/2008, -3/+1Compiz, on a cube with 3 full screen videos running and the cube rotating doesn't even use 20% of my cpu utilization while I spin the cube as fast as I can even with the fire plug in installed and something painted in fire on the screen.

      Of course you should never expect that type of performance with a laptop graphics card. Just isn't going to happen. Can't attribute poor performance in compiz when you are using a laptop. Though, it does perform remarkably well on a laptop. I have two laptops with it installed and it runs just fine. I can't even imagine tapping out the performance of the system.
  • eclipticevader, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Really awesome utility. I installed Ubuntu a while ago and it worked great, except for the effects. I figured it was a problem with my card/driver, and have been too lazy to do any in-depth research. Needless to say, I failed one test, it told me to run a command, and reboot. Lo and behold I have effects!
  • TheCoreh, on 05/05/2008, -1/+6"Those people who frown at the Linux GUI (Graphical User Interface) haven’t actually experienced the 3D effects provided by Compiz."

    Not true. I have. And I still frown at the Linux GUI not because of the lack of 3D effects, but by the overall inconsistency, bugs, bad typography, terrible translations, clumsiness and overall ugliness of the desktop environments.

    I really like the Compiz effects. But I think they are shadowed by a bad user experience.
    • PueSi, on 05/06/2008, -0/+3Yeah, Linux GUI is not ugly because it lacks effects, it's ugly because it looks bad, this is just polishing a turd.
  • sonicjosh, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1If only I could enjoy Compiz, but it can not be enabled on my computer.
  • antdude, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Direct link: http://forlong.blogage.de/article/pages/Compiz-Che ...
  • cabazorro, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Oh God don't get me started, That POS worked from the get-go on my Fedora 8 on an Asus Dual Core with the intel810 video chip and on the first Xorg update crapped out. I then reinstall F8 and worked again. Then I added nvidia repo and installed xine and crapped out again. Removed nvidia reop reinstall F8 and worked again. The beauty of it, is that you see it working for a few months and baM! Some configuration changes and Compiz barfs at you and leave you clueless. You go back to Metacity and feel you went back to your granpa's 486 with Windows 3.1. My advice: if you get it to work, turn off yum updates! Or learn to do selective oupdates, which in the end will screw you in some other whimsical way.
  • Knet88, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1yeah, it says compiz will work, but it really doesn't seem to.
    MEPIS with KDE, radeon mobility 7500, AIGLX rendering. My Mepis forums aren't being to helpful, can anyone give me some advise?
    • orange2blue, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0Try asking the original author of the script, he seem to be knowledgeable enough.
  • fredmv, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Try running a "./compiz-check --banana"... ;)
  • InorganicMatter, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1This is a good start. They need something like this, but it needs to run in Windows like Ubuntu's Wubi does, and run a Linux compatibility check on your hardware to save you headaches after installing.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.