FX 580 and nvidia 340.107 redraw problems/lags in Mint 19.1

Graphics / Linux Linux
1

I just installed a fresh copy of Mint 19.1 64bit (including all updates) on my Workstation (8 core Xeon W3565@3.2GHz), which has a Quadro FX 580 in it.

The only options for my Quadro FX 580 were 340.107 or the Nouveau driver.

After the activation of the nvidia driver, the xfce4-terminals started to have a lag in response, meaning I enter keys or whole commands, but the corresponding characters were not shown on the screen immediately. Even for complete unix commands (that had already been executed), the resulting output was not shown on the screen. This does not happen every time, but several times in a minute.

I then deinstalled the nvidia driver, and the nouveau driver does not have this problem.
Then I reinstalled the nvidia driver, and the problem was back again.

The last driver used in Mint 18.1 on the same configuration didn’t have that problem.

Questions: What should I do to get a correctly working setup?
Or is the FX 580 no longer supported?
nvidia-bug-report.log.gz (78.2 KB)

2

Maybe check if disabling/enabling the xfwm compositor helps.

3

Hi generix,

I am not using the xfwm compositor, as i cannot play my MAME games with it.

I am using compton instead (like i did the years before).

compton config is :

backend = “glx”;
vsync = “opengl-swc”;

paint-on-overlay = true;
glx-no-stencil = true;
glx-no-rebind-pixmap = true;

What would be wrong with that with 340.107 ?

4

Your description resembles this:
[url]https://devtalk.nvidia.com/default/topic/729908/linux/-gt-334-21-redrawing-problems-in-gnome-3-10-3-12-gtx-580/[/url]
Nvidia changed the behaviour of the driver regarding screen updates on glx compositors around that time. Though you should have been using the same driver with Mint 18 so I’m a bit puzzled if it is really the same issue.

5

I remember a test: see if the screen gets updated when you wiggle the mouse pointer or let a video run.

6

Hi generix,

thanks for your efforts.

Regarding post 1:
Mint 19.1 does not offer any other driver than the one mentioned.
According to the nvidia site, 340.107 is the most current version
supporting my graphics card. No newer drivers are available.

I would have to look first, how to downgrade to an older version,
if possible at all.

My card is an FX 580 not a GTX 580, so I’m not sure if that applies to me.
Could be the same bug, but could also be something completely different.

Regarding post 2:
When I do that i do not have a different behaviour than before

7

You can’t use any other driver, 340 is the last to support your gpu. Any ealier driver doesn’t run with current kernels/Xservers. The screen update issue applied to all gpus using a driver >331 by that time. If you have a (windowed) video running and the issue is still there, then it’s something different.

8

[url]https://github.com/yshui/compton/issues/44[/url]

9

Hi generix,

that’s not the same compton version that Mint 19.1 delivers.

In fact, the Mint/Ubuntu (Debian?) version is much older than
that and still contains the xrender-sync-fence, which I could
enable now, and … voila … the problems seems to have gone
(Though, I have to be looking on it for a while).

But in the end, this just delays the point in time, when I have
to look for a new card, I guess.

As I don’t need any high-speed-gaming card, I just look for something
that is fast for the usual things, like office work, programming,
and watching videos.

Will the current NVS 510 for example, which has a driver 410+,
have the same problem?

10

Like said, it’s not a hardware issue but a change in the driver that affects all gpus so that all compositors need the xrender-sync-fence implementation enabled on Nvidia hardware.
The thread about gnome, Aaron Plattner explains what had been changed and why.
The “current” NVS 510 is not so current, it’s a gen1 Kepler, not produced anymore. Rather look for something Pascal or at least Maxwell to have driver support in the long run.