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[Solved] Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

Linux Kernel, Network, and Services configuration.
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user2635
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[Solved] Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#1 Post by user2635 »

Debian 9 64 bit KDE
Laptop: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)
Rendering engine: OpenGL 3.1 (other options that show are OpenGL 2.0 and XRender)
(let me know if you need more info)

The graphics seems to work fine but sometimes when I go into context menus, I get this weird rip effect (I think this is what you called tearing, not sure).

Please refer to the screenshot below:
https://snag.gy/AWdZxC.jpg

I looked around on the web but frankly all the information is way beyond me as I'm not a technical specialist. I saw this site but I don't know if I'm supposed to download something here to make it work; https://01.org/linuxgraphics/about.

Can anyone help me?

Phil
Last edited by user2635 on 2017-08-31 18:04, edited 1 time in total.
phil the linux newbie
debian 9 stable since aug 2017
please teach me linux :)

shep
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#2 Post by shep »

This can be dependent on the graphic card. A quick search for your laptop model indicates it uses NVidia graphics. That raises a second question: Are you using the proprietary NVidia drivers or the default Nouveau?

See NVidia Debian Wiki

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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#3 Post by user2635 »

shep wrote:This can be dependent on the graphic card. A quick search for your laptop model indicates it uses NVidia graphics. That raises a second question: Are you using the proprietary NVidia drivers or the default Nouveau?

See NVidia Debian Wiki
Thanks shep, I think it might be optimus or something like that?

I don't even know which driver I'm using, how do I check?

If it helps, see below commands I tried:

Code: Select all

phil@debian:~$ lspci -nn | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation HD Graphics 530 [8086:191b] (rev 06)
phil@debian:~$ nvidia-detect
bash: nvidia-detect: コマンドが見つかりません
phil@debian:~$ 
second part means the command cannot be found.
phil the linux newbie
debian 9 stable since aug 2017
please teach me linux :)

shep
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#4 Post by shep »

Optimus is a hybrid of graphics drivers ie NVidia/Intel. The idea is to use NVidia graphic when high graphics performance (gaming) is needed and the Intel graphics when power (battery) savings are needed. In linux a special setup is needed. This Debian Optimus Wiki gives more specifics.

You can check to see the actual driver used in xorg by reviewing

Code: Select all

/var/log/Xorg.0.log
.

If you are in fact using the intel video driver, there have been reports of tearing depending on the compositor. See this old forum post.

There is also a simple intervention in the xorg.conf.d file described in Arch Intel Graphics Wiki.

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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#5 Post by user2635 »

Hi shep, I found it and had a quick look but I have no idea which driver I'm using.

https://ghostbin.com/paste/xeznq
Last edited by user2635 on 2017-08-28 22:28, edited 1 time in total.
phil the linux newbie
debian 9 stable since aug 2017
please teach me linux :)

shep
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#6 Post by shep »

From New in Stretch
The X server is no longer setuid, and may be started without root privileges. If the startx command is run as a non-root user, the Xorg.0.log (or Xorg.*.log for alternative displays) file will be written to ~/.local/share/xorg/ instead of /var/log/.
The wiki's are generally up to date. It will save time to be sure which video driver is in use and what your goals are: Optimus vs NVidia vs Intel?

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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#7 Post by user2635 »

sorry shep, see my updated post
phil the linux newbie
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shep
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#8 Post by shep »

Not obvious to me either in your pastebin. Another tact might be to look in the bios.
From the Debian Optimus wiki:
Configuration

Configuration of an NVIDIA Optimus enabled system can be somewhat complex, depending upon the desired end state. This section mentions and details a few of the more common configuration scenarios and how to adjust your Debian installation, accordingly.

Dynamic Graphics Disabled - BIOS
Rather than enabling the power saving features of dynamic, "switchable" graphics, one can simply configure the system to output to the local display using only a single graphics provider.

The simplest method of setting the graphics provider, if your hardware supports it, is to manually select the embedded CPU or NVIDIA GPU as the display provider in the system's BIOS. Of course, this is vendor specific and you must consult your hardware manufacturer's documentation for further detail.

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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#9 Post by stevepusser »

You'll be using the kernel's builtin modesetting driver for the Intel card--Stretch defaults to that.

Modern Optimus systems by default use the Intel GPU to drive the display, so that's what you are using now. If you set up Bumblebee, all that does is have the Nvidia card grab the 3D rendering heavy work away from the Intel, then hand it back when done, for the display. But only when you tell it to, not automagically.

To see what your graphics are, the current 3D renderer, and the driver, install inxi and run

Code: Select all

inxi -G
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#10 Post by user2635 »

stevepusser wrote:You'll be using the kernel's builtin modesetting driver for the Intel card--Stretch defaults to that.

Modern Optimus systems by default use the Intel GPU to drive the display, so that's what you are using now. If you set up Bumblebee, all that does is have the Nvidia card grab the 3D rendering heavy work away from the Intel, then hand it back when done, for the display. But only when you tell it to, not automagically.

To see what your graphics are, the current 3D renderer, and the driver, install inxi and run

Code: Select all

inxi -G
Hi Steve, this is what I got:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card-1: Intel HD Graphics 530
           Card-2: NVIDIA GM107M [GeForce GTX 950M]
           Display Server: X.Org 1.19.2 drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.01hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake GT2)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 13.0.6
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#11 Post by user2635 »

Does this seem in order? Is visual tearing a known problem?
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#12 Post by stevepusser »

You can try the intel driver to see if that makes any difference:

make sure the xserver-xorg-video-intel package is installed.

follow these guides

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/in ... figuration
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/in ... free_video
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/in ... ke_support
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#13 Post by user2635 »

stevepusser wrote:You can try the intel driver to see if that makes any difference:

make sure the xserver-xorg-video-intel package is installed.
Yep this is installed already.
Thanks Steve, so far no visual tearing but I would give it a another week and let you know how it goes!
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Re: Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#14 Post by user2635 »

The tearing is a whole lot better than before, probably 70% less (although not fully solved, I can reproduce the tearing for some context menus).

I can live with this.

Solution I went with:

create a conf file here named anything you want. /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/*.conf

Section "Device"
Identifier "IntelGraphics"
Driver "intel"
Option "AccelMethod" "sna"
Option "TearFree" "true"
EndSection
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Re: [Solved] Visual tearing: Lenovo Ideapad 700 (700-15ISK)

#15 Post by user2635 »

The tearing seems to be better when I change the compositor from OpenGL to Xrender on KDE!
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please teach me linux :)

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