Difference between revisions of "Video"

Revision as of 13:53, May 25, 2016

The purpose of this page is to give you streamlined steps for setting up your video hardware for X, and desktop environments such as GNOME.

Important

Editors: OK, I've decided to change the plans for this page. This is going to be a page similar to Subarches. The idea is to help people to identify their hardware and guide them toward the correct driver for their chipset. The focus will be primarily on defining the types of hardware that are supported, what products they appear in, and how to know if you have this hardware, and also give people good general overview of options available to them (free vs. proprietary, etc.) Other important topics that apply to all drivers, like eselect opengl should be covered as well. This will then serve as the meta-page for Video support, with individual ebuild pages holding the details for each driver.

Video Driver Installation and Setup

Individual driver pages cover specific setup steps for each driver. The general process is as follows:

Define VIDEO_CARDS variable in /etc/portage/make.conf to refer to the name of the driver that you wish to use. Special names, rather than ebuild package names are used. For example, fglrx is used to refer to x11-drivers/ati-drivers.
Update your system using emerge, if X is already installed, or emerge xorg-x11. Your VIDEO_CARDS settings will result in your selected drivers being installed.
Configure X to use these drivers. This often involves running X -configure or using a supplied tool to produce an initial X configuration like aticonfig --initial.
If necessary (this is typically done automatically for you,) run eselect opengl and eselect opencl to set the working OpenGL and OpenCL implementation.

Selecting a Video Driver

First determine which video card you have and which driver it requires.

root # lspci -nn

Once hardware is determined use the following sections to add or edit the VIDEO_CARDS global variable in /etc/portage/make.conf. See the specific driver pages for more granular details including kernel configurations, frame buffer settings, and X configuration.

Package Name	License	Developed by	`VIDEO_CARDS` setting
`x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati`	Open Source	Community	`radeon, radeonsi`
`x11-drivers/ati-drivers`	Proprietary	AMD	`fglrx`
No results	Open Source	Intel	`intel, intel i915, intel i965`
`x11-drivers/xf86-video-nouveau`	Open Source	Community	`nouveau`
`x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers`	Proprietary	NVIDIA	`nvidia`
No results	Open Source	Community	`vesa`
No results	Open Source	Community	`vga`

An overview of each driver follows:

AMD/ATI

Users can choose between free (x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati) and proprietary (x11-drivers/ati-drivers) video drivers. x11-drivers/ati-drivers supports a variety AMD products, including Radeon R9, R7, R5 and HD 5000 Series through HD 8000 Series. Also supported are AMD A-Series APUs and Mobile Radeon HD chipsets. The free x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati has an official hardware and feature compatibility matrix. The free drivers are recommended as the proprietary drivers are not currently maintained very well by AMD. Users of AMD Southern & Sea Islands (HD7750 and above) should enable radeonsi for better performance and functionality.

Intel

The Intel video driver (No results supports Intel GMA and Intel HD graphics processors, which are found in laptops and desktop systems.

NVIDIA

Users can choose between x11-drivers/xf86-video-nouveau and proprietary x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers video drivers released by NVIDIA. The proprietary drivers have a reputation for quality, although they are often not updated to work with the latest versions of X or the Linux kernel.

Managing Installed Drivers

Xorg Resolution

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/45-lowres.conf - To lower resolution and set dpi edit this file

Section "Device"
    Identifier    "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier    "Configured Monitor"
    HorizSync       30.0-62.0
    VertRefresh     50.0-70.0
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier    "Default Screen"
    Monitor        "Configured Monitor"
    Device        "Configured Video Device"
    DefaultDepth    16
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth    16
        Modes     "1280x720" "800x600"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The purpose of this page is to give you streamlined steps for setting up your video hardware for X, and desktop environments such as GNOME.
-{{Note|Editors: Keep this page relatively simple, and link to dedicated pages for more exhaustive coverage of a particular video driver. These instructions are intended to get users set up as quickly and simply as possible, without having to wade through lots of minute details.}}
+{{Important|Editors: OK, I've decided to change the plans for this page. This is going to be a page similar to [[Subarches]]. The idea is to help people to identify their hardware and guide them toward the correct driver for their chipset. The focus will be primarily on defining the types of hardware that are supported, what products they appear in, and how to know if you have this hardware, and also give people good general overview of options available to them (free vs. proprietary, etc.) Other important topics that apply to all drivers, like {{c|eselect opengl}} should be covered as well. This will then serve as the meta-page for Video support, with individual ebuild pages holding the details for each driver.}}
-== Video Drivers ==
+== Video Driver Installation and Setup ==
-first determine which video card you have and which driver it requires.
+Individual driver pages cover specific setup steps for each driver. The general process is as follows:
-<console>###i## lspci -k</console>
+# Define {{c|VIDEO_CARDS}} variable in {{f|/etc/portage/make.conf}} to refer to the name of the driver that you wish to use. Special names, rather than ebuild package names are used. For example, {{c|fglrx}} is used to refer to {{package|x11-drivers/ati-drivers}}.
+# Update your system using <code>emerge</code>, if X is already installed, or <code>emerge xorg-x11</code>. Your <code>VIDEO_CARDS</code> settings will result in your selected drivers being installed.
+# Configure X to use these drivers. This often involves running {{c|X -configure}} or using a supplied tool to produce an initial X configuration like {{c|aticonfig --initial}}.
+# If necessary (this is typically done automatically for you,) run {{c|eselect opengl}} and {{c|eselect opencl}} to set the working OpenGL and OpenCL implementation.
-=== Intel ===
+== Selecting a Video Driver ==
-Add or Edit the VIDEO_CARDS global variable in /etc/portage/make.conf to the value in the following table appropriate for the Intel graphics hardware.
-* '''NEED TABLE''': available drivers, hardware gen, VIDEO_CARDS variable
-gen 1&2:
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="intel"
-}}
-gen 3
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="intel i915"
-}}
-gen 4+
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="intel i965"
-}}
-* custom kernel menuconfig settings
-=== AMD/ATI ===
+First determine which video card you have and which driver it requires.
-Users can choose between Open (radeon) and Closed-Source (fglrx) video drivers. Add or Edit the VIDEO_CARDS global variable in /etc/portage/make.conf to the value in the following table appropriate for the AMD/ATI graphics hardware.
-* '''NEED TABLE''': available drivers, hardware gen, required VIDEO_CARDS variable
-Open source drivers:
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="radeon"
-}}
-Closed source drivers:
+{{console|body=###i## lspci -nn | grep -i vga}}
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="fglrx"
-}}
-* custom kernel menuconfig settings
-=== Nvidia ===
+Once hardware is determined use the following sections to add or edit the {{c|VIDEO_CARDS}} global variable in {{f|/etc/portage/[[make.conf]]}}.  See the specific driver pages for more granular details including kernel configurations, frame buffer settings, and X configuration.
-Users can choose between Open (nouveau) and Closed-Source (nvidia) video drivers. Add or Edit the VIDEO_CARDS global variable in /etc/portage/make.conf to the value in the following table appropriate for the Nvidia graphics hardware.
-* '''NEED TABLE''': nouveau + nvidia-drivers versions, hardware gen, required VIDEO_CARDS variable
-Open source drivers:
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="nouveau"
-}}
-Closed source [[Package:NVIDIA_Linux_Display_Drivers | drivers]]:
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
-VIDEO_CARDS="nvidia"
-}}
-* custom kernel menuconfig settings
-different settings for nouveau and nvidia
-=== Other ===
+{{TableStart}}
-==== Multiple Cards (Hybrid Graphics) ====
+<tr class="warn"><th>Package Name</th><th>License</th><th>Developed by</th><th><code>VIDEO_CARDS</code> setting</th></tr>
-recommended make.conf VIDEO_CARDS
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati}}</td><td>'''Open Source'''</td><td>Community</td><td><code>radeon, radeonsi</code></td></tr>
-Hybrid intel/ati:
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/ati-drivers}}</td><td>Proprietary</td><td>AMD</td><td><code>fglrx</code></td></tr>
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-intel}}</td><td>'''Open Source'''</td><td>[http://www.intel.com Intel]</td><td><code>intel, intel i915, intel i965</code></td></tr>
-VIDEO_CARDS="fglrx intel"
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-nouveau}}</td><td>'''Open Source'''</td><td>Community</td><td><code>nouveau</code></td></tr>
-}}
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers}}</td><td>Proprietary</td><td>[http://www.nvidia.com NVIDIA]</td><td><code>nvidia</code></td></tr>
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-vesa}}</td><td>'''Open Source'''</td><td>Community</td><td><code>vesa</code></td></tr>
+<tr><td>{{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-vga}}</td><td>'''Open Source'''</td><td>Community</td><td><code>vga</code></td></tr>
+{{TableEnd}}
-==== Virtual Machine Guests ====
+An overview of each driver follows:
-(details?)
-These settings are used by Parallels VM's and presumably others
-{{file|name=/etc/portage/make.conf|lang=|desc=set video global variable|body=
- VIDEO_CARDS="vesa vga"
-}}
-==== Raspberry Pi ====
+=== AMD/ATI ===
-(details?)
-== Install ==
+Users can choose between free ({{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati}}) and proprietary ({{Package|x11-drivers/ati-drivers}}) video drivers.  {{Package|x11-drivers/ati-drivers}} supports a variety AMD products, including Radeon R9, R7, R5 and HD 5000 Series through HD 8000 Series. Also supported are AMD A-Series APUs and Mobile Radeon HD chipsets. The free {{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati}} has an official [http://xorg.freedesktop.org/wiki/RadeonFeature/ hardware and feature compatibility matrix]. The free drivers are recommended as the proprietary drivers are not currently maintained very well by AMD.
-once your video cards variable is set in make.conf merge changes into your system
+Users of AMD Southern & Sea Islands (HD7750 and above) should enable radeonsi for better performance and functionality.
-<console>###i## emerge -avuND world</console>
+=== Intel ===
-eselect profile?
-==Configure X.org==
-===Intel===
-	?
-===Nvidia===
-nvidia-xconfig, etc.
-===AMD/ATI===
-aticonfig, etc.
-<console># ##i##aticonfig --initial --input=/etc/X11/xorg.conf</console>
-==Configure framebuffer==
+The Intel video driver ({{package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-intel}} supports [[Wikipedia:Intel_GMA|Intel GMA]] and [[Wikipedia:Intel_HD_and_Iris_Graphics|Intel HD]] graphics processors, which are found in laptops and desktop systems.
-What to put in boot.conf etc. Assumes that the kernel is correctly configured.
-===Intel===
-?
-===Nvidia===
-* settings for nouveau
-* settings for nvidia-drivers
-* How to use sys-apps/v86d
-===AMD/ATI===
-* 	settings for fglxr
-* 	settings for radeon, etc.
-==Finalise and test==
+=== NVIDIA ===
-* 	eselect opengl
-{{note|change the number of card eselected to match the card of your system}}
-<console>###i## eselect opengl list
-###i## eselect opengl set 1</console>
-* 	eselect opencl
-{{note|some setups can make use of opencl}}
-<console>###i##eselect opencl list
-###i##eselect opencl set 1</console>
-* 	reboot/test process
-==Tips and Tricks==
+Users can choose between {{Package|x11-drivers/xf86-video-nouveau}} and proprietary {{package|x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers}} video drivers released by NVIDIA. The proprietary drivers have a reputation for quality, although they are often not updated to work with the latest versions of X or the Linux kernel.
-===compressed video playback===
+== Managing Installed Drivers ==
+=== Xorg Resolution ===
+{{file|name=/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/45-lowres.conf|lang=|desc=To lower resolution and set dpi edit this file|body=
+Section "Device"
+    Identifier    "Configured Video Device"
+EndSection
-* VDPAU, VA-API
+Section "Monitor"
-* how to set up mplayer, etc.
+    Identifier    "Configured Monitor"
+    HorizSync       30.0-62.0
+    VertRefresh     50.0-70.0
+EndSection
-==Troubleshooting==
+Section "Screen"
-* what to do if only a blank screen
+    Identifier    "Default Screen"
-* nvidia-drivers users updating media-libs/mesa
+    Monitor        "Configured Monitor"
+    Device        "Configured Video Device"
+    DefaultDepth    16
+    SubSection "Display"
+        Depth    16
+        Modes     "1280x720" "800x600"
+    EndSubSection
+EndSection}}
+=== OpenGL/OpenCL ===