[SOLVED] Google Earth doesn't work with xf86-video-ati

Question

Hi all,
I'm having a problem with the open-source ATI drivers.  I haven't had much luck finding out anything from anywhere else, so I'm hoping someone here can help.
Whenever I start Google Earth, the graphics run EXTREMELY slowly, almost as if it's running on a system with low memory.  I'm running an Acer Extensa 4420 with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core 64-bit processor with 2GB of RAM.  As mentioned before, I'm running on the open-source xf86-video-ati drivers, but this is the only app that gives me problems.  GL screensavers run fine, and glxgears runs without any significant input.  Running Google Earth in terminal also gives no output. 
And I'm not sure if this is related, but closing Google Earth also crashes X.
Here's xorg.conf:
Section "Module"
Load "extmod"
Load "dbe"
Load "record"
#Free86-DGA extension within that module.
SubSection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubSection
# This loads the font modules
# Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
# Load "xtt"
# This loads the GLX module
Load "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
Load "dri"
Load "drm"
Load "synaptics"
EndSection
# Files section. This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (which are concatenated together),
# as well as specifying multiple comma-separated entries in one FontPath
# command (or a combination of both methods)
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/TTF"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/freefont/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
# The module search path. The default path is shown here.
# ModulePath "/usr/lib/modules"
EndSection
# Server flags section.
Section "ServerFlags"
# Uncomment this to cause a core dump at the spot where a signal is
# received. This may leave the console in an unusable state, but may
# provide a better stack trace in the core dump to aid in debugging
# Option "NoTrapSignals"
# Uncomment this to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><Fn> VT switch sequence
# (where n is 1 through 12). This allows clients to receive these key
# events.
# Option "DontVTSwitch"
# Uncomment this to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><BS> server abort sequence
# This allows clients to receive this key event.
Option "DontZap" "no"
# Uncomment this to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> mode switching
# sequences. This allows clients to receive these key events.
# Option "Dont Zoom"
# Uncomment this to disable tuning with the xvidtune client. With
# it the client can still run and fetch card and monitor attributes,
# but it will not be allowed to change them. If it tries it will
# receive a protocol error.
# Option "DisableVidModeExtension"
# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local xvidtune client.
# Option "AllowNonLocalXvidtune"
# Uncomment this to disable dynamically modifying the input device
# (mouse and keyboard) settings.
# Option "DisableModInDev"
# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local client to
# change the keyboard or mouse settings (currently only xset).
# Option "AllowNonLocalModInDev"
Option "AutoAddDevices" "False"
EndSection
# Input devices
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "kbd"
Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"
# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"
# Option "RightAlt" "ModeShift"
# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
# These are the default XKB settings for Xorg
# Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# Option "XkbLayout" "us"
# Option "XkbVariant" ""
# Option "XkbOptions" ""
# Option "XkbDisable"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "acer_laptop"
Option "XkbLayout" "us,de"
Option "XkbOptions" "grp:lwin_switch,grp_led:num,eurosign:e"
EndSection
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier and driver
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto" # Auto detect
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
# Mouse-speed setting for PS/2 mouse.
# Option "Resolution" "256"
# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In
# almost every case these lines should be omitted.
# Option "BaudRate" "9600"
# Option "SampleRate" "150"
# Mouse wheel mapping. Default is to map vertical wheel to buttons 4 & 5,
# horizontal wheel to buttons 6 & 7. Change if your mouse has more than
# 3 buttons and you need to map the wheel to different button ids to avoid
# conflicts.
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button mice
# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)
# Option "Emulate3Buttons"
# Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice
# Option "ChordMiddle"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "AlwaysCore" "true" # send events to CorePointer
#Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "SHMConfig" "false" # configurable at runtime? security risk
Option "LeftEdge" "1700" # x coord left
Option "RightEdge" "5300" # x coord right
Option "TopEdge" "1700" # y coord top
Option "BottomEdge" "4200" # y coord bottom
Option "FingerLow" "25" # pressure below this level triggers release
Option "FingerHigh" "30" # pressure above this level triggers touch
Option "MaxTapTime" "180" # max time in ms for detecting tap
Option "VertEdgeScroll" "true" # enable vertical scroll zone
Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "true" # enable horizontal scroll zone
Option "CornerCoasting" "true" # enable continuous scroll with finger in corner
Option "CoastingSpeed" "0.30" # corner coasting speed
Option "VertScrollDelta" "100" # edge-to-edge scroll distance of the vertical scroll
Option "HorizScrollDelta" "100" # edge-to-edge scroll distance of the horizontal scroll
Option "MinSpeed" "0.10" # speed factor for low pointer movement
Option "MaxSpeed" "0.60" # maximum speed factor for fast pointer movement
Option "AccelFactor" "0.0020" # acceleration factor for normal pointer movements
Option "VertTwoFingerScroll" "true" # vertical scroll anywhere with two fingers
Option "HorizTwoFingerScroll" "true" # horizontal scroll anywhere with two fingers
Option "TapButton1" "1"
Option "TapButton2" "2"
EndSection
# Other input device sections
# this is optional and is required only if you
# are using extended input devices. This is for example only. Refer
# to the xorg.conf man page for a description of the options.
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "Mouse2"
# Driver "mouse"
# Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/mouse2"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball"
# Driver "magellan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball2"
# Driver "spaceorb"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen0"
# Driver "microtouch"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "1412"
# Option "MaxX" "15184"
# Option "MinY" "15372"
# Option "MaxY" "1230"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen1"
# Driver "elo2300"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "231"
# Option "MaxX" "3868"
# Option "MinY" "3858"
# Option "MaxY" "272"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonThreshold" "17"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
# Monitor section
# Any number of monitor sections may be present
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Acer Laptop"
# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
HorizSync 31.5 - 57.0
# HorizSync 30-64 # multisync
# HorizSync 31.5, 35.2 # multiple fixed sync frequencies
# HorizSync 15-25, 30-50 # multiple ranges of sync frequencies
# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
VertRefresh 50-90
EndSection
# Graphics device section
# Any number of graphics device sections may be present
# Standard VGA Device:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Standard VGA"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"
# The chipset line is optional in most cases. It can be used to override
# the driver's chipset detection, and should not normally be specified.
# Chipset "generic"
# The Driver line must be present. When using run-time loadable driver
# modules, this line instructs the server to load the specified driver
# module. Even when not using loadable driver modules, this line
# indicates which driver should interpret the information in this section.
Driver "vga"
# The BusID line is used to specify which of possibly multiple devices
# this section is intended for. When this line isn't present, a device
# section can only match up with the primary video device. For PCI
# devices a line like the following could be used. This line should not
# normally be included unless there is more than one video device
# intalled.
# BusID "PCI:0:10:0"
# VideoRam 256
# Clocks 25.2 28.3
EndSection
# Device configured by xorgconfig:
Section "Device"
Identifier "ATI Radeon"
Driver "radeon"
#VideoRam 262144
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
Option "AGPMode" "4"
Option "ColorTiling" "on"
Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"
Option "EnablePageFlip" "on"
Option "AGPFastWrite" "yes"
Option "EXAVSync" "yes"
Option "ForceTVOut" "true"
Option "TVStandard" "ntsc"
EndSection
# Screen sections
# Any number of screen sections may be present. Each describes
# the configuration of a single screen. A single specific screen section
# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"
# option.
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "ATI Radeon"
Monitor "Acer Laptop"
DefaultDepth 24
Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1200x800"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection
# ServerLayout sections.
# Any number of ServerLayout sections may be present. Each describes
# the way multiple screens are organised. A specific ServerLayout
# section may be specified from the X server command line with the
# "-layout" option. In the absence of this, the first section is used.
# When now ServerLayout section is present, the first Screen section
# is used alone.
Section "ServerLayout"
# The Identifier line must be present
Identifier "Simple Layout"
# Each Screen line specifies a Screen section name, and optionally
# the relative position of other screens. The four names after
# primary screen name are the screens to the top, bottom, left and right
# of the primary screen. In this example, screen 2 is located to the
# right of screen 1.
Screen "Screen 1"
# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used. Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Touchpad" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection
Here's my drirc:
<driconf>
<device screen="0" driver="r300">
<application name="Default">
<option name="force_s3tc_enable" value="false" />
<option name="texture_coord_units" value="8" />
<option name="fthrottle_mode" value="2" />
<option name="disable_stencil_two_side" value="false" />
<option name="tcl_mode" value="3" />
<option name="texture_depth" value="0" />
<option name="fp_optimization" value="0" />
<option name="def_max_anisotropy" value="1.0" />
<option name="no_rast" value="false" />
<option name="command_buffer_size" value="8" />
<option name="round_mode" value="0" />
<option name="dither_mode" value="0" />
<option name="disable_lowimpact_fallback" value="true" />
<option name="texture_image_units" value="8" />
<option name="disable_s3tc" value="false" />
<option name="color_reduction" value="1" />
<option name="vblank_mode" value="1" />
</application>
<application name="Google Earth" executable="googleearth">
</application>
</device>
</driconf>
Last edited by coolpyrofreak (2009-07-03 05:56:18)

Answer 1

I had the same problem (slow googleearth) with ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility U1 (IGP 320m).
This .drirc solves it. I don't have an xorg.conf.
- no need for the 'disable_lowimpact_fallback' option
- no need to turn off 'atmosphere'
cat .drirc
<driconf>
<device screen="0" driver="radeon">
<application name="Default">
<option name="force_s3tc_enable" value="false" />
<option name="no_rast" value="false" />
<option name="fthrottle_mode" value="2" />
<option name="tcl_mode" value="3" />
<option name="texture_depth" value="0" />
<option name="def_max_anisotropy" value="1.0" />
<option name="no_neg_lod_bias" value="false" />
<option name="texture_units" value="3" />
<option name="dither_mode" value="0" />
<option name="hyperz" value="true" />
<option name="round_mode" value="0" />
<option name="color_reduction" value="1" />
<option name="vblank_mode" value="0" />
<option name="allow_large_textures" value="1" />
</application>
</device>
</driconf>