[NTLUG:Discuss] video problems

[MadHat]

On Thu, 2002-10-24 at 14:02, chris at chrisbaker.net wrote:
> I'm having a small problem with GNOME. I'm using RedHat 7.3. On 
> the left side of the screen, I am getting some funny distortion on the 
> screen. When I boot up and take down X, everything is fine.
> 
> I am using an ATI video card with Mach 64 chip set, I think. The 
> problem has been somewhat intermittent. Monitor is a Gateway 
> EV500, and it had been working fine. It also works fine during 
> startup and shutdown.
> 
> It must be something in the setup that I'm doing here.
> 
> Incidentally, the system seems rather slow to being with, especially 
> the GNOME RPM. Programs start up very slowly, too. It's a Pentium 
> 200 with 64MB of RAM. I always thought the main reason for using 
> Linux is that it works on old systems, but this has been somewhat 
> disappointing.

Slow processor speed is not a problem, but you need all the memory you
can get your hands on.  

What version of XFree86 are you running?

Have you tried other window managers to see if the slowdown is from
Gnome itself?  

Knowing what chipset the card is would be helpful for you to make sure
you are using the right driver and settings.  Also, are you sure your
not trying to overdive the monitor?  Was it in the list, or did you just
accept the defaults?  Have you tried running at a lesser resolution to
see if it makes a difference (this is one way to see if your monitor
setting are off, as higher resolutions use higher frequencies and can
cause issues)?

These are just ideas.  I doubt the monitor issue is Gnome specific, but
could be settings or driver.  The speed issue is going to depend on a
lot of things.  Keep in mind Gnome and KDE and not light weight window
managers and use a _LOT_ of memory.  Since you only have 64M with a
200MHz, you may want to try something more slim, like afterstep or
icewm, maybe.

-- 
MadHat at Unspecific.com
"Anyone who understands Linux/Unix, really understands the universe.
 Anyone who understands Windows, really understands Windows."
          - Richard Thieme, DefCon 10, 2002