Bug#639621: libgl1-mesa-dri: A DRI1-capable r300_dri.so should be provided
Package: libgl1-mesa-dri
Version: 7.11-4
On my system, using KMS and DRI2 is really slow (this is known in at
least some cases; KMS/DRI2 just isn't as mature right now, I think? See
572911, 607510, and probably others). So, I have disabled KMS and just
want to use regular DRI, which is currently much better.
The problem is, the r300_dri.so that is shipped with libgl1-mesa-dri is
the Gallium driver (I have a Radeon X1300, which uses r300_dri.so).
This only works with DRI2, so all of the 3d rendering is done via
swrast_dri.so. The performance isn't bad (still much better than KMS),
but if I build libgl1-mesa-dri locally, and grab the non-Gallium
r300_dri.so I get better performance since I'm no longer rendering via
software.
I think libgl1-mesa-dri should provide the non-Gallium r300_dri.so
somewhere. It doesn't need to be the default, but it should be an
option. I see a few ways to do this:
1. Just install the non-Gallium r300_dri.so instead of the Gallium one
(I assume you don't want to do this, since the Gallium driver is
deliberately chosen, and for all I know is much better on other
systems)
2. Install the non-Gallium r300_dri.so under another name
(r300dri1_dri.so or something?), and get the 'radeon' X driver in
xserver-xorg-video-ati to report r300dri1 as the DRI driver name for
DRI1. Currently it reports r300_dri.so for both DRI1 and DRI2 (see
src/radeon_dri.c and R300_DRIVER_NAME in xserver-xorg-video-ati).
3. Allow the user to choose between the Gallium and non-Gallium drivers
via the alternatives system, or via installing a package that
diverts r300_dri.so, or something along those lines.
4. Make the Gallium r300 driver support both DRI1 and DRI2. I assume
this is difficult and not a feasible short-term option, or it
deliberately does not support DRI1.
I'm not sure which way sounds the best to you. In the meantime, I'm just
locally diverting r300_dri.so.
--
Andrew Deason
adeason@dson.org
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