# Gentoo on DELL OptiPlex GX620 [guide]

## chaonis

update 7/11/2006:

upgraded to kernel 2.6.16-gentoo-r12 and xorg 7.0. everything works great. 

used this as reference: https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-441745.html Don't even need to modify the xorg.conf file. 

Also tried Direct Rendering and worked with the first head and with Xinerama disable. I need Xinerama, and therefore, had the DRI disabled.

I have the machine setup in the following way since January 2006. The system has been running very stable for 4 months now. Use Cadence schematic drawing and layout toolset (2D graphical), Xilinx compiler, Spice simulator, GCC  on it daily and never have a crash. Using Xorg-X11 6.8.99.15-r4 and xfce4 4.2.2 as only WM. Minimum software setup and nothing fancy. Of course, if something comes up that pisses me off, I will come here and give a big warning to you guys

This is to help myself and others who will be installing Gentoo onto the Dell OptiPlex GX620. 

Since the installation is hardware dependent, let's start with the hardware list. The following is pulled from DELL's website when I give the Service TAG info:

 *Quote:*   

> Quantity	Parts #	Part Description
> 
> 1	W8403	PROCESSOR, 80547, PENTIUM 4 PRESCOTT DT, 640, SKT-T, MALE
> 
> 1	Y9628	INSTRUCTION, DEVIATE-TO-MCSF-L5.5
> ...

 

The following is captured from lspci output:

 *Quote:*   

> # lspci
> 
> 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 945G/GZ/P/PL Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 02)
> 
> 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 945G/GZ Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
> ...

 

BIOS version is A05; displays are two DELL 2001FP flat panels, one connected to VGA, one connected to DVI output; everything stock, no add-on cards.

What I want from the machine are:

be able to connect to the internet

dual head display

dvd write

autofs support

nis support

plays mp3 music and most of the movies

don't care about video performance since it is my office box and I won't use it to play video games

Now let the fun begin:

Kernel and core system

I started with gentoo universal 2005.1. The system is configured as WinXP and Gentoo dual-boot. Since my $home is on the network, I don't need to give Gentoo too much storage:

 *Quote:*   

> # df -h
> 
> Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
> 
> /dev/sda5             471M   51M  397M  12% /
> ...

 

 *Quote:*   

> # fdisk /dev/sda
> 
> Command (m for help): p
> 
> Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160000000000 bytes
> ...

 

This is my make.conf:

```
# cat /etc/make.conf

CFLAGS="-march=pentium4 -O2 -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer"

CHOST="i686-pc-linux-gnu"

CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"

MAKEOPTS="-j3"

USE="-* pam nis tcpd ssl crypt X java ncurses aalib alsa cups ggl gtk \

     gtk2 spell quicktime readline xmms -zlib truetype mp3 logrotate \

     png gif mmx sse acpi dvd cdr opengl xv bitmap-fonts truetype-fonts \

     type1-fonts dvdr jpeg tiff wmf"

SYNC="rsync://localhost:20873/gentoo-portage"
```

Last line, "SYNC=...", is for bypassing the proxy service or any firewalls. You can use emerge-webrsync but I like to use SSH for anything anyway.  To use it, you need to have a machine that is directly connected to the internet. Log onto the remote machine with the following command:

```
ssh $machine_name -l $user_name -L 20873:rsync.gentoo.org:873
```

Now you can open another terminal or VT and do emerge --sync

Networking

According to lspci, it is a Broadcom device. The correct kernel driver is 1000Mb (tg3). Works like a charm in 1Gb network.

Dual-head

xorg-6.8.* does not come with i945 support. Work-around is fake it to i915: http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Intel_945G

Here is my xorg.conf, for dual-head setup:

```

# cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

# **********************************************************************

# Module section -- this  section  is used to specify

# which dynamically loadable modules to load.

# **********************************************************************

#

Section "Module"

    Load        "dbe"   # Double buffer extension

    SubSection  "extmod"

      Option    "omit xfree86-dga"   # don't initialise the DGA extension

    EndSubSection

    Load        "type1"

    Load        "freetype"

    Load       "glx"

#    Load       "dri"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Files section.  This allows default font and rgb paths to be set

# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"

    RgbPath     "/usr/lib/X11/rgb"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/misc/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/TTF/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/Type1/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/CID/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/local/"

#    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/Speedo/"

#    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/TrueType/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/freefont/"

# The module search path.  The default path is shown here.

#    ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Server flags section.

# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"

#    Option "NoTrapSignals"

#    Option "DontVTSwitch"

#    Option "DontZap"

#    Option "Dont Zoom"

#    Option "DisableVidModeExtension"

#    Option "AllowNonLocalXvidtune"

#    Option "DisableModInDev"

#    Option "AllowNonLocalModInDev"

    Option      "Xinerama" "yes"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Input devices

# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************

# Core keyboard's InputDevice section

# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier  "Keyboard1"

    Driver      "kbd"

    Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"

    Option "XkbModel"   "pc105"

    Option "XkbLayout"  "us"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Core Pointer's InputDevice section

# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier  "Mouse1"

    Driver      "mouse"

    Option "Protocol"    "Auto"

    Option "Device"      "/dev/input/mouse0"

    Option "ZAxisMapping"  "4 5"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Monitor section

# **********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

        Identifier     "2001FP"

        DisplaySize     408 306

        HorizSync       31-80

        VertRefresh     56-76

        Option          "DPMS"

        ModeLine        "1600x1200" 160.00 1600 1664 1856 2160 1200 1201 1204 1250

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Graphics device section

# **********************************************************************

Section "Device"

    Identifier  "Intel945G0"

    Driver      "i810"

    VideoRam    262144

    BusID       "PCI:0:2:0"

    Option      "DPMS"

    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate

    Screen 0

    Option      "DevicePresence" "yes"

    Option      "MonitorLayout" "CRT,DFP"

    Option      "NoAccel"       "false"

    Option      "DRI"           "false" 

EndSection

Section "Device"

    Identifier  "Intel945G1"

    Driver      "i810"

    VideoRam    262144

    BusID       "PCI:0:2:0"

    Option      "DPMS"

    Option      "Display" "DFP"

    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate

    Screen 1

    Option      "DevicePresence" "yes"

    Option      "MonitorLayout" "DFP"

    Option      "NoAccel"       "false"

    Option      "DRI"           "false" 

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Screen sections

# **********************************************************************

Section "Screen"

    Identifier  "Screen 0"

    Device      "Intel945G0"

    Monitor     "2001FP"

    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       24

        Modes       "1600x1200"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

EndSection

Section "Screen"

    Identifier  "Screen 1"

    Device      "Intel945G1"

    Monitor     "2001FP"

    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       24

        Modes       "1600x1200"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# ServerLayout sections.

# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerLayout"

    Identifier  "Simple Layout"

    Screen 0 "Screen 0" 0 0

    Screen 1 "Screen 1" RightOf "Screen 0"

    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"

    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

Section "DRI"

    Mode 0666

EndSection

```

Sound

Intel-HD AUDIO works out the box with kernel ALSA.

Performance measurement

SATA Disk performance:

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> # hdparm -tT /dev/sda
> 
> /dev/sda:
> ...

 

glxgear performance:

 *Quote:*   

> # glxgears
> 
> 4235 frames in 5.1 seconds = 831.693 FPS
> 
> 4200 frames in 5.1 seconds = 825.374 FPS
> ...

 Last edited by chaonis on Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:58 pm; edited 12 times in total

----------

## ceeuu

I've got a 620 also, the emt64 model, single video, ro cdrom...  trying to do a net install, what nic driver did you use to get it up?

----------

## Tamsco

Nice, when you get done have an admin move it to Documentation, Tips and Tricks.

----------

## Khan

chaonis, can you please post your xorg.conf for your Dell box? I just got one of these at work and I'm currently wiping XP and installing Gentoo. Thanks    :Very Happy: 

----------

## RazielFMX

I too just got one of these at work...  Damn, tga?  I've been wasting my time debugging this damn bnx2!

----------

## Khan

 *RazielFMX wrote:*   

> I too just got one of these at work...  Damn, tga?  I've been wasting my time debugging this damn bnx2!

 

I've since finally got everything working on it. If you want, I can post my xorg.conf or any other config file. Let me know.

----------

## manx801

I would be interested to see your xorg.conf. I also have just installed Gentoo on a G620 and so far have everything working except DPMS for my monitor.

Does anyone know if the G620 has hardware sensors (temp, fan speed,..)? I am pretty sure that mine does not, since my attempts at reading them have all failed and I don't see them in the BIOS setup either. Just thought I would check.

Thanks.

----------

## PMcCauley

I'm not 100% sure on this but I would change march=prescott for your make.conf as it should have more optimizations then p4 option.

Patrick

----------

## PMcCauley

 *manx801 wrote:*   

> I would be interested to see your xorg.conf. I also have just installed Gentoo on a G620 and so far have everything working except DPMS for my monitor.
> 
> Does anyone know if the G620 has hardware sensors (temp, fan speed,..)? I am pretty sure that mine does not, since my attempts at reading them have all failed and I don't see them in the BIOS setup either. Just thought I would check.
> 
> Thanks.

 

There are temperature sensors on that system but there is not an included way of accessing the information.  I don't have access to a Dell desktop system to try this out but I did get the sensors working on my notebook using acpi.

Patrick

----------

## manx801

 *PMcCauley wrote:*   

> 
> 
> There are temperature sensors on that system but there is not an included way of accessing the information.  I don't have access to a Dell desktop system to try this out but I did get the sensors working on my notebook using acpi.
> 
> Patrick

 

I tried enabling all of the I2C kernel modules and then running sensors-detect, which reported that the modules loaded without problems, and that there were no sensor chips detected. Is there something else that I could try?

Thanks.

----------

## Khan

 *PMcCauley wrote:*   

> I'm not 100% sure on this but I would change march=prescott for your make.conf as it should have more optimizations then p4 option.
> 
> Patrick

 

I recommend either prescott or pentium3 for the march. I originally set it to p4 and it was nothing but problems. I'll post my xorg.conf file on Tuesday when I get back to work. It's set for 1400x1050 so make the changes to meet your viewing pleasure    :Razz: 

----------

## Khan

Here's my conf file:

```

# File generated by xorgconfig.

# **********************************************************************

# Module section -- this  section  is used to specify

# which dynamically loadable modules to load.

# **********************************************************************

#

Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.

    Load        "dbe"     # Double buffer extension

# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables

# initialisation of the XFree86-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        "speedo"

    Load        "freetype"

#    Load        "xtt"

# This loads the GLX module

    Load       "glx"

# This loads the DRI module

#    Load       "dri"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Files section.  This allows default font and rgb paths to be set

# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"

# The location of the RGB database.  Note, this is the name of the

# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db").  There is normally

# no need to change the default.

    RgbPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

# 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/CID/"

#    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/Speedo/"

#    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/TrueType/"

#FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/freefont"

#FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/corefonts"

#FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/sharefonts"

# The module search path.  The default path is shown here.

#    ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/misc"

FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/TTF"

FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"

FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"

FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"

FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/local"

FontPath    "/usr/local/share/fonts"

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 <Crtl><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 <Crtl><Alt><BS> server abort sequence

# This allows clients to receive this key event.

#    Option "DontZap"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><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"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Input devices

# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************

# Core keyboard's InputDevice section

# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier   "Keyboard1"

    Driver   "kbd"

# For most OSs the protocol can be omitted (it defaults to "Standard").

# When using XQUEUE (only for SVR3 and SVR4, but not Solaris),

# uncomment the following line.

#    Option     "Protocol"      "Xqueue"

    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"   "microsoft"

    Option "XkbLayout"   "us"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Core Pointer's InputDevice section

# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

    Identifier   "Mouse1"

    Driver   "mouse"

    Option "Protocol"    "IMPS/2"

    Option "Device"      "/dev/input/mice"

# Mouse-speed setting for PS/2 mouse.

#    Option "Resolution"   "256"

# When using XQUEUE, comment out the above two lines, and uncomment

# the following line.

#    Option "Protocol"   "Xqueue"

# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In

# almost every case these lines should be omitted.

#    Option "BaudRate"   "9600"

#    Option "SampleRate"   "150"

# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button Microsoft mice

# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)

     Option "Buttons"   "6"

     Option "ZAxisMapping"   "4 5"

#    Option "Emulate3Buttons"

#    Option "Emulate3Timeout"    "50"

# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice

#    Option "ChordMiddle"

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  "M87TXM"

# 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   30-86

#    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 50-130

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  "GF2"

    Driver      "vesa"

    #VideoRam    32768

    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate

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      "GF2"

    Monitor     "M87TXM"

    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       8

        Modes       "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       16

        Modes       "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       24

        Modes       "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

        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 "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

# Section "DRI"

#    Mode 0666

# EndSection

```

Pretty straight up. Hope it helps.

----------

## manx801

Thanks. I noticed that you do not enable DPMS in your xorg.conf. I have found that when I do enable it, it does not work with the vesa driver and the Intel 945 graphics chip. I think the problem might be with the vesa driver. There is some information about how to get the i810 driver working with the Intel 945 chip here: 

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-457349-highlight-dpms+intel+945g.html

----------

## Khan

 *manx801 wrote:*   

> Thanks. I noticed that you do not enable DPMS in your xorg.conf. I have found that when I do enable it, it does not work with the vesa driver and the Intel 945 graphics chip. I think the problem might be with the vesa driver. There is some information about how to get the i810 driver working with the Intel 945 chip here: 
> 
> https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-457349-highlight-dpms+intel+945g.html

 

Historically, I have never been a fond supporter of DPMS. I usually leave my monitor on or rely on the built-in capacity of the monitor to place itself into sleep mode. Your mileage may vary    :Twisted Evil: 

----------

## chaonis

Did not mean to start this discussion and let you guys hanging here. 

I have the system up and running very stable since Janauary. Daily tools I use are including: 

* Cadence circuit schematic and layout toolset, 2D graphical

* Eagle circuit schematic and layout toolset, 2D graphical

* Xilinx HDL compiler

* HSpice simulator

* GCC

* Firefox and Thunderbird,

* GAIM, vncviewer, mplayer

* acroread and flash

I am so glad that I can make Cadence tool to work under my setup. The tool itself is a beast: no better than Microsoft products, if not worse. The 2D drawing performance is great. And it runs 100 times more stable than in runs Windows environment. 

Now you see I am really using the machine for work  :Very Happy:  Therefore, I care most the stability and second the performance. I do not care about monitoring the temperature of the cpu nor do I care about saving energy by putting any part of the machine into sleep mode.  This is also why I choose Gentoo, since I can install the minimum programs on to the machine. XFCE4 is my only WM, in case you want to know   :Cool: 

FYI for opengl performance:

```

% glxgears

4235 frames in 5.1 seconds = 831.693 FPS

4200 frames in 5.1 seconds = 825.374 FPS

4200 frames in 5.1 seconds = 823.597 FPS

4200 frames in 5.1 seconds = 825.172 FPS

4200 frames in 5.1 seconds = 823.256 FPS

XIO:  fatal IO error 104 (Connection reset by peer) on X server ":0.0"

      after 46904 requests (33 known processed) with 0 events remaining.

```

Of course, OpenGL only works on the primary screen. If I want to cheat, I can put the glxgears window on secondary screen so the gears will disappear and the frame rate will jump up to 1050 FPS on average.   :Twisted Evil: 

And here is my xorg.conf, enjoy: 

```

# **********************************************************************

# Module section -- this  section  is used to specify

# which dynamically loadable modules to load.

# **********************************************************************

#

Section "Module"

    Load        "dbe"   # Double buffer extension

    SubSection  "extmod"

      Option    "omit xfree86-dga"   # don't initialise the DGA extension

    EndSubSection

    Load        "type1"

    Load        "freetype"

    Load       "glx"

#    Load       "dri"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Files section.  This allows default font and rgb paths to be set

# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"

    RgbPath     "/usr/lib/X11/rgb"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/misc/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/TTF/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/Type1/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/CID/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/local/"

#    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/Speedo/"

#    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/TrueType/"

    FontPath   "/usr/share/fonts/freefont/"

# The module search path.  The default path is shown here.

#    ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Server flags section.

# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"

#    Option "NoTrapSignals"

#    Option "DontVTSwitch"

#    Option "DontZap"

#    Option "Dont Zoom"

#    Option "DisableVidModeExtension"

#    Option "AllowNonLocalXvidtune"

#    Option "DisableModInDev"

#    Option "AllowNonLocalModInDev"

    Option      "Xinerama" "yes"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Input devices

# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************

# Core keyboard's InputDevice section

# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier  "Keyboard1"

    Driver      "kbd"

    Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"

    Option "XkbModel"   "pc105"

    Option "XkbLayout"  "us"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Core Pointer's InputDevice section

# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier  "Mouse1"

    Driver      "mouse"

    Option "Protocol"    "Auto"

    Option "Device"      "/dev/input/mouse0"

    Option "ZAxisMapping"  "4 5"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Monitor section

# **********************************************************************

Section "Monitor"

        Identifier     "2001FP"

        DisplaySize     408 306

        HorizSync       31-80

        VertRefresh     56-76

        Option          "DPMS"

        ModeLine        "1600x1200" 160.00 1600 1664 1856 2160 1200 1201 1204 1250

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Graphics device section

# **********************************************************************

Section "Device"

    Identifier  "Intel945G0"

    Driver      "i810"

    VideoRam    262144

    BusID       "PCI:0:2:0"

    Option      "DPMS"

    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate

    Screen 0

    Option      "DevicePresence" "yes"

    Option      "MonitorLayout" "CRT,DFP"

    Option      "NoAccel"       "false"

    Option      "DRI"           "false" 

EndSection

Section "Device"

    Identifier  "Intel945G1"

    Driver      "i810"

    VideoRam    262144

    BusID       "PCI:0:2:0"

    Option      "DPMS"

    Option      "Display" "DFP"

    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate

    Screen 1

    Option      "DevicePresence" "yes"

    Option      "MonitorLayout" "DFP"

    Option      "NoAccel"       "false"

    Option      "DRI"           "false" 

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# Screen sections

# **********************************************************************

Section "Screen"

    Identifier  "Screen 0"

    Device      "Intel945G0"

    Monitor     "2001FP"

    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       24

        Modes       "1600x1200"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

EndSection

Section "Screen"

    Identifier  "Screen 1"

    Device      "Intel945G1"

    Monitor     "2001FP"

    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"

        Depth       24

        Modes       "1600x1200"

        ViewPort    0 0

    EndSubsection

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# ServerLayout sections.

# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerLayout"

    Identifier  "Simple Layout"

    Screen 0 "Screen 0" 0 0

    Screen 1 "Screen 1" RightOf "Screen 0"

    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"

    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

Section "DRI"

    Mode 0666

EndSection

```

----------

## RazielFMX

I just built an EM64T GX620.  Having X issues, but that is due to the radoenx600 and fglrx buggy dirvers.

Some things you might want to try to get an awesome build:

1)  use the amd64 install, NOT THE x86!  Use "march=nocona -O2 -pipe" as your cflags and CHOST='x86_64-pc-linux-gnu'.

2)  The NIC driver is buggy.  You need to include Tigon 3, not NEII, as a MODULE.  Then, place tg3 into your /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6 (I assume you are using the 2.6 kernel.).

3)  Once your base system is built, please follow the GCC upgrade instructions.  When you run emerge -uav gcc, its gonna up you one revision.  Thus, if you ever want to run an update on world, you will have issues.  The amd64 live cd/stage tarball seems to come with gcc3.4.4, while gentoo has now upped to gcc3.4.5.

4)  Once you have followed all the steps, including emerge -e system followed by emerge -e world, you are ready for all your other installs.

I am definately going to watch this thread, I've been through so many headaches getting this thing working right.  If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.  Oh, you should use 2.6.16-gentoo-r7, it has an additional sub type for the processor specifically for EM64T chips.  It seems to have made a difference in performance.  This should be the default kernel downloaded if you use the amd64 minimal cd.

----------

## mark_alec

Moved from Installing Gentoo to Documentation, Tips & Tricks.

----------

## sl70

I finally got my system installed after 3 tries from scratch. Each time I got the dreaded ``Error loading operating system'' BIOS error. I think the key was to emerge grub, then grub-static and then run grub. 

Now I'm having trouble with X and windowmaker. I was totally saved by chaonis's xorg.conf file. I couldn't for the life of me get both monitors to display a single virtual desktop without his file. Thanks, chaonis!! However, now when windowmaker starts it crashes with signal 11. I have no idea what the problem is since I can't get it to leave a core file. (Or perhaps it does make a core file but I can't find it.) In the meantime, I'm using enlightenment, which is not so easy to set up and use.

Anyone have any ideas on how to find the problem?  Thanks.

----------

## RazielFMX

Try fluxbox, it's easy, highly configurable, and just plain awesome!

----------

## sl70

OK. I solved my problem. The same problem that caused WindowMaker to crash was giving me big frustrations with fluxbox, too. The cause of it all was the fact that in the new modular xorg, the command that gives the path to the rgb.txt file is messed up. I had /usr/share/X11, /usr/share/X11/rgb, /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt and none of these loaded rgb.txt. The result was all kinds of error messages like, ``What the heck color is ``red''?'' Finally, after reading another thread somewhere, I commented out the RgbPath line (and also put a link in /usr/lib/X11 to /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt for good measure) and now my WindowMaker is working again!! (Sorry, this has gotten off the GX620 topic.)

----------

## cnagel

 *RazielFMX wrote:*   

> Some things you might want to try to get an awesome build:
> 
> 1)  use the amd64 install, NOT THE x86!  Use "march=nocona -O2 -pipe" as your cflags and CHOST='x86_64-pc-linux-gnu'.
> 
> 

 

Well, I *definitely* want an awesome build!   :Smile:   I am attempting to get the highest performance that I can out of this installation, to discover if a GX650 w/Gentoo can outperform a Proliant running Windows (both using Oracle 10g).

But my kernel panics.  Here's the thing:  I don't know how to map "-march=nocona" (or any of the other arch's people mention in other posts) to the "make menuconfig" selections, which are things like "Pentium 4/...", "Athlon/...", "Athlon64...".  

I know this is a newbie issue.  Can someone tell me where the mappings between the compiler flags and the menu choices are?

Thanks,

Chris

----------

## devsk

 *chaonis wrote:*   

> 
> 
> glxgear performance:
> 
>  *Quote:*   # glxgears
> ...

 

```
$ glxgears

8582 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1716.313 FPS

8876 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1775.186 FPS

9077 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1815.324 FPS

9025 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1804.989 FPS

8897 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1779.283 FPS

8890 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1777.909 FPS

9018 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1803.515 FPS

8988 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1797.527 FPS
```

You can get more than double the performance by using DRI. Follow my post in this thread and enable kernel agpgart, DRM, i830, i915 and then load these modules at startup. enable DRI in xorg.conf and be happy!

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-492686-postdays-0-postorder-asc-start-31.html

PS: I forgot to mention that this was on a gx620 as well.

----------

## cnagel

 *cnagel wrote:*   

> 
> 
> But my kernel panics.  Here's the thing:  I don't know how to map "-march=nocona" (or any of the other arch's people mention in other posts) to the "make menuconfig" selections, which are things like "Pentium4/...",  "Athlon/...", "Athlon64...".  
> 
> 

 

The kernel panics were a result of not setting the VEISA bus support along with the SCSI drives.  Pays to look through *all* the config options.  ALL of them!  :Smile: 

And as for the processor, the GX620 needs the Pentium4 selection from MENUCONFIG, but later in the setup, you can set -march in /etc/make.conf.  I have not yet done this, so not sure if I'll "be happy"!  :Very Happy: 

Just thought I'd follow up for any other newbies like me doing this...  Thanks for all the pointers.

Chris

----------

## sl70

 *chaonis wrote:*   

> 
> 
> Of course, OpenGL only works on the primary screen. If I want to cheat, I can put the glxgears window on secondary screen so the gears will disappear and the frame rate will jump up to 1050 FPS on average.  
> 
> 

 

I wish I knew how to do this. I only get about 200 FPS on the primary screen (and 1150 FPS on the secondary screen with no display). I have a feeling that this is because for some reason the primary screen is my analog monitor and the secondary screen is the digital monitor. I would love to switch them around, but I can't figure out how. The analog VGA output is connected to a Dell 17" LCD E176FP, which is screen 0, and the digital output is connected to a 1707FP, which is screen 1. 

I'm using an xorg.conf that's almost the same as chaonis's. Anyone know how I can get better GL performance on this setup?

Thanks.

----------

## chaonis

 *devsk wrote:*   

> 
> 
> You can get more than double the performance by using DRI. Follow my post in this thread and enable kernel agpgart, DRM, i830, i915 and then load these modules at startup. enable DRI in xorg.conf and be happy!
> 
> https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-492686-postdays-0-postorder-asc-start-31.html
> ...

 

I guess this applies to single head (one monitor) since xinerama and dri still don't work together. I need xinerama, and thus, no dri.

----------

## sl70

OK, now, I don't know what's going on exactly but since upgrading xorg-x11 to version 7.1, I'm now getting more than 800 FPS, as opposed to 250 before. That's enough so Google Earth is not so painful!

----------

