Hi Eugene,
On Wed, 2010-10-13 at 22:56 +0100, Eugene Quinn wrote:
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eugene@testrig:~$ glxinfo | egrep 'OpenGL|render'
direct rendering: Yes
OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL renderer string: GeForce 6200 TurboCache(TM)/PCI/SSE2
OpenGL version string: 2.1.2 NVIDIA 195.36.24
OpenGL shading language version string: 1.20 NVIDIA via Cg compiler
OpenGL extensions:
GL_NVX_conditional_render, GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap, GL_SGIS_texture_lod,
Looks like you're using the 6200TC with one of the multiple legacy
Nvidia binary-blob drivers -- likely installed via the 'Additional
Drivers' dialogue -- which is mostly unmaintained in favour of the 256.x
series. As far as I am aware, only the 8xxxx-series cards and above are
supported by this release.
eugene@testrig:~$ lspci | grep -i vga
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV44 [GeForce 6200
TurboCache(TM)] (rev a1)
So this is an NV4x chip (its codename) therefore you may find that the
open-source (reverse-engineered) Nouveau driver is a better fit for your
uses. The feature matrix can be found here (see the NV4x column):
http://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/FeatureMatrix
One thing you can take advantage of with Nouveau, that you won't find
with the binary blobs, is Kernel Mode Setting. Smoother boot-up and
smarter terminal switching.. Adds to the experience.
Worth de-installing the Nvidia binary-blob from the 'Additional Driver'
dialogue to try out Nouveau - it will be the default 'out of the box'
driver for your card in Ubuntu.
To be honest its a pretty rubbish graphics card, the PC's been
cobbled
together from parts out of the attic. Its probably from about 2005.
I've had motherboards that have had better onboard chips than this card. But
it has got a non-motorised heatsink.
Peace and quiet in a computer is worth a lot, if you ask me.
To be fair, if it works, it works. Extra speed is often just a
nice-to-have. Though never underestimate how important the speed of your
disk I/O is to the perceived 'desktop experience'. :)
Tom