Hardware Acceleration AMD GPU in FF

[openaccesspls_]

Hey people,

i have a Laptop with further specks:

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.13.0-51-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 wm: muffin 4.8.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
  
CPU: Quad Core AMD A4-6210 APU with AMD Radeon R3 Graphics (-MCP-) speed/min/max: 998/1000/1800 MHz 
Kernel: 5.13.0-51-generic x86_64 Up: 1h 19m Mem: 2505.0/10887.9 MiB (23.0%)

Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Mullins [Radeon R3 Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: radeon 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.0 chip ID: 1002:9850 
  Device-2: AMD Sun LE [Radeon HD 8550M / R5 M230] vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: radeon v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 1002:666f 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: ati,radeon 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD KABINI (DRM 2.50.0 5.13.0-51-generic LLVM 12.0.0) 
  v: 4.5 Mesa 21.2.6 direct render: Yes 
 

I tried to activate Hardware Acceleration for FF with all instructions from the search machines e.g.

- https://linuxconfig.org/firefox-hardwar ... n-on-linux
and
-https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/20 ... 04-higher/

Nevertheless i have a CPU utilization from 80 to 95 % if i watching videos or still harder for me now if i'm in a video conference call. I put my Camera on in FF and my CPU have to work very hard.

I tried my best, so i think the forum is smart enough to help me out.

Thanks a lot in advance!!

[deepakdeshp]

You can try xfce edition first with Live USB and if it works well install it.

[SMG]

I tried to activate Hardware Acceleration for FF with all instructions from the search machines e.g.

- https://linuxconfig.org/firefox-hardwar ... n-on-linux
and
-https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/20 ... 04-higher/

Hardware acceleration is enabled by default in Firefox. You should not have to turn it on.

Nevertheless i have a CPU utilization from 80 to 95 % if i watching videos or still harder for me now if i'm in a video conference call. I put my Camera on in FF and my CPU have to work very hard.

Turn off hardware acceleration. That should help.

What exactly is the problem you are trying to solve? It would be better if you provide the full inxi -Fxxxrz output so we can see all your system information.

Additionally, your system is currently using the onboard graphics. If you want to use the dedicated GPU and see if that helps, please see this tutorial How to switch to the dedicated GPU on a laptop with Intel-AMD switchable graphics or AMD-AMD switchable graphics.

[antikythera]

Do you want video acceleration? if so then there's two different config changes required: https://wiki.debian.org/Firefox#Hardwar ... celeration

the last thing to do before you quit and reload the browser is to make sure to disable AV1 too because your hardware does not support it. that command is a little further down the page.

[openaccesspls_]

Hey people,

i tried your solutions, but they didn't solve my problem:

My CPU utilization increase to 90% if i start a video in FF or there are embedded videos on a website.

More specific: On the Startsite of https://www.bvg.de i have a CPU utilization of 85 % - 95 %

So your asked here is my inxi -Fxxxrz

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.13.0-51-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 wm: muffin 4.8.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: X550WE v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X550WE v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: X550WE.508 date: 04/17/2019 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 31.2 Wh condition: 31.9/38.5 Wh (83%) volts: 14.8/14.8 
  model: ASUSTek X550A26 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: Unknown 
  cycles: 384 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: AMD A4-6210 APU with AMD Radeon R3 Graphics 
  bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Puma rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
  flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 14372 
  Speed: 1062 MHz min/max: 1000/1800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1336 2: 1106 
  3: 1040 4: 1401 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Mullins [Radeon R3 Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: radeon 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.0 chip ID: 1002:9850 
  Device-2: AMD Sun LE [Radeon HD 8550M / R5 M230] vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: radeon v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 1002:666f 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: ati,radeon 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD KABINI (DRM 2.50.0 5.13.0-51-generic LLVM 12.0.0) 
  v: 4.5 Mesa 21.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Kabini HDMI/DP Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.1 chip ID: 1002:9840 
  Device-2: AMD FCH Azalia vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 00:14.2 chip ID: 1022:780d 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.13.0-51-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter 
  vendor: AzureWave AW-NE186H driver: ath9k v: kernel port: e000 
  bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 168c:0032 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 174.16 GiB (73.0%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: MZYLN256HCHP-000L2 size: 238.47 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 3L0Q scheme: GPT 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 141.23 GiB used: 87.07 GiB (61.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 66.5 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 3300 
  GPU: device: radeon temp: 50 C device: radeon temp: 65 C 
Info:
  Processes: 236 Uptime: 5h 53m Memory: 10.63 GiB used: 4.92 GiB (46.2%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.4.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

Are here some more ideas? In Windows the performance is fine compared to my hardware specs. So i hope there are some more possibilities to improve the Linux System.
Thanks a lot !!!!

[openaccesspls_]

Here are some more Infos:

First FF-Browser during a VTC:

Second Chromium-Browser during the same VTC:

I think if GPU Hardware Acceleration works the utilization of FF and Chromium should be decrease, right?

[SMG]

So your asked here is my inxi -Fxxxrz

You are still using LM20.1. There were improvements to Cinnamon with regards to memory leaks and process utilization starting with LM20.2. (Further improvements were made with LM20.3, if I recall correctly.) Updating to the latest point release might help your performance.

Here are some more Infos:

First FF-Browser during a VTC:

What is a VTC?

[antikythera]

i tried your solutions, but they didn't solve my problem:

I have the same R3 GPU in my AMD Athlon 5350 and it does work but you may have missed a critical step. Did you make a new firefox.desktop? If not, do so in /home/.local/share/applications

for simplicity, copy and paste this:

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#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Firefox Web Browser
Name[ar]=متصفح الويب فَيَرفُكْس
Name[ast]=Restolador web Firefox
Name[bn]=ফায়ারফক্স ওয়েব ব্রাউজার
Name[ca]=Navegador web Firefox
Name[cs]=Firefox Webový prohlížeč
Name[da]=Firefox - internetbrowser
Name[el]=Περιηγητής Firefox
Name[es]=Navegador web Firefox
Name[et]=Firefoxi veebibrauser
Name[fa]=مرورگر اینترنتی Firefox
Name[fi]=Firefox-selain
Name[fr]=Navigateur Web Firefox
Name[gl]=Navegador web Firefox
Name[he]=דפדפן האינטרנט Firefox
Name[hr]=Firefox web preglednik
Name[hu]=Firefox webböngésző
Name[it]=Firefox Browser Web
Name[ja]=Firefox ウェブ・ブラウザ
Name[ko]=Firefox 웹 브라우저
Name[ku]=Geroka torê Firefox
Name[lt]=Firefox interneto naršyklė
Name[nb]=Firefox Nettleser
Name[nl]=Firefox webbrowser
Name[nn]=Firefox Nettlesar
Name[no]=Firefox Nettleser
Name[pl]=Przeglądarka WWW Firefox
Name[pt]=Firefox Navegador Web
Name[pt_BR]=Navegador Web Firefox
Name[ro]=Firefox – Navigator Internet
Name[ru]=Веб-браузер Firefox
Name[sk]=Firefox - internetový prehliadač
Name[sl]=Firefox spletni brskalnik
Name[sv]=Firefox webbläsare
Name[tr]=Firefox Web Tarayıcısı
Name[ug]=Firefox توركۆرگۈ
Name[uk]=Веб-браузер Firefox
Name[vi]=Trình duyệt web Firefox
Name[zh_CN]=Firefox 网络浏览器
Name[zh_TW]=Firefox 網路瀏覽器
Comment=Browse the World Wide Web
Comment[ar]=تصفح الشبكة العنكبوتية العالمية
Comment[ast]=Restola pela Rede
Comment[bn]=ইন্টারনেট ব্রাউজ করুন
Comment[ca]=Navegueu per la web
Comment[cs]=Prohlížení stránek World Wide Webu
Comment[da]=Surf på internettet
Comment[de]=Im Internet surfen
Comment[el]=Μπορείτε να περιηγηθείτε στο διαδίκτυο (Web)
Comment[es]=Navegue por la web
Comment[et]=Lehitse veebi
Comment[fa]=صفحات شبکه جهانی اینترنت را مرور نمایید
Comment[fi]=Selaa Internetin WWW-sivuja
Comment[fr]=Naviguer sur le Web
Comment[gl]=Navegar pola rede
Comment[he]=גלישה ברחבי האינטרנט
Comment[hr]=Pretražite web
Comment[hu]=A világháló böngészése
Comment[it]=Esplora il web
Comment[ja]=ウェブを閲覧します
Comment[ko]=웹을 돌아 다닙니다
Comment[ku]=Li torê bigere
Comment[lt]=Naršykite internete
Comment[nb]=Surf på nettet
Comment[nl]=Verken het internet
Comment[nn]=Surf på nettet
Comment[no]=Surf på nettet
Comment[pl]=Przeglądanie stron WWW 
Comment[pt]=Navegue na Internet
Comment[pt_BR]=Navegue na Internet
Comment[ro]=Navigați pe Internet
Comment[ru]=Доступ в Интернет
Comment[sk]=Prehliadanie internetu
Comment[sl]=Brskajte po spletu
Comment[sv]=Surfa på webben
Comment[tr]=İnternet'te Gezinin
Comment[ug]=دۇنيادىكى توربەتلەرنى كۆرگىلى بولىدۇ
Comment[uk]=Перегляд сторінок Інтернету
Comment[vi]=Để duyệt các trang web
Comment[zh_CN]=浏览互联网
Comment[zh_TW]=瀏覽網際網路
GenericName=Web Browser
GenericName[ar]=متصفح ويب
GenericName[ast]=Restolador Web
GenericName[bn]=ওয়েব ব্রাউজার
GenericName[ca]=Navegador web
GenericName[cs]=Webový prohlížeč
GenericName[da]=Webbrowser
GenericName[el]=Περιηγητής διαδικτύου
GenericName[es]=Navegador web
GenericName[et]=Veebibrauser
GenericName[fa]=مرورگر اینترنتی
GenericName[fi]=WWW-selain
GenericName[fr]=Navigateur Web
GenericName[gl]=Navegador Web
GenericName[he]=דפדפן אינטרנט
GenericName[hr]=Web preglednik
GenericName[hu]=Webböngésző
GenericName[it]=Browser web
GenericName[ja]=ウェブ・ブラウザ
GenericName[ko]=웹 브라우저
GenericName[ku]=Geroka torê
GenericName[lt]=Interneto naršyklė
GenericName[nb]=Nettleser
GenericName[nl]=Webbrowser
GenericName[nn]=Nettlesar
GenericName[no]=Nettleser
GenericName[pl]=Przeglądarka WWW
GenericName[pt]=Navegador Web
GenericName[pt_BR]=Navegador Web
GenericName[ro]=Navigator Internet
GenericName[ru]=Веб-браузер
GenericName[sk]=Internetový prehliadač
GenericName[sl]=Spletni brskalnik
GenericName[sv]=Webbläsare
GenericName[tr]=Web Tarayıcı
GenericName[ug]=توركۆرگۈ
GenericName[uk]=Веб-браузер
GenericName[vi]=Trình duyệt Web
GenericName[zh_CN]=网络浏览器
GenericName[zh_TW]=網路瀏覽器
Keywords=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer
Keywords[ar]=انترنت;إنترنت;متصفح;ويب;وب
Keywords[ast]=Internet;WWW;Restolador;Web;Esplorador
Keywords[ca]=Internet;WWW;Navegador;Web;Explorador;Explorer
Keywords[cs]=Internet;WWW;Prohlížeč;Web;Explorer
Keywords[da]=Internet;Internettet;WWW;Browser;Browse;Web;Surf;Nettet
Keywords[de]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Webseite;Site;surfen;online;browsen
Keywords[el]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Διαδίκτυο;Περιηγητής;Firefox;Φιρεφοχ;Ιντερνετ
Keywords[es]=Explorador;Internet;WWW
Keywords[fi]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;selain;Internet-selain;internetselain;verkkoselain;netti;surffaa
Keywords[fr]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Fureteur;Surfer;Navigateur
Keywords[he]=דפדפן;אינטרנט;רשת;אתרים;אתר;פיירפוקס;מוזילה;
Keywords[hr]=Internet;WWW;preglednik;Web
Keywords[hu]=Internet;WWW;Böngésző;Web;Háló;Net;Explorer
Keywords[it]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Navigatore
Keywords[is]=Internet;WWW;Vafri;Vefur;Netvafri;Flakk
Keywords[ja]=Internet;WWW;Web;インターネット;ブラウザ;ウェブ;エクスプローラ
Keywords[nb]=Internett;WWW;Nettleser;Explorer;Web;Browser;Nettside
Keywords[nl]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Verkenner;Website;Surfen;Online 
Keywords[pt]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorador;Navegador
Keywords[pt_BR]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorador;Navegador
Keywords[ru]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;интернет;браузер;веб;файрфокс;огнелис
Keywords[sk]=Internet;WWW;Prehliadač;Web;Explorer
Keywords[sl]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Brskalnik;Splet
Keywords[tr]=İnternet;WWW;Tarayıcı;Web;Gezgin;Web sitesi;Site;sörf;çevrimiçi;tara
Keywords[uk]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Інтернет;мережа;переглядач;оглядач;браузер;веб;файрфокс;вогнелис;перегляд
Keywords[vi]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;Trình duyệt;Trang web
Keywords[zh_CN]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;网页;浏览;上网;火狐;Firefox;ff;互联网;网站;
Keywords[zh_TW]=Internet;WWW;Browser;Web;Explorer;網際網路;網路;瀏覽器;上網;網頁;火狐
Exec=env MOZ_X11_EGL=1 firefox %u
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=firefox
Categories=GNOME;GTK;Network;WebBrowser;
MimeType=text/html;text/xml;application/xhtml+xml;application/xml;application/rss+xml;application/rdf+xml;image/gif;image/jpeg;image/png;x-scheme-handler/http;x-scheme-handler/https;x-scheme-handler/ftp;x-scheme-handler/chrome;video/webm;application/x-xpinstall;
StartupNotify=true
Actions=new-window;new-private-window;

[Desktop Action new-window]
Name=Open a New Window
Name[ar]=افتح نافذة جديدة
Name[ast]=Abrir una ventana nueva
Name[bn]=Abrir una ventana nueva
Name[ca]=Obre una finestra nova
Name[cs]=Otevřít nové okno
Name[da]=Åbn et nyt vindue
Name[de]=Ein neues Fenster öffnen
Name[el]=Νέο παράθυρο
Name[es]=Abrir una ventana nueva
Name[fi]=Avaa uusi ikkuna
Name[fr]=Ouvrir une nouvelle fenêtre
Name[gl]=Abrir unha nova xanela
Name[he]=פתיחת חלון חדש
Name[hr]=Otvori novi prozor
Name[hu]=Új ablak nyitása
Name[it]=Apri una nuova finestra
Name[ja]=新しいウィンドウを開く
Name[ko]=새 창 열기
Name[ku]=Paceyeke nû veke
Name[lt]=Atverti naują langą
Name[nb]=Åpne et nytt vindu
Name[nl]=Nieuw venster openen
Name[pt]=Abrir nova janela
Name[pt_BR]=Abrir nova janela
Name[ro]=Deschide o fereastră nouă
Name[ru]=Новое окно
Name[sk]=Otvoriť nové okno
Name[sl]=Odpri novo okno
Name[sv]=Öppna ett nytt fönster
Name[tr]=Yeni pencere aç 
Name[ug]=يېڭى كۆزنەك ئېچىش
Name[uk]=Відкрити нове вікно
Name[vi]=Mở cửa sổ mới
Name[zh_CN]=新建窗口
Name[zh_TW]=開啟新視窗
Exec=env MOZ_X11_EGL=1 firefox -new-window

[Desktop Action new-private-window]
Name=Open a New Private Window
Name[ar]=افتح نافذة جديدة للتصفح الخاص
Name[ca]=Obre una finestra nova en mode d'incògnit
Name[cs]=Otevřít nové anonymní okno
Name[de]=Ein neues privates Fenster öffnen
Name[el]=Νέο ιδιωτικό παράθυρο
Name[es]=Abrir una ventana privada nueva
Name[fi]=Avaa uusi yksityinen ikkuna
Name[fr]=Ouvrir une nouvelle fenêtre de navigation privée
Name[he]=פתיחת חלון גלישה פרטית חדש
Name[hu]=Új privát ablak nyitása
Name[it]=Apri una nuova finestra anonima
Name[nb]=Åpne et nytt privat vindu
Name[ru]=Новое приватное окно
Name[sl]=Odpri novo okno zasebnega brskanja
Name[sv]=Öppna ett nytt privat fönster
Name[tr]=Yeni gizli pencere aç
Name[uk]=Відкрити нове вікно у потайливому режимі
Name[zh_TW]=開啟新隱私瀏覽視窗
Exec=env MOZ_X11_EGL=1 firefox -private-window

Save the file and afterwards double click it. Mark it as trusted, for belt and braces log out and back into the system. Then when you load Firefox from any icon, providing you did the about:config steps right you will now have video playback via the GPU instead of CPU. The resource usage will be around 35-40% still on an AM1 but certainly not a juddering 90%+

YouTube video playing, task manager set to All Processes visible and sorted by CPU usage highest at the top:

[openaccesspls_]

Here are some more Infos:

First FF-Browser during a VTC:

What is a VTC?

Video Conference with FF

[SMG]

I suggest following antikythera's advice because he has direct experience with hardware like yours.

[antikythera]

I suggest following antikythera's advice because he has direct experience with hardware like yours.

there are a couple of other settings to try but I am still researching them and experimenting so don't want to share them just yet without a major disclaimer in case they make matters worse or expose their system to a security risk. They involve forcing hardware acceleration of layers and webgl in the config settings so the entire browser content loads via the GPU and there's 1-2% usage on the CPU. I currently have it working on my AM4 system in that state with a GTX960 but like I said, it could expose backports to the system and I also need to see what the R3 can actually take (or not). There's a way to disable webrtc at least that I know works.

the above from the debian wiki IS a solid start though and does help a fair amount.

[antikythera]

Okay I tried the further tweaks, they drop the percentage about 10% more but nothing major so I will post them anyway since it may benefit their APU a little when video calling:

values to change to true in about:config (undo them if you notice any visual artefacts or performance is worse as you may not have the same amount of GPU RAM share as me)

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Code: Select all

gfx.webrender.all
dom.webgpu.enabled
layers.acceleration.force-enabled
layers.force-active
layers.gpu-process.enabled
layers.gpu-process.force-enabled
webgl.force-enabled
webgl.msaa-force
webgl.out-of-process.force

this further one is to disable webrtc which is a security risk and applies to anyone who uses firefox regardless of their hardware really so change to false:

media.peerconnection.enabled

[antikythera]

two new settings to enable at the top of the list of settings to make true, also for webgl.msaa-force to work properly (more resource efficient method of anti-aliasing) you need to make webgl.default-antialias false

It's now stupidly quick and still light on resources

[openaccesspls_]

Thank you for the great support.
Unfortunately there wasn't the right solution for me.
I don't want to try the about:config changes because of the security issues you mentioned.

May there are some more Ideas in the future, i will track this Feed

[antikythera]

Fair enough, if I find any alternative methods I will share them of course. By the way, do you still have Windows installed? Because AMD rather oddly have just released updated windows 10 drivers for our old hardware which was made legacy in 2017. They supposedly boost performance a lot, I will try them today and see what happens. Last time I ran W10 on my Athlon 5350 it wasn't good at all. All the UI animations were lagging and it couldn't keep up with what I was typing. I could literally see the characters being added one by one after a long delay. It actually led me to delete W10 from the machine and run solely LMDE

Current driver is now Adrenalin 22.6.1 Recommended (WHQL) 32rd June 2022

EDIT - tested the new W10 driver, it does make a huge difference but there's an irritating new behaviour I had read about online but didn't expect to see on a socket AM1 board too. It messes with frequencies in UEFI so each time I restarted my PC I got a message from Gigabyte's Boot Protect warning me of a frequency change. Also my Realtek Wireless PCIe doesn't work in Windows and I don't currently have a spare ethernet port on my switch for the machine concerned.