[SOLVED] How to enable HW acceleration in Firefox?

[Methylzero]

Hello, I just installed LMDE Cinnamon UP8 x64. I would like to get HW accelerated rendering in Firefox, but even though it is enabled in the settings of FF, it does not seem to be working. I am not sure why. Firefox debug output:

Code: Select all

Alkalmazás alapadatai
---------------------

Név: Firefox
Verzió: 29.0
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:29.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/29.0

Hibajelentések az elmúlt 3 napról
---------------------------------

Minden összeomlás-bejelentés

Kiterjesztések
--------------

Név: Adblock Plus
Verzió: 2.6.3
Engedélyezve: true
Azonosító: {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}

Fontos, módosított beállítások
------------------------------

browser.cache.disk.capacity: 358400
browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value: 358400
browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run: false
browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max: false
browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion: 6
browser.search.param.yahoo-fr: linuxmint
browser.search.searchEnginesURL: http://www.linuxmint.com/searchengines/
browser.sessionstore.upgradeBackup.latestBuildID: 20140421221237
browser.startup.homepage: http://www.linuxmint.com/start/debian
dom.mozApps.used: true
extensions.lastAppVersion: 29.0
general.useragent.vendor: Linux Mint
general.useragent.vendorComment: Debian
general.useragent.vendorSub: 1
keyword.URL: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=
network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true
places.database.lastMaintenance: 1402425023
places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 103920
plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types: application/pdf
plugin.importedState: true
privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs: true

Grafika
-------

Adapter leírása: X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
Eszközazonosító: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
GPU segítségével gyorsított ablakok: 0/1 Basic
Gyártóazonosító: X.Org
Illesztőprogram verziója: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.2
WebGL-megjelenítő: X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
windowLayerManagerRemote: false
AzureCanvasBackend: cairo
AzureContentBackend: cairo
AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: none
AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0

JavaScript
----------

Inkrementális GC: true

Kisegítő lehetőségek
--------------------

Aktiválva: false
Kisegítő lehetőségek letiltása: 0

Könyvtárak verziói
------------------

NSPR
Elvárt minimális verzió: 4.10.3
Használt verzió: 4.10.3

NSS
Elvárt minimális verzió: 3.16 Basic ECC
Használt verzió: 3.16 Basic ECC

NSSSMIME
Elvárt minimális verzió: 3.16 Basic ECC
Használt verzió: 3.16 Basic ECC

NSSSSL
Elvárt minimális verzió: 3.16 Basic ECC
Használt verzió: 3.16 Basic ECC

NSSUTIL
Elvárt minimális verzió: 3.16
Használt verzió: 3.16

PS: I have a HD 4890 graphics card (no integrated graphics).
PPS: HW acceleraiton works on Windows.

[PatH57]

Hi,

could you provide the output in terminal from:

Code: Select all

lspci -nn | grep VGA

[Methylzero]

Hello, here is the output:

Code: Select all

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV790 [Radeon HD 4890] [1002:9460]

[PatH57]

in control center driver manager does it list any other drivers(especially for the graphic card)?

AM dropped support on kernel version for a lot of cards and yours is in there so a new OS and new kernel may not provide 3D or opengl straigh away but run in software rendering

[Methylzero]

Yes I know, that AMD pretty much dropped support for my card with their closed source drivers, but I am using the default open source drivers that came with LMDE UP8. So I am not affected by the legacy catalyst drivers.

[PatH57]

that;s exactly my point, the open source driver give the most compatible way for the OS to talk to your graphic hardware (check alone for AMD how many cards they try to support) so older cards or bleeding edge new cards won't benefit from all the features available.
That's why some people drop to propriatary drivers and try to get better performance and then suddenly the manufacturer stops support and focuses on newer hardware or a new kernel adds features that the card would not even understand.(remember that's where they make their money) so you are left alone and hope someone else can find a way to keep you going but it's not an exact science and alot more trials and errors.

Would the 5 year old car work with the brand new engine, maybe it will run but it will never be as good as the new car with the new engine.

You are kind of running the latest linux in safe mode

[Methylzero]

I know my card is old, but HW acceleration for web browsers has been around for years, so it is not exactly a new feature, and it works on Windows. So my question is: is there a way to get HW acceleration for my card with open source drivers, and if yes, then what version do i need? Do I need Mesa 10 or something like that?

[gtsfer]

Can you open Terminal Window and run this command? Post the output (copy/paste) back here. Primarily interested only in the "Graphics:" output, but sometimes using the "-G option on this command doesn't show it all. Your system doesn't say anything like "starting in software rendering mode" on startup I take it.

Code: Select all

inxi -Fx

EDIT: I have to re-enable Google translate plugin and restart FF so I can look at that first post better.

[Methylzero]

Here are the results from that command:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RV790 [Radeon HD 4890] bus-ID: 01:00.0 
           X.Org: 1.14.3 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1920x1080@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770 GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.2 Direct Rendering: Yes

[PatH57]

looks like hungarian but then again I'm not an expert
I only speak binary and always get confused between 0 and 1

[Methylzero]

I have translated the graphics section of the Firefox debug report to English:

Code: Select all

Graphics
-------

Description of graphics adapter: X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
Device identifier: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
GPU accelerated windows: 0/1 Basic
Manufacturer identifier: X.Org
Driver version: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.2
WebGL-display: X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
windowLayerManagerRemote: false
AzureCanvasBackend: cairo
AzureContentBackend: cairo
AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: none
AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0

[gtsfer]

Here are the results from that command:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RV790 [Radeon HD 4890] bus-ID: 01:00.0 
           X.Org: 1.14.3 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1920x1080@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770 GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.2 Direct Rendering: Yes

The Xorg driver looks ok and Direct Rendering is enabled. But that doesn't mean that using an open source driver might not solve your problem. What makes you think that HW acceleration is not working in FF (what are the symptoms) ? From you initial post (I translated it here) I do see this...

Code: Select all

Graphics
    Adapter Description: X.Org - Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
    Device ID: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
[color=#FF0000]    Using GPU Accelerated Windows 0/1 Basic
[/color]    Manufacturer ID: X.Org
    Driver Version: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.2
    WebGL viewer: X.Org - Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
    windowLayerManagerRemote: false
    AzureCanvasBackend Cairo
    AzureContentBackend Cairo
    AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: none
    AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0 [/quote]

There are a few setting in about:config that might solve whatever issue you are seeing.  I included two links here on these.  Note that the 2nd one shows the opposite of what you're trying to do, so the two setting in that link are opposite of what you need.

[url]http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2116181[/url]
[url]https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/960789[/url]

[PatH57]

2 easiy steps to do:

1 ) is chromium or chrome behaving the same way on the same pages you are trying to see
2) in firefox click on help click on restart with addons disabled (kind of a safe mode)

[Methylzero]

Well, the clearest symptom is that if I disable "Use hardware acceleration when available" in the settings and restart FF, I get exactly the same debug info. If disabling it results in the same state as enabling it, the only possibility is that it was never working. If FF was in fact using HW acc., then disabling it would result in change to the debug info.
Also, complex websites( Facebook for example), render noticeably slower than on Windows.

[PatH57]

also wanna make sure and see if cairo is used

type

Code: Select all

about:support

in the adresse bar and copy paste the graphic section here is mine to compare (fierefox seems to still rely on cairo for a lot of rendering


Adapter Description X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV620
Device ID Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV620
Driver Version 3.0 Mesa 10.3.0-devel
GPU Accelerated Windows 0/4 Basic
Vendor ID X.Org
WebGL Renderer X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV620
windowLayerManagerRemote false
AzureCanvasBackend cairo
AzureContentBackend cairo
AzureFallbackCanvasBackend none
AzureSkiaAccelerated 0

[gtsfer]

Well, the clearest symptom is that if I disable "Use hardware acceleration when available" in the settings and restart FF, I get exactly the same debug info. If disabling it results in the same state as enabling it, the only possibility is that it was never working. If FF was in fact using HW acc., then disabling it would result in change to the debug info. Also, complex websites( Facebook for example), render noticeably slower than on Windows.

OK, I get that, you're probably right then. I'll poke around later and see if I can find anything on a driver for that card for LMDE. You might see if any of those FF settings work for you, but be advised you're kind of playing around with them. I don't see that doing so would cause anything catastrophic though. You can always put the setting back the way they were.

[Methylzero]

OK, I get that, you're probably right then. I'll poke around later and see if I can find anything on a driver for that card for LMDE. You might see if any of those FF settings work for you, but be advised you're kind of playing around with them. I don't see that doing so would cause anything catastrophic though. You can always put the setting back the way they were.

I have searched the web extensively, but found very little information relevant to hardware acceleration on Linux, most of it was for Windows(direct2D, etc.), and what little I found was outdated and useless (bug reports from 2011, etc).
Not even the mighty Arch Wiki have good info.

[Methylzero]

also wanna make sure and see if cairo is used

type

Code: Select all

about:support

in the adresse bar and copy paste the graphic section here is mine to compare (fierefox seems to still rely on cairo for a lot of rendering


Adapter Description X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV620
Device ID Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV620
Driver Version 3.0 Mesa 10.3.0-devel
GPU Accelerated Windows 0/4 Basic
Vendor ID X.Org
WebGL Renderer X.Org -- Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV620
windowLayerManagerRemote false
AzureCanvasBackend cairo
AzureContentBackend cairo
AzureFallbackCanvasBackend none
AzureSkiaAccelerated 0

I notice two things: your graphics card is even older than mine, and that HW acceleration is not working for you.

[gtsfer]

The best quick advice I can offer is to Google search like this... "driver Radeon HD 4890 site:forums.linuxmint.com". Or change your search terms, but try the "site" qualifier. I did see one result on this search that could be helpful. It's dated about a year ago.

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 7&p=736698. So it's not very recent, but there were a couple search results that might lead you in the right direction.

[PatH57]

yes it is older and no HW through Mesa, Opengl and Directx wrapper (if I really really have to) is working fine thank you, never had any kind of glitch or slow down or anything else in firefox
I do compile my own kernel when the stock one is not working for me
I did a manual install of my Xorg

Off course this is only done on my spare latops, my main one is used for work and has to comply to our network policy.

I also run kali linux from ssd, Debian and Ubuntu on USB
Windows xp in virtualbox
Win8 and 8.1 on hw raid and software
xbox xbmc patched
xbox 360 with xkey moded
kept all my iphones from one on that I bought at an HPC convention in Reno
Use the blackberrys Q serie for work
Still have a main job as HPComputing consultant ...

But that's me , my firefox (patched to use the latest flashplayer version) works ,my google chrome and chromium also work.