Performance: Linux vs Windows vs 1st Look

Hi all.

Just out of pure nosiness, I started the client in the 3 viewers.

After making sure the settings are just about the same (and in the 1st look client, enabling VBO, whatever that is), I looked at my FPS. (ctrl shift 1, if debug is enabled - ctrl shift D I think it was).

At a VERY slow location, I got:

Linux Alpha Client: 7.5 fps

Windows Client: 7.5 fps (no kidding!)

1st Look Client: 13.5 fps (varying between 11 and 15).

Wow!

Can anyone else confirm this?

And I HOPE this is not just the VBO being added to Windows! If we can get this to carry over to Linux, that's REALLY something!

Windows has the SLIGHT advantage the the NVidia driver is "self optimized" to 590 MHz / 1.57 Ghz (real 785 Mhz, but DDR), and Linux is "manually" set to 630 Mhz / 1.54 GHz (770 MHz real), assuming that the Self Optimzing knows what is best Frankly, I have not seen any framerate differences in SL if I overclock the card or not.

What is the "1st Look Client"? A new open source build?

Jinx

The 1st look client is a Windows and Mac client with future features in it, but runs on the main grid. Rather like our Linux Alpha

I've ensured that the 'first look' client has been tested at full speed under Linux, though the Friday preview (a Friday release that I wasn't told about - what a good idea! ) was missing a necessary library rebuild for the Linux release. I've corrected it on the appropriate branch and hopefully there will be a working package soon.

It had to with the login screen, right?

Not really, though that's the first place to see a problem.

I encountered a problem with libKDU on the first look viewer. I guess that's where the rebuild was missing

First Look update has been delayed. Do we have a chance that a linux first look will be there? I am DYING to see if the performance improvement is also available in Linux - and if the strange bugs (reapperaing in Nirvana for a few seconds after using "Stand" are also there

I don't see why there wouldn't be a Linux first-look. I know the VBO-enabled viewer works under Linux because I ensured that it does - it's the one I use the most for fun lately... because I like the speed.

It's really a matter of whether the people (who isn't me) who do the official first-look builds do a Linux one. If they don't this time, I'll push a tarball into their hands so they have no excuse!

By the way, when the Linux first-look client appears, remember to comment-out the LL_GL_BASICEXT line in the startup script to experience the new speedups.

I suspect that perhaps I'll turn BASICEXT off by default for the duration of first-look, since that client changes the compatibility landscape a bit anyway.

Presumably, nowadays, you can just release the tarball, and if the official release doesn't have the updates, somebody else can distribute one

Wicked

Me too! The First Look Client is MARVELLOUS - I want that in Linux!

the blog said the new First look should be comming today

Funny thing tho, I just upgraded my GF2 GTS card with a GF4 Ti4200 (whiee, colored light)
Only to find out my FPS Dropped even with the same settings as the GF2

i can put any option on high detail tho, doesn't change a thing on the FPS (7 - 11 FPS)


I hope the first look client will unlock the true power of this upgrade (20 FPS is not THAT much to ask isn't it?)



The first look client gave my GF2 a speed bump from 900 Ktris/sec to 2200 Ktris/Sec
My GF4 is currently pushing 1700Ktris/sec on the regular client

I've been driving people crazy here pushing for a Linux 'First Look', but it seems like it still hasn't happened. Hopefully soon - I'll keep bugging folk.

Fantastic!

I will do another test, disabling VBO in the Windows First Look, and see how much of the performance improvement is from VBO. I guess that would be Graphic Card specific, though... It seems some cards do VBO better than others, so some people may not see a big difference, and others, a lot.

Right, the benefit from VBO will vary widely. There are some more new optimizations in there for people without VBO, though.

First Look for Linux is up!

Woot!!!

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And again, almost DOUBLE the FPS! Wow!!!!

And again, woot! Thank you, Tofu!

Sure seems to work quite well for me. Only doing the SL thing for a few weeks now; started with the last Linux Alpha, upgraded last week because of the upgrade and tried the First Look today.

I did have one crash with the latest alpha, didnt have any problems using the FL client for the two hours I was using it.

However; I do seem to have a reproducable problem with hollowed-out cone-prims and textures with alpha-transparency; they seem to have problems doing Z-sorting correctly for surfaces _behind_ the partly-transparent surface.

Reproducable procedure: (making a prim-dress for myself)

Create half-cone
Invert the 'taper' so that it's up-side-down, so to speak (I needed to do this to make the flexi-prims 'droop' from the tapered end instead of the other way around)
Make it hollow (95%)
Apply a semi-transparent texture to it. (Me, a black surface with thin vertical white stripes and a stretch of white lace along the bottom edge that shines through at alpha-values of 20 to 100% transparency or so).

The effect is already visible with one prim; try rotating around it with alt-mouse camera-look. You'll see that, at certain angles, you'll be looking at the 'inside texture' on the inside-hollow curve of the prim THROUGH the 'outside' layer (and not just where the transparency of the lace allows you, either).

When 'cloning' the prim and rotating it (into 8x45 degrees angles) and then linking them together, you can make a nice poofy dress/skirt out of it, depending on the flexi-prim settings. However, rotate around it again and you'll see clipping/occlusion-order "jumping" from/to one prim to the next.. Quite a disturbing artifact. THere's a few other prims I found that do the same, but i havent gone into enough testing.

IM me if you want me to elaborate or send snapshot, etc.
(PS: i am not at ALL sure it's a Linux problem, though now the FL and normal client BOTH do it, I wonder what the common code is that relates to this)

That alpha bug exists in all the clients and has forever.

Back to performance:

I have tested the first look client on three AGP cards now, NVidia FX5200 (128 MB), 6800 GTS (512 MB) and 7800GS (512 MB), and all give an FPS increase between 50 and 100%. Fantastic!

I am looking forward to the new features getting into the mainstream client, but for now, I am ONLY using the first look client!

By the way, if you have to get a new graphics card, comparing my Palit 6800 GS Super and the 7800 GS Bliss GLH from Gainward (both 512 MB) , the 6800 is just about as fast on SL as the 7800, and quite a bit cheaper. Careful though that it is a 6800 GS Super from Palit - this DOES use the 6800 core, unlike some other 6800 GS cards.