That slow Linux GUI thing...

Hello people,

Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.

This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
to get a clear and simple answer.

Cheers :)

Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:[color=blue]
> Hello people,
>
> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.[/color]

Well. First off, what window manager are you *actually* using.

If you are referring to Gnome, then my dual boot laptop runs gnome one
hell of a lot quicker than it runs the Wondows UI interface.

If you are experiencing any slowdown, I would suggest you have a
misconfiguration somewhere.

You'll need to do some digging by running something like "top" from a
terminal window to see what is hogging your resources. This will give
you some clues.

Post the output here if you'd like.
[color=blue]
> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
> to get a clear and simple answer.[/color]

Where? I've never seen any such discussions. Are you trolling?

--
"I ran three miles today. Finally I said, "Lady take your purse." ~ Emo
Philips

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:45:46 +0200, Théophane wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hello people,
>
> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>
> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
> to get a clear and simple answer.
>
> Cheers :)[/color]

Which "Linux GUI" do you refer to? If KDE is not 'responsive' enough for
you, then try Gnome. If Gnome is not 'responsive' enough for you, then try
XFCE, Enlightenment or one of the other 'lighter' desktops.

Hey,

First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)

I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.

As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
these on Nvidia's official forums :
[url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url]

Moog a écrit :[color=blue]
> Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:[color=green]
>> Hello people,
>>
>> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
>> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
>> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
>> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
>> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.[/color]
>
> Well. First off, what window manager are you *actually* using.
>
> If you are referring to Gnome, then my dual boot laptop runs gnome one
> hell of a lot quicker than it runs the Wondows UI interface.
>
> If you are experiencing any slowdown, I would suggest you have a
> misconfiguration somewhere.
>
> You'll need to do some digging by running something like "top" from a
> terminal window to see what is hogging your resources. This will give
> you some clues.
>
> Post the output here if you'd like.
>[color=green]
>> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
>> to get a clear and simple answer.[/color]
>
> Where? I've never seen any such discussions. Are you trolling?
>[/color]

Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:[color=blue]
> Hey,
>
> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>
> I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
> Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
> Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.
>
> As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
> these on Nvidia's official forums :
> [url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url][/color]

Interesting...

Are you using closed source nvidia drivers (possibly in beta) and
judging the performance of the OS whilst doing it?

First off. NVidia actually produce their windows drivers first and
then produce a kinda version for linux *without* support. Unless you
have it correctly configured, you will see issues.

Post your xorg.conf file.

Terminal
$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I'll show you how to get speed from the user interface.

--
Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to wear ear plugs. ~ Spike
Milligan

Théophane wrote:
[color=blue]
> the GUI was very slow. I
> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.[/color]

How do you define 'gui' in this context?

Could you give a tangible measurable quantity of gui that can be compared
one to the other?

--
Mike Easter

Théophane wrote:[color=blue]
> Hello people,
>
> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>
> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
> to get a clear and simple answer.
>
> Cheers :)[/color]

If you want slow, try XP with tons of registry gunk and programs running
in the background. My Ubuntu Gnome desktop is pretty much click/POW, and
my XP is down to a crawl on the same machine, even for just scrolling a
text opened in Notepad. If I use KDE Ubuntu it is just as fast.
Use both for about 2 months and the windoze will come to a crawl while
the Ubuntu stays fast.
Go figure, huh?
Bill Baka

In article <486aa589$0$30691$426a74cc@news.free.fr>, =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Th=E9ophane?= <spamlaboite@gmail.com> wrote:[color=blue]
>Hello people,
>
>Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
>slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
>Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
>then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
>Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>
>This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
>to get a clear and simple answer.[/color]

Mileages vary. Mine is different from yours as linux is faster (but that's
kubuntu 7.10 vs XP). :)

Théophane wrote:[color=blue]
> Hey,
>
> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>[/color]
Obviously
You are also obviously top-posting, because you just don't get it.
Manure spreaders like you should unload out of the rear, but it is
fitting that you insist on unloading out of the front, therefore
covering yourself with your own manure. Any farmers out there agree with
this?

Moog wrote:
[color=blue]
> Post your xorg.conf file.
>
> Terminal
> $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
>[/color]

Something someone told me the other day - move /etc/X11/xorg.conf to a
backup file - so /etc/X11/xorg.conf does not exist. Xorg will then guess
which driver to use. I tried it and went from using the slow VESA driver
to an automagically configured NV driver.

Don't think this will work to get the proprietary Nvidia driver going
though. Sounds to me like you are using the VESA driver.

Pete

--
[url]http://www.petezilla.co.uk[/url]

In article <slrng6m2cu.qd.joe@barada.griffincs.local>, Joe <joe@nospam.hits-buffalo.com> wrote:[color=blue]
>On 2008-07-01, Théophane <spamlaboite@gmail.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> Hello people,
>>
>> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
>> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
>> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
>> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
>> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>>
>> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
>> to get a clear and simple answer.[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
>Not sure what, exactly, you mean... My gui is plenty fast, and I've
>noticed no slowdown.
>
>If you are talking about the loading of certain apps, there is,
>indeed, a good reason.
>
>For instance: Many windows apps, on install, set up a "quick loader",
>which, in essence, is the same as having most of the app already
>loaded before you click on it. Therefore, when you double-click on,
>say, internet exploder, it only has to load the front end, not the
>whole application. Linux, in general, does not do this. It loads
>apps on demand.[/color]

That typed, open office apparently loads all of itself when called (instead
of just the spreadsheet or word processor you'll get with windows). Means
the initial (say) spreadsheet might be a tad slower to start than (say) XL,
but if you want to do any other office things (like word
processing/presentation etc), it's way faster. Sometimes that annoys me ...
but usually, it's great. :)

On 2008-07-01, Théophane <spamlaboite@gmail.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> Hello people,
>
> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>
> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
> to get a clear and simple answer.
>
> Cheers :)[/color]

Not sure what, exactly, you mean... My gui is plenty fast, and I've
noticed no slowdown.

If you are talking about the loading of certain apps, there is,
indeed, a good reason.

For instance: Many windows apps, on install, set up a "quick loader",
which, in essence, is the same as having most of the app already
loaded before you click on it. Therefore, when you double-click on,
say, internet exploder, it only has to load the front end, not the
whole application. Linux, in general, does not do this. It loads
apps on demand.


--
Joe - Linux User #449481/Ubuntu User #19733
joe at hits - buffalo dot com
"Hate is baggage, life is too short to go around pissed off all the
time..." - Danny, American History X

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:56:38 +0000, ray wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:45:46 +0200, Théophane wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Hello people,
>>
>> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
>> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
>> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
>> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
>> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>>
>> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
>> to get a clear and simple answer.
>>
>> Cheers :)[/color]
>
> Which "Linux GUI" do you refer to? If KDE is not 'responsive' enough for
> you, then try Gnome. If Gnome is not 'responsive' enough for you, then try
> XFCE, Enlightenment or one of the other 'lighter' desktops.[/color]

fluxbox ;-)

--
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:45:46 +0200, Théophane wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hello people,
>
> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I installed
> Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was very slow. I
> then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty obvious.
> Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.
>
> This has been discussed a thousand times on the web but I never managed
> to get a clear and simple answer.
>
> Cheers :)[/color]

Did you install the restricted video driver or use Envy or are you using
the Vesa one? Using Vesa would be the same as using the bog standard VGA
driver in XP, which would give a very slow and unresponsive desktop.

--
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother.

Théophane schrieb:
[color=blue]
> Could anyone out there explain me precisely why the Linux GUI is way
> slower than the Windows' one, even on the latest computers. I
> installed Ubuntu 8.04 on an Aspire 3023 the other day and the GUI was
> very slow. I then installed Windows XP and the difference was pretty
> obvious. Windows' GUI was more responsive and way faster.[/color]

If you're using Xgl: Uninstall it. My machine was slow, like hell:
starting mc in "konsole" took about about 20 sec; you could watch it
render the screen. I uninstalled Xgl and everything was fine.

Greets
Andreas

Moog a écrit :[color=blue]
> Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:[color=green]
>> Hey,
>>
>> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>>
>> I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
>> Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
>> Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.
>>
>> As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
>> these on Nvidia's official forums :
>> [url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url][/color]
>
> Interesting...
>
> Are you using closed source nvidia drivers (possibly in beta) and
> judging the performance of the OS whilst doing it?
>
> First off. NVidia actually produce their windows drivers first and
> then produce a kinda version for linux *without* support. Unless you
> have it correctly configured, you will see issues.
>
> Post your xorg.conf file.
>
> Terminal
> $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
>
> I'll show you how to get speed from the user interface.
>[/color]
Using the vesa driver since the Nvidia driver is A SHAME
Here is my Xorg file :

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by failsafeDexconf, using
# values from the debconf database and some overrides to use vesa mode.
#
# You should use dexconf or another such tool for creating a "real"
xorg.conf
# For example:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
EndSection


Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "0"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Boardname "vesa"
Busid "PCI:1:0:0"
Driver "vesa"
Screen 0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
Vendorname "Generic LCD Display"
Modelname "LCD Panel 1440x900"
Horizsync 31.5-56.0
Vertrefresh 56.0 - 65.0
modeline "800x600@56" 36.0 800 824 896 1024 600 601 603 625 +hsync
+vsync
modeline "800x600@60" 40.0 800 840 968 1056 600 601 605 628 +hsync
+vsync
modeline "1280x768@60" 80.14 1280 1344 1480 1680 768 769 772 795
-hsync +vsync
modeline "1280x720@60" 74.48 1280 1336 1472 1664 720 721 724 746
-hsync +vsync
modeline "1280x800@60" 83.46 1280 1344 1480 1680 800 801 804 828
-hsync +vsync
modeline "1440x900@60" 106.47 1440 1520 1672 1904 900 901 904 932
-hsync +vsync
Gamma 1.0
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "Configured Video Device"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Defaultdepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Virtual 1440 900
Modes "1440x900@60" "1280x800@60" "1280x720@60" "1280x768@60"
"800x600@60" "800x600@56"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
screen 0 "Default Screen" 0 0
Inputdevice "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "glx"
Load "GLcore"
Load "v4l"
EndSection
Section "device" #
Identifier "device1"
Boardname "vesa"
Busid "PCI:1:0:0"
Driver "vesa"
Screen 1
EndSection
Section "screen" #
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Defaultdepth 24
Monitor "monitor1"
EndSection
Section "monitor" #
Identifier "monitor1"
Gamma 1.0
EndSection
Section "ServerFlags"
EndSection

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:32:38 +0200, Théophane wrote:
[color=blue]
> Moog a écrit :[color=green]
>> Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:[color=darkred]
>>> Hey,
>>>
>>> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>>>
>>> I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
>>> Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
>>> Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.
>>>
>>> As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
>>> these on Nvidia's official forums :
>>> [url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url][/color]
>>
>> Interesting...
>>
>> Are you using closed source nvidia drivers (possibly in beta) and
>> judging the performance of the OS whilst doing it?
>>
>> First off. NVidia actually produce their windows drivers first and then
>> produce a kinda version for linux *without* support. Unless you have it
>> correctly configured, you will see issues.
>>
>> Post your xorg.conf file.
>>
>> Terminal
>> $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
>>
>> I'll show you how to get speed from the user interface.
>>[/color]
> Using the vesa driver since the Nvidia driver is A SHAME Here is my Xorg
> file :
>[/color]

Well, that is the crux of the problem. The vesa driver is a very generic
one and is going to give rather lethargic performance - that has nothing
to do with the "Linux GUI" - it has to do with using the proper driver to
get decent performance.

On 07/02/2008 01:32 AM Théophane scribbled:
[color=blue]
> Moog a écrit :[color=green]
>> Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:[color=darkred]
>>> Hey,
>>>
>>> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>>>
>>> I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
>>> Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
>>> Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.
>>>
>>> As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
>>> these on Nvidia's official forums :
>>> [url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url][/color]
>> Interesting...
>>
>> Are you using closed source nvidia drivers (possibly in beta) and
>> judging the performance of the OS whilst doing it?
>>
>> First off. NVidia actually produce their windows drivers first and
>> then produce a kinda version for linux *without* support. Unless you
>> have it correctly configured, you will see issues.
>>
>> Post your xorg.conf file.
>>
>> Terminal
>> $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
>>
>> I'll show you how to get speed from the user interface.
>>[/color]
> Using the vesa driver since the Nvidia driver is A SHAME
> Here is my Xorg file :[/color]

<snip conf file>

using Nvidia driver here with no problems - actually needed it to get
full function from card. ubuntu complained and warned but installed it
with no issues - maybe just dumb luck...

ray a écrit :[color=blue]
> On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:32:38 +0200, Théophane wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Moog a écrit :[color=darkred]
>>> Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:
>>>> Hey,
>>>>
>>>> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>>>>
>>>> I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
>>>> Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
>>>> Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.
>>>>
>>>> As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
>>>> these on Nvidia's official forums :
>>>> [url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url]
>>> Interesting...
>>>
>>> Are you using closed source nvidia drivers (possibly in beta) and
>>> judging the performance of the OS whilst doing it?
>>>
>>> First off. NVidia actually produce their windows drivers first and then
>>> produce a kinda version for linux *without* support. Unless you have it
>>> correctly configured, you will see issues.
>>>
>>> Post your xorg.conf file.
>>>
>>> Terminal
>>> $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
>>>
>>> I'll show you how to get speed from the user interface.
>>>[/color]
>> Using the vesa driver since the Nvidia driver is A SHAME Here is my Xorg
>> file :
>>[/color]
>
> Well, that is the crux of the problem. The vesa driver is a very generic
> one and is going to give rather lethargic performance - that has nothing
> to do with the "Linux GUI" - it has to do with using the proper driver to
> get decent performance.[/color]

Well, the latest nvidia driver gives me an approximate 0.7 seconds
latency when I switch between tabs in Firefox. I've noticed that on my
8400MGS (forcing powermizer doesn't make things better). Scrolling in
Firefox is also messy. It is slow as hell and I get 100% CPU usage. I
can also confirm that poor behaviour on my brother's desktop (Nvidia
7600) and on my flatmate's laptop (Nvidia 7600GS).
Now on the contrary, Vesa might not be the best driver, but it is way
more fast.

jrg a écrit :[color=blue]
> On 07/02/2008 01:32 AM Théophane scribbled:
>[color=green]
>> Moog a écrit :[color=darkred]
>>> Théophane illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:
>>>> Hey,
>>>>
>>>> First off, YES, I'm obviously trolling :)
>>>>
>>>> I have had that slow GUI feeling on both Gnome and KDE on several
>>>> Desktop and Laptop computers. Everytime I'm using a computer running
>>>> Windows I'm impressed by the responsiveness of the GUI.
>>>>
>>>> As for previous threads dealing with that issue, I've read a lot of
>>>> these on Nvidia's official forums :
>>>> [url]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=14[/url]
>>> Interesting...
>>>
>>> Are you using closed source nvidia drivers (possibly in beta) and
>>> judging the performance of the OS whilst doing it?
>>>
>>> First off. NVidia actually produce their windows drivers first and
>>> then produce a kinda version for linux *without* support. Unless you
>>> have it correctly configured, you will see issues.
>>>
>>> Post your xorg.conf file.
>>>
>>> Terminal
>>> $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
>>>
>>> I'll show you how to get speed from the user interface.
>>>[/color]
>> Using the vesa driver since the Nvidia driver is A SHAME
>> Here is my Xorg file :[/color]
>
> <snip conf file>
>
> using Nvidia driver here with no problems - actually needed it to get
> full function from card. ubuntu complained and warned but installed it
> with no issues - maybe just dumb luck...[/color]

Hey jrg, what's your graphic card ?