Optimizing Gentoo (Seeking Help)

coplaniuk · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:37 am Post subject: Optimizing Gentoo (Seeking Help)

Ok..so I'm pretty sure that I have nearly everyting set up exactly the way I want it now. I am noticing, however, a few areas where I could improve performance. Switching between windows (KDE, in case it matters), playing music at Pandora while browsing the web (music skips from time to time), mouse hangs or skips when the PC seems to be doing something. I hate to admit it...but these are all problems that I don't have in windows.

So it comes down to optimization. I know that there are things I can do. I just don't know where to begin. Would it make sense to start tweaking my kernel configuration? Maybe cutting out things I might not need? would that make a significant impact on machine performance? Then when could I recompile (and what options are recommended) to improve overall performance increase?

I'm most concerned about the music skipping and the mouse skipping. If I could get these two ironed down, I have a fairly snappy system.
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desultory · Bodhisattva Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 9410

suicidal_orange_II · Apprentice Joined: 04 Sep 2004 Posts: 299

Your hardware and kernel would be useful - post the output of uname and hdparm

coplaniuk · Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:15 am Post subject:

Here's the info I have.

desultory · Bodhisattva Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 9410

coplaniuk · Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:07 am Post subject:

Preemptive kernel:
I had it set for server mode. I'm going to recompile the kernel and see how that goes. I also saw an option for Timer Frequency...currently set to 100hz. It mentions something about deskops if I set it to 1000 hz. Do I need to change this as well? Or leave it alone?

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime...

hdparm:
I am getting this error when I run that command:

desultory · Bodhisattva Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 9410

coplaniuk · Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:21 am Post subject:

so my hdparm is working perfectly?

Here's my output.

desultory · Bodhisattva Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 9410

wrc1944 · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:41 am Post subject:

I'm an AMD user, but I can offer some general advice for your kernel, and /etc/make.conf files.

1. Definitely use 1000Mhz for desktops, and try and cut out everything you don't need, especially if the items aren't compiled as modules, and are actually compiled into the kernel. Make your kernel as lean as possible.

2. Make sure you choose the correct processor type in kernel config. These are the ones in make xconfig.

CONFIG_MPENTIUMII
CONFIG_MPENTIUMIII
CONFIG_MPENTIUMM
CONFIG_MPENTIUM4

I would guess you should use CONFIG_MPENTIUMM for the Intel Core Solo T1350 processor. (Someone who knows intels correct me if I'm wrong)

3. Also, it's a good idea to use these kernel options for desktop and audio:
CONFIG_PREEMPT=y
CONFIG_PREEMPT_BKL=y

4. Also set your cpu type in /etc/make.conf. Depending on what gcc you are using, the exact syntax might be different- could be -mtune=pentium-m or -march=pentium-m.

For example, mine is for my AMD athlon-xp cpus:
CFLAGS="-O2 -march=athlon-xp -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer (and more selected cflags for more optimizations).

Also in /etc/make.conf, set the appropriate USE flags for your cpu type
USE="mmx sse sse2" (and whatever other USE flags you might need for your particular system. Audio might require more than the Gentoo defaults).

Check emerge --info to see how your system is currently setup. After you change USE flags, you should recompile with emerge -upDN world (remove p after you check to see what needs to be done).

Check output of: cat /proc/cpuinfo

to see what features your cpu actually has. Only add the mmx and sse related stuff to your /etc/make.conf USE flags if they aren't there already.

5. It's definitely helpful to investigate and try different cpu and IO schedulers. I use deadline as my default on SATA drives:
# IO Schedulers
#
CONFIG_IOSCHED_NOOP=y
# CONFIG_IOSCHED_AS is not set
CONFIG_IOSCHED_DEADLINE=y
# CONFIG_IOSCHED_CFQ is not set
# CONFIG_DEFAULT_AS is not set
CONFIG_DEFAULT_DEADLINE=y
# CONFIG_DEFAULT_CFQ is not set
# CONFIG_DEFAULT_NOOP is not set
CONFIG_DEFAULT_IOSCHED="deadline"

CFQ is also great for perfromance under some system and conditions, and ide drives. You can compile all of them in, and change schedulers with a kernel boot option, and experiment for best performance with your system and usage patterns

# CPU schedulers
CPU schedulers are more variable, depending on what kernel and patches you are using. For instance, in my 2.6.18-rc4-viper1 kernel, I'm compiling all these in, but setting "NICK" scheduler as my default. STAIRCASE are also great for desktop responsiveness. If they are all compiled in, you can also change schedulers with a kernel boot option. If you need multimedia/audio, you really need a more specialized multimedia kernel.
#
# CONFIG_CPUSCHED_SPA is not set
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_CHOICE=y
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_CHOOSE_BUILTINS=y
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_INGO=y
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_INGO_LL=y
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_STAIRCASE=y
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_NICK=y
CONFIG_CPUSCHED_DEFAULT_NICK=y

EDIT: Forgot to mention- when I recompiled and set AHCI SATA support=Y instead of "not set.", my hdparm went from about 38mb/sec to 60mb/sec. on one of my SATA drives. I was amazed at the overall improvement.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intel pentium architectures from from man:gcc

pentium3, pentium3m
Intel Pentium3 CPU based on PentiumPro core with MMX and SSE instruction set support.

pentium-m
Low power version of Intel Pentium3 CPU with MMX, SSE and SSE2 instruction set support. Used by Centrino notebooks.

pentium4, pentium4m
Intel Pentium4 CPU with MMX, SSE and SSE2 instruction set support.

prescott
Improved version of Intel Pentium4 CPU with MMX, SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 instruction set support.

nocona
Improved version of Intel Pentium4 CPU with 64-bit extensions, MMX, SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 instruction set support.
_________________
Main box- AsRock x370 Gaming K4
Ryzen 7 3700x, 3.6GHz, 16GB GSkill Flare DDR4 3200mhz
Samsung SATA 1000GB, Radeon HD R7 350 2GB DDR5
OpenRC Gentoo ~amd64 plasma, glibc-2.39-r7, gcc-14
kernel-6.9.4 USE=experimental python3_12.3-final

coplaniuk · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:51 am Post subject:

wrc1944 · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:00 pm Post subject:

If indeed the Core Solo is a mobile version of a P4, then CONFIG_MPENTIUM4 would be correct.

However, when I googled and looked at a few web sites, Some laptops had it listed as an option along with the new Core duo, which leads me to believe it might NOT be a Pentium4 version.

On the other hand, another site had this: Intel CORE SOLO T1350 1.66GHZ 2M 667 S478 (LE80538GE0362M), so apparently it is a socket 478 cpu (same as Pentiums and some Celerons.

What laptop do you have- maybe that will confirm you have a socket 478 system?

Here's some other thoughts:

If you are using kde and arts, maybe that causes a problem. Maybe try booting with xfce4, or Gnome, and see if you still have problems.

What is the ouput of dmesg?

Check and see if you have unneeded services running, and disable them- maybe that will help.

Maybe you need to refine or add something to your USE flags for your audio apps.

Maybe you really don't have enough ram to run what you are trying to run without swapping out to disk.

Maybe try a 2.6.18-ck kernel (will be out in a day or two), or another muiltimedia kernel. These definitely improve desktop responsiveness.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/ckolivas/kernel/

If don't have 2 processors, or dual-core, you don't need SMP set, so.

#
# Processor type and features
#
# CONFIG_SMP is not set

When you installed Gentoo, how did you build your kernel- by hand or genkernel?

EDIT: Check this out- Con's (ck kernel fame) audio kernel tips. It should be of some help. 2.6.18-ck1 is now out.
http://ck.kolivas.org/faqs/audio_hints

One other very important thing- if you are using the ext3 file system, you should definitely tweak it for performance. Makes a significant difference.
_________________
Main box- AsRock x370 Gaming K4
Ryzen 7 3700x, 3.6GHz, 16GB GSkill Flare DDR4 3200mhz
Samsung SATA 1000GB, Radeon HD R7 350 2GB DDR5
OpenRC Gentoo ~amd64 plasma, glibc-2.39-r7, gcc-14
kernel-6.9.4 USE=experimental python3_12.3-final

desultory · Bodhisattva Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 9410

coplaniuk · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:18 pm Post subject:

As it turns out (after loads of research all across the 'net and with this thread), my processor is, in fact, best configured with 'CONFIG_MPENTIUMM '. As it turns out, my march parameter in make.conf should have been 'prescott' as well.

I recompiled the kernel with your various tips. I also removed or modularized as much as was suitable. Kernel is noticably smaller. The machine already seems much more efficient. Right now, I'm going through and recompiling my entire system due to the march misconfig. I'll let you know how things pan out.

Feel free to keep posting tips. I'm never afraid to recompile the kernel, if I have to.
_________________
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~/ Outland - Art, Music, PHP and Hidden Corners of the Web
-{ Embrace Life. Evolve your computer. Emerge Gentoo. }-

kevman · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:24 pm Post subject:

The Core Solo is the same as the Core Duo, but with one core disabled. He can use a cat /proc/cpuinfo to be sure, but it is most likely Yonah core, which means it has nothing to do with Pentium 4.

The Socket 478 used in the Core series is an entirely different socket. I do not think PIVs will even fit in the socket.

I recommend, for GCC3, a march of pentium M and -msse3. Though I don't use it, I will also be trying this: -mfpmath=sse . Use Pentium M for the kernel, since that's what the Yonah is based off of. GCC 4 might have a specific Yonah setting, I don't know yet.

See this thread: https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-496285.html

Using a PIV setting for anything would likely be a fallacy; Yonah's pipeline is less than 10 stages, while the PIV's is 32 depending on the core.

EDIT: Yeah, the prescott is somewhat better, but the only reason for that is becuase its the only other non64bit CPU with SSE3
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vipernicus · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 4:19 pm Post subject:

Definitely the ck-based patchset will help.
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coplaniuk · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 4:46 pm Post subject:

wrc1944 · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:16 pm Post subject:

Looks like we got some good progress here.

Did you add the mmx and sse flags to your USE="" line in make.conf? If not, you need to add what showed up in the output of cat /proc/cpuinfo, and do an emerge -upDN world to recompile the items that can take advantage of them.

To further "lean down" your system, you should also investigate what USE flags show up in emerge --info, and remove anything you don't need in make.conf with the - option. For example, for my usage on one ~x86 box, mine is:

USE="gtk2 imlib libwww xmms motif glibc-omitfp -firefox -gnome -apache -apache2 sse mmx mmxext 3dnow 3dnowext dvd dvdr dvdread alsa caps -emboss -oss -esd -arts -dbus -hal kdehiddenvisibility"

Refining USE flags is definitely one of the best improvements you can make to a Gentoo system. You can really refine/tweak it on an advanced level in /etc/portage. The idea is not to compile in support for stuff you don't ever use. Also, unneeded USE flags can pull in many unwanted packages, bloating up the system.

I'd really like to see your cat /proc/cpuinfo output, as I'm helping my son decide about getting a new Intel based system.

General info:
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=2

List of USE flags, and what they relate to:
http://www.gentoo.org/dyn/use-index.xml
_________________
Main box- AsRock x370 Gaming K4
Ryzen 7 3700x, 3.6GHz, 16GB GSkill Flare DDR4 3200mhz
Samsung SATA 1000GB, Radeon HD R7 350 2GB DDR5
OpenRC Gentoo ~amd64 plasma, glibc-2.39-r7, gcc-14
kernel-6.9.4 USE=experimental python3_12.3-final

wrc1944 · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:24 pm Post subject:

coplaniuk wrote:

wrc1944 · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:03 pm Post subject:

I'm still not convinced we know what architecture this cpu is. I googled and read up on "prescott," and I don't see any references to a 1.86GB Mhz version, or even that they are used in laptops.

I did find some more likely candidates that are1.86GB, such as:
Intel Centrino Sonoma Pentium M 750 processor
1.86GHz 2MB
533MHz
90nm
27w

Also, the socket for Core duo seems to be 775, while the info for the core solo T1350 seems to indicate socket 478.

If core solo is the same cpu as core duo (which I'm not convinced it is) with one core disabled, this makes no sense. Very confusing.

Again, exactly what model laptop do you have, and what are the specs, if you know? That should enable us to track down what you actually have, and what architecture to specify.

EDIT: OK- traced it down to Core solo is a socket M cpu, if that helps any.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_microprocessors

It's definetly a "Yonah" core, and supports:
Core Solo
"Yonah" (standard-voltage, 65 nm)
All models support: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, EIST, XD bit (an NX bit implementation)

With this cpu, I would definitely add mmx, sse, sse2, and sse3 to USE flags, sync, and do an emerge -uDN world.

After all this, I would think -march=pentium-m is correct, or at least currently the best option to use.
_________________
Main box- AsRock x370 Gaming K4
Ryzen 7 3700x, 3.6GHz, 16GB GSkill Flare DDR4 3200mhz
Samsung SATA 1000GB, Radeon HD R7 350 2GB DDR5
OpenRC Gentoo ~amd64 plasma, glibc-2.39-r7, gcc-14
kernel-6.9.4 USE=experimental python3_12.3-final

kevman · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:30 pm Post subject:

wrc1944 · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:59 pm Post subject:

Well, after all this, at least I'm getting a good education about Intel mobile cpus. :lol:

Maybe I misunderstood when I thought I read that the Core Duo uses socket 775.

The wiki link I posted above says your Core Duo T2300 is socket M. Does this mean socket M is aka socket 479?

BTW, your link above seems broken (Bad Request (Invalid URL).
_________________
Main box- AsRock x370 Gaming K4
Ryzen 7 3700x, 3.6GHz, 16GB GSkill Flare DDR4 3200mhz
Samsung SATA 1000GB, Radeon HD R7 350 2GB DDR5
OpenRC Gentoo ~amd64 plasma, glibc-2.39-r7, gcc-14
kernel-6.9.4 USE=experimental python3_12.3-final

kevman · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 7:05 pm Post subject:

Blah, its the not-so-great way Intel's site is written.

this is a better link than the one above anyway. You can see the T1350 in there. Its a T1300 with faster FSB and ram. (Or a T1400 with a slower FSB and higher multiplier...? Who cares).

Yes, Socket M is 479.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_M

I know my Intel, dudes. My last AMD was a k6-2+.
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coplaniuk · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:43 pm Post subject:

Still feel pretty confident that my CPU info is set correctly.

When i get the laptop back online, I'll paste an exact cpu-info. but the manually-typed one above should contain everything. I just havn't recompiled my ipw3945 drivers yet since I keep tweaking the kernel more and more.

USE flags:
There's a bunch of use flags appearing in 'emerge --info' along the lines of "video_cards_x" where 'x' can be cyrix, cirrus, s3, etc. My card is an nvidia...so I'm thinking I can remove most of those. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

***EDIT***
I noticed you removed 'hal'. What is that? Do I need it?
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~/ Outland - Art, Music, PHP and Hidden Corners of the Web
-{ Embrace Life. Evolve your computer. Emerge Gentoo. }-

wrc1944 · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:13 pm Post subject:

On all the video USE flags:
That happened because you didn't specify which video drivers to istall in /etc/make.conf when you installed, so it pulled all of them in. Same thing has happened to me when I forgot to specify what I needed. For instance, I forgot to uncomment this line, and specify.

# VIDEO_CARDS=""

it should have been something like:
VIDEO_CARDS="ati vga vesa fbdev"

My card is ati, and I always like to have vesa, vga, and fbdev available as "generic" backups.

To see what drivers you actually have installed, do an:
equery l x11-drivers/xf86

You can:
emerge -C =x11-drivers/xf86-video-whatever

(remove) any of them you don't use, but leaving them in won't hurt anything, and they don't really take up that much disk space.

About the hal and dbus. I temporarily did that because I'm running ~xf86, and a package or two wouldn't compile with that flag enabled. So until I sort that out, I just removed the USE flags. I just synced this box, so I'll try hal and dbus again, and see if it's fixed, or try and figure it out myself.

hal info: http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/hal

Just because somebody else has certain flags disabled, doesn't necessarily mean that's what anyone else should do. It depends on what else you have installed.
_________________
Main box- AsRock x370 Gaming K4
Ryzen 7 3700x, 3.6GHz, 16GB GSkill Flare DDR4 3200mhz
Samsung SATA 1000GB, Radeon HD R7 350 2GB DDR5
OpenRC Gentoo ~amd64 plasma, glibc-2.39-r7, gcc-14
kernel-6.9.4 USE=experimental python3_12.3-final