Chrome Plays Around With More GPU Acceleration

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Chrome Plays Around With More GPU Acceleration

Google's Chrome web-browser is now up to version 18 beta and this latest release features greater GPU acceleration to speed-up your web-browsing experience, but there's a few caveats...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTA1NjE

[basilarchia]

Placing Chrome for Linux behind the MacOS and Windows is a big step backwards. In building the future of the Web development, Google should not make Linux a second class citizen. Please release features only when they work on all 3 platforms. It should be policy to treat Linux equally.

I'm baffled at why the Linux version isn't being kept up to speed. Its particularly strange since Linux is the most unlike a black box! If Linux user with working 2D and 3D installs Chrome, then Chrome should be able to use it. Perhaps there is someone familiar with the Chrome Linux developers that can explain what the issue(s) are?

[Tiger_Coder]

Playing around with more of the GPU from the web-browser catches some Phoronix interest, but when digging deeper, Linux users don't have as much to look forward to. The GPU hardware acceleration of the 2D HTML5 canvas with Chrome 18 Beta is only being done for Windows and Mac users... No Linux love there.

I think 2D HTML5 is in Chrome since several release both in Linux,Mac and Windows; but default disabled. They are enabling it default in Win and mac from now on but in Linux you can enable it from about:flags .

As for Chrome 16 with AMD 12.1 driver, enabling 2d Canvas causes rendering problem with some pages. Although it was much worst 3/4 month ago and with each new chrome or AMD release, I again try it and it seems to improving. Hope it will fix up in time of 19 or 20.

[bwat47]

I think 2D HTML5 is in Chrome since several release both in Linux,Mac and Windows; but default disabled. They are enabling it default in Win and mac from now on but in Linux you can enable it from about:flags .

As for Chrome 16 with AMD 12.1 driver, enabling 2d Canvas causes rendering problem with some pages. Although it was much worst 3/4 month ago and with each new chrome or AMD release, I again try it and it seems to improving. Hope it will fix up in time of 19 or 20.

Yeah, I don't think Michael could have phrased that sentence any worse lol. Of course linux will indeed get canvas2d, its just not enabled by default.

On my machine (intel ironlake graphics) I don't notice any stability issues with graphics and canvas acceleration enabled, but I also don't see any performance improvement (in some cases its even a bit slower)

Still much better shape than firefox's hardware accel though. Even in nightly its still totally unusable. enabling opengl layers causes the interface to flicker and slow down.

[Tiger_Coder]

On my machine (intel ironlake graphics) I don't notice any stability issues with graphics and canvas acceleration enabled, but I also don't see any performance improvement (in some cases its even a bit slower)

On this page http://demos.hacks.mozilla.org/openweb/HWACCEL/ with Canvas 2d enable and gpu blacklist disabled, FPS is 60+ but without it, its 22-23. Not many pages don't need this acceleration(only page I seen which was using canvas for gaming commercially is cut the rope and that was fine without acceleration) but in future it could become mainstream and for serious games, Canvas 2d acceleration would be essential.

Still much better shape than firefox's hardware accel though. Even in nightly its still totally unusable. enabling opengl layers causes the interface to flicker and slow down.

Fully Agreed. On my AMD integrated 4250 with binary blobon firefox, its causing the page to render vertically inverse . No usable but looks funny

[Brainy142]

Yeah, I don't think Michael could have phrased that sentence any worse lol. Of course linux will indeed get canvas2d, its just not enabled by default.

On my machine (intel ironlake graphics) I don't notice any stability issues with graphics and canvas acceleration enabled, but I also don't see any performance improvement (in some cases its even a bit slower)

Still much better shape than firefox's hardware accel though. Even in nightly its still totally unusable. enabling opengl layers causes the interface to flicker and slow down.

Any tips on increasing the preformance of the ironlake gpu in linux?

[smitty3268]

Still much better shape than firefox's hardware accel though. Even in nightly its still totally unusable. enabling opengl layers causes the interface to flicker and slow down.

Firefox has had (mediocre) 2d canvas acceleration for a long time. Layers has nothing to do with it, that's something else.

[RealNC]

Placing Chrome for Linux behind the MacOS and Windows is a big step backwards. In building the future of the Web development, Google should not make Linux a second class citizen. Please release features only when they work on all 3 platforms. It should be policy to treat Linux equally.

The majority should not have to suffer because the OS of the minority has a graphics stack that doesn't work.

[bwat47]

The majority should not have to suffer because the OS of the minority has a graphics stack that doesn't work.

Yep, the sad truth is both mozilla and google are having lots of issues with hardware accel on linux because of many issues with video drivers.