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Google Won't Enable Chrome Video Acceleration Because of Linux GPU Bugs
An anonymous reader writes "Citing 'code we consider to be permanently "experimental" or "beta,"' Google Chrome engineers have no plans on enabling video acceleration in the Chrome/Chromium web browser. Code has been written but is permanently disabled by default because 'supporting GPU features on Linux is a nightmare' due to the reported sub-par quality of Linux GPU drivers and many different Linux distributions. Even coming up with a Linux GPU video acceleration white-list has been shot down over fear of the Linux video acceleration code causing stability issues and problems for Chrome developers. What have been your recent experiences with Linux GPU drivers?"
You mean like Google Maps??
ChromeOS, GPU acceleration always! Same hardware and drivers but not horribly tied to the Google Cloud? Nope.
Using intel i3 graphics with default driver that comes with RHEL6/CentOS6. I startup chromium with --ignore-gpu-blacklist. It has been more than a year now and so far so good.
I remember these types of problems in the early days of Linux, only then it was audio drivers. Getting audio to work was a disaster. Video typically worked ok but that was before nVidia and AMD were the major players. Now the tides have turned and audio works like a dream and video is what sucks ass.
I swear I've had more issues with video this last year than I did in the last 15 combined.
I must admit, I don't do gaming on my Linux rig, but ... aren't there major 3D games being published for Linux via Humble Bundles, Steam, GoG, and no doubt others as well? Is this a support nightmare for those companies? And if not, how is it that they can work with GPUs in Linux, but the living gods of code over at Google can't hack it? I'm at work and can't be bothered to look up compelling examples, but I'm pretty sure The Witcher 2 runs on Linux, and that's a pretty GPU-intensive title. When something like this doesn't add up, it usually means I'm missing something. Like maybe Witcher 2 requires a specific distro that uses proprietary drivers or something, but Google's talking about Linux in general? Can anyone clue me in?
AFAIK the Mozilla folks have not had the same complaints about Linux graphics drivers, have they?
The solution is to avoid using the Google Chrome browser, unless you like being spied on all the time by Google. Load up Firefox with a completely fascist set of add ons and do your best to browse safely.
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
Simply enable it for NVIDIA users by default. It works the same across every distribution, and in fact, every OS. Google are just as cowardly as Adobe were.
For those who want faster flash and faster Chrome, try this:
* Go to chrome://flags
* Override software rendering list -> Enable
Welcome to a faster Flash and faster Chrome :)
Oh, if only a large company like, say, Google would adopt the drivers and support their development...
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
The fact that you, twice, failed to capitalize it at all, forces me to wonder if you're applying your case-based experience divination method to yourself.
In 2 words: THEY SUCK.
I had to abort a windows to linux port because the intel linux graphics driver is BROKEN (Intel Atom N455). I spent weeks convincing a customer he was better off moving his code base to linux, and when I finally got the OK to build a prototype, the UI was unusable. I really wish the GPU manufacturers would provide enough documentation so the Open source ppl could come in and fix it.
I've been using Linux as my primary OS for 10 years. My desktop PC does dual boot into windows for a few games but spends 95% of the time in Linux. I've done a bit of gaming and other graphics intensive applications under Linux without any problems. As a part time gaming machine, there is a mid range NVIDIA card hiding inside and I've always used the proprietary NVIDIA drivers which are as good as those on windows. There was a time when installing those drivers was a bit of a pain, due to other developers trying to to force their extremist political views on users, but it is a very simple process now.
Some drivers might have problems but there is no reason they couldn't take the same approach as Firefox developers: provide a user controlled, easily accessible, option to enable hardware acceleration... Maybe that last point shows why I don't care what Google does with Chrome on Linux or any other platform... Firefox works for me on Linux, Windows and Android.
Not having flash in chromium was one of the many straws. This doesn't help.
I used to use a Chrome/Firefox combo to segregate my browsing/cookies. Just switched to multiple firefox profiles and added a "Close Tabs to the Right" plugin (to restore the one thing I missed about chrome). Much happier and I doubt I'll ever go back.
God help you if you are dealing with EFI or UEFI.
How would EFI or UEFI change anything?
EFI or UEFI will change things at firmware boot time, but actual run time/OS usage should be the same.
It's obvious that the google gui programmers just use windows or mac gui APIs and don't know how to code. Linux GPU code has been extremely stable. Maybe they can learn how to program from the folks at Steam ? LMAO The new Steam Appliance runs Linux. I use a GTX 560 in a MacPro 2,1 running linux on bare metal with NO ISSUES.
From my own research, difficulty appears to vary by card manufacturer, linux distro, and specific task. If you pick the right distro, support is decent. If you pick the wrong distro, you spend many hours wandering the internet safari. I can sympathize with Google's position.
In the briefest terms, AMD/ATI = Hard Mode, or so it appears.
Most recently, it took me a significant part of a weekend to setup a GPU-based Dogecoin miner on Debian, using ATI cards. The first and most painful lesson was learning that Debian Squeeze was a non-starter, which wasn't immediately obvious as several seemingly outdated guides exist, referring to experimental apt packages that no longer exist. Upgrading to Wheezy, I only managed to get a single card working, though a second identical card was plugged into the motherboard and known to be good. Lamenting my half-solved problem, a coworker directed me to a hardware hack (resistors stuck into a DVI/VGA converter) so that the second GPU would be fooled into thinking a monitor was present, so it would be recognized by the mining software. Apparently, this is a hardware hack needed to run Apple desktops in headless mode.
Supposedly, these things are "easier" on NVidia-based setups, or at least have a larger community to assist, but there are still some gotchas. I wouldn't blame Google for feeling that things need to be improved before offering official support. With any luck at all, Steambox will push card manufacturers to create better drivers for at least one distro, even if it's only Steambox. The Count tells me that One is greater than Zero, Ah, Ah, Ah.
linux drivers suck for all 3
Don't tell Valve! You'll ruin there latest business model!
Seriously, I've used GPUs from all three manufacturers and found every Intel and nvidia hardware/driver combination I've tried to work well in Linux, and every AMD combination to be the opposite. I wish it were not so, but it is, in my experience.
I am literally 3000 tokens away from the chaotic crossbow --Stephen
Doesn't it suck when you use products from companies that are borderline hostile to their customers on a given platform?
given that CPU horsepower today is good enough, and tomorrow will be more so. Besudes how much video power do you need for your typical low-rez linux display.
So you are fine with Linux requiring gobs of CPU horsepower and delivering low video performance? Then it is technologically worse option than Windows. Windows lets me squeeze more out of my hardware. Why would I use Linux anymore then?
There was a time when I used Linux precisely because it was the faster option and gave me more power. There are still good reasons to use Linux. But this unoptimized bloated software is really starting to now appear everywhere on Linux world. Not good.
Performance is a top thing I want from my computer.
I don't get this nVidia doesn't work on linux stuff. It's the only video card I've ever gotten to work, well not counting Intel which had until recently abysmal 3D performance. Two ATI cards returned because they just killed the machine but 9 years running Nvidia on linux. I think the problem with Nvidia on Unity is more because of Unity which is still pretty buggy.
wow. what an incredibly impressive rant. I always love when my competence is brought into question by an anonymous coward.
FYI, my linux port DOES work, just not on the specific platform that the client initially chose. I offered to explore this cost reducing move, which was progressing swimmingly until i hit this linux/intel/qml opengl incompatibility.The only downside was I spent some of MY time exploring the options, and we now need to stay running Windows Embedded for a little longer, until we can qualify a arm based board that will work.
The intel HD3000 onwards are not horrible, especially if you are comparing on performance per watt, which is the way the market is headed. The traditional desktop is dying - admittedly a long and protracted death.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
Same with Chrome. Same with all browsers.
Chrome's process per tab model keeps it from having quite as much memory go to what Wikipedia calls "external fragmentation" and Firefox's about:memory page calls simply waste. These are pages that can't be decommitted because they have at least something left in them. Mozilla is pushing Firefox toward process-per-tab, but the Electrolysis project isn't quite done yet.
Also, you're doing it wrong. What website do you need to keep open for weeks on end that can not be bookmarked or session-saved?
Pages to which I expect to be able to refer while my laptop is disconnected from the Internet, such as while riding the city bus or while inside an establishment that declines to provide free Wi-Fi to customers. Even with an Internet connection available, saving session and restoring it only saves the URL, not form contents, and not changes that script has made to the DOM. For example, if I were to save session and restart Firefox right now as I am typing this comment, I would lose this comment before it is posted.