Hi Houdini fans. I've decided to run Houdini under Linux for performance matter. Indeed it's better than Windows but I've got some serious lagging in the viewport.

At first my video card was a ATI FireGL 8800. I read here and there that ATI doesn't provide a good Linux drivers so I decided to try it out with a cheap nVidia GeForce FX 5200. I still get the lagging.

I must say also that this behavior doesn't show up with Maya in both Windows and Linux nor with Houdini under Windows.

My conclusion is it's either something to configure in SUSE or I don't have the appropriate drivers for neither both cards.

Is there someone that use one of those card with SUSE and if yes, what are the drivers?

Thanks!

François

Leaving windows out of the equation, if you're saying that you're running Maya on linux and getting good speed but Houdini on the same system isn't, then something's wrong. Be sure you're comparing apples and apples.

It's difficult to tell your experience level from your post. I take it you've installed the nvidia drivers and enabled them properly?

Cheers,

J.C.

I think my message wasn't clear Both Maya and Houdini run faster (rendering, calculation etc) on Linux and this is why I want to swtich for that OS.

The speed problem I have with Houdini and SUSE is only in the viewport.

Regarding the drivers, I've installed the nVidia drivers from YaST. When I go in “Card and Monitor Properties” I can see “NVidia GeForce FX 5200 (0x0322) so I think they are installed properly. However, in ”Options" I've got a bunch of options but I don't really know how to set them. Maybe this is where I fail to make it run properly.

I've tried to get the drivers version but wasn't able but for sure they are the latest since I've run YOU (the SUSE Online Update) yesterday.

François

Type “glxinfo” in console. If there is no “nvidia opengl” listed, I suppose you're using Mesa or some other kind of software GL.
In that case, I think it will be better to install nvidia drivers manually: get them from nvidia.com, log off, log on in text console (see bottom-left corner) and run installer as root. Then follow instructions of installer.
After installation, restart X server with “/etc/init.d/xdm restart” command and verify installation: type “glxinfo” in console. It should say you are using nvidia opengl and print a lot of supported modes.

You stated that maya ran “fast” on linux. I'm assuming that was a mistake. Both programs will use OpenGL if that's enabled, unless you went out of your way to disable it on Houdini(unlikely).

The SUSE “install nvidia drivers” will usually work. When you're running SaX2 (configuring your card), you should see something like “enable 3D acceleration”(sorry I'm away from my workstation). Be sure that's enabled.

You don't *necessarily* want to run the latest and greatest drivers with NVidia. Almost always there's a sweet spot with certain hardware, a certain kernel and certain driver that gives you the most consistent results(unfortunately). What gets installed by SUSE is their recommended driver - which may or may not be the best for your card.

However, apart from that, what mlesin said is correct. Before trying to install new drivers, though, ensure you've actually correctly installed the recommended drivers first, using the glxinfo method.

Cheers,

J.C.

mlesin was right. I've run glxinfo and I got Mesa/SGI but nothing about nVidia.

I've managed (with a hard time) to install manually the drivers with the help of these pages.

https://lg3d.dev.java.net/nvidia-driver-install-tips.html [lg3d.dev.java.net]
http://www.lavrsen.dk/twiki/bin/view/PWC/FrequentlyAskedQuestionsPWC#Compiling_fails_due_to_scripts_b [lavrsen.dk]

Thanks guys!

François