I thought I would start a discussion on this topic, not just to get help with the setup but also as a way to assemble a useful How-to for the lot of us.

My current laptop, a 20lb Acer tank that I love and has never given me trouble, is 4+ years old. When I'm training and demo'ing dynamics, it just can't handle the data.
So, I've bought a new machine.
Hp Pavilion dv2500
AthlonX2 64bit
Nvidia 7150M, nvidia driver 100.14.19
2gb
A nice light computer that I'll use primarily on the road.

I've installed Ubuntu 7.10 64bit and the nvidia drivers(100.14.19)

Houdini 9.0.725 apprentice is installed and running.

Now the tough parts.

Ubuntu 7.10 installs with Compiz as the default desktop manager, which has all sorts of fancy opengl goo to make the desktop pretty.

Houdini hates Compiz, so I have it turned off. This means that Houdini no longer locks up.
But the screen interaction is very slow.
Comparing the old to the new, the old computer is much faster, both in interface interaction and some simple tests.

First test,
Default polygon sphere generating 5000 particles, all other settings at default.
Old computer is faster.

Second test,
Default primitive sphere inside a fluid container generating fluid, default shelf settings.
Old computer is faster.


This is my first computer with 64bit and a dual chip.

Now I'd like to invite you to suggest tweaks that I obviously need to get this lightweight gem to perform.

probbins
Nvidia 7150M, nvidia driver 100.14.19
2gb

Avoid!

I have had nothing but problems with the new 100.x Nvidia series on Linux. Somewhere along the lines OpenGL support went to hell. Try 96.43.01.

Indeed,
Ran glxgears,

Old laptop:

14300 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2859.981 FPS

New laptop:

8277 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1654.275 FPS



Now I have to remember how to shift back to an older driver version.