Getting Up to Speed
I have been wondering why my Ubuntu install was somewhat slower than I expected. After some digging around, I figured it was due to a regression bug in Jaunty’s new Intel graphics drivers.
I first tried reverting the Intel drivers and after the downgrade, graphics performance was really good and the whole desktop was very snappy. BUT, and a large one at that, I noticed that the CPU was permanently scaled up to 100% and the CPU temperatures climbed pretty quickly. The fan was definitely working overtime. It didn’t look good when it went from 60°C to 90°C in about 15 minutes. It almost broke my heart to rollback the changes, but I didn’t think it was worth the risk of a meltdown.
This guide to Jaunty Intel graphics performance worked better for me. For what it’s worth, mine is a “Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME” and I did not define the tiling option. It was not as snappy as reverting the drivers, but I am reasonably happy with the improvement.