no smooth scrolling with xfwm, kde and gnome - why?

[betazoid]

well the computers that I checked out today were not exactly budget pc's at the fh technikum (it is something like a technical/it university), they had 16 GB of ram, 8-core-cpu's, well and the intel hd 6xx graphics.
Honestly I would be happy if someone with different hardware could tell if this is an issue with their computer, I am really curious...

[Stevo]

You could try the stock Debian 4.9 kernel, since the modesetting driver is in the kernel, to see if it makes any difference, or the stock Debian version of xserver-xorg-video-intel driver, since we have a backported version to support newer Intel GPUs. Or there's a newer Mesa in the test repo.

Those are the only other variables I think you can tweak at the moment, though I'll see if upstream Debian has any newer Intel driver.

[az2020]

You could try 1) the stock Debian 4.9 kernel, since the modesetting driver is in the kernel, to see if it makes any difference, or 2) the stock Debian version of xserver-xorg-video-intel driver, since we have a backported version to support newer Intel GPUs. Or 3) there's a newer Mesa in the test repo.

If someone can tell me what to do, I can try one of those (at least).

It's not really important to me. I'm fine how it is. But, if this would lead to an improvement for others, I can try whatever someone tells me to do. (It's not the end of the world if I have to reinstall.).

[JayM]

You could try 1) the stock Debian 4.9 kernel, since the modesetting driver is in the kernel, to see if it makes any difference, or 2) the stock Debian version of xserver-xorg-video-intel driver, since we have a backported version to support newer Intel GPUs. Or 3) there's a newer Mesa in the test repo.

If someone can tell me what to do, I can try one of those (at least).

It's not really important to me. I'm fine how it is. But, if this would lead to an improvement for others, I can try whatever someone tells me to do. (It's not the end of the world if I have to reinstall.).

Kernel:
Open MX Package Installer. On the Popular Applications tab, expand Kernels. Look for Debian 64 bit (description: "Default Debian 4.9 kernel Meltdown patched, 64-bit") Select it and click Install. Let it finish.

Open MX Boot Options. Select "Enable saving last boot choice" and "Use flat menus (no submenus)" then click Apply.

Reboot, and on the grub boot screen, down-arrow to the 4.9 kernel and hit enter. It will default to the 4.9 kernel from then on until you select a different one at boot. If 4.9 doesn't help the problem there's no need to uninstall it, just select kernel 4.19 again when you boot later on.

[az2020]

Kernel:

Thanks. I will do this soon. I reverted MX Tools->MX Tweaks->Compositor back to none. I want to live with it that way for awhile. The behavior is subtle. I don't trust my subjective mind to say "this is better" (or worse). Let me experience it for awhile. Then I'll do the kernel steps and see what my initial impressions are.

[Stevo]

To downgrade a package, check available versions:

Code: Select all

apt policy xserver-xorg-video-intel
xserver-xorg-video-intel:
  Installed: 2:2.99.917+git20180925-2~mx17+1
  Candidate: 2:2.99.917+git20180925-2~mx17+1
  Version table:
 *** 2:2.99.917+git20180925-2~mx17+1 500
        500 http://la.mxrepo.com/mx/repo stretch/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     2:2.99.917+git20161206-1 500
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian stretch/main amd64 Packages

You want to try the older version from debian.org

Code: Select all

sudo apt install  xserver-xorg-video-intel=2:2.99.917+git20161206-1

Test the kernel and this driver with the Tweak tool separately. It also requires a reboot. The MX version will nag you to upgrade, but you can pin the Debian version in Synaptic if it proves helpful. (Status: upgradeable Package: Lock Version)

[betazoid]

Well it might be easier just to try a live debian 9 on a pendrive? But I am almost sure that I already tested this with debian 9

[az2020]

Well it might be easier just to try a live debian 9 on a pendrive? But I am almost sure that I already tested this with debian 9

I don't mind doing the steps Steveo said. I may try today. The problem for me is that the scrolling problem is subtle. I want to give it more time to discern it.

[az2020]

Well it might be easier just to try a live debian 9 on a pendrive? But I am almost sure that I already tested this with debian 9

I followed @Steveo's instructions for booting with the 4.9 kernel. I'm going to have to use this for while, then boot the 4.19 kernel again.

It's increasingly hard for me to tell if there's a difference. I definitely noticed it after replacing Lubuntu with MX 18.2. Coming from something different, the jerky scrolling (like it didn't have enough priority) seemed more than just mildly perceptible. But, now, after using it for awhile... I don't trust my own judgment.

You should try his instructions and see if you notice a difference. It's easy. The only word of warning: the Package Installer doesn't have a great status. For a long time I thought it was finished, and I was going to close it. But, it was still working. You'll really receive a popup window saying it's done. You'll also have a busy mouse pointer if you hover around the frame of the PI. That's the only hint you have that it's still working. Be patient and wait for the popup.

[Stevo]

Yes, if you are using some third party driver like Nividia on an older machine, it might take a while to rebuild the drivers for the new kernel, which it does automatically using DKMS. Be patient and watch the CPU usage, which should be high while it's building the driver.