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Old 10-11-2016, 05:01 PM   #1
jb25
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Default Working but sluggish

Just got the Dell D3100 dock working on Dell XPS 13 with Linux mint 18 - 4.4.0-38-generic kernel. We are using the newest DisplayLink drivers: 1.2.65

After some struggles we got this setup to "work", however there are still some minor issues.
Mouse movements appear to lagging/sluggish. This is most noticeable when highlighting text or navigating dropdown menus. Everything just seems to be behind by hair.

Also, as I commented on the other thread we see a lot of errors in dmsg when we set one of the external monitors as the primary display.

Is there anything we can check or change to get it working 100%?

Thanks
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Old 10-17-2016, 01:36 PM   #2
Joachim Martillo
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Angry

I upgraded my XPS-13 (9350) from Ubuntu 16.04 LTS to 16.10 and added the latest DisplayLink driver so that I can connect a HannStar 27" display via the D1000 docking station.

The upgrade was probably the easiest I've ever done. I tend to make such upgrades only under duress and not when I'm under a deadline, but my kids managed to make the system very ill (especially wrt sound output), and I decided, "What the hell."

I seem to be seeing something like what the header to this thread describes.

If I have Chrome in full screen mode on the HannStar display and run youtube it looks like the old slow scan video of 1980s teleconferencing (one frame every 1/12th second or slower).

The mouse and pull down menus become extremely sluggish.

If I take Chrome out of full screen mode on the HannStar display but leave it in non-full screen mode on the HannStar display, everything is fine.

Chrome behaves without problem in full screen and non-full screen modes on the built-in display.

Firefox does not have any problem on the built-in display or on the HannStar display connected via the D1000 docking station.

At this point I don't have time to analyze whether the problem is in Chrome, Unity, DisplayLink, the hardware drivers, or something else.

Here is what lsusb tells me about the video hardware.

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Iris Graphics 540 [8086:1926] (rev 0a)
DeviceName: Onboard IGD

When I get the chance, I will start the analysis with Chrome, but so much changed with the upgrade, that I may be looking for a needle in the haystack.

I have experimented some more with Chrome. The sluggishness does not go away complete in non-full screen mode. It merely diminishes.

Totem movie player exhibits the same problem as Chrome, there is no difference in behavior between full screen and non-full screen mode.

The totem movie view presents images smoothly on the HannStar display connected to the D1000 docking station as long as a small piece of the image is displayed on the built-in display.

Is there perhaps some sort of issue of misidentification and inability to use hardware acceleration in one of the shared libraries which is possibly interacting badly with the DisplayLink driver?

The Chrome browser in non-full screen mode has the sluggishness problem until it is moved partially to the built-in display. Once it runs partially on the built-in display, the problem vanishes and does not return even if the browser window is moved to run entirely on the HannStar display connected to the D1000 docking station.

As I move the Chrome browser window between the two displays, eventually the browser window evinces the same behavior as the totem movie viewer application. Sluggish if running only on the HannStar Display connected to the D1000 and normal if running at least partially on the built-in display.

Firefox runs correctly whether on the HannStar Display, the built-in display, or split between the two dispalys.

I'm using a later version of the kernel than the original poster, who opened this thread.

Here is the output of uname -a.

Linux algotrader-XPS-13-9350 4.8.0-22-generic #24-Ubuntu SMP Sat Oct 8 09:15:00 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Chromium works correctly with the latest DisplayLink driver and the D1000 docking station just like Firefox.

Last edited by mlukaszek; 10-19-2016 at 12:40 PM.
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Old 10-18-2016, 10:06 AM   #3
Fatihict
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Default Same issues as jb25

I am experiencing the same issues as you, jb25. I also have a Dell XPS 13, but with Arch Linux 4.7.6-1-ARCH with displaylink version displaylink 1.2.65-1 from the AUR. I also hope that the sluggishness can go away.

@JoachimMartillo Why do you have 7 seperate posts on your specific problem with chrome? It's not helping this thread. Could you remove the posts from this thread and start a new one?
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Old 10-18-2016, 01:58 PM   #4
jb25
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Default

Seriously, my problem has nothing to do with Chrome specifically. Not sure why you hijacked this thread, please start a new one. I'm seeing general sluggishness across all applications.

Thanks for confirming @Fatihict. Glad to see someone else with the same issue. Hopefully we can get this resolved.
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Old 10-19-2016, 09:53 AM   #5
mehdi2016
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Default

I have the same problem with all applications on my Linux Mint 18 4.4.0-42-generic with the latest version of displayLink driver (1.2.65). The hardware is Lenovo Yoga 900 with ThinkPad Ultra dock.

The displayLink driver constantly consumes between 30%-70% of CPU.
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Old 10-19-2016, 02:26 PM   #6
jb25
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From what I have read on here, the CPU usage is normal under Linux. The only reason you notice it is because the the process is in the user space. I don't think CPU usage is the reason for my sluggish behavior
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Old 10-19-2016, 10:09 PM   #7
Joachim Martillo
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Default Wasn't Hijacking

Sorry.

I was just reporting symptoms as I found them.

I changed everything with my system just before I added the new DisplayLink driver. Thus I was just going over the applications that I use.

I'm far from certain that the initial poster was seeing a different problem from me.

We are all using different versions of the OS, and the sluggishness problem could be evincing itself differently in different OS environments and with different library versions.

I tested a number of applications, and they don't evince the same behavior relative to the data points of builtin display versus display hanging off the docking station.

Yet the problem seems to relate to the docking display and the display link driver.

Chrome and totem movie viewer show sluggishness when connected to the display that the DisplayLink driver is managing but behave normally on the builtin display.

These two applications also behave normally if their output windows straddle the builtin and docking-station connected display.

Chromium and Firefox don't generally evince the problem, but I sometimes see sluggishness in backing up on an editable line with whole range of applications.

I did not report that one because I don't know how to cause it, and I don't seem to be seeing it right now.

I suspect some issue in a shared library used by some applications. It appears that hardware acceleration associated with graphics output is in some cases not being managed properly, and this problem is evincing itself on using the DisplayLink driver to manage a docking station.

Last edited by Joachim Martillo; 10-21-2016 at 09:46 AM.
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Old 10-24-2016, 01:49 PM   #8
ashic
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Default Same here

I'm seeing something similar. I have a Precision 5510, and connected it to a Dell monitor with both a Dell USB 3 dongle, and a Dell D3100 dock (which is "linux compatible". Even with the latest Displaylink drivers, I'm seeing terrible performance on the second monitor. However, if I connect the monitor directly to the laptop's HDMI port, everything runs fine. I've noticed the following:

1. Using bumblebee, running glxspheres on second monitor using Displaylink I get 1 fps when on intel graphics (both with Displayport, and HDMI connected to dock).
2. Using bumblebee optirun, I get 200fps.
3. Using bumblebee on the laptop monitor, I get 60 fps when on intel grpahics.
4. Using bumblebee on the laptop monitor, I get 200 fps when using optirun.
5. If I switch to Prime graphics using the dock, I get 2000 fps on the second monitor, but the internal monitor shuts off.

I've also run it using the open source drivers, and I get 60fps on the internal screen, but only 1 fps on the external one. Optirun doesn't work with the open source driver.

I'm currently running it with a seperate HDMI cable, which gives ok performance, but means the expensive D3100 dock is essentially a USB + ethernet hub; functionality which can be got from a £15 component. The same laptop runs when connected to an external 4K monitor using a Plugable thunderbolt 3 adapter, so I have to come to the conclusion that Displaylink just doesn't work. I recall having lag issues with this setup when on Windows... I thought that was Windows being buggy... I guess I'll try and see how the direct HDMI cable works there.
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Old 11-02-2016, 07:41 PM   #9
Joachim Martillo
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Default Some Time to Debug

Has anyone made some progress with this issue?

I have some time over the next two weeks to debug.

I have an XPS13 with D1000 and external HannStar display.
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Old 12-16-2016, 03:58 PM   #10
Fatihict
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Default

I am now able to use a second screen flawlessly with a new adapter USB-C to HDMI from Apple instead of the Dell adapter. This works without DisplayLink driver and is a great solution for me. Maybe it will help anybody here. I know it is a workaround.
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