Desktop effects can cause quite a load on your graphics card.
If you are using an nVidia-based graphics card, you will need to
install and configure the proprietary FreeBSD driver that is suitable for
your system. If you are using another card, that you know can handle
desktop effects, you may skip this section and continue with the
xorg.conf
configuration.
There are various versions of the nVidia drivers in the Ports Collection. The correct one to use depends on the actual model (and age) of your graphics card:
The latest versions of nVidia cards are supported by the
x11/nvidia-driver
port.
nVidia cards like the GeForce 2MX/3/4 series are supported by
the 96XX
series of drivers, available
in the x11/nvidia-driver-96xx
port.
Even older cards, like GeForce and RIVA TNT are supported
by the 71XX
series of drivers,
available in the
x11/nvidia-driver-71xx
port.
In fact, nVidia provides detailed information on which card is supported by which driver. This information is available directly on their web site: http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_32667.html.
Having determined the correct driver to use for your card, installation is as simple as installing any other port.
Make sure to update your ports tree using your favorite method (e.g., portsnap) before you install any application from the ports system. Graphics drivers and the desktop effects programs are under heavy development, and are updated regularly.
For example, to install the latest driver:
#
cd /usr/ports/x11/nvidia-driver
#
make install clean
The driver will create a kernel module, which should be loaded
at system startup. You will need to add the following line to the
/boot/loader.conf
file:
You may attempt to immediately load the kernel module into the
running kernel by issuing a command like
kldload nvidia
, however it has been noted that
the latest versions of Xorg will not
function properly if the driver is not loaded at boot time. After
editing /boot/loader.conf
, a reboot is
recommended.
With the kernel module loaded, you normally only need to change
a single line in your xorg.conf
file to enable
the proprietary driver:
Find the following line in
/etc/X11/xorg.conf
:
and change it to:
Start your GUI as usual, and you should be greeted by the nVidia splash. Everything should work as usual. Note, that at this point you have only set up Xorg to use the nVidia driver, but further configuration is needed before you can actually use 3D desktop effects. This is described in the following sections.
Although not strictly necessary, you may also wish to install
x11/nvidia-xconfig
and
x11/nvidia-settings
ports. The
former can assist you in writing settings to
/etc/X11/xorg.conf
from the command line, and
the latter will allow you to modify screen settings from a GUI while
running the Xorg system.
This, and other documents, can be downloaded from http://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/
For questions about FreeBSD, read the
documentation before
contacting <questions@FreeBSD.org>.
For questions about this documentation, e-mail <doc@FreeBSD.org>.