SDB:Software tweaks to improve graphics
Tested on openSUSE
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This article tries to document various tweaks in applications which may help remedy graphical glitches. The tricks are listed here by application.
Situation
You are experiencing graphical glitches, but after extensively testing your graphics card, you find out that your hardware is not faulty.
Procedure
This article describes several solutions:
KDE
Disable compositing in kwin
Disabling compositig in kwin is known to fix glitches such as parts of windows being displayed in random places, seemingly corrupted framebuffer, and similar. It is also known to improve general system performance for systems with graphic cards that don't have sufficient support in Linux, forcing kwin to use software emulation.
By editing a configuration file
Use your favorite plain text editor to edit ~/.kde4/share/config/kwinrc.
In KDE Plasma 5.8.7, the configuration file is in ~/.config/kwinrc.
In the end of the section that reads [Compositing], add the following line:
Enabled=false
By changing KDE's System Settings
From the favorites tab in klauncher, open "Configure Desktop", select "Desktop Effects", then uncheck the checkbox that is called "Enable desktop effects at startup". From the same screen, you can define a shortcut to enable/disable compositing anytime.
Mozilla Firefox
Disable smooth scrolling
This tweak is known to fix font corruption/tearing while scrolling.
Open the Firefox preferences dialog (Edit>Preferences), select the Advanced tab. Select the General subtab,then untick Use smooth scrolling.
Disable hardware acceleration
This tweak is known to resolve font corruption and general graphics issues.
On the Firefox preferences dialog (Edit>Preferences), select the Advanced tab. Select the General subtab,then untick Use hardware acceleration when available.
X.org
Try using the latest X11 from the X11 repository
Adding the repository
As root, run the following:
zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:/XOrg/openSUSE_Version/X11:XOrg.repo
As root, execute the following command:
zypper dup --from X11_XOrg
Wait for the update to finish, then reboot.
Try installing the proprietary driver for your GPU
In some systems with Nvidia graphics cards, users are known to have a better experience in hardware accelerated applications, because the proprietary drivers usually have functions which support the acceleration circuit embedded in your GPU. If you want to install them, it is recommended you use the instructions at SDB:NVIDIA_drivers .
If everything fails
Check the troubleshooting article which applies to your GPU
Try following the instruction on the troubleshooting section/article applicable to your Graphics Card (check the recommended articles for this article).
Check whether your GPU is faulty
Try using benchmark/stress test tools in order to determine if your Graphics Card is faulty. It is recommended you run a demanding video game with hardware acceleration enabled and on the "Ultra" settings/profile. If any artifacts are displayed, then there is a great possibility your Graphics Card is faulty.