How to Test Your Linux 3D Graphics Hardware, ’90s Style

Fashionable 3D graphics on Linux normally work out of the field, however how will you guarantee your drivers and {hardware} are working earlier than your subsequent gaming session? glxgears is a graphics demo that may allow you to check your graphics adapter.

What Is glxgears?

glxgears is a graphics demo that dates again to the ’90s. It options three interlocking gears, therefore the identify. The “glx” half comes from the truth that is was developed as a part of the GLX library to help OpenGL on X11.

The demo’s spinning gears have develop into a de facto {hardware} check. The body charge and the movement of the gears tell you if your Linux 3D graphics hardware is set up correctly, particularly if you are going to play a whole lot of 3D video games on Linux. The primary motive the demo has caught round regardless of 3D graphics changing into way more subtle is that it appears actually cool. It is develop into a graphics meme much like the Utah teapot.

Putting in glxgears

glxgears is common sufficient to be included within the package deal managers of most main distros, however you will have to do some digging to search out out which package deal is in.

On Debian and Ubuntu-based distros, it is within the mesa-utils. Mesa is an OpenGL driver for Linux. On Debian/Ubuntu, glxgears is among the supporting utilities on this package deal.

To put in it, sort:

        
sudo apt set up mesa-utils
    

Learn how to Run glxgears

Now that you’ve got put in glxgears, all it’s important to do is run it. You possibly can launch glxgears from the command line:

        
glxgears
    

    
You will see a window open up with the well-known spinning gears demo. Periodically, glxgears will print the body charge within the terminal you launched it from. That is helpful for gauging your graphics {hardware}’s efficiency and bragging rights. To cease glxgears, both shut the glxgears window or press Ctrl+C. While you shut the window, you may get a message a few damaged connection to the show. Don’t be concerned, that is regular.    
There are additionally some command-line arguments you need to use on glxgears.    
To point out the demo in fullscreen mode, use the -fullscreen possibility. To exit the demo, press the Esc (Escape) key.        
        
glxgears -fullscreen

    
The -info swap will show a bunch of details about your video {hardware} on the display earlier than the demo runs, however its actually solely of curiosity to builders.
        
glxgears -info
    
The -stereo swap will show the demo in a mode for stereoscopic goggles. When you’ve got a pair, you is likely to be a time-traveling CAD person from the ’90s. I used to be unable to check this feature since I haven’t got these goggles.
        
glxgears -stereo
    
The -display possibility will allow you to specify which show to run glxgears on. The format is the $DISPLAY environment variable. X11 considers a show to include a minimum of one monitor, a keyboard, and a pointing system like a mouse, trackball, or touchpad. So a number of displays linked to 1 machine managed by the identical keyboard and mouse are a single show. The format for a show in X11 is :[display].[screen]. So the primary monitor in your machine is :0.0, and a second monitor on the identical show is :0.1.
To point out glxgears on a second monitor on the identical show:
        
        

            

        
        
        

        
glxgears -display :0.1
    
glxgears is a fast and enjoyable option to check your graphics {hardware} on Linux. Should you’re gaming, take a look at how to monitor your GPU stats with an overlay.