I had the same problem for a while now, until recently I found a solution which I'm going to share with you. I know it's not the ideal approach, but I hope it will be useful for you guys until someone fixes the issue.
Investigating I found that installing Caffeine in my Ubuntu 12.04.1 and checking the "Disable Screensaver" option fixed the problem for me. I also checked the option "Start Caffeine on login" at the Caffeine Preference's window, although the "Disable Screensaver" is not a persistent option and each time I log in I have to check this option again. With this software installed and enabled, my CPU is now always low and the computer is quiet... the only drawback is that the screen never goes blank and I have to turn off the monitor attached to my laptop manually, but for me it's not really a problem and I much prefer this to finding my laptop hot when I come back after leaving it for 15 minutes. This is the Caffeine file which I have installed: https://launchpad.net/~caffeine-developers/+archive/ppa/+files/caffeine_2.4.1%2B464~precise1_all.deb It's also available for other Ubuntu versions as well: https://launchpad.net/~caffeine-developers/+archive/ppa/+packages -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to fglrx-installer in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/969860 Title: fglrx uses 100% CPU when screen turns off (spinning in glXWaitVideoSyncSGI or glXSwapBuffers) Status in Compiz: Triaged Status in Compiz 0.9.8 series: Triaged Status in The Ubuntu Power Consumption Project: Confirmed Status in “compiz” package in Ubuntu: Triaged Status in “fglrx-installer” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Status in “fglrx-installer-updates” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Status in “gnome-shell” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: WORKAROUND (1): 1. Open Catalyst Control Center. 2. Go to 3D > More Settings. 3. Set "Wait for vertical refresh" to "On, unless application specifies". And if that doesn't work, then also do: 4. Run "ccsm" 5. In Workarounds, enable "Force full screen redraw (buffer swap) on repaint". WORKAROUND (2): 1. Run ccsm (from package compizconfig-settings-manager) 2. In OpenGL > Sync To VBlank = OFF TEST CASE: 1. Monitor compiz CPU usage (from /proc/<pid of compiz>/stat or top in batch mode) 2. In "brightness and lock" settings set "Turn screen off when inactive" to 1 minute 3. Wait until screen turns off 4. Move mouse or press a key to turn screen back on 5. Check the CPU usage from the monitor ACTUAL RESULT: When screen turns off compiz goes to 100% When the screen turns back on, cpu usage drops immediately to a normal value The graph attached shows %CPU of compiz with a sample per second. The graph has been captured on a system with a Radeon HD5770 and fglrx if that matter ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04 Package: compiz 1:0.9.7.2-0ubuntu4 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-21.34-generic 3.2.13 Uname: Linux 3.2.0-21-generic x86_64 NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx .tmp.unity.support.test.0: ApportVersion: 2.0-0ubuntu1 Architecture: amd64 CompizPlugins: [core,composite,opengl,compiztoolbox,decor,vpswitch,snap,mousepoll,resize,place,move,wall,grid,regex,imgpng,session,gnomecompat,animation,fade,unitymtgrabhandles,workarounds,scale,expo,ezoom,unityshell] CompositorRunning: compiz Date: Sat Mar 31 10:17:48 2012 DistUpgraded: 2012-02-01 00:15:24,616 DEBUG enabling apt cron job DistroCodename: precise DistroVariant: ubuntu MachineType: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. GA-890GPA-UD3H PackageArchitecture: all ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, user) LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-21-generic root=UUID=cf89ba34-108b-404d-9804-32d54a1df2ea ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7 SourcePackage: compiz UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-01-31 (59 days ago) dmi.bios.date: 07/23/2010 dmi.bios.vendor: Award Software International, Inc. dmi.bios.version: FD dmi.board.name: GA-890GPA-UD3H dmi.board.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. dmi.board.version: x.x dmi.chassis.type: 3 dmi.chassis.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAwardSoftwareInternational,Inc.:bvrFD:bd07/23/2010:svnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:pnGA-890GPA-UD3H:pvr:rvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:rnGA-890GPA-UD3H:rvrx.x:cvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:ct3:cvr: dmi.product.name: GA-890GPA-UD3H dmi.sys.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.7.2-0ubuntu4 version.fglrx-installer: fglrx-installer N/A version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs N/A version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.32-1ubuntu1 version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 8.0.2-0ubuntu3 version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 8.0.2-0ubuntu3 version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.11.4-0ubuntu8 version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.7.0-0ubuntu1 version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.14.99~git20111219.aacbd629-0ubuntu2 version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.17.0-1ubuntu4 version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:0.0.16+git20111201+b5534a1-1build2 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/compiz/+bug/969860/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
