Nouveau Power Usage Nouveau vs. NVIDIA Linux driver power usage and other metrics. Testing by Phoronix.com. 9800GT: Nouveau: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (660/950MHz), Monitor: DELL P2210H OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 7.10.3 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 9800GT: NVIDIA: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB (660/950MHz) OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: NVIDIA 275.09.07, OpenGL: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 275.09.07, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 9500GT: Nouveau: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT (550/400MHz), Monitor: DELL P2210H OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 7.10.3 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 9500GT: NVIDIA: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1024MB (550/400MHz) OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: NVIDIA 275.09.07, OpenGL: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 275.09.07, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 8500GT: Nouveau: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT (500/400MHz), Monitor: DELL P2210H OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 7.10.3 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 8500GT: NVIDIA: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 512MB (500/400MHz) OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: NVIDIA 275.09.07, OpenGL: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 275.09.07, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 8600GTS: Nouveau: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS (675/1008MHz), Monitor: DELL P2210H OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 7.10.3 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 8600GTS: NVIDIA: Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710 @ 2.60GHz (3 Cores), Motherboard: MSI 890GXM-G65 (MS-7642) v1.0, Chipset: AMD RS880, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 250GB Seagate ST3250310AS, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (675/1008MHz) OS: Ubuntu 11.10, Kernel: 3.0-2-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 4.0.1, Display Server: X Server 1.10.2, Display Driver: NVIDIA 275.09.07, OpenGL: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 275.09.07, Compiler: GCC 4.6.1, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 Timed Idle CPU Usage Monitor Percent < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.3 AVG: 1.3 MAX: 3.6 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.7 AVG: 1.1 MAX: 1.8 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.3 AVG: 1.1 MAX: 1.7 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.6 AVG: 1.3 MAX: 2.4 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.6 AVG: 1.5 MAX: 4.3 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.7 AVG: 5.4 MAX: 10.4 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 0.5 AVG: 1.1 MAX: 2.1 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 0.6 AVG: 1.3 MAX: 7.8 Timed Idle GPU Frequency Monitor Megahertz < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 399 AVG: 399 MAX: 399 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 660 AVG: 660 MAX: 660 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 400 AVG: 400 MAX: 400 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 550 AVG: 550 MAX: 550 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 459 AVG: 459 MAX: 459 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 500 AVG: 500 MAX: 500 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 Timed Idle GPU Temperature Monitor Celsius < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 71 AVG: 71 MAX: 71 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 55 AVG: 56 MAX: 57 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 49 AVG: 51 MAX: 53 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 50 AVG: 50 MAX: 50 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 59 AVG: 62 MAX: 66 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 71 AVG: 71 MAX: 72 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 50 AVG: 55 MAX: 61 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 75 AVG: 76 MAX: 77 Timed Idle SYS Power Monitor Watts < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 118 AVG: 122 MAX: 127 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 113 AVG: 118 MAX: 126 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 93 AVG: 98 MAX: 103 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 92 AVG: 96 MAX: 103 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 95 AVG: 101 MAX: 106 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 89 AVG: 94 MAX: 103 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 116 AVG: 122 MAX: 130 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 105 AVG: 112 MAX: 119 OpenArena 0.8.5 Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. 65.97 |========== 9800GT: NVIDIA ... 329.13 |==================================================== 9500GT: Nouveau .. 58.93 |========= 9500GT: NVIDIA ... 113.30 |================== 8500GT: Nouveau .. 53.87 |========= 8500GT: NVIDIA ... 66.20 |========== 8600GTS: Nouveau . 72.43 |=========== 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. 192.63 |============================== OpenArena 0.8.5 CPU Usage Monitor Percent < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 1.7 AVG: 35.6 MAX: 39.7 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 2.0 AVG: 29.4 MAX: 44.8 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 2.6 AVG: 34.7 MAX: 38.7 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 2.3 AVG: 35.8 MAX: 47.0 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 5.0 AVG: 33.5 MAX: 38.3 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 1.7 AVG: 37.5 MAX: 43.9 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 10.2 AVG: 36.4 MAX: 43.4 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 2.0 AVG: 30.4 MAX: 40.7 OpenArena 0.8.5 GPU Frequency Monitor Megahertz < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 399 AVG: 399 MAX: 399 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 660 AVG: 660 MAX: 660 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 400 AVG: 400 MAX: 400 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 550 AVG: 550 MAX: 550 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 459 AVG: 459 MAX: 459 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 500 AVG: 500 MAX: 500 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 OpenArena 0.8.5 GPU Temperature Monitor Celsius < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 71 AVG: 72 MAX: 73 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 56 AVG: 59 MAX: 61 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 54 AVG: 56 MAX: 57 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 53 AVG: 57 MAX: 59 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 68 AVG: 72 MAX: 74 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 72 AVG: 76 MAX: 78 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 61 AVG: 66 MAX: 69 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 75 AVG: 77 MAX: 79 OpenArena 0.8.5 SYS Power Monitor Watts < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 123 AVG: 137 MAX: 145 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 136 AVG: 153 MAX: 172 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 93 AVG: 109 MAX: 111 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 117 AVG: 123 MAX: 126 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 98 AVG: 113 MAX: 115 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 103 AVG: 125 MAX: 129 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 139 AVG: 143 MAX: 148 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 115 AVG: 149 MAX: 164 1080p H.264 Video Playback Video Decoding: X-Video Percent 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.3 AVG: 20.4 MAX: 32.4 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.7 AVG: 20.6 MAX: 31.6 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.7 AVG: 20.6 MAX: 33.1 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.6 AVG: 20.3 MAX: 35.1 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.7 AVG: 19.9 MAX: 33.5 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.6 AVG: 20.4 MAX: 32.3 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 1.2 AVG: 20.5 MAX: 34.9 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 1.0 AVG: 20.0 MAX: 35.1 1080p H.264 Video Playback CPU Usage Monitor Percent < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.9 AVG: 20.2 MAX: 29.0 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 1.2 AVG: 19.9 MAX: 28.1 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 1.6 AVG: 20.6 MAX: 29.5 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.4 AVG: 19.2 MAX: 31.1 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 1.1 AVG: 20.6 MAX: 31.1 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 2.6 AVG: 20.0 MAX: 29.9 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 0.6 AVG: 20.4 MAX: 30.6 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 1.9 AVG: 20.3 MAX: 31.0 1080p H.264 Video Playback GPU Frequency Monitor Megahertz < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 399 AVG: 399 MAX: 399 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 660 AVG: 660 MAX: 660 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 400 AVG: 400 MAX: 400 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 550 AVG: 550 MAX: 550 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 459 AVG: 459 MAX: 459 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 500 AVG: 500 MAX: 500 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 1080p H.264 Video Playback GPU Temperature Monitor Celsius < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 71 AVG: 71 MAX: 72 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 55 AVG: 56 MAX: 57 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 55 AVG: 55 MAX: 55 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 51 AVG: 52 MAX: 54 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 73 AVG: 75 MAX: 76 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 70 AVG: 72 MAX: 74 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 69 AVG: 75 MAX: 78 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 70 AVG: 73 MAX: 75 1080p H.264 Video Playback SYS Power Monitor Watts < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 120 AVG: 130 MAX: 138 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 117 AVG: 126 MAX: 133 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 96 AVG: 105 MAX: 113 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 92 AVG: 103 MAX: 110 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 100 AVG: 108 MAX: 115 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 92 AVG: 103 MAX: 110 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 119 AVG: 134 MAX: 141 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 106 AVG: 118 MAX: 127 Nexuiz 2.5.2 Resolution: 1920 x 1080 - HDR: No - Sound: Off Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. 30.58 |================ 9800GT: NVIDIA ... 101.47 |==================================================== 9500GT: Nouveau .. 20.79 |=========== 9500GT: NVIDIA ... 26.86 |============== 8500GT: Nouveau .. 17.08 |========= 8500GT: NVIDIA ... 19.99 |========== 8600GTS: Nouveau . 35.99 |================== 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. 51.13 |========================== Nexuiz 2.5.2 CPU Usage Monitor Percent < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 25.0 AVG: 28.5 MAX: 36.1 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 37.5 AVG: 38.3 MAX: 39.3 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 18.0 AVG: 21.6 MAX: 36.3 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 20.7 AVG: 34.9 MAX: 37.6 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 1.0 AVG: 17.7 MAX: 36.4 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 34.3 AVG: 35.6 MAX: 37.3 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 10.3 AVG: 29.2 MAX: 35.6 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 5.2 AVG: 30.0 MAX: 37.7 Nexuiz 2.5.2 GPU Frequency Monitor Megahertz < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 399 AVG: 399 MAX: 399 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 660 AVG: 660 MAX: 660 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 400 AVG: 400 MAX: 400 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 550 AVG: 550 MAX: 550 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 459 AVG: 459 MAX: 459 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 500 AVG: 500 MAX: 500 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 Nexuiz 2.5.2 GPU Temperature Monitor Celsius < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 72 AVG: 73 MAX: 74 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 61 AVG: 62 MAX: 64 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 56 AVG: 58 MAX: 59 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 55 AVG: 58 MAX: 60 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 78 AVG: 80 MAX: 81 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 74 AVG: 77 MAX: 79 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 79 AVG: 80 MAX: 81 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 71 AVG: 74 MAX: 76 Nexuiz 2.5.2 SYS Power Monitor Watts < Lower Is Better 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 142 AVG: 143 MAX: 145 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 116 AVG: 157 MAX: 183 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 97 AVG: 109 MAX: 111 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 98 AVG: 121 MAX: 126 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 111 AVG: 115 MAX: 121 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 93 AVG: 125 MAX: 131 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 145 AVG: 151 MAX: 153 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 129 AVG: 155 MAX: 163 CPU Usage Monitor Phoronix Test Suite System Monitoring Percent 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.3 AVG: 19.8 MAX: 39.7 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.7 AVG: 16.4 MAX: 44.8 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.3 AVG: 18.6 MAX: 38.7 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.4 AVG: 19.4 MAX: 47.0 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 0.6 AVG: 18.4 MAX: 38.3 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 0.7 AVG: 22.2 MAX: 43.9 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 0.5 AVG: 18.8 MAX: 43.4 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 0.6 AVG: 16.7 MAX: 40.7 GPU Frequency Monitor Phoronix Test Suite System Monitoring Megahertz 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 399 AVG: 399 MAX: 399 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 660 AVG: 660 MAX: 660 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 400 AVG: 400 MAX: 400 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 550 AVG: 550 MAX: 550 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 459 AVG: 459 MAX: 459 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 500 AVG: 500 MAX: 500 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 675 AVG: 675 MAX: 675 GPU Temperature Monitor Phoronix Test Suite System Monitoring Celsius 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 70 AVG: 72 MAX: 74 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 55 AVG: 57 MAX: 64 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 49 AVG: 55 MAX: 59 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 50 AVG: 53 MAX: 60 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 59 AVG: 72 MAX: 81 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 70 AVG: 73 MAX: 79 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 50 AVG: 69 MAX: 81 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 70 AVG: 74 MAX: 79 SYS Power Monitor Phoronix Test Suite System Monitoring Watts 9800GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 118 AVG: 131 MAX: 145 9800GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 112 AVG: 127 MAX: 183 9500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 93 AVG: 105 MAX: 113 9500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 92 AVG: 106 MAX: 126 8500GT: Nouveau .. MIN: 94 AVG: 109 MAX: 121 8500GT: NVIDIA ... MIN: 89 AVG: 108 MAX: 131 8600GTS: Nouveau . MIN: 116 AVG: 134 MAX: 153 8600GTS: NVIDIA .. MIN: 102 AVG: 123 MAX: 164