Benefit of Compiz to audio work?

[Chris Warburton]

On Mon, 2007-11-12 at 10:25 -0500, Cory K. wrote:
> The Ubuntu Studio team is considering shipping Compiz (with a minimal
> config) in Ubuntu Studio-Hardy 8.08.
> 
> Some have said that moving the drawing of windows off the the GFX card
> would help the load on the CPU and thus keep xruns to a minimum.
> 
> Any thoughts/ideas on this one?
> 
> -Cory \m/
> 
I find that window management has less artifacts with Compiz (so
revealing a previously covered window won't end up with empty bits of
screen for a split second as it redraws). However, I do notice slight
lag when moving windows and things in Compiz compared to Metacity, Kwin,
E16, etc. This may just be the wobbly plugin though. I have become used
to it, but a Linux using friend did comment that it seems a bit sluggish
on my laptop (which is using XGL with ATI's proprietary driver, and XGL
seems to like taking up CPU).

For intensive workstation use I wouldn't really recommend using Compiz,
just because every clock cycle Compiz uses would hinder the user's
actual workflow. Since Macs are used heavily in multimedia-type
situations I think it would be sensible to enable it for less intensive
work, especially graphics (since it may reduce the amount of redrawing
the applications need to do), as the Mac's subtle 3D is a nice touch
which may be missed by people trying Ubuntu Studio.

Just my thoughts on the issue,
Chris Warburton