Kubuntu 15.04 Linux on Dell XPS 13 2015 High DPI Setup

gistfile1.md

Xorg resolution [works]

• not detected automatically from edid

• check physical screen dimensions with xrandr

• put those into /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-monitor.conf

    Section "Monitor"
      Identifier ""
      DisplaySize 293 165 # xrandr reports 294, but 293 makes it 277x277dpi instead of 276x277
    EndSection
    

• this makes kdm look normal

Qt5 High DPI support [works]

• add this to /usr/bin/startkde, preferrably line 150 after $configDir/startupconfig call export QT_DEVICE_PIXEL_RATIO=2
• this makes plasma desktop and all Qt5 applications scale widgets/menus/etc.

Fonts [works]

• using KDE fonts configuration set fonts dpi to 192 (96*2, to avoid font rendering artifacts)
• set window title font to 18px
• this makes all KDE apps look normal (except for small icons in all KDE4 apps)

Mouse Cursor [mostly works]

• set mouse cursor size to 48 in cursor theme
• this fixes small cursor in plasma root window and applets
• nothing will fix small cursor in skype

Skype [mostly broken, but bearable]

• picks up kde font sizes, but not everywhere
• hardcoded sizes will look small no matter what
• mouse cursor will become small in skype window
• TODO

Gimp [mostly works]

• picks up kde font sizes, but toolview icons and some previews are small
• use fflat32 gimp theme for slightly larger icons: http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Gimp+Icon+Theme+FFlat32+%28Flamini+style%29?content=169060

Chromium [mostly works]

• chromium-browser --force-device-scale-factor=2
• google chrome should work with proper X settings as above

Firefox [works]

• no changes required, works perfectly

Audio [works]

• aptitude install pavucontrol
• open pavucontrol, go to configuration, disable hdmi audio
• (optional) in kde audio settings choose builtin speaker priority

Faster Intel Video Playback [Not Tested]

• create /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-intel.conf

    Section "Device"
      Identifier    "Intel Graphics"
      Driver        "intel"
      Option        "AccelMethod"  "sna"
      Option        "TearFree" "true"
    EndSection
    

Firefox Hardware Acceleration [Effect Unclear]

• http://askubuntu.com/questions/491750/force-enable-hardware-acceleration-in-firefox

Flash Hardware Acceleration in Firefox [Mostly Works]

• this makes fullscreen 1080p playback faster: http://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/1wpavp/how_to_enable_vdpau_acceleration_for_accelerated/
• 4k playback is still laggy
• flickering may happen
• better option is freshwrapper and using newest flash that comes with chrome: http://www.webupd8.org/2015/04/fresh-player-plugin-024-released-with.html http://askubuntu.com/questions/521234/my-flashplugin-doesnt-work-on-firefox using device_scale=1.5 in config

Konsole Rendering Artifacts [Use Alternative]

• seems to be a bug in kde5-based konsole app itself
• use alternative: sudo aptitude install yakuake

Touchpad Palm Detection [Use Alternative]

• use KDE touchpad default settings, then set disable touchpad while typing to ~750ms
• palm detection doesn't work in both ps and i2c modes

Grub [Works]

• there are two ways to fix this: decrease resolution or increase font:
• increase font: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/31672/can-grub-font-size-be-customised make sure to use proposed dejavu sans mono because it has drawing characters grub uses
• decrease resolution: https://github.com/mpalourdio/xps13/blob/master/HiDPI/grub.md

TTY [Works]

• reconfigure to use larger font: https://github.com/mpalourdio/xps13/blob/master/HiDPI/tty.md

Unsolved Bugs

• lockup at logout (looks like kernel + wireless drivers, doesn't happen all the time, see http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/f/4613/t/19632979), need to retest when i use different wifi module
• plasma notifications growing in size (only when QT_DEVICE_PIXEL_RATIO=2), not fixed, see https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=347951

。。

hi,
fyi:
just found that qtconfig-qt4 fixes issue with skype (at least fonts size, icons remain small)