For me, the following workaround worked on both my systems (ATI fglrx driver, AMD Radeon HD 2600XT, AMD RadeonHD 4600 on fglrx) I am using the fglrx-legacy ppa, but it will likely work on newer drivers.
1. Install compizconfig-settings-manager. 2. Launch compizconfig settings manager (ccsm) 3. Go to "OpenGL", disable "Sync to VBlank" 4. Go to "Workarounds", enable "Don't wait for video sync" 5. Run the AMD Catalyst Control Center (amdcccle) 6. Go to Display Options>Tear Free on the left panel; enable Tear-Free desktop, click Apply. 7. Go to 3D>More Settings. Under Wait for Vertical Refresh, set it to 'Off unless application specifies.', click Apply. 8. Click 'Ok'. 9. Log out and log back in. You can confirm the workaround by opening a terminal window, typing 'top' and pressing enter, then opening up another application and moving it around as suggested by shayne. I am getting about 11% CPU usage in top whilst moving windows, vs about 89-95% before the workaround, and am not seeing any tearing. (CPU usage is about 20% on my laptop with the HD4670 because it has a less powerful CPU). -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/988713 Title: Compiz cpu usage high when moving windows To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/compiz/+bug/988713/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs