Comment 20 for bug 662946

Guys, I fixed it. The issue was that the Intel video driver is disabled by default on Ubuntu 10.10. I have an Inspiron 1150 which has the Intel 855 GME graphics. So here's what I did:

1. Followed steps on this website (except for the xorg.conf) and also got the i855 patch
http://www.downloadatoz.com/driver/articles/how-to-enable-intel-graphics-driver-for-ubuntu-10-10.html

2. Don't use the xorg.conf from that website, instead use the location and code from this website
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Bugs/Mavericki8xxStatus

3. Restarted PC

So what are the results?
Before:
idle CPU usage: ~10%
RAM usage after startup: 105 MB
kslowd CPU usage: 45% every 10 seconds
youtube with 3d acceleration: extremely stuttery in full screen
VLC player with movie: freezes/garbled image every 10 seconds
appearance effects: anything other than no effects gives an error

After:
idle CPU usage: 2-5%
RAM usage after startup: 95 MB
kslowd CPU usage: <1% every 10 seconds
youtube with 3d acceleration: smooth up to 480p in full screen
VLC player with movie: 720p is smooth
appearance effects: can enable basic effects but screen gets garbled in some spots, no effects works fine

So looks like this is the main issue. The freezing isn't fully gone as while watching a movie you can just notice it but it's so minor/short that you really need to pay attention to notice it. The only other thing is stability, apparently these drivers cause stability issues. I'm using the patch and I haven't any issues yet, if I find anything I'll let you guys know.