[ale] !!!More video wars!!!

[J. Reeves Hall]

Matthew Brown wrote:

> Okay, folks!  It looked like the consensus was still saying Matrox
> Millenium.  But I noticed some traffic recommending 2D
> cards that confused me. Is 3D hardware acceleration supported under Linux?
> Since this is the first real upgrade I've done in a while, I am being
> somewhat 'detail-oriented' about the selection.

Don't know about Matrox, but 3Dfx acceleration works well under Linux. I'm
successfully using a Voodoo I to accelerate OpenGL apps.
Matrox is known to be fairly open about their hardware (just register with them
and they'll let you have detailed docs of their latest chips, as far as I know
without any restrictive contract).

> So!  To broaden the debate, I have included the Video Adapter HCL from
> another less-popular O/S below.
>
> Let the games begin!
>
> Matrox Millennium, Millennium II, Millennium II AGP,
> Mystique, and Mystique 220 cards
> a.. Matrox MGA-100 and MGA-200 chipset-based cards, such as:
> Productiva G100, Millennium G200, Mystique G200, Marvel
> b.. ATI 3DRage II, 3DRage Pro, 3DRage Pro Turbo, 3DRage LT Pro chipset-based
> cards, such as:
> ATI All-in-Wonder, All-in-Wonder Pro, Xpert at Work, Xpert at Work Pro, Xpert98

Those cards work in 2D, not sure about 3D.

> c.. RIVA 128 chipset-based cards, such as:
> Canopus Total3D 128V, Diamond Viper V330, STB Velocity 128

Nvidia IS working on Linux drivers for their RIVA chips, according to a
knowledgeable source. Don't know the status. I'm happy about this; maybe it'll
encourage 3Dfx to try even harder. We need some competition among video chip
vendors along these lines...

> d.. Virge, Virge DX, Virge GX (but not Virge VX) card chipsets
> e.. Some NeoMagic chipset-based graphics (used in many portables)

NeoMagic is very tightassed about their information, though they are becoming a
bit more reasonable. I doubt they'll officially support Linux anytime soon.
After all, when I asked about changing resolutions with one of their MagicGraph
chips (I mentioned that I was using an OpenGL app on this particular computer),
their one-line response was "Please be aware that we do not support OpenGL."
Grrrrr.... I'm asking for a different video chip next time I'm shopping for a
laptop...

-Reeves

--
In a world without fences, why do we need Gates?
Linux. Because I have better things to do than worry about Y2K.
10:01pm up 3 days, 15:27, 3 users, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00