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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!constellation!osuunx.ucc.okstate.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!linac!att!att-out!cbnewsj!dwex From: dwex@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (david.e.wexelblat) Subject: Re: XFree86 and oak chipset Organization: AT&T Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1993 03:10:46 GMT Message-ID: <1993Mar28.031046.7121@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> References: <2BB40B35.11137@ics.uci.edu> <rcpt.733257727@rw6.urc.tue.nl> Lines: 59 In article <rcpt.733257727@rw6.urc.tue.nl> rcpt@urc.tue.nl writes: > rmyers@ics.uci.edu (Richard E. Myers) writes: > > >I've just installed XFree86 but I don't have any documentation on my > >VGA card except that it was made by Oak Technologies. When I pipe > >xinit diagnostics to a file, it says that my clock rates are: > > >25.2 28.3 65.1 45.0 0 0 0 0 > > >Does any one have any suggestions on how to configure my Xconfig file? > > >When I use any of the default settings my X display looks like > >something is wrong with the tracking/scan rate. > > >Any help would be greatly appreciated, > > > -- Richard > > Let I dissapoint you: the Oak chipset is not (yet) supported by XFree86. > Unless you are willing to spend time in porting XFree86 to this chipset I > recommend you to buy another card for XFree86. If you want XFree86-1.2 then > you can buy the Orchid Prodesigner IIs. This card is based upon the ET4000 > chipset and according to David Wexelblat has VRAM. They are cheap nowadays. Time for me to eat crow. The PD IIS uses DRAM. Damned if I understand how it performs like it does with DRAMs, but it does. > > When I was reading in `Programmers Guide to the EGA and VGA Cards, 2nd ed.' > from Richard Ferraro I begin to understand why XFree86 does support so few > cards. Ferraro needs more than 1000 pages to explain how to program EGA/VGA > cards. XFree86 only supports a subset of the chipsets explained in this > book: > ET3000 ET4000 > Paradise/Western Digital: PVGA1, WD90C00, WD90C10, WD90C11 > Trident 8900C 9000 > ATI 18800, 28800 Adding support for a new SVGA chipset isn't that hard, once you understand what's going on. Given a card and the appropriate databook, I could come up with a driver in a day or two of part-time work. It shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks work the first time around. The biggest problem is that I simply can't afford to go out and buy all this hardware to write drivers for. I try to borrow hardware here and there, or do remote-debugging (i.e. send someone a patch). But it's slow and tedious. This is the price of FreeWare. > > --Piet > -- David Wexelblat <dwex@mtgzfs3.att.com> (908) 957-5871 AT&T Bell Laboratories, 200 Laurel Ave - 3F-428, Middletown, NJ 07748 "Love is like oxygen. You get too much, you get too high. Not enough and you're gonna die." -- Sweet, Love Is Like Oxygen