*BSD News Article 8240


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From: curtis@cs.berkeley.edu (Curtis Yarvin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386,comp.unix.bsd,comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: I need 8514/ATI Graphics Ultra support for ISC UNIX SVR3.2 & X11R4
Date: 24 Nov 1992 06:17:45 GMT
Organization: CS Dept. Snakepit - Do Not Feed.
Lines: 41
Message-ID: <1eshe9INNeum@agate.berkeley.edu>
References: <PATRY.92Nov16102428@jy.Software.Mitel.COM> <1992Nov16.213215.4701@netcom.com> <1992Nov23.073800.6592@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE>
NNTP-Posting-Host: cobra.cs.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Nov23.073800.6592@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE> roell@informatik.tu-muenchen.de (Thomas Roell) writes:
>>   >We are using the Metrolink X11R4 software with Motif 1.1.3 on ISC 3.0.
>>   >They support the ATI ultra very well. For information call
>>   >
>>   >(305) 970-7353
>>   >
>>   >They also have X11R5 with Motif 1.1.4 available.
>>   >
>>   It is trivial to port XBSD8514 to ISC.
>>   XBSD8514 is known to work with the ATI Ultra and has been clocked
>>   at 60k xstones.
>
>Well, the issue here is that MetroLink (and SGCS) have access to the
>full documents about the Mach8/Mach32 chipsets.

Mach8 documentation is now publicly available.

>Since you can get them only under a NDA, a free X-server would never give
>you the same power as a commercial version, which can make use of these
>details.

The Mach8 extensions are minor, and will not be noticed under most
applications; I suspect the SGCS 85k versus free 60k xstones is more
a result of extensive tweaking and optimization than this.

There are very few uses of X under which you will notice the difference
between 85k and 60k xstones.

>Furthermore, you have to use DOS to setup a 1024x768 NI mode.

This is not, technically, a lie; but it is intentionally misleading.
You do, indeed, have to use DOS to set up a 1024x768 mode.
That mode is the 1024x768x60hz mode.  If your monitor can handle 70hz -
and most can, these days - you will have no problem.  The Ultra
boots in 1024x768x70hz mode by default.

Roell has, in the past, claimed that SysV use of X8514 requires kernel
mods; this is also false.  SVR3 has a call to enable user-level port
access, and I believe SVR4 has it too.

c