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From: dillon@flea.best.net (Matt Dillon)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Video: 24bpp/1280x1024 w/4MB RAM? (Diamond S64VVRAM)
Date: 19 Jun 1997 10:21:43 -0700
Organization: Best Internet Communications, Inc. - 415 964 BEST
Lines: 53
Message-ID: <5obpr7$eks$1@flea.best.net>
References: <85205zsm53.fsf@inforef.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: flea.best.net
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:43168
:In article <85205zsm53.fsf@inforef.com>,
:John Marco - Remove `NOSPAM' to reply. <john@NOSPAMinforef.com> wrote:
:>
:>I should know better than this, but I've just upgraded my Diamond
:>Stealth 64 Video VRAM (S64VV) to 4MB VRAM. In the manual for S64VV,
:>it says that you can get 24 bit color at 1280x1024 with 4MB. The
:>XF86_S3 server does not allow this, though.
:>
:>4MB = 4194304 bytes...
:>3 bytes X 1280 X 1024 = 3932160 (Fits if pixels are packed)
:>4 bytes X 1280 X 1024 = 5242880 (Does not fit for aligned pixels)
:>
:>I'm guessing that the XF86_S3 server uses nice, fast, aligned, 32-bit
:>words in the frame buffer for each pixel, and that Diamond's claim is
:>probably based on a slower windoze driver that actually packs the
:>pixels into 24 bits per pixel, at the cost of a performance hit for
:>misaligned memory access.
:>
:>My question is, is there a way to make the XF86_S3 driver pack the
:>pixels, take the performance hit, and give me 1280x1024x24? (Without,
:>that is, rewriting the S3 driver ;)
:>
:>Any hints/tips are greatly appreciated.
:>
:>Thanks.
:>
:>--
:>John Marco
:>john "@t" inforef "d0t" com (Spammers should be caned to death in public!)
XFree86 3.3 will do 24 and 32 bpp with the XF86_S3V driver. However,
the maximum dot clock at those resolutions drops rather precipitously.
It depends what kind of card you have. I have the stealth 3D 3001, with
4MB of ram.
At 8 bits, the maximum dot clock is 135 MHz - 1600x1280 can be done
At 16 bits, the maximum dot clock is 95 MHz - 1280x1024 can be done
etc...
Personally, I prefer 1280x1024 @ 16 bits. At the maximum dot clock,
I can run the screen at 53 KHz without seeing any flicker (except for
very bright white windows). I also have an 1152x900 mode that runs
at 66 KHz.
Considering how cheap the card was, this is a major deal.
I had Xfree86 3.2 installed on my system, and just popped into
ftp.freebsd.org and snarfed the 2.2 binary for 3.3's XF86_S3V server
rather then recompile everything. It works like a charm.
-Matt