*BSD News Article 99069


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From: jonathan@DSG.Stanford.EDU (Jonathan Stone)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Re: decstation 5000/133: linux/MIPS, OpenBSD/pmax or NetBSD/pmax
Date: 3 Jul 1997 16:46:33 GMT
Organization: Stanford Distributed Systems Group
Lines: 40
Sender: jonathan@Cup.DSG.Stanford.EDU (Jonathan Stone)
Message-ID: <5pgl19$c5l$1@nntp.Stanford.EDU>
References: <867662387.22833@dejanews.com> <5pfj7l$f73$1@news.latrobe.edu.au>
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In article <5pfj7l$f73$1@news.latrobe.edu.au>, cchd@lucifer.its.latrobe.edu.au (Huw Davies) writes:
> kristoff.bonne@is.belgacom.be wrote:
> 
> : I've been looking at the web, and found the following options:
> : - Linux/MIPS
> : - OpenBSD/pmax
> : - NetBSD/pmax.
> 
> : I did found some info on them, but most of it was completely out-of-date.
> 
> Do any of these three support X11 on a PMAGD-AA?

No, they don't. (Okay, I haven't looked at Linux, but if it's barely
booting, the chances of it having PMAG-D support are nonexistent).

The PMAG-D has an i860 for doing 3D rendering and (IIRC) an onboard
custom blitter chip. There's some horrid message-passing protocol by
which the DECstation CPU talks to the i860 and starts it. Or maybe
that's for the blitter chip; I forget.  There's some weird address
mapping that goes on in the cards which you have to get right for
software to even acknowledge interrupts (e.g., vertical-retrace).

AFAIK, none of this is documented anymore, anywhere, with the
exception of the Ultrix driver source.  Which, AFAIK, aren't supported in
Ultrix 4.5, so even that option may be gone ;).

And Digital isn't really supporting these little monsters anymore, let
alone anything crazy like selling them.  I don't see any proprietary
gain.  If Maddog could get the PXG drivers released the same way the
QVSS and QDSS drivers were released to CSRG, he'd be doing everyone a
favour.

That said, I have a PMAG-D sitting right in front of me. Maybe in NetbSD 1.4.

Hm.  If I acquire two extra BrookTree Bt459 VDACS and two extra memory
banks for aand plug them into the empty sockets of a PMAG-D, will that
give me truecolour video?

BTW, a microvax-II in a vertical BA23 has a better space heater
emulation mode than the mips boxes :)