|
|
|
Testing of IBM Matrox Video Card
Last Modified: $Date$
|
This table records the testing done with the IBM-supplied Matrox
Millenium G450-DVI video card with various types of display monitor, and
various drivers and resolutions under Linux. The purpose of this
testing is to determine which combinations of hardware, software, and
configurations result in working displays, and which result in failures
to display, or hard system crashes.
Ideally the stock configuration of video card will correctly
auto-configure to the desired resolution with what ships stock from Red
Hat.
Fetching the proprietary Matrox driver off the net seems an attractive
proposition until one requires a configuration that works both with a
CRT and an LCD monitor. In that circumstance, the failure modes of the
Matrox driver are worse than the stock Red Hat driver.
Key:
- Y or N in the TTY column indicate whether the terminal does or does not
reappear after X shuts down
- ? in the TTY column indicates that no tested configuration caused X to
display; insufficient data
- Numbers in other columns indicate that the configuration caused X to
display properly at the specified horizontal sync rate (in kilohertz)
- Y in those columns indicates that the configuration caused X to display
properly
- N in those columns indicates that the configuration failed to cause X to
display
- N* in those columns indicates that the configuration caused the machine
to freeze such that a cold boot was required
- N/A in those columns indicates that the desired resolution was not
offered as an option after auto-probing
- Y* in any column indicates that a display appeared, but was severely
distorted to the extent that using the machine would be difficult (most
frequently, only the top half of the display was visible)
| Driver |
Monitor |
TTY |
1600x1200 |
1280x1024 |
| Auto-probed1 |
Hand-set2 |
Auto-probed1 |
Hand-set2 |
| Matrox3 |
IBM G97 CRT |
Y |
93.8 |
Y |
91.1 |
Y |
| IBM LCD Analog5,6 |
? |
N/A |
N* |
N/A |
N* |
| IBM LCD Digital5,6 |
? |
N/A |
N |
N/A |
N |
| Planar LCD Analog |
? |
N* |
N* |
N* |
N* |
| Planar LCD Digital |
Y* |
N/A |
Y* |
Y* |
Y* |
| RedHat 7.3 |
IBM G97 CRT |
Y |
93.8 |
Y4 |
N |
Y |
| IBM LCD Analog5,6 |
Y |
N/A |
N |
N/A6 |
Y |
| IBM LCD Digital5,6 |
? |
N |
N |
N |
N |
| Planar LCD Analog |
Y |
N |
N |
80.0 |
Y |
| Planar LCD Digital |
Y* |
Y* |
Y* |
Y* |
Y* |
| RedHat 8.0 |
IBM G97 CRT |
Y |
93.8 |
Y |
N |
Y |
| IBM LCD Analog5,6 |
Y |
N/A |
N |
N/A |
Y |
| IBM LCD Digital5,6 |
? |
N/A |
N |
N/A |
N |
| Planar LCD Analog |
Y |
N |
N |
80.0 |
Y |
| Planar LCD Digital |
Y* |
N/A |
Y* |
Y* |
Y* |
| XFree86 4.2.99 |
IBM G97 CRT |
Y |
93.8 |
Y |
91.1 |
Y |
| IBM LCD Analog5,6 |
Y |
N/A |
N |
N/A |
Y |
| IBM LCD Digital5,6 |
? |
N/A |
N |
N/A |
N |
| Planar LCD Analog |
Y |
N |
N |
80.0 |
Y |
| Planar LCD Digital |
Y* |
N/A |
Y* |
Y* |
Y* |
Notes:
- Auto-probing was achieved using Xconfigurator.athena for the RedHat 7.3
trials, and by using redhat-config-xfree86 for all others.
- Hand-set indicates that this file was
used (sometimes with "1280x1024" replaced by "1600x1200"). Specifically,
that file is what Xconfigurator.athena produces when the IBM G97 CRT is
connected, except that the horizontal sync range is changed from 30-96 to 30-90
and some comments are added.
- The Matrox proprietary driver was tested on a RedHat 8.0 install, using
the version of XFree86 bundled with that distribution, by replacing the file
/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/mga_drv.o with the proprietary one.
- Though 1600x1200@87.5kHz works on an IBM G97 CRT in RedHat 7.3, the display
was skewed up and to the right by a ridiculous amount (correctable with
monitor onscreen menus)
- Some IBM LCD failures cause a "signal out of range" error while
others cause it to go into powersave mode. In particular, 1600x1200 trials
with the digital interface do the latter.
- The IBM LCD does not respond properly to auto-probing. Using
Xconfigurator.athena, it is possible to make it display at 1280x1024 in analog
mode by manually setting the horizontal sync rate at 63.98kHz and the vertical
refresh rate at 60Hz as specified in the owner's manual. Using
redhat-config-xfree86, the only options offered are 640x480 and 800x600.
Last updated: $Date$ by $Author$.