>>>PCI<<< Radeon 7000 and the 2.6 kernel

ValenceParadigm · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 45

AGP, AGP, AGP.....

All the help, all the forum posts, all the log files XFree Spews out en masse, all refer to AGP. Surprise! My card is NOT AGP. My mainboard is not even AGP capable.

Is it possible that our friends at XFree have completely lost their hold on reality and forgotten about PCI as a place where people sometimes put Video cards?

Here's how far I've gotten:

The system:
ASUS Server board P-65UP5/C-PKND (Intel FX Chipset) and two properly paired PII-300s hanging off of it.
SCSI - Adaptec 2940U2W card and assorted drives etc.
PNP Nics, sound etc.
About 256 Mb of FP RAM (OMG! You mean non EDO 72 pin simms???? <gasp!>)
A reasonably respectable (under Win2K at least) 64 Mb ATI RADEON 7000, single display, non TV, (admittely value-ware) video card.
19" Pile of [EXPLETIVE] Proview PS-988 DDC monitor - typical of Proview: Promise performance then back-order it.
I'm running the 2.6.5-r1 gentoo dev kernel. And have recently rebuilt / updated my packages maybe 2-3 times total in the month.

I can get VESA framebuffer mode going... Under X it's of course VESA framebuffer - non accelerated, no 3D... Diddly with a little bit of squat thrown in.

I can get the kernel's RADEON framebuffer going... BUT I can't find anything to help me get it out of 640x480. I think it has something to do with fb.modes, but of course under this particular Gentoo distro, that file does not exist in /etc/. Once again, little or no documentation or discussion on the topic.

Trying to set up Xfree to use the ATI / radeon driver - This is the quintessence of disaster. Each and every set up process (xf86cfg, XFree86 -config, xf86configure) all try and shove DRI on me. Granted I want DRI, but if the module is present, the video card shuts down my monitor and VIOLENTLY. I'm not sure how many times the thing will take that kind of treatment before it lets all of the smoke out. Take out GLX and DRI and XFree86.0.log outstrips the New York Times for content... Black screen and no matter what I do, I have to explicitly kill XFree.

I've tried building the DRM drivers in the kernel and no matter what combination of 'modules' and 'compiled in" I try, with or without the AGP drivers, there is little or no effect.

I can't get you any of the logs or configs because I'd be here transcribing them for a MONTH - this is just my emergency Windows box for when LINUX chokes and the two are not networked.

What I need is ideas or places to look for documentation applicable to my PCI card: For example - how to get my radeon frambuffer to display 1024X768 or better at a suitable refesh rate. OR How to get OpenGL performance from the VESA framebuffer device.

I've completely given up on driving XFree from it's ATI binaries - they're all just too gorked.

I'm completely frustrated with LINUX and the crummy driver support and I'm fresh out of ideas. I know this can be done... Somebody figured it out. Just need them to share the knowlege.

-=VP=-

weltraumfahrer · Posted: Fri May 14, 2004 8:44 am Post subject:

Hi,
> I've completely given up on driving XFree from it's ATI binaries - they're all just too gorked.
The ATI binaries won't run with the 7000 and 7500 version of ATI-Cards.
Just use plain XFree and compile the dri-kernel-drivers as modules.

Works for me out of the box, incl. dri enabled (have a 7000 and a 7500).

Frank

ValenceParadigm · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 45

weltraumfahrer · Posted: Fri May 14, 2004 2:32 pm Post subject:

Hi,
the relevant parts from the kernelconfig:

Aman9090 · Apprentice Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 234

Actually, from what I know, the Radeon Drivers for Xfree nor the Radeon drivers that are produced by ATI -- neither of them even support PCI cards. You can blame that on ATI. Down with them!

weltraumfahrer · Posted: Fri May 14, 2004 8:33 pm Post subject:

Hi,
... neither of them even support PCI cards.
That's definitiv wrong. I'm buying always ATI-Cards, and the arey always working with XFree.
PCI and AGP. Once again 'man radeon':

ValenceParadigm · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 45

Sorry weltraumfahrer, No dice. Set it up as close to yours as is possible and it still kills the monitor dead.

Right now I'm running in a squelchy VESA mode.. bit at least you can have a peek at my logs n' configs for what good it will do.

Here's my XF86Config:

weltraumfahrer · Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 4:39 pm Post subject:

Hi,
i can see what's causing the error:

ValenceParadigm · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 45

Okay, so I gave that a try and no effect. Same nasty shutdown busness.

As it stands, I now have VFB running to a useable extent and that should do for the moment. Considering that value of "2550mm"2 for the screen is likely polled from the scren itself, it's most likely that it's the lousy screen and not the card that's the problem.

I will have a look for anything pretaining to the screen (Proview PS-998) as I can over the next few weeks and see if that's not at least part of the problem.

Your help here has been very greatly appreciated.

-= VP =-

ValenceParadigm · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 45

So for anybody who's interested and has been following along this thread:

I've now got XFree86 4.3.0.1 up and working with DRI and no frame-buffer on that PCI Radeon 7000 board. Glxgears gives me about 300-400 fps on a tiny little screen. Id imagine it would be quite slower full screen. Definitely not the 1200+ Ive been reading about, but the fact that its even working is to me a miracle.

How I managed to do this puzzles me to this very moment. The best I can offer is an account of the steps Ive taken and perhaps one of the guru types can properly identify where I went right/wrong.

First off, I got totally peeved at 2.6.5 and decided to build the 2.4.25-r2 kernel because Id read that the xfree-drm ebuild only supported modules for the 2.4 kernels. Emerged xfree-drm and ran the xf86cfg <<*!WHACK!*>> My screen dies worse than ever before. UUUUgly! So being the cautious person I am I fiddled with it a bit more and went back to the frame-buffer. This time I ran X configure. No problems. Tested out the XF86Config.new file IT LOADED!!! But it didnt include the V and Hsync lines for the monitor. Things that make VP go ?hmmmm? Goofy part is even with the frame-buffer Xfree starts looking to load DRM stuff in the new config. So I went back and used the same functioning config method on the non-frame-buffer and modularized DRI kernel.. IT WORKED sort of So I went back to my 2.6.5 kernel with modularized DRI and AGP I shortly thereafter had to go change my pants because the joy was way too much for me (TMI).

Since then Ive been able to add back in the H and Vsync lines to my monitor section under XF86Config. So that wasnt it.

I still cant use xf86cfg, Xfree86 configure, or xconfig to make the XF86Config file They all end up with that same monitor killing setting. Only X configure works.

My guess is it was either, or a combination of, adding the following lines to the XF86Config file under the Device section:

aethyr · Veteran Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 1085 Location: NYC

ValenceParadigm · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 45