Linux Video Card Comparison - October 2000

XFree86 Setup: General

As mentioned before, a large number of the responses to the previous article dealt with configuration issues. We listened, and here's the general setup for those of you interested in playing with DRI. Also, please read the information on DRI's web page, as it's extremely useful when setting these cards up.

Note that this setup may not be necessary, as many distributions are including XFree86 4.0.1 and associated configuration utilities. The two that come to mind are Red Hat 7.0 and SuSE 7.0, but others may as well. These tests were conducted on Red Hat 7.0, which was intelligent enough to automatically configure several cards without manual intervention. Of course, we modified some parameters and installed more recent drivers for the NVIDIA and Matrox cards. Still, in time the installation procedure will get easier and easier.

To start, you need a basic /etc/X11/XF86Config file (Red Hat 7.0 uses /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 so as to allow support for both XFree86 3.3.6 and 4.0.1). Please note that the following file is only intended as a base point. It is very likely that you will need to modify paths or monitor settings. Note that my monitor accepts a wide range of frequencies. CHANGE THESE OR YOU MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR MONITOR. You have been warned! Here is a basic file to get started:

Section "Files"
    RgbPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
    FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType/"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load	"dbe"
    Load        "extmod"
    Load	"type1"
    Load	"freetype"
    Load        "glx"
    Load        "dri"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option	"blank time"	"10"	# 10 minutes
    Option	"standby time"	"20"
    Option	"suspend time"	"30"
    Option	"off time"	"60"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier	"Keyboard"
    Driver	"keyboard"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier	"Mouse"
    Driver	"mouse"
    Option	"Device"	"/dev/mouse"
    Option      "Protocol"	"PS/2"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier	"Monitor"
    HorizSync   30-95
    VertRefresh 50-150
    Option	"dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier	"Video Card"
    Driver	"mga"
    BusID	"PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier		"Screen 1"
    Device		"Video Card"
    Monitor		"Monitor"
    DefaultDepth	16

    SubSection "Display"
	Depth		8
	Modes		"1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
	Depth		16
	Modes		"1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
	Depth		24
	Modes		"1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier	"Simple"
    Screen      "Screen 1" 
    InputDevice	"Mouse"     "CorePointer"
    InputDevice "Keyboard"  "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection