Matrox G450 or nVidia Quadro NVS on FC2

[dsavage at peaknet.net]

On Fri, 2005-01-28 at 09:48, Aaron Scamehorn wrote:
> (Thanks, Duncan.  Didn’t mean to hijack other thread)
>
> Retry:
>
> Has anyone had any luck with either of these cards on FC2?
>
> From browsing both their webs, seems to me that nVidia is doing a little
bit more to support the Linux community with forums, but they both have
very recent drivers...
>
> From nVidia:
> ------------
> Linux Display Driver - IA32
> Version: 1.0-6629
> Operating System: Linux IA32
> Release Date: November 5, 2004
>
> From Matrox:
> ------------
> Linux Driver (for XFree86 4.3.0 and X.org 6.7.0, 6.8.0, 6.8.1)
> File Name:                    Release Date:     Version:      Size:
> mgadriver-4.1.tar.gz          Dec. 08, 2004     4.1           724 KB
> mgadriver-4.1-1-src.tar.gz    Dec. 08, 2004     source code   1 MB
>
> Commentary on experiences would be appreciated.  Need to decide which to
go with.

Aaron,

Having read hundreds of wailing messages about nVidia card troubles, and
being a Matrox G450 user myself, I'd have to recommend you go with the
G450. True, it's an older card and maybe not a 3D screamer, but it's got
solid support in all Red Hat products.

Because of an uncommon issue with another card, I wasn't able to install
FC2 on my system equipped with a Matrox G450 card. I had to install RHEL3
instead, which still uses the XFree86 v4.3.0-78 system and an earlier
version of the mga driver. I have both heads connected to ViewSonic P815
21-inch monitors in 1600x1200 24-bit mode. I'm running separate screens
(no xinerama).

FYI, my XF86Config file reads in part:

   Section "ServerLayout"
   #       Option          "Xinerama"
           Identifier     "Simple Layout"
           Screen         "Screen0" LeftOf "Screen1"
           Screen         "Screen1" 0 0
           InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
           InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
           InputDevice    "DevInputMice" "AlwaysCore"
   EndSection
   ...
   Section "Monitor"
           Identifier   "Monitor0"
           VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
           ModelName    "ViewSonic P815"
           DisplaySize  400        300
           HorizSync    30.0 - 115.0
           VertRefresh  50.0 - 160.0
           Option      "dpms"
   EndSection

   Section "Monitor"
           Identifier   "Monitor1"
           VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
           ModelName    "ViewSonic P815"
           DisplaySize  400        300
           HorizSync    30.0 - 115.0
           VertRefresh  50.0 - 160.0
           Option      "dpms"
   EndSection

   Section "Device"
           Identifier  "Videocard0"
           Driver      "mga"
           VendorName  "Videocard vendor"
           BoardName   "Matrox Millennium G450"
           BusID       "PCI:1:5:0"
   EndSection

   Section "Device"
           Identifier  "Videocard1"
           Driver      "mga"
           VendorName  "Videocard vendor"
           BoardName   "Matrox Millennium G450"
           BusID       "PCI:1:5:0"
           Screen      1
   EndSection

   Section "Screen"
           Identifier "Screen0"
           Device     "Videocard0"
           Monitor    "Monitor0"
           DefaultDepth     24
           SubSection "Display"
                   Depth     24
                   Modes    "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960"
"1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
           EndSubSection
   EndSection

   Section "Screen"
           Identifier "Screen1"
           Device     "Videocard1"
           Monitor    "Monitor1"
           DefaultDepth     24
           SubSection "Display"
                   Depth     24
                   Modes    "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960"
"1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
           EndSubSection
   EndSection

Hope this helps you decide...

--Doc Savage
  Fairview Heights, IL