1 Information for W32 Chipset Users

Contents of this section

XF86_W32 is basically XF86_SVGA with the drawing code completely replaced with one based on X11R6's mi/cfb code and modified for the ET4000/W32 series. Even though it accepts the same keywords as XF86_SVGA, those not applicable to the ET4000/W32 series are silently ignored; e.g., the keyword "SpeedUp" is a no-op. The server currently supports the w32, w32i, and w32p chips. For a complete list, see the sign-on message printed by XF86_W32. The server only supports 256 colors.

Just as with XF86_SVGA, you can specify a virtual world that has a width that is a multiple of four. The size of the virtual world is constrained by the amount of the available video RAM. XF86_W32 can use more than 1 M of video RAM, but it reserves 1 K for internal use. If you have 1 M, XF86_W32 claims you have 1023 K; you get to specify the virtual world as 1152x900, but not 1152x910.

For most cards the maximum clock is set to 86 MHz according to the Tseng databooks. For a non-interlaced 1280x1024x(256 colors) at say 135-MHz, you need a w32p (with its 16-bit RAMDAC bus) with a multiplexing RAMDAC so that the w32p sees only (135/2 = 67.5) MHz, not 135 MHz. This requires special code only provided for cards using the ICS5341 GENDAC or the STG1703. This code seems to work fine for most people, except, with the ICS5341, for a small band of frequencies around 90MHz.

If you have problems with the server. Try the following:

Note that the built-in power saver (for a "green" monitor) has not been tested. Also do not expect it to work on a board without a w32p_rev_c or later chip.

Next Chapter, Previous Chapter

Table of contents of this chapter, General table of contents

Top of the document, Beginning of this Chapter