Current implementation for ATI adapters

ATI Adapters README file : Current implementation for ATI adapters
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## 3. Current implementation for ATI adapters

The driver currently supports the SuperVGA capabilities of all ATI adapters except some early Mach8 and Mach32 adapters that do not provide the required functionality. This support works for monochrome, 16-colour and 256-colour video modes, if one of the following ATI graphics controller chips is present:

    VGAWonder series:  18800, 18800-1, 28800-2, 28800-4, 28800-5, 28800-6
       Mach32 series:  68800-3, 68800-6, 68800AX, 68800LX
       Mach64 series:  88800GX-C, 88800GX-D, 88800GX-E, 88800GX-F, 88800CX,
                       264CT, 264ET, 264VT, 264GT (3D Rage), 264VT-B, 264VT3,
                       264VT4, 264GT-B (3D Rage II), 3D Rage IIc, 3D Rage Pro,
                       3D Rage LT, 3D Rage LT Pro, 3D Rage XL, 3D Rage XC,
                       3D Rage Mobility (including the -M and -P variants)

The driver also supports 32K, 64K and 16M-colour modes on the 264xT and 3D Rage series of adapters using the accelerator CRTC (but not the VGA CRTC).

The newer Rage 128 and Radeon chips are not yet supported by this driver. Rage 128's and Radeon's are, however, supported by separate drivers, and owners of such adapters should consult the documentation provided with these drivers. This driver will also invoke the appropriate driver if it finds Rage 128 and/or Radeon adapter(s) in the system.

Adapters based on the above chips have been marketed under a rather large number of names over the years. Among them are:

    VGAWonder series:  VGAWonder V3, VGAWonder V4, VGAWonder V5, VGAWonder+,
                       VGAWonder XL, VGAWonder XL24, VGAWonder VLB, VGA Basic,
                       VGA Basic 16, VGA Edge, VGA Edge 16, VGA Integra,
                       VGA Charger, VGAStereo F/X, VGA 640, VGA 800, VGA 1024,
                       VGA 1024D, VGA 1024 XL, VGA 1024 DXL, VGA 1024 VLB
        Mach8 series:  Graphics Ultra, Graphics Vantage, VGAWonder GT
                       (None of the 8514/Ultra and 8514 Vantage series is
                        supported at this time)
       Mach32 series:  Graphics Ultra+, Graphics Ultra Pro, Graphics Wonder,
                       Graphics Ultra XLR, Graphics Ultra AXO, VLB mach32-D,
                       PCI mach32-D, ISA mach32
       Mach64 series:  Graphics Xpression, Graphics Pro Turbo, WinBoost,
                       WinTurbo, Graphics Pro Turbo 1600, Video Xpression,
                       3D Xpression, Video Xpression+, 3D Xpression+,
                       3D Charger, Video Charger, WinCharger, All-In-Wonder,
                       All-In-Wonder PRO, 3D Pro Turbo, XPERT@Play,
                       XPERT@Play 98, XPERT@Work, XPERT 98, XPERT LCD,
                       XPERT XL

Also, a number of mainboards, laptops and notebooks harbour a Mach32 or Mach64 controller.

VGAWonder, Mach8 and Mach32 ISA adapters are available with or without a mouse.

These adapters are available with a variety of clock generators and RAMDACs. The 264xT and 3D Rage series of chips are integrated controllers, meaning that they include a programmable clock generator and a RAMDAC.

For all but Mach64 adapters, this driver still does not provide support for accelerated drawing to the screen. This means that all drawing is done by the CPU, rather than by any accelerator present in the system. This can make opaque moves, for example, quite ``jerky''. Also, given that IBM 8514/A and ATI Mach8 do not allow CPU access to their frame buffer, the driver will currently ignore these accelerators. Most Mach32 adapters provide both accelerated function and SuperVGA functionality, but the driver currently only uses the VGA.

The driver does however support the accelerator CRTC present in all ATI Mach64 adapters. For 256-colour, and higher depth modes, this support will be used by default, although an XF86Config option can be specified to use the SuperVGA CRTC instead. A linear video memory aperture is also available in 256-colour and higher depth modes and enabled by default if a 264xT or 3D Rage controller is detected or, on 88800 controllers, if the accelerator CRTC is used. XF86Config options are available to disable this aperture, or (for non-PCI adapters) enable it or move it to some other address.

By default, the driver provides some acceleration for Mach64 if the accelerator CRTC is used, and modes whose colour depth greater than or equal to 8 are to be used. This support is as yet incomplete and can be disabled entirely with an XF86Config option.

On non-Intel platforms, the driver can, currently, only support PCI Mach64 adapters.

ATI Adapters README file : Current implementation for ATI adapters
Previous: A note on acceleration
Next: Current implementation of generic VGA support for non-ATI adapters