xref: /xsrc/external/mit/xf86-video-geode/dist/README

xf86-video-geode -- AMD Geode GX and LX graphics driver for X.org
=================================================================
README last updated: 2009-09-09

GIT repository:
        git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/xorg/driver/xf86-video-geode

Gitweb browser:
        http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver/xf86-video-geode

Project homepage:
	http://www.x.org/wiki/GeodeDriver

= Introduction =

This is the X graphics driver for the AMD Geode GX and LX processors.
The GX driver features XAA and EXA support for graphics acceleration,
and the LX driver supports EXA (including compositing).  Both drivers
support dynamic rotation with XRandR, and Xv overlay support.

= Roadmap =

Support for X servers older than 1.4 is expected to be dropped in the
near future.  If your distribution still hasn't upgraded, please urge 
them to get around it soon.

Support for old GX1 Geodes by Cyrix and NSC will be reintroduced soon,
at which point xf86-video-cyrix and xf86-video-nsc will be retired.

Until then, the current situation for Geode coverage is as follow:
 
xf86-video-geode
 * Geode LX      (a.k.a. GX3) PCI ID 0x1022:0x2081
 * Geode GX      (a.k.a. GX2) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0030 (rebranded GX2)

xf86-video-nsc
 * Geode GX2     (a.k.a. GX2) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0030 (a.k.a. "Red Cloud")
 * Geode SCx200  (a.k.a. GX1) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0504 
 * Geode SC1400  (a.k.a. GX1) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0104 

xf86-video-cyrix
 * Geode MediaGX (a.k.a. GX1) PCI ID 0x1078:0x0104 

Please note that both NSC and GEODE support GX2. This is indeed correct.
However, only GEODE has up-to-date code, while NSC is deprecated. 

= Dependencies =

As of version 2.11.4, this driver depends upon X server 1.5 or newer,
because the GX Randr code utilizes dixSetPrivate whose API was modified 
in a non backward-compatible way.

  #ifdef'ing the changes from f1268f3ba8404129d358db3bb1e66f3841f7018a 
  and b28abde0276ddd7f687242f3886f98b0e49a7fc2 might make it possible
  to build this driver against older X servers. Patches are welcome.

As of version 2.9.0, this driver depends on X server 1.3 or newer,
because it utilizes the new common DDC probing libraries from X.Org.

  If necessary, it might be possible to create autoconf macros to make 
  this driver compile against older X servers, following this example:

  http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg-commit/2007-February/010341.html

  Patches accomplishing the same trick for the Geode driver are welcome.

= FAQ =

Q: Why doesn't screen rotation work?

A: Make sure that a sufficient amount of video RAM is reserved in the BIOS,
   otherwise rotation will fail and this error message appear in Xorg.log:
      Couldn't allocate the shadow memory for rotation
      You need XX bytes, but only YY bytes are available

Q: Why doesn't this GEODE driver work at WXGA (wide screen) resolutions?

A: Make sure that TFT Panel support is disabled in the BIOS settings, 
   otherwise resolutions will be restricted to traditional VGA modes. 
   The GEODE offers a choice between CRT-only, CRT+TFT, TFT-only for
   output device and selecting CRT-only removes the VGA restriction.

Q: How do I produce useful information whenever submiting a bug report?

A: See http://www.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/ServerDebugging
   and follow the instructions.

Q: How do I test development snapshots from the upstream GIT repository?

A: Run the following commands from a command line interpreter shell...
   1. git clone git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/xorg/driver/xf86-video-geode 
   2. Debian/Ubuntu:  apt-get install autoconf automake libtool xutils-dev
                      apt-get install build-dep xserver-xorg-video-geode
     Fedora/Red Hat:  yum install autoconf automake libtool xorg-x11-util-macros
                      yum-builddep xorg-x11-drv-geode
   3. cd xf86-video-geode
   4. ./autogen.sh
   5. make distcheck
   ...then install the driver manually.

Q: What is the preferred method for submitting patches to this driver?

A: See http://www.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
   and submit the patches as attachments to the Geode X.org mailing list
   or to the X.org Bugzilla against component "Driver/geode".

= Configuration options =

You can specify the Geode driver in the normal fashion:

Section "Device"
	Identifier "AMD Geode"
	Driver "geode"
	Option "blah" "blah"
	...
EndSection

The following options may be added to the section:

== Common options ==

FBSize: Specify the size of the video space (in bytes)
NoAccel: Disable hardware assisted acceleration
NoCompression: Disable video bandwidth compression
NoPanel: Disable panel support
Rotate: Select a orientation to start with - LEFT, INVERT, CCW
SWCursor: Enable software cursors (essentially disabling HW cursor support)

== GX-specific options ==

AccelMethod: "XAA" (default) or "EXA"
PanelGeometry: Specify the geometry of the attached panel ("<width>x<height>")
OSMImageBuffers: Set the number of image buffers (XAA only)
OSMColorExpBuffers: Set the number of color expansion buffers (XAA only)

== LX-specific options ==

ExaScratch: Specify the amount of extra EXA scratch buffer (in bytes)

= EOF =