README revision 05cf1079
1xf86-video-geode -- AMD Geode GX and LX graphics driver for X.org
2=================================================================
3README last updated: 2011-11-24
4
51.INTRODUCTION
6
7This is the X graphics driver for the AMD Geode GX and LX processors.
8The GX component supports both XAA and EXA for graphics acceleration.
9The LX component supports EXA, including compositing. Both support Xv 
10overlay and dynamic rotation with XRandR. Additionally, a V4L2 driver
11for the LX's video input port (VIP) feature is provided as "ztv".
12
132.DEPENDENCIES
14
15Since version 2.9.0, this driver depends on X server 1.3 or greater,
16because it utilizes the new common DDC probing libraries from X.Org.
17
183.ROADMAP
19
20Support for old GX1 Geodes by Cyrix and NSC will be reintroduced soon,
21at which point xf86-video-cyrix and xf86-video-nsc will be retired.
22
23Until then, the current situation for Geode coverage is as follow:
24 
25xf86-video-geode
26 * Geode LX      (a.k.a. GX3) PCI ID 0x1022:0x2081
27 * Geode GX      (a.k.a. GX2) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0030 (re-branded GX2)
28
29xf86-video-nsc
30 * Geode GX2     (a.k.a. GX2) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0030 (a.k.a. "Red Cloud")
31 * Geode SCx200  (a.k.a. GX1) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0504 
32 * Geode SC1400  (a.k.a. GX1) PCI ID 0x100B:0x0104 
33
34xf86-video-cyrix
35 * Geode MediaGX (a.k.a. GX1) PCI ID 0x1078:0x0104 
36
37Please note that both NSC and GEODE support GX2. This is indeed correct.
38However, only GEODE has up-to-date code, while NSC is deprecated. 
39
404.MAXIMUM RESOLUTIONS
41
42The driver supports all maximum resolutions advertised by AMD, namely:
43
44LX: 1920x1440 (CRT) and 1600x1200 (TFT)
45GX: 1600x1200 (CRT) and 1280x1024 (TFT)
46SC: 1280x1024 (CRT/TFT) *** Currently unsupported by this driver ***
47
485.CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
49
50You can specify driver options in /etc/X11/xorg.conf in the usual fashion:
51
52Section "Device"
53	Identifier "AMD Geode"
54	Driver "geode"
55	Option "OptionName" "value"
56	...
57EndSection
58
59The following options may be added to such a Device section:
60
615.1.COMMON OPTIONS
62
63FBSize: Specify the size of the video space (in bytes)
64NoAccel: Disable hardware assisted acceleration
65NoCompression: Disable video bandwidth compression
66NoPanel: Disable panel support
67Rotate: Select an initial orientation - LEFT, INVERT, CCW
68SWCursor: Enable software cursors (essentially disabling HW cursor support)
69
705.2.GX-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
71
72AccelMethod: "XAA" (default) or "EXA"
73PanelGeometry: Specify the geometry of the attached panel ("<width>x<height>")
74OSMImageBuffers: Set the number of image buffers (XAA only)
75OSMColorExpBuffers: Set the number of color expansion buffers (XAA only)
76
775.3.LX-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
78
79ExaScratch: Specify the amount of extra EXA scratch buffer (in bytes)
80
816.FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
82
83Q: Why doesn't the GEODE driver work at WXGA (wide screen) resolutions?
84
85A: Make sure that TFT Panel support is disabled in the BIOS settings, 
86   otherwise resolutions will be restricted to traditional VGA modes. 
87   The GEODE offers a choice between CRT-only, CRT+TFT, TFT-only for
88   output device and selecting CRT-only removes the VGA restriction.
89
90Q: How can these hardcoded modes be expanded to support a WXGA laptop?
91
92A: By adding the desired modes to /etc/X11/xorg.conf as follow:
93
94   1) Use either the "cvt" or "gtf" command to determine the modeline:
95
96      cvt 1024 600 60
97
98      Where 1024x600 is the resolution and 60 the refresh rate. 
99      The resulting modeline using "gtf" is:
100
101Modeline "1024x600" 48.96 1024 1064 1168 1312 600 601 604 622 -hsync +vsync
102
103   2) Add it to the bottom of the "Monitor" section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.
104      In this example, we created entries for two modes and configured the
105      larger resolution to be our preferred choice.
106
107#############################################################
108# /etc/X11/xorg.conf for 1024x600 and 800x480 laptop panels #
109#############################################################
110#### By J.KASPER and B.HIBRY #### for Hercules eCafe 800 ####
111#############################################################
112Section "Module"
113    Load  "ztv"
114EndSection
115Section "Device"
116    Identifier	"card0"
117    Driver	"geode"
118    BusID	"PCI:0:1:1"
119    Option	"PanelMode" "33450 800 840 968 1056 480 490 492 525"
120EndSection
121Section "Monitor"
122    Identifier	"monitor0"
123    Modeline  "1024x768" 64.56 1024 1056 1296 1328 768 783 791 807 -hsync +vsync
124    Modeline  "1024x600" 48.96 1024 1064 1168 1312 600 601 604 622 -hsync +vsync
125    Modeline   "800x480" 33.45  800  840  968 1056 480 490 492 525 -hsync +vsync
126    Option	"dpms"
127EndSection
128Section "Screen"
129    Identifier	"Default Screen"
130    Monitor	"monitor0"
131    Device	"card0"
132    DefaultDepth 24
133    Subsection "Display"
134        Depth 24
135        Modes "1024x600" "1024x768" "800x480"
136    EndSubsection        
137EndSection
138### EOF ###
139
140Q: Why doesn't screen rotation work?
141
142A: Make sure that a sufficient amount of video RAM is reserved in the BIOS,
143   otherwise rotation will fail and this error message appear in Xorg.log:
144
145      Couldn't allocate the shadow memory for rotation
146      You need XX bytes, but only YY bytes are available
147
148Q: How do I produce useful information whenever submitting a bug report?
149
150A: See https://www.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/ServerDebugging
151   and follow the instructions found there.
152
153Q: How do I test development snapshots from the upstream GIT repository?
154
155A: Run the following commands from a command line interpreter shell:
156   1. git clone git://anongit.freedesktop.org/git/xorg/driver/xf86-video-geode 
157   2. Debian/Ubuntu:  apt-get install autoconf automake libtool xutils-dev
158                      apt-get install build-dep xserver-xorg-video-geode
159     Fedora/Red Hat:  yum install autoconf automake libtool xorg-x11-util-macros
160                      yum-builddep xorg-x11-drv-geode
161   3. cd xf86-video-geode
162   4. ./autogen.sh
163   5. make distcheck
164   ...then install the driver manually.
165
166Q: What is the preferred method for submitting patches to this driver?
167
168A: See https://www.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
169   and submit the patches to the Geode X.org mailing list or to gitlab
170   in the xf86-video-geode project.
171
1727.PROJECT CONTACTS
173
174Project homepage:
175https://www.x.org/wiki/GeodeDriver
176
177Mailing list:
178https://lists.x.org/mailman/listinfo/xorg-driver-geode
179
180Bug reports:
181https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver/xf86-video-geode/issues
182
183Code repository:
184https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver/xf86-video-geode
185
186IRC channel:
187#geode on the Freenode network.
188
189.EOF.
190