Home | History | Annotate | Line # | Download | only in dist
      1      1.1  mrg   Information for SiS and XGI Users
      2  1.1.1.2  mrg   Thomas Winischhofer (thomas (a] winischhofer.net)
      3      1.1  mrg   6 July 2005
      4      1.1  mrg   ____________________________________________________________
      5      1.1  mrg 
      6      1.1  mrg   Table of Contents
      7      1.1  mrg 
      8      1.1  mrg 
      9      1.1  mrg   1. Introduction
     10      1.1  mrg   2. xorg.conf Options
     11      1.1  mrg      2.1 For all chipsets
     12      1.1  mrg      2.2 Old series specific options
     13      1.1  mrg      2.3 300/315/330/340 series specific options
     14      1.1  mrg      2.4 300 series specific options
     15      1.1  mrg      2.5 315/330/340 series specific options
     16      1.1  mrg 
     17      1.1  mrg 
     18      1.1  mrg   ______________________________________________________________________
     19      1.1  mrg 
     20  1.1.1.2  mrg   1.  Introduction
     21      1.1  mrg 
     22      1.1  mrg 
     23      1.1  mrg   This driver is written by Thomas Winischhofer and is a (nearly)
     24      1.1  mrg   complete re-write of a driver written for the SiS6326 and SiS530 by
     25      1.1  mrg   Alan Hourihane and others.
     26      1.1  mrg 
     27      1.1  mrg   It currently supports the following chipsets:
     28      1.1  mrg 
     29  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  old series: SiS 5597/5598, 6236/AGP/DVD, 530/620
     30      1.1  mrg 
     31  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  300 series: SiS 300/305, 540, 630/730
     32      1.1  mrg 
     33  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  315 series: SiS 315/E/PRO, 55x, 650, 651, M650, 740,
     34      1.1  mrg      [M]661&[F/M/G]X, [M]741[GX]
     35      1.1  mrg 
     36  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  330 series: SiS 330 ("Xabre"), [M]760[GX], [M]761[GX]
     37      1.1  mrg 
     38  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  340 series: SiS 34x, XGI Volari Z7, V3XT, V5, V8
     39      1.1  mrg 
     40      1.1  mrg   Among other features, the driver supports
     41      1.1  mrg 
     42  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  8/16/24 bits color depth; old series also 15
     43      1.1  mrg 
     44  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  Hardware cursor; 315/330/340 series: Color HW cursor
     45      1.1  mrg 
     46  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  XAA; EXA; XVideo (Xv); RENDER and other extensions
     47      1.1  mrg 
     48  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  6326: TV output
     49      1.1  mrg 
     50  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  300/315/330/340 series: TV output via Chrontel TV encoders or SiS
     51      1.1  mrg      video bridges
     52      1.1  mrg 
     53  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  300/315/330/340 series: LCD output via LVDS transmitters or SiS
     54      1.1  mrg      video bridges
     55      1.1  mrg 
     56  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  300/315/330/340 series: Dual head mode; Xinerama; Merged
     57      1.1  mrg      framebuffer mode
     58      1.1  mrg 
     59  1.1.1.2  mrg   o  300/315/330/340 series: Interface for SiSCtrl (see below)
     60      1.1  mrg 
     61      1.1  mrg   This document provides a brief overview over the driver's features and
     62      1.1  mrg   configuration options. Please see
     63  1.1.1.2  mrg   http://www.winischhofer.eu/linuxsisvga.shtml for detailed
     64      1.1  mrg   documentation and updates.
     65      1.1  mrg 
     66      1.1  mrg 
     67  1.1.1.2  mrg   2.  xorg.conf Options
     68      1.1  mrg 
     69      1.1  mrg 
     70      1.1  mrg   The following options are of particular interest for the SiS driver.
     71      1.1  mrg   Each of them must be specified in the Device section of the xorg.conf
     72      1.1  mrg   file for this card.
     73      1.1  mrg 
     74      1.1  mrg   In the list below, the options' arguments are described by type. For
     75      1.1  mrg   "boolean", the keywords "on", "true" and "yes", as well as "off",
     76      1.1  mrg   "false" and "no" respectively have the same meaning.
     77      1.1  mrg 
     78      1.1  mrg 
     79  1.1.1.2  mrg   2.1.  For all chipsets
     80      1.1  mrg 
     81      1.1  mrg 
     82      1.1  mrg 
     83  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
     84      1.1  mrg         >
     85      1.1  mrg 
     86  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
     87      1.1  mrg         These options select whether the software (SW) or hardware (HW)
     88      1.1  mrg         cursor should be used. The default is using the hardware cursor.
     89      1.1  mrg 
     90  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
     91      1.1  mrg         Disables 2D acceleration. By default, 2D acceleration is
     92      1.1  mrg         enabled.
     93      1.1  mrg 
     94  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
     95      1.1  mrg         Determines which acceleration architecture should be used.
     96      1.1  mrg         Possible arguments are "XAA" or "EXA". As of this writing, EXA
     97      1.1  mrg         is still experimental and it is not recommended to be used on
     98      1.1  mrg         production machines. By default, XAA will be used.
     99      1.1  mrg 
    100  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    101      1.1  mrg         This option enables clockwise ("CW") or counter-clockwise
    102      1.1  mrg         ("CCW") rotation of the display. Enabling either CW or CCW
    103      1.1  mrg         rotation disables the RandR extension as well as all 2D
    104      1.1  mrg         acceleration and Xv support. Default: no rotation.
    105      1.1  mrg 
    106  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    107      1.1  mrg         This option enables reflecting the display horizontally ("X"),
    108      1.1  mrg         vertically ("Y") or in both directions ("XY"). Enabling
    109      1.1  mrg         reflection disables the RandR extension as well as all 2D
    110      1.1  mrg         acceleration and Xv support. Default: no rotation.
    111      1.1  mrg 
    112  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    113      1.1  mrg         This option enables the shadow framebuffer layer. By default, it
    114      1.1  mrg         is disabled.
    115      1.1  mrg 
    116  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    117      1.1  mrg         Disables the XVideo (Xv) support. Apart from the XGI Volari Z7,
    118      1.1  mrg         all chipsets support Xv. By default, XVideo support is enabled.
    119      1.1  mrg 
    120  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    121      1.1  mrg         Enables or disables gamma correction. Default: gamma correction
    122      1.1  mrg         is enabled.
    123      1.1  mrg 
    124      1.1  mrg 
    125  1.1.1.2  mrg   2.2.  Old series specific options
    126      1.1  mrg 
    127      1.1  mrg 
    128      1.1  mrg 
    129  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    130      1.1  mrg         Enables 1 cycle memory access for read and write operations. The
    131      1.1  mrg         default depends on the chipset used.
    132      1.1  mrg 
    133  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    134      1.1  mrg         SiS chipsets have the ability to extend the engine command queue
    135      1.1  mrg         in video RAM. This concept is called "TurboQueue" and gives some
    136      1.1  mrg         performance improvement. Due to hardware bugs, the TurboQueue is
    137      1.1  mrg         disabled on the 530/620, otherwise enabled by default.
    138      1.1  mrg 
    139  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    140      1.1  mrg         For 5597/5598 only. This option, if set, disables the CPU to VGA
    141      1.1  mrg         host bus.  Disabling the host bus will result in a severe
    142      1.1  mrg         performance regression.
    143      1.1  mrg 
    144  1.1.1.2  mrg      VideoRAM [size]
    145      1.1  mrg         The SiS 6326 can only directly address 4096K bytes of video RAM.
    146      1.1  mrg         However, there are some cards out there featuring 8192K (8MB) of
    147      1.1  mrg         video RAM. This RAM is not addressable by the engines.
    148      1.1  mrg         Therefore, by default, the driver will only use 4096K. This
    149      1.1  mrg         behavior can be overridden by specifying the amount of video RAM
    150      1.1  mrg         using the VideoRAM keyword. If more than 4096K is specified, the
    151      1.1  mrg         driver will disable 2D acceleration, Xv and the HW cursor. On
    152      1.1  mrg         all other chipsets, this keyword is ignored. The size argument
    153      1.1  mrg         is expected in KB, but without "KB".
    154      1.1  mrg 
    155  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    156      1.1  mrg         Due to hardware bugs, XVideo may display a corrupt image when
    157      1.1  mrg         using YV12 encoded material. This option, if set, disables
    158      1.1  mrg         support for YV12 and hence forces the Xv-aware application to
    159      1.1  mrg         use either YUV2 or XShm for video output.
    160      1.1  mrg 
    161  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    162      1.1  mrg         (6326 only) Selects the TV output standard. May be PAL or NTSC.
    163      1.1  mrg         By default, this is selected by a jumper on the card.
    164      1.1  mrg 
    165      1.1  mrg 
    166  1.1.1.2  mrg   2.3.  300/315/330/340 series specific options
    167      1.1  mrg 
    168      1.1  mrg 
    169      1.1  mrg 
    170  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    171      1.1  mrg         This option enables/disables the driver's interface for the
    172      1.1  mrg         SiSCtrl utility. Please see
    173  1.1.1.2  mrg         http://www.winischhofer.eu/linuxsisvga.shtml for more
    174      1.1  mrg         information.
    175      1.1  mrg 
    176  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    177      1.1  mrg         (300 series only) SiS chipsets have the ability to extend the
    178      1.1  mrg         engine command queue in video RAM. This concept is called
    179      1.1  mrg         "TurboQueue" and gives some performance improvement. The
    180      1.1  mrg         TurboQueue is enabled by default.
    181      1.1  mrg 
    182  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    183      1.1  mrg         Enables or disables CRT1 (= the external VGA monitor). By
    184      1.1  mrg         default, the driver will use CRT1 if a monitor is detected
    185      1.1  mrg         during server start. Some older monitors can't be detected, so
    186      1.1  mrg         they may require setting this option to true. To disable CRT1
    187      1.1  mrg         output, set this option to false.
    188      1.1  mrg 
    189  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    190      1.1  mrg         (For SiS 650, M650, 651, 661, 741, 760 with either SiS 301LV,
    191      1.1  mrg         302LV or SiS 301C video bridge only) The argument may be "VGA",
    192      1.1  mrg         "LCD" or "OFF".  Specifying LCD will force the driver to use the
    193      1.1  mrg         VGA controller's CRT1 channel for driving the LCD while CRT2 is
    194      1.1  mrg         free for TV usage. "OFF" is the same as setting the option
    195      1.1  mrg         ForceCRT1 to "false". Default is VGA.
    196      1.1  mrg 
    197  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    198      1.1  mrg         Selects the CRT2 output device type. Valid parameters are "LCD",
    199      1.1  mrg         "TV", "SVIDEO", "COMPOSITE", "SVIDEO+COMPOSITE", "SCART", "VGA",
    200      1.1  mrg         "YPBPR480I", "YPBPR480P", "YPBPR720P", "YPBPR1080I" or "NONE".
    201      1.1  mrg         NONE disables CRT2.  SVIDEO, COMPOSITE, SVIDEO+COMPOSITE, SCART
    202      1.1  mrg         and all the YPBPR alternatives are only for systems with a SiS
    203      1.1  mrg         video bridge and select the desired plug or TV standard type.
    204      1.1  mrg         For Chrontel systems, TV should be used instead. VGA means
    205      1.1  mrg         secondary VGA and is only available on some SiS video bridges
    206      1.1  mrg         (301, 301B, 301C).
    207      1.1  mrg 
    208  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    209      1.1  mrg         (For SiS video bridges only) This option enables or disables
    210      1.1  mrg         gamma correction for CRT2. Default: gamma correction for CRT2 is
    211      1.1  mrg         enabled.
    212      1.1  mrg 
    213  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    214      1.1  mrg         Although this option is accepted for all chipsets, it currently
    215      1.1  mrg         only makes sense on the 300 series; DRI is only supported on
    216      1.1  mrg         these chipsets.  This option enables/disables DRI.
    217      1.1  mrg 
    218  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    219      1.1  mrg         Selects the TV output standard. May be PAL or NTSC, on some
    220      1.1  mrg         machines (depending on the hardware) also PALM and PALN.
    221      1.1  mrg         Default: BIOS setting.
    222      1.1  mrg 
    223  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    224      1.1  mrg         >
    225      1.1  mrg 
    226  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    227      1.1  mrg         These options allow relocating the image on your TV. Both
    228      1.1  mrg         options take an integer within the range of -16 to 16. Default:
    229      1.1  mrg         0. Not supported for Chrontel 7019.
    230      1.1  mrg 
    231  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    232      1.1  mrg         (For Chrontel TV encoders only) Selects whether TV output should
    233      1.1  mrg         be overscan or underscan.
    234      1.1  mrg 
    235  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    236      1.1  mrg         (For Chrontel 7005 TV encoders in PAL mode only) Selects whether
    237      1.1  mrg         TV output should be super-overscan (slightly larger than the
    238      1.1  mrg         viewable area) or not.
    239      1.1  mrg 
    240  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    241      1.1  mrg         >
    242      1.1  mrg 
    243  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    244      1.1  mrg         (For SiS video bridges only) These options allow zooming the
    245      1.1  mrg         image on your TV. SISTVXScale takes an integer within the range
    246      1.1  mrg         of -16 to 16.  SISTVYScale accepts -4 to 3. Default: 0. Not all
    247      1.1  mrg         modes can be scaled.
    248      1.1  mrg 
    249      1.1  mrg 
    250  1.1.1.2  mrg   2.4.  300 series specific options
    251      1.1  mrg 
    252      1.1  mrg 
    253      1.1  mrg 
    254  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    255      1.1  mrg         This option might only be needed if you are running X on a Linux
    256      1.1  mrg         2.4 series kernel. This option is not needed and should be
    257      1.1  mrg         omitted on Linux 2.6 and *BSD.
    258      1.1  mrg 
    259      1.1  mrg         The Linux kernel features a framebuffer driver named "sisfb"
    260      1.1  mrg         which takes care of memory management for DRI/DRM (such as for
    261      1.1  mrg         3D texture data). In order to keep the X driver and sisfb from
    262      1.1  mrg         overwriting each other's video memory, sisfb reserves a certain
    263      1.1  mrg         amount of video memory for the X driver. Reserved memory is for
    264      1.1  mrg         X 2D, pixmap cache and video data only. Sisfb will not present
    265      1.1  mrg         this memory to the DRI. The amount of reserved memory can either
    266      1.1  mrg         be selected using sisfb's mem parameter or auto-selected
    267      1.1  mrg         depending on the total amount of video RAM available.
    268      1.1  mrg 
    269      1.1  mrg         Fact of the matter is, the X driver needs to know about the
    270      1.1  mrg         amount of RAM sisfb reserved. For this purpose, the Option
    271      1.1  mrg         "MaxXFBMem" exists.
    272      1.1  mrg 
    273      1.1  mrg         If you start sisfb with a valid mode (ie you run a graphical
    274      1.1  mrg         console), the X driver can communicate with sisfb and doesn't
    275      1.1  mrg         require setting the MaxXFBMem option at all. The X driver will
    276      1.1  mrg         receive enough information from sisfb in this case.
    277      1.1  mrg 
    278      1.1  mrg         If you, on the other hand, use sisfb for memory management only,
    279      1.1  mrg         ie you started sisfb with mode=none and still have a text mode
    280      1.1  mrg         console, there is no communication between sisfb and the X
    281      1.1  mrg         driver. In this - and ONLY this - case, you need to set
    282      1.1  mrg         MaxXFBMem to the same value as you gave sisfb with its mem
    283      1.1  mrg         parameter. If you didn't specify any mem parameter, sisfb will
    284      1.1  mrg         reserve (and you will have to specify by MaxXFBMem) 12288KB if
    285      1.1  mrg         more than 16MB of total video RAM is available, 8192KB if
    286      1.1  mrg         between 12 and 16MB of video RAM is available, 4096KB in all
    287      1.1  mrg         other cases. The size is expected in KB, without the "KB".
    288      1.1  mrg 
    289      1.1  mrg         Final word of advice: If you intend to use DRI on an integrated
    290      1.1  mrg         chipset (such as the 540/630/730), it is recommended to set the
    291      1.1  mrg         total video memory in the BIOS setup utility to 64MB.
    292      1.1  mrg 
    293      1.1  mrg 
    294  1.1.1.2  mrg   2.5.  315/330/340 series specific options
    295      1.1  mrg 
    296      1.1  mrg 
    297      1.1  mrg 
    298  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    299      1.1  mrg         Enables or disables RENDER acceleration. This feature, for
    300      1.1  mrg         instance, accelerates output of anti-aliased text. By default,
    301      1.1  mrg         RENDER acceleration is enabled. RENDER acceleration is currently
    302      1.1  mrg         only supported for XAA, not EXA.
    303      1.1  mrg 
    304  1.1.1.2  mrg      Option
    305      1.1  mrg         (For 315, 650, 740, 330, 340 and XGI chips only) This option
    306      1.1  mrg         selects whether the XVideo (Xv) overlay should be displayed on
    307      1.1  mrg         CRT1 or CRT2. Setting this option means CRT2. The other CRT will
    308      1.1  mrg         only display the (by default: blue) color key or a black/red
    309      1.1  mrg         pattern.
    310      1.1  mrg 
    311      1.1  mrg 
    312      1.1  mrg 
    313