Subject: Re: help with xfree on PPC9500/200
To: Tomas D <u0giene@yahoo.com>
From: Michael <macallan18@earthlink.net>
List: port-macppc
Date: 08/08/2005 21:18:05
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Hello,

> > Anything radeon-based should work. Probably not the newest and
> > greatest though.
> > I'm using a Voodoo3 for ages now but it needs inofficial patches to
> > work with X.
> >=20
>=20
> what models in particular would work(maybe work)?=20
> I've red in
<http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/macppc/faq.html#ofw-boot-video >
> that video card must have Open Firmware support on it,
> so I don't want to end up getting video card which wont have OF
> support on it.

Well, you'll need a card that's specifically made for Macs or some way
to get Mac firmware on it. I did the latter with my Voodoo3 - the
firmware is available from http://www.mac3dfx.com. The card works fine
as OF console but X needs patches in the kernel and the Xserver as well.
Works fine for me.
You can also download Mac firmware images and flash tools for Matrox
Millennium I and II cards from Matrox but I never got them to work as OF
console - others did though so your mileage may vary ( I have both, a
Millennium I and a II )=20
You can in theory flash some PCI Radeons too, but this only works for
earlier models - for later ones there's actually a hardware difference -
the Mac version has a bigger flash ROM - and needs it. The firmware
images you can get are probably of questionable legality since to my
knowledge ATI never released Mac-firmware for download.
There are plenty of mach64- and Rage128-based cards out there with the
appropriate firmware, the vast majority should just work. The one you
have is definitely some oddball.
Then there are the cards made by IMS - the TwinTurbo series, TT3D and so
on - these work as console ( I had a tt3d ) but not in X. XFree's imstt
driver uses the vgahw module which doesn't work right out of the box,
same problem as the Voodoo3, it /may/ work with the same patch but I
have no way to test it.=20
So, in my opinion your best bet is a PCI Mac Radeon 7000 or 7500.

> if anyone would give me some hints how to distiguish these cards I'd
> much appreciate it and it would be much easier for me to find em on
> ebay, or if anyone would be happy to sell teirs

Oh, Mac graphics boards are usually clearly labeled as such on ebay
because these tend to be more expensive than their PC counterparts. And
about ATI chips - if the chip is labeled 'Rage <something>' you should
be fine. Be careful if it's 'Mach64' or just some number ( yours should
be an 88xxx I guess ).

just my 2 cents, I'm sure others have plenty more to add.

have fun
Michael

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