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From: jaykuri@wwa.com (Jason Kuri)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.windows.x.i386unix
Subject: The Broken ATI Mach64... correct me if I'm wrong...
Date: 24 Sep 1995 01:49:39 GMT
Organization: WorldWide Access - Chicago Area Internet Services
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Message-ID: <442dfj$7uk@sake.wwa.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: miso.wwa.com
Summary: Take your Mach64 card back or wait....
Keywords: ATI Mach64
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:6290 comp.windows.x.i386unix:17751
Ok, so after reading many posts and lots of research, this is what it
all comes down to:
On the ATI Mach64 (winturbo, Xpression, etc) the original chip was a
Chrontel CH8398. This is what was on the original cards, and it is what
the XF86_Mach64 server supports. ATI, however, in all its wisdom, has
replaced this chip with an AT&T chip (AT&T 20C408) which is not
supported in the XF86_Mach64 server (nor any other as far as I can tell).
The XF86_Mach64 server has to be patched to work with this chip. I am
not sure when this will happen, but I am pretty sure people are working
on it (anyone who knows more about that is more than welcome to hop
in.)
What this means to us sorry SOBs who have that model of card with the
AT&T chip is that we don't get to run X in anything more than 640x480.
So if you got that Fancy ATI Xpression card and are just dying to watch
Xwindows fly... Sit back, relax, have a drink... there is going to be a
slight delay before takeoff.
If anyone has more information about this, posting it would be greatly
appreciated. Also if anyone knows of a competitively priced card that
offers comperable performance (to the Original Mach64s) in X, please PLEASE
let us know.
As an aside, (and in defense of ATI?) I want to say that I have a VLB ATI
Xpression card (with the Chrontel chip) and it works beautifully. I
also have a PCI version of the same card and it does not.
Jay Kuri
PS- Thanks to all those who mailed or posted in response to my earlier
posts about this.
---
Mind you, I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what
there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been
inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of
ironmongery in the trade.