SGI: Hardware

Ah, my fault then. For some reason i seemed to remember they were called .nfo on the O2.

Well, it might well be the case that 1680x1050 is just asking to much of the O2. As i mentioned, i already had to trim it a bit to be able to compile it for O2 at all (see below)..


The easiest way to create generic modes is using the blocksync template as described in the vfc guide and some older forum threads. The resulting modes usually are ok for CRTs, for LCDs you might need to build a more specialized mode though. At this point you need to provide your own .vfs source file to be compiled. Thankfully, this can be pretty easy if you use an existing XFree/X.org modeline as a template. Lets use the above 1680x1050 mode as an example:

The mode was ment for a Samsung 205BW display. Asking google for a fitting modeline provided:

See the two groups of 4 values each. These describe the horizontal and vertical field.
The .vfc listed in example 5-1 in the techpubs vfc guide can be used as a template to fill in the needed values based on the modeline. This is pretty straight forward:

FramesPerSecond is 60 as we want a 60hz mode

horizontal fields:
ActivePixelsPerLine is 1680
TotalPixelsPerLine is 2240
HorizontalFrontPorch is 1784-1680 = 104
HorizontalSync is 1960-1784 = 176
HorizontalBackPorch is 2240-1960 = 280

vertical fields:
ActiveLinesPerFrame is 1050
TotalLinesPerFrame is1089
VerticalFrontPorch is 1053-1050 = 3
VerticalSync is 1059-1053 = 6
VerticalBackPorch is 1089-1059 = 3

(VerticalFrontPorch, VerticalSync and VerticalBackPorch are reflected in the repeat counts in the Field specification in the .vfs)

To compile the resulting .vfs for an O2 you would use (assuming you named it 1680x1050_60.vfs):

O2_Board.def and O2_Chip.def define the compilation rules for the O2 (they are located in /usr/gfx/ucode/vfc/rules)

In this case this fails with the following error:

So we're obviously hitting an O2 specific limit here. To make it compile i reduced the TotalPixelsPerLine to 2160 by reducing the HorizontalBackPorch to 200. The resulting source file is: http://www.kanera.net/modes/crm/1680x1050_60-205bw.vfs . This one was used to compile the mode you tested.

Hope this was of some help

Cheers,
Timo

Ive been curious if it is possible to get a 1600x1050 dell running on a octane V6 or would i be better off to fork out the extra couple of hundred for a 1600x1200 one?

unfortunately, V6 and V8 are a special case thanks to their pixelclock limitation (as discussed in many older threads). There is no chance to use 1680x1050 with those and 1600x1200 will only work if you find a display that will still sync at 70hz or higher on the analog port (60hz will not work) V10 and V12 don't have that problem anymore..

So does that mean you build a 1600+ res wide screen driver for the V12? I have one of those boxes as well, would love to try to go wide screen on it...

Also always wondered what happens when you plug in a dual head DVI add-on, I expected that you would automatically get enabled for the new resolutions but maybe that's a silly assumption for me....

Sure, V12 does 1680x1050 without a problem. I compiled two different 1680x1050 modes for Vpro some time ago:
http://www.kanera.net/modes/vpro/1680x1050_60.vfo was built for a Dell 2005FPW
http://www.kanera.net/modes/vpro/1680x1050_60-2.vfo was built for a Samsung 205TW

A 1920x1200 mode is already shipped with IRIX

The dual channel option is pretty much plug and play. You need special dual screen modes for it though. There are quite a few included with IRIX (see the 2@.. files in /usr/gfx/ucode/ODSY/vof). Dual Channel 1680x1050 won't be possible though - the width per channel needs to be a multiple of 64 in Dual Channel modes

Dual 1920x1200 (already included with IRIX) is not a problem though. I'm quite happy with dual 1600x1200

Well that answers my question Looks like I'll be using the 1920x1200 when I get my Dell 30" and DCD card... I really just want the DCD for the DVI outputs, I don't plan to run dual monitors as "30 should be more than enough desktop space.....

I can imagine how good the V12 will look at that rez with DVI on "30.

Hm, probably not too impressive..

Native resolution of the 30" is 2560x1600 (needs dual link DVI which no SGI provides) - using anything lower will be interpolated and look fuzzy, regardless of whether you are using DVI or analog..

wow extremely useful info to have since I haven't made my company fork out the cash yet for the 30 inch.... Do you know at what size monitors start requiring the dual link DVI ? Could I possibly get away with a 27? or would I have to scale back to a 24"

thanks a million for all helpful the info

1920x1200 is the limit for single link DVI. Thats the native resolution of both the 24" and 27" screens, so which one you choose is purely a matter of taste: higher DPI (24") vs. larger size (27")

Wouldnt it be possible to write a vfo with 1280X1200 and then use the dcd for dual input into the 30" since 1280 = 2560/2 and 1280/64 = 20??

sorry...just reread above and looks like you want 1600 vertical but you say the limit is 1200 with DVI? or is that just when using horz of 1920?

Ah so no 1680x1050 even if i go to 8bpp?

No Any mode with a pixel clock between 109 and 193 MHz will simply be discarded by irix on v6 and v8 in my experience, so you can't even try to use it. The 1680x1050 mode is ~146 MHz.. right in the middle of that range

Installing:

In place:

In use :

blakespot

Schleusel, the kanera.net vpro modes directory is awesome. The Acer1916W also works perfectly with the Acer AL1716W.

Thanks!

Well to everybody that said it couldn't be done - I have 1920x1200 (WUXGA Wide Screen) up and runnning on my O2 via the standard VGA card (not the 1600sw).

I will post a .vfs source later and if there are any volunteers with a place I can upload it I will be happy to post the compiled video code as well.

Here is the VFS file you can use to compile your own driver.

This is for 1920x1200 for the O2's VGA connector. It will *only* work in 16bpp mode.

I am resurrecting this dead topic because I would like very much to do this ...

Is it indeed possible to drive a 2560x1600 monitor using both ports of a v12 DCD ?

I have a loaded octane2 with two v12 dcds in it and would like to try driving two of my dell 30" screens @ 2560x1600...

Thanks.

edit: my dell u3011 screens have two dvi inputs, which is why I'm hopeful there is a way to drive half the screen with one input... or perhaps there is a dongle/adaptor that exists that will combine dvi links into a single....

Nope, you can attach multiple DVI-D equipped systems, and select *one* at any time: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/M ... perate.htm

Now, that would be awesome.

It does exist - if you look at firms that make matrix switchers and other video distribution components, it's a feature that exists ...

The problem is these devices are quite expensive and even more expensive if you add 2560x1600 support.

Eizo builds at least one monitor that has two collaborating* dvi inputs as well. And I think Barco does, too.

*each input drives a portion of the screen, not two inputs from which you can choose one which then drives the entire screen.