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G400 Win2k Update (Public Service Post)
Folks,
It is time yet again for my weekly (or semi-weekly) Win2k update. I'll try to be gentler this time around, hehe.
Ok, I have NOT yet tested the new developer prototype Win2k drivers. Tonight I'll add to this post with my results (and maybe even some benchmark numbers if y'all ask nice) from those. So this state of affairs is relevant to drivers version 5.00.05 with Windows 2000 FINAL (yes, final, yes build 2195).
Ok, that's it for now. I'll add more to this as I think of it, and as I test the new drivers.
- Gurm
------------------
Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.
It is time yet again for my weekly (or semi-weekly) Win2k update. I'll try to be gentler this time around, hehe.
Ok, I have NOT yet tested the new developer prototype Win2k drivers. Tonight I'll add to this post with my results (and maybe even some benchmark numbers if y'all ask nice) from those. So this state of affairs is relevant to drivers version 5.00.05 with Windows 2000 FINAL (yes, final, yes build 2195).
Matrox:
D3D:
Pretty good. Not perfect. Lots of various graphical glitches. Some games are unplayable due to relatively minor problems. An example: in "Darkstone", the status bar (which covers the lower 25% of the screen) flashes in and out. Very annoying, and impossible to play.
OpenGL:
Not as good but still acceptable. Quake 2 and 3 work properly if you behave yourself. OpenGL apps are a mixed bag. 3DS Max 3 works for me in OpenGL, but others have had problems. Note that Matrox says in the readme that certain 3DS versions crap out with their drivers. OpenGL screensavers
cause an application error.
2D:
Almost perfect. Some minor application incompatibility, but it's mostly confined to apps that have trouble with Win2k in general, such as Go!Zilla and the like. Windowblinds and the Object Desktop system seem to have no trouble, and look pretty sweet to boot.
Video:
Excellent. Better than Win98 in some cases, and not as good in others. I suspect optimization will make this better than Win98 in all areas. Interestingly enough, Millennium has trouble with the G400's YUV drivers in MPEG playback, whereas Win2k does not.
Dual Head:
Mixed bag. Some of the controls are missing, of course - which doesn't help. It worked fine for me but I don't expect as much out of dual head as many of you do.
DVD:
Mostly a no-go. WinDVD 2000 works for some people, and one person reported hacking the Cinemaster engine to work properly, but it doesn't seem reproducible across a majority of systems. This is largely a DVD engine issue and NOT a Matrox issue, so it's only a matter of time before those engines get updated.
---------------------------------------------
Non-Matrox:
IRQ's and ACPI:
If your system is using one IRQ for all your devices, DO NOT PANIC. This is normal for an ACPI system and will cause absolutely no resource conflicts whatsoever. If you WANT to have ACPI on your system (and who wouldn't, since it's "better", hehe) you have to reinstall. There is a line to modify in a particular file which forces ACPI to install. Some boards, such as the BH6, need to have ACPI forced, for whatever reason. The filename is: TXTSETUP.SIF, and the line to modify is as follows:
Change:
ACPIEnable=2
to
ACPIEnable=1
Blue Screens, Crashes, Etc.
If you are trying to run your average program, and are getting blue screens or lockups or miscellaneous crashes, the problem is with your system, NOT with Win2k. I haven't had a single application crash the system. And when I did get application errors, it just quit the program. If you manage to make Win2k hang or blue-screen, you have a hardware problem.
Known Issues
Adaptec EZ-CD Creator will not run in 32-bit mode. Switch to 16-bits to run this program, otherwise face the demon of spontaneous reboots.
D3D:
Pretty good. Not perfect. Lots of various graphical glitches. Some games are unplayable due to relatively minor problems. An example: in "Darkstone", the status bar (which covers the lower 25% of the screen) flashes in and out. Very annoying, and impossible to play.
OpenGL:
Not as good but still acceptable. Quake 2 and 3 work properly if you behave yourself. OpenGL apps are a mixed bag. 3DS Max 3 works for me in OpenGL, but others have had problems. Note that Matrox says in the readme that certain 3DS versions crap out with their drivers. OpenGL screensavers
cause an application error.
2D:
Almost perfect. Some minor application incompatibility, but it's mostly confined to apps that have trouble with Win2k in general, such as Go!Zilla and the like. Windowblinds and the Object Desktop system seem to have no trouble, and look pretty sweet to boot.
Video:
Excellent. Better than Win98 in some cases, and not as good in others. I suspect optimization will make this better than Win98 in all areas. Interestingly enough, Millennium has trouble with the G400's YUV drivers in MPEG playback, whereas Win2k does not.
Dual Head:
Mixed bag. Some of the controls are missing, of course - which doesn't help. It worked fine for me but I don't expect as much out of dual head as many of you do.
DVD:
Mostly a no-go. WinDVD 2000 works for some people, and one person reported hacking the Cinemaster engine to work properly, but it doesn't seem reproducible across a majority of systems. This is largely a DVD engine issue and NOT a Matrox issue, so it's only a matter of time before those engines get updated.
---------------------------------------------
Non-Matrox:
IRQ's and ACPI:
If your system is using one IRQ for all your devices, DO NOT PANIC. This is normal for an ACPI system and will cause absolutely no resource conflicts whatsoever. If you WANT to have ACPI on your system (and who wouldn't, since it's "better", hehe) you have to reinstall. There is a line to modify in a particular file which forces ACPI to install. Some boards, such as the BH6, need to have ACPI forced, for whatever reason. The filename is: TXTSETUP.SIF, and the line to modify is as follows:
Change:
ACPIEnable=2
to
ACPIEnable=1
Blue Screens, Crashes, Etc.
If you are trying to run your average program, and are getting blue screens or lockups or miscellaneous crashes, the problem is with your system, NOT with Win2k. I haven't had a single application crash the system. And when I did get application errors, it just quit the program. If you manage to make Win2k hang or blue-screen, you have a hardware problem.
Known Issues
Adaptec EZ-CD Creator will not run in 32-bit mode. Switch to 16-bits to run this program, otherwise face the demon of spontaneous reboots.
- Gurm
------------------
Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.