Powerdesk 5.50 notes

[Kruzin]

OK guys-n-gals...you've been waiting for em, and now they are here. PD5.50. The DX7 drivers.

Here is what I think about them, from having run them for several weeks...

-They ARE the anticipated DX7 drivers, You MUST have DX7 to use them.

-They are BETA. And rightly so. There are quite a few issues still being worked out, such as...

-TGL still DOES NOT work on most SS7 systems. If you want to use TGL and have a SS7, stay with 5.30

-OGL is now screwed up. Apps/games will run very well, but when exiting, you will most likely get a general protection error. After this, nothing 3D (OGL or D3D) will work until you reboot. This is happening on all systems, not just SS7.

-There are numerous misc. bugs that will undoubtedly turn up. Please be constructive with them, and submit bug reports to Matrox, via the link on their drivers page.

Bottom line:
Personally, IMO, these drivers are not worth downloading unless you want to submit bug reports. I don't feel they are really ready for public release, even with the beta tag...but you wanted em, so you got em...and Matrox wants to give you what you want

[Rick]

Kruzin, do you have a link or email for the bug reports? Didn't see anything specifically about bugs on the drivers page.
Noticed a bug with the UT demo (haven't gotten around to getting the game yet), when I select 32bit color, the screen gets shifted flush with the left edge of the screen. 16bit centers it perfectly, this happened before if I don't set the refresh rate manually, but I did and it still moved.
Anyone else with a similar problem?

Rick

[Kruzin]

Hmmm.
Guess they didn't do a bug form with this beta...or else I just can't find it either

[This message has been edited by Kruzin (edited 12 January 2000).]

[RichieJarvis]

Kruzin,

Dumb question I am sure, but what is procedure for beta drivers - do they get updates and become non beta, or do you just release another version?

Thanks,

Richie

[Kruzin]

Drivers are constantly updated. Heck, even the betas released just a week ago are out-of-date when it comes to internal builds.

When the drivers reach a point that Matrox feels they are ready for "final" release, they will simply release that build without the "beta" tag.

[leporis]

In the present state, i´m sure this doesný doesn´t happen in all 3d software but on some demos with framerate count like some here at MURC show a solid increase of 25/30% over PD5.41.
That´s got to show matrox´s expertise at tweaking drivers (theses ones for DX 7.0)

as to bugs, sure they´re quite a few!!

[RichieJarvis]

So does that mean that the 5.41 drivers are now considered stable? I tried installing them about 2-3 weeks ago, and my machine kept locking up.

Should I try again do you think?

Thanks,

Richie

------------------
-------------------------
Systems:

Mine :
AMD K6-2 400
FIC VA-503+
64MB PC-100
Matrox G400
17GB HD
36x CD-ROM
Logictec Trackman Marble +

Hers:
AMD K6-2 450
FIC VA-503+
64MB
Matrox Mystique 220
Voodoo 2
2GB HD
6.4GB HD
6x CD-ROM

Spare:
Intel P200 MMX
TX M/B
32MB
Cirrus Logic 5446 (2MB)
Voodoo 1
2GB HD
24x SCSI CD-ROM
2x2x6 SCSI RICOH MP6200S CD-ReWriter

[RichieJarvis]

Yep, that is the one I am using, but I get some problems with Homeworld and Unreal Tournament (crashes, distorting graphics, etc)

Thanks,

Richie

[JWilliams]

So what are the bugs?? I'm using them, went from 5.30 to 5.50, skipped 5.41 and all I can say is "Damn these drivers work good". I had no problem with 5.30, but I like to watch the Demo 3D Mark 2000, DH'd out to the TV (We like Q3A DH'd out to the TV, sound to the stereo and WAY too much volume!!)This is a slot A system, so I miss all the SS7 bugs, but I keep reading about the "buggy" 5.50 drivers, but I couldn't be happier!!

"OGL is now screwed up"-Kruzin
So if I turn TGL off in Q3A (not that I would), I will crash?? Man thats gonna screw with all the countless people who don't know how to get TGL to work with Q3A. Damned if they do, damned if they don't set the 800 X600X oh hell with it, they'll just have to use SEARCH.

[Maggi]

Hi Richie,

PD5.41 has some known issues on certain SS7 boards, so I suggest to go back to PD5.30 until a new PD5.5x is out ...

Several people posted they got PD5.30 working together with the TurboGL, so I think it's worth a shot ...

------------------
Cheers,
Maggi

Despite my nickname causing confusion, I am not female ...

[bigluker]

Okay, explain this to me like im a five year old.

You're supposed to install TGL at 800x600???
Could that be why my TGL performance is shitty beyond all hope while D3D runs like a dream (for a p2 400 anyway)?

Also, could you guys please post which games are bugged up and which are not with 5.5 beta? That would be awesome! Thanks guys.

Games im most interesting in for 5.5 stability;

Rogue Spear [mostly]
Unreal Tourney [demo]
Quake 3 [not really that important]
Half Life
2d strategy games [always rock solid anyway]

[Gurm]

Bigluker,

Yes, we've been through this before. The way to make TGL work (not that you NEED TurboGL with 5.50, since its ICD is faster than TurboGL) is to start Q3 WITHOUT the TurboGL (i.e. move the opengl32.dll to another dir), set it to 800x600x32bpp, quit, restore the TGL (move opengl32.dll back), then start it again.

*sigh* Do a search.

- Gurm

------------------
Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[bigluker]

Doncha hate newbies?

Thanks, that's one weird way of getting Turbo GL to work. Still wondering about 5.5x

Maybe I should just shut the hell up and try them.

Sweet can! from a benchmark of 26 to 31 fps! That thing ran ultra fast that time.

[This message has been edited by bigluker (edited 21 January 2000).]