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**dZeus** · 13 May 2001, 02:01

Install the 5.52 drivers. Those could fix the AGP stuff (as the same happened for people with Athlon/VIA combos). Make sure you'v got the latest VGA GART driver loaded for your chipset for Win2k (Check www.ali.com.tw to see if there are any).

The SCART-RGB cable won't work by just connecting both the s-video and composite cables to the SCART connector you've got. You need to build a SCART-RGB cable (diagram is in the FAQ section of my site: http://dzeus.student.utwente.nl/g400 ). Though you first need to check wether your TV supports RGB input through SCART (if it does, it will explicitly say so in the manual).

**kewlcat** · 13 May 2001, 11:26

For OpenGL, make sure you have an interrupt assigned to the G450. As for Linux, get the Matrox drivers for your version of XFree.

-Rahul

**villerk** · 13 May 2001, 22:52

My TV manual doesn't say anything spesific. It was used when I bought it and it has only some cheap translation of the original manual. If you know where I can download it's manual, tell me! Although there's pretty good pinout picture of the SCART. I can put it here, if it's necessary.

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

**harkpabst_meliantrop** · 14 May 2001, 00:46

Originally posted by villerk:
+ the whole computer is about 10 % faster than with i740 (probably some sort of incompatibility between the old i740 and other hardware)
+ 2D is faster

Well, even if the G450 can't compete with current nVidia boards, the edge it has over an i740 should be more than an average of 10% ...

Then there are bad things:
- AGP doesn't work, so 3D performance is poor (yet it's as fast as i740 with AGP...)

What exactly isn't working and how do you tell? Are you stuck in AGP 1x mode? What diagnosis program are you running?

- OpenGL doesn't work (haven't tried Linux yet

So what exactly happens, when you start an OpenGL application?

Here're some questions:
- how can I get my AGP work? Do the latest drivers (5.52 ? ) fix that problem? I read the MGA Tweak Utility help and tried the "NetMeeting Bug", but that didn't help.

Apart form getting the latest Ali drivers: Search the MS knowledge base for Win2k patches. Unfortunately, I don't remember the article numbers off hands, but there are (i think) 2 post-SP1 hot fixes that have to do with AGP related problems in Win2k. One of them might be related to VIA chipsets, but you should check this ressource anyway.

Also double check your BIOS settings. Maybe you had to disable AGP 2x mode at the time for your i740?

- should the OpenGL even work with so old drivers?

In fact, it should work O.K. with even far older drivers! However, the latest PD releases have one thing in common: They don't support the TurboGL driver.

Here's my current config (notice the 256 MB mem... I bought 128 MB more at the same time when I bought G450. Win2000 really speeded up!):

Yepp, 128 MB is just about enough to let Win2k run itself ... well, almost. However, are you aware of the fact, that your wasting a part of the potential due to limitations of the Alladin V chipset? The cacheable area is limited to 128 MB, everything above that limit is still used (and of course it's by far faster than paging), but it's never cached in the on board L2 cache, thus you won't benefit as much from the memory upgrade as you would with an up-to-date system. At the time, there has been a lot of talk about the revision F of the chipset which (in conjunction with 2 MB of L2 cache) should have increased the cacheable area to 256 MB, but I don't think it was really ever
released/used.

Next point: What about your L2 cache settings. Are you shure, it's even enabled in the mobos BIOS? Many cards didn't work in AGP 2x mode, sometimes they didn't run reliable at all, on Alladin V (and VIA MVP3) boards until the L2 cache was completely disabled! The i740 was not among the most critical chips, but it's always worth to have a look at it. AGP 1x and L2 cache enabled is always faster than AGP 2x and L2 cache disabled!

The G400/450 line of cards is known to be much easier to drive than e.g. Riva TNT/2 or G200 based cards. Still, Matrox might have chosen to disable some AGP features in their drivers, if an Alladin V chipset is detected (purely speculating). Most probably not many people are using a G450 on a Super Socket 7 board ...

So, to sum it up: Other reasons are much more likely to cause your troubles than your current Matrox drivers. Follow the hints of the other posters and especially

-) check for a BIOS update for your mobo
-) check your BIOS settings
-) get the latest Ali chipset drivers

Good luck

--E<:|

**villerk** · 14 May 2001, 00:48

BTW I'm a little handy man myself... I realized that the cable between amplifier and cassette deck is the same RCA cable that can be used to composite video, so I put it between G450 and TV. Works well. Composite looks like it has been blurred somewhere, but at least it has color . It's sad that I can't use S-Video straight; even the B&W picture looked sharp.

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

**villerk** · 14 May 2001, 01:04

+ the whole computer is about 10 % faster than with i740 (probably some sort of incompatibility between the old i740 and other hardware)

What I meant was that the computer booted faster, loaded programs faster etc. I didn't say games run faster.

What exactly isn't working and how do you tell? Are you stuck in AGP 1x mode? What diagnosis program are you running?

DxDiag says in the Video subwindow that "AGP not supported". MGA Tweak Utility strangely says that my mobo and G450 are currently in AGP 2x mode... don't know about that. I'll download some bugfixes and new drivers today.

Also double check your BIOS settings. Maybe you had to disable AGP 2x mode at the time for your i740?

No dice. i740 has AGP 2x support!

So what exactly happens, when you start an OpenGL application?

Programs start up and try to change the display mode, but they end up saying, "no OpenGL compatible graphics card found" or so. I've tried Serious Sam, Homeworld: Cataclysm, Half-Life and GLQuake. SiSoft says my OpenGL driver is software only!

Next point: What about your L2 cache settings. Are you shure, it's even enabled in the mobos BIOS? Many cards didn't work in AGP 2x mode, sometimes they didn't run reliable at all, on Alladin V (and VIA MVP3) boards until the L2 cache was completely disabled! The i740 was not among the most critical chips, but it's always worth to have a look at it. AGP 1x and L2 cache enabled is always faster than AGP 2x and L2 cache disabled!

Everything OK with my bios. I haven't ever had such problems with my old i740. I've always had my L1 and L2 enabled and AGP at 2x.

-) check for a BIOS update for your mobo
-) check your BIOS settings
-) get the latest Ali chipset drivers

I'll never upgrade my bios again! I once did and I had to buy a new mobo. It scared the hell out of me!! I still think my bios settings are OK, it's just that maybe Win2000 has some bugs I should try to fix. (I already have all the latest ALi drivers.)

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

**dZeus** · 14 May 2001, 01:33

which IRQ is your G450 using?

The OpenGL stuff not working sounds suspiciously much like that there's no IRQ assigned to the videocard (as kewlcat asked you to check), or with incorrectly installed PowerDesk drivers.

**harkpabst_meliantrop** · 14 May 2001, 02:05

I absolutely agree with the others concerning the IRQ setting! Having an IRQ assigned to the video card is not only mandatory for OpenGL but for Direct3D as well. So DXDiag not recognizing your card as an AGP card could be caused by the same problem (AGP feature like side band addressing are not really enabled unless requested by an application).

You could give a 3rd party tool like PCIList from www.entechtaiwan.com a try. Its a very reliable tool and will tell you what IRQ your card is using (if any) and what AGP mode it uses.

Originally posted by villerk:
I'll never upgrade my bios again! I once did and I had to buy a new mobo. It scared the hell out of me!!

Well, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. But if it is broken ...

Things are really developing faster and faster and chances that the BIOS version that shipped with a board has no major errors are constantly decreasing. You had a bad experience once, but this is definitely the big exception to the rule. A BIOS update can never physically destroy anything on a mobo. Even if something goes wrong during the flashing process, most of the time the boot block remains unchanged, so if you put the update files on a bootable disk, there is a good chance that you have a second try (maybe without video output from a PCI or AGP card though). And even in the worst of all cases (dead BIOS chip) all major manufacturers offer to ship a new BIOS chip for prices from 15 - 25 $ (which is definitaly cheaper than a new mobo).

However, checking this IRQ thing is for free and shouldn't require any nasty flash utility ... ;-)

--E<:|

[This message has been edited by harkpabst_meliantrop (edited 14 May 2001).]

**villerk** · 14 May 2001, 02:13

Well, I think and presume I have an IRQ already assigned for it. I still think it's all about the correct drivers (which I'll install in about a a few hours when I get home).

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

**dZeus** · 14 May 2001, 03:05

thinking isn't enough!

check your IRQ settings... maybe the G450 is sharing an IRQ with another device that doesn't allow interrupt sharing.

in Win2k, did you disable busmastering in the powerdesk options tab??? Make sure it is enabled (since disabling it also disables OpenGL acceleration).

All win2k drivers for the G450 support OpenGL and Direct3D (there's only the 5.20 - 5.34 release that disabled APG texturing on Athlon systems).

Please tell us what you tried so far (and if you didn't do it immediately):

- Install the Ali AGP GART drivers for Win9x/2k respectively
- Check wether your G450 has an IRQ assigned (not _check_, not assume), and if it's sharing the IRQ with another device (try to avoid this)
- Install the latest PowerDesk drivers (and make sure they are installed correctly, as they should show you the powerdesk tabs in the (advanced) display properties
- make sure that busmastering is enabled in the powerdesk options tab
- set AGP to 1x in the BIOS, if your motherboard causes too much line noise on the AGP bus for the G450 to function properly at 2x AGP

**villerk** · 14 May 2001, 03:18

Okay, okay, thinking isn't enough, I get it...

Yes, I have the latest AGP driver, which is 1.73. Bus mastering is enabled. I also checked (not twice, not three times, but six times) that there weren't any IRQ problems (according to Win2000).

Just wait patiently! I'll install the Powerdesk 5.52 when I get home!! I'm also going to install Win2000 SP1, along with PowerStrip and such. These should fix the problem. It's just a bit funny that even now, when DirectX games can't use AGP, the card is as fast as i740 with AGP, so I'm looking forward to unleash all powers from it.

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

**villerk** · 14 May 2001, 03:32

BTW Just wondering... before I build a SCART-RGB cable, does it make picture quality better?

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

**dZeus** · 14 May 2001, 03:38

yes. But unless your television set explicitly mentions in the manual that it supports it, it won't work.

oh.. just though of this: the image on my site isn't meant for the G450, but for the G400. Check the Matrox FAQ for a proper wire diagram for the G450.

[This message has been edited by dZeus (edited 14 May 2001).]

**villerk** · 14 May 2001, 22:51

There's something extremely weird going on! If I check off "Software Mode" from PowerStrip's AGP tab, DxDiag suddenly finds out that I have AGP, but if I try to enable it from DxDiag, it just falls back to the "AGP texture acceleration: Not supported" -state! I think this OpenGL bug has something to do with AGP, so if I can get AGP work, OpenGL should too. The most weird thing is that AGP works in Linux without any problems! This problem exists only in Windows!
Here's a full briefing of what PowerStrip can say about it. As you can see, no IRQ's are shared.

Diagnostic report - 14.5.2001
--------------------------------------------------
PowerStrip build - 138
Windows build - v.5.0.2195.2.Service Pack 1
DirectX build - v.5.1.2258.400 built by: Lab06_N(mmbuild)
OpenGL renderer - GDI Generic, v.1.1.0

System board
--------------------------------------------------
CPU speed - 502 MHz
Type - Acer Labs ALADDIN5-2A5KKSMCC-00
BIOS - Award Bios, 03/29/1999
AGP aperture - (n/a)
AGP transfer mechanism - Disabled
AGP non-local memory - (n/a)
AGP revision - 1.00
AGP transfer rates supported - 1x, 2x
Current AGP transfer rate - 2x
Sideband addressing - Enabled
Fast write protocol - (n/a)
AGP texturing - hardware support, but currently disabled

Graphics card #1
--------------------------------------------------
Identity - Matrox Millennium G450 DualHead
Memory clock - 144,00 MHz
Graphics clock - 115,20 MHz
IRQ - 10, not shared
AGP revision - 2.00
AGP transfer rates supported - 1x, 2x
Current AGP transfer rate - 2x
Sideband addressing - Enabled
Display driver -
DirectX driver -
Attached monitor - Microsoft Default Monitor
Monitor caps (1) - 1600x1200, 75kHz, 85Hz

Device enumeration
--------------------------------------------------
Matrox Millennium G450 DualHead (0525102Bh) - using IRQ10
Acer Labs CPU-to-PCI/AGP bridge (154110B9h)
Acer Labs PCI-to-PCI/AGP bridge (524310B9h)
Acer Labs Universal serial bus (USB) (523710B9h) - using IRQ11
Acer Labs PCI-to-ISA bridge (153310B9h)
Acer Labs IDE controller (522910B9h)
Ensoniq Audio device (50001274h) - using IRQ9
Winbond Ethernet controller (09401050h) - using IRQ5

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Problems are like babies; they only grow by nursing.

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