Re: 3d on alpha?
>> The latest SRM on my 164LX is 5.68 (IIRC), which doesn't seem to
>> understand or accept the pci_device_override setting. It's not
>> saved between reboots, so setting it has no effect.
> "pci_device_override" is necessary (and understood) ONLY on MIATA (PWS).
I'll take you're word on the understood part, but the necessary part...
The way pci_device_override is described seems to be just what I
need to get the card working.
> Also, I believe that the last SRM console on LX was 5.8; 5.68 may be
> the last AlphaBIOS version?
You're right. I said IIRC, and I didn't ;) I went home and checked,
and it was indeed 5.8-1. I have no idea what the latest AlphaBIOS
is, I switched to SRM a long time ago.
>> This to my great frustration as I have a 3DLabs Oxygen GVX1 I
>> would like to use in it. I've told Compaq (in Norway) that I'll
>> gladly donate the card if they promise to at least look at the
>> possibility of getting to work with older motherboards, such as
>> the 164LX. Unfortunatly, they can't be persuaded to "waste" their
>> time on old Digital boards.
> I don't know if your "GVX1" is the same as the VX1 that we have been
> selling in some of the EV6 boxes for a while now, but mine seems to
> work OK in older machines like LX, even in the original PC164 and
> some earlier EV45 boxes.
> I assume it doesn't complete BIOS init, leaving you with black screen?
> Could you send me some details on the board?
The GVX1 is the same as the VX1 in that they both use the GLINT R3
chip. In addition, the GVX1 has a GLINT Gamma 1 geometry processor
which the VX1 is missing. They both have 32MB of RAM (different types
tough, IIRC). Indeed, the two cards are so similar it's a wonder one
works and the other one doesn't.
One interesting thing to note; I contacted 3DLabs about this, and they
claim that the VX1 that Compaq supports for it's Alpha machines are
based on the Permedia 3. That's the one and only communication I've been
able to get from 3DLabs, which menas I've been unable to find out whether
the Permedia 3 now has been renamed to GLINT R3, or if it at some point
existed, or maybe still exists, another version of the VX1. Of course,
a third option is simply that the 3DLabs representative was wrong.
The symptoms when the card is installed are as you describe. There's
about half a second of disk activity (I assume when the harddisk is
spinning up), the keyboard light flashes once or twice and then
the machine simply dies out. The screen isn't receiving any signals,
the machine has no life, no activity, no nothing.
I've tried different PCI slots, different monitors and tested the
card in a x86 machine to verify that it works. The card works, but
just not in the Alpha.
I've heard claims that the SRM has hardcoded in device ID and vendor ID
and will only boot on "approved" devices? And that this was a ploy to make
it impossible for "unauthorised" Alpha resellers to run Digital Unix, later
True64? Indeed, isn't this what pci_device_override is suppose to
circumvent? However, I've had no problem with the Diamond FireGL 1000 Pro
that's in the machine now, and I somehow doubt that the FireGL actually is
"authorised" to run Digital Unix or True64. Or maybe it's not the card
itself, but the Permedia 2 chip that is "authorised"?
- IT
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