Compaq PowerStorm 300/350 Graphics Controllers Installation Guide EK CPSGC IG. B01 / 134692-002 July 1999 This guide describes the installation of the Compaq PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI graphics controllers in Compaq Professional Workstations. Compaq Computer Corporation Houston, Texas...
Page 2
Compaq, the Compaq logo, and the Digital logo registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Alpha, DIGITAL, and Tru64 UNIX, and Open3D are trademarks of Compaq Computer Corporation.
Page 7
4.0 and Compaq Tru64 UNIX™ 4.0E/F. Who Should Use This Guide This guide is intended for anyone who has purchased a Compaq PowerStorm 300 AGP or 300/350 PCI graphics controller. Users should have a basic understanding of Windows NT or Tru64 UNIX before installing PowerStorm 300/350 software.
Chapter 5, Operation (Windows NT) - describes post-installation tasks and use of the OpenGL drivers using the Windows NT operating system. Chapter 6, Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) - describes how to install the Compaq PowerStorm 300/350 PCI graphics controllers in your Compaq Professional Workstation running the Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system.
Operating system type and revision level Detailed, specific questions Compaq Website The Compaq website has information on this product as well as the latest drivers and Flash ROM images. You can access the Compaq website by logging on to the Internet at www.compaq.com...
Compaq Authorized Reseller For the name of your nearest Compaq Authorized Reseller In the United States, call 1-800-345-1518. In Canada, call 1-800-263-5868. Elsewhere, see the Compaq website for locations and telephone numbers.
1.2 Description The PowerStorm 300 AGP graphics controller is a single expansion-slot, 32-bit AGP bus module that provides 2D and 3D graphics acceleration for Compaq Professional Workstations. The PowerStorm 300 AGP graphics controller includes 16 MB of CDRAM texture memory and is available as a full length ATX or NLX form factor.
PowerStorm 300 AGP Graphics Controller Overview Table 1-2 provides software support information for the PowerStorm 300 AGP graphics controller. Table 1-2 Compaq PowerStorm 300 AGP Software Support Workstation Compaq Professional Workstation AP200 Compaq Professional Workstation AP400 Compaq Professional Workstation AP500...
Page 13
PowerStorm 300 AGP Graphics Controller Overview Figure 1-2 PowerStorm 300 AGP Graphics Controller (NLX) Standard 15-pin VGA connector VGA enable/disable jumper PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 1–3 ML014616 Shows the jumper set for VGA enabled (default) Shows the jumper set for VGA disabled...
PowerStorm 300 AGP Graphics Controller Overview 1.3 Connector Pinout Figure 1-3 contains a listing of the pins and signals found on the standard 15-pin VGA connector. Figure 1-3 VGA Connector Pinouts ML013579 Pin No. Signal RED VIDEO GREEN VIDEO or COMPOSITE SYNC with GREEN VIDEO BLUE VIDEO NC (no connection) GROUND...
2.2 Description The PowerStorm 300 PCI graphics controller is a single expansion-slot, 32-bit PCI bus module that provides 2D and 3D graphics acceleration for Compaq Professional Workstations. The PowerStorm 300 PCI graphics controller includes 16 MB of CDRAM texture memory. See Table 2-1 for the part numbers.
PowerStorm 300 PCI Graphics Controller Overview Table 2-2 provides software support information for the PowerStorm 300 PCI graphics controller. Table 2-2 Compaq PowerStorm 300 PCI Software Support Minimum System Workstation Compaq Professional V5.68 Workstation XP1000 Compaq Professional X5.4 2935 Workstation XP1000 The PowerStorm 300 PCI graphics controller (see Figure 2-1) contains one standard 15-pin VGA connector on the PCI bulkhead.
2.3 Connector Pinout Figure 2-2 lists the pins and signals found on the standard 15-pin VGA connector. Figure 2-2 VGA Connector Pinouts ML013579 Pin No. Signal RED VIDEO GREEN VIDEO or COMPOSITE SYNC with GREEN VIDEO BLUE VIDEO NC (no connection) GROUND GROUND GROUND...
3.2 Description The PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller is a single expansion-slot, 32-bit PCI bus module that provides 2D and 3D graphics acceleration for Compaq Professional Workstations. The PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller has stereo capability; see Section 4.3.7 for information on setup and rules for stereo operation.
PowerStorm 350 PCI Graphics Controller Overview Table 3-2 provides software support information for the PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller. Table 3-2 Compaq PowerStorm 350 PCI Software Support Minimum System Workstation ROM Revision Compaq Professional V5.68 Workstation XP1000 X5.4 2935 The PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller (see Figure 3-1) contains one standard 15-pin VGA connector and one 5-pin mini-DIN StereoVision connector on the PCI bulkhead.
3.3 Connector Pinouts Figure 3-2 shows the pins and signals found on the standard 15-pin VGA connector. Figure 3-3 shows the pins and signals on the stereo connector. Figure 3-2 VGA Connector Pinouts ML013579 Pin No. Signal RED VIDEO GREEN VIDEO or COMPOSITE SYNC with GREEN VIDEO BLUE VIDEO NC (no connection) GROUND...
3.4 Specifications Table 3-3 lists the specifications for the PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller. Table 3-3 PowerStorm 350 PCI Graphics Controller Specifications Resolution Color planes Overlay Stencil planes Window ID Z-buffer Total bits/pixel Frame buffer Texture memory Form factor Input voltage Power Operating temperature Relative humidity...
____________________________________________________________ This chapter describes the installation of the PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI graphics controller in a Compaq Professional running the Windows NT operating system. If your PowerStorm 300 AGP or 300/350 PCI graphics controllers came pre-installed, the software is already in place, and you do not need to perform the procedures in this chapter.
Installation (Windows NT) 4.2 Hardware Installation __________________________ Caution _________________________ If you will be installing PowerStorm software during a new installation or upgrade of the entire Windows NT operating system, install the PowerStorm 300 AGP or 300/350 PCI graphics controller hardware first as described in section 4.2.2.
5. If your workstation has an existing graphics controller, remove the screw that secures it and then remove the controller. 6. Choose a slot on the Primary PCI bus (in the Compaq Professional Workstation XP1000, the top 3 slots); remove the slot cover if you are using a new slot.
4.3.2 PowerStorm 300/350 Software Components The PowerStorm 300/350 software CD contains 2D drivers and 3D drivers (the Compaq accelerated OpenGL support). See Table 4-1. Table 4-1 PowerStorm 300/350 Software Components on the CD...
During Windows NT installation, a hardware and software component list like the one below is displayed: Computer: Compaq Professional Workstation xxx (xxx = CPU type) Display: VGA Compatible PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 4–5 Installation (Windows NT) File Name readme.txt...
If you have purchased the PowerStorm 300 AGP or 300/350 PCI graphics controller as an option, you must install the Compaq PowerStorm 300/350 display drivers. To install the 2D and 3D drivers (the Compaq optimized OpenGL support) from the Compaq PowerStorm software CD, follow these steps: 1.
Yes. A status box displays reflecting the progress of the driver installation. 13. When the Compaq PowerStorm 300/350 files have been copied to your hard drive, a dialog box indicating that the driver was successfully installed is displayed. Choose OK and remove the CD from the drive.
Installation (Windows NT) 4.3.7 Stereo Capability (PowerStorm 350 PCI Only) __________________________ Note ____________________________ Only the PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller supports stereo capability. ___________________________________________________________ In order to activate the stereo feature of the PowerStorm 350 PCI graphics controller, the following steps must be taken prior to running a stereo application: 1.
5.1 Introduction This chapter provides information about post-installation tasks and use of the OpenGL display drivers with a PowerStorm 300 AGP or 300/350 PCI graphics controller on either the Intel or Alpha Windows NT platforms. 5.2 After Installation After you have installed the PowerStorm 300/350 display driver, you may need to change the screen resolution and refresh rate, manage buffer swap, or identify the display driver version for troubleshooting purposes.
Page 36
Operation (Windows NT) 5. Click on the arrows in the Desktop Area to change the screen resolution. 6. To change the refresh rate, choose one of the options in Refresh Frequency. (You can also change the resolution and refresh rate by choosing List All Modes and the desired mode, and then choosing OK.) If the refresh rate selected is not supported by the resolution you chose, the resolution will automatically change to the nearest value supported by that refresh rate, or the refresh rate will change to support the resolution.
5.2.3 Identifying the Display Driver Version If you encounter a problem with the PowerStorm display driver, you can report it to Compaq. When reporting a problem, you must include the version of the driver with your description of the problem.
In addition to a generic OpenGL display driver, Windows NT OpenGL includes a mechanism by which OpenGL rendering can be performed by vendor-supplied display drivers. Compaq provides such an OpenGL display driver in the PowerStorm 300/350 Software product. This driver takes advantage of hardware features that improve rendering performance and quality, and is used with the PowerStorm 300 AGP or 300/350 PCI graphics controller.
Operation (Windows NT) 5.3.2.1 Pixel Format Support The PowerStorm 300 AGP graphics controller and display driver on the Intel platform supports a fully compliant implementation of OpenGL in combination with Windows NT OpenGL. Color index mode support is provided by the Windows NT generic OpenGL implementation, and thus is not hardware-accelerated.
Table 5-4 Intel-Supported Pixel Formats on the PowerStorm 300 Graphics Controller Pixel Format Pixel Type RGBA Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Pixmap Swap Layer Buffers Support GDI Support OpenGL Support Overlays (*) Generic Format Need Palette Need System Palette Color Bits Red Bits Red Shift...
Operation (Windows NT) 5.3.2.2 Performance Considerations The PowerStorm 300 AGP graphics controller and display driver on the Intel platform accelerate virtually all OpenGL Version 1.1 operations. However, some aspects of OpenGL use can affect performance as described in the following sections. 5.3.2.2.1 Texture Mapping Several aspects of texture mapping can affect application performance.
5.3.2.2.2 Overlay Planes The PowerStorm 300 AGP graphics controller on the Intel platform provides hardware support for 2-bit double-buffered overlay planes. Note that for performance reasons, not all pixel formats support overlay planes. If you do not require overlay planes, selecting a pixel format without overlay support will ensure maximum performance.
Operation (Windows NT) Table 5-5 Alpha-Supported Pixel Formats on PowerStorm 300 PCI Graphics Controller Pixel Format Pixel Type Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Bitmap Support GDI Support OpenGL Generic Pixel Format Need Palette Need System Palette Swap Exchange Swap Copy Swap Layer Buffers Generic Accelerated...
Page 45
Table 5-5 Alpha-Supported Pixel Formats on PowerStorm 300 PCI Graphics Controller (cont.) Pixel Format Pixel Type RGBA Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Bitmap Support GDI Support OpenGL Generic Pixel Format Need Palette Need System Palette Swap Exchange Swap Copy Swap Layer Buffers Generic Accelerated Color Bits...
Operation (Windows NT) Table 5-6 Alpha-Supported Pixel Formats on PowerStorm 350 PCI Graphics Controller Pixel Format Pixel Type Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Bitmap Support GDI Support OpenGL Generic Pixel Format Need Palette Need System Palette Swap Exchange Swap Copy Swap Layer Buffers Generic Accelerated...
Page 47
Table 5-6 Alpha-Supported Pixel Formats on PowerStorm 350 PCI Graphics Controller (cont.) Pixel Format Pixel Type RGBA Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Bitmap Support GDI Support OpenGL Generic Pixel Format Need Palette Need System Palette Swap Exchange Swap Copy Swap Layer Buffers Generic Accelerated Color Bits...
Page 48
Operation (Windows NT) Table 5-6 Alpha-Supported Pixel Formats on PowerStorm 350 PCI Graphics Controller (cont.) Pixel Format Pixel Type Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Bitmap Support GDI Support OpenGL Generic Pixel Format Need Palette Need System Palette Swap Exchange Swap Copy Swap Layer Buffers Generic Accelerated...
Page 49
Table 5-6 Alpha-Supported Pixel Formats on PowerStorm 350 PCI Graphics Controller (cont.) Pixel Format Pixel Type RGBA Double-Buffered Stereo Draw to Window Draw to Bitmap Support GDI Support OpenGL Generic Pixel Format Need Palette Need System Palette Swap Exchange Swap Copy Swap Layer Buffers Generic Accelerated Color Bits...
Operation (Windows NT) 5.3.3.2 Performance Considerations PowerStorm 300/350 PCI graphics controllers for the Windows NT Alpha platform accelerate virtually all OpenGL Version 1.1 operations. However, some aspects of OpenGL use can affect performance as described in the following sections. 5.3.3.2.1 Texture Mapping Several aspects of texture mapping can affect application performance.
Blending, using a destination alpha value The application needs an alpha buffer if it calls the glBlendFunc function with one of the following values: – DST_ALPHA – ONE_MINUS_DST_ALPHA – ONE_MINUS_DST_COLOR – SRC_ALPHA_SATURATE In conformance with OpenGL, glReadPixels returns 1.0 for all alpha values, and OpenGL uses 1.0 for all destination alpha values when computing blending factors.
Page 52
Operation (Windows NT) When SoftImage Customizations are enabled, other OpenGL applications may not behave correctly. Therefore it is recommended that SoftImage Customizations be disabled before running other OpenGL applications. 5–18 PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers...
Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 6.1 Introduction __________________________ Note _____________________________ Chapter 6 pertains to the Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system only; if you are running Windows NT, see chapter 4. ____________________________________________________________ This chapter describes the installation of the PowerStorm 300/350 PCI graphics controller in a Compaq Professional Workstation running the Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system.
5. If your workstation has an existing graphics controller, remove the screw that secures it and then remove the controller. 6. Choose a slot on the primary PCI bus (in the Compaq Professional Workstation XP1000, the top 3 slots); remove the slot cover if you are using a new slot.
To return to the graphics display as console, the commands are: >>> set console graphics >>> init 6.3.1.4 Booting Compaq Tru64 UNIX To begin installation of PowerStorm 300/350 UNIX Graphics Support, you must boot the generic kernal. This is done at the boot prompt (>>>).
4. Specify the subsets you wish to install. The installation procedure displays the list of subsets available for installation and prompts you to choose the desired subsets. *** Enter subset selections *** PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 6–5 Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX)
Page 58
Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) The following subsets are mandatory and will be installed automatically unless you choose to exit without installing any subsets: * PowerStorm 300/350 Support V1.2 Base * PowerStorm 300/350 Support V1.2 Config * PowerStorm 300/350 Support V1.2 Device...
Page 59
8. Dismount the CD-ROM drive from the mount point. For example, to dismount mount point /mnt, enter the command: # umount /mnt 9. Remove the CD from the CD-ROM drive. PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 6–7 Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX)
Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) The installation is now completed. 6.4 Configuration Recommendations Compaq recommends performing the following configuration operations before you use PowerStorm 300/350 UNIX Graphics Support: Partitioning Drives You should define a minimum of 600 MB pages of swap.
Page 61
Tru64 UNIX tuning documentation, experiment with the different tuning techniques proposed, and monitor the results while your application is running. PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 6–9 Installation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX)
Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 7.1 Introduction This chapter provides information about post-installation tasks and use of the OpenGL drivers with a PowerStorm 300/350 PCI graphics controller on the Compaq Tru64 UNIX platform. 7.2 After Installation After you have installed the PowerStorm 300/350 driver, you may wish to adjust the screen resolution and refresh rate, to alter the buffer swap synchronization or the default texel size, or to identify the driver version for troubleshooting purposes.
Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 3. Find the line containing PowerStorm 300/350 X server command-line arguments. Search for the text “ PowerStorm 300/350 Server args start the next line where the arguments reside. 4. Append the –screen already present. The screen argument specifies the width and height of the screen in pixels, and the vsync argument specifies the refresh rate in Hz.
–I beginning of device-dependent arguments. 5. Append the –riDefaultTexel32 PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 7–3 Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) argument to the list as follows: file. /var/X11/Xserver.conf . Save a backup copy. argument to the list as follows: ”...
7.2.4 Identifying the Driver Version If you encounter a problem with the PowerStorm display driver, you can report it to Compaq. When reporting a problem, you must include the version of the driver with your description of the problem. To identify the version of the display driver, follow these steps: 1.
Developing OpenGL Applications, for users developing OpenGL applications 7.3.1 Using OpenGL Applications This section provides information for using OpenGL applications on the Compaq Tru64 UNIX platform. This section includes the following topics: OpenGL Visual Support, describing the available visuals and their properties...
Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 7.3.1.2 Indirect Contexts, GLXPixmaps, and the Software Renderer The following section only concerns those who run applications that require GLXPixmap rendering support. Most applications do not fall into this category. Where GLXPixmaps are used for multi-buffering, they should be replaced by OpenGL double-buffering if possible.
* Visual IDs listed are for the first screen. Equivalent visuals on the second head of a dual-head configuration will have different visual IDs. PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 7–7 Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 0x22 0x24 (8,8,8,0)
In this latter case, the PowerStorm 300/350 OpenGL driver will, by default, use 16 bits per texel for RGB and RGBA textures. The application user can override this default behavior by following the steps in Section 7.2.3. PowerStorm 300 AGP and 300/350 PCI Graphics Controllers 7–9 Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 0x27 0x28 0x29...
Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) Allocating 16 bits per texel allows more textures to be stored in the texture cache and may provide slightly higher rasterization rates. On the other hand, using 32 bits per texel provides better texture resolution in just the same way that a color frame buffer with 8 bits per color component has better color resolution than a frame buffer with 4 bits per color component.
Operation (Compaq Tru64 UNIX) 7.3.2.1.3 Stencil Planes The PowerStorm 300/350 display driver provides support for one stencil plane on Tru64 UNIX. You may notice that on the Windows NT Alpha platform, four stencil planes are available. This is because the Windows NT window system does not have the same high demands for window system functionality, such as simultaneous support of RGB and color-index windows.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the Wireless LAN 300 and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers