computer components & hardware - Request to be incorporated in the next NVidia reference driver.

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Request to be incorporated in the next NVidia reference driver.

I own a Quadro FX card that is driving an IBM T221 monitor at 3840 x
2400 and I wonder if you could think about the following for the next
Nvidia driver release.

The problem is that under Windows XP the drivers see the card outputs as
if to two monitors (not in itself a problem) and can drive the monitor
in one of two modes:-

Mode 1.

The Card outputs to a Single monitor at 3840 x 2400 @ 12Hz (I would
assume when it's doing this it's only using one of the DVI outputs from
the card). This is fine except that 12Hz is a very low refresh rate and
causes the monitor to flicker.

Mode 2.

The card outputs to the monitor as if it's two monitors using 2 x 1920 x
2400 @ 25Hz (I would assume in this mode it's using both DVI's from the
card) and the settings in Windows allow me to extend the desktop across
the 'second' monitor...using Horizontal Span it merges to appear as one
monitor and runs at 25Hz.

Here is the problem....

3D applications (for example Flight Simulator 2004) that run in
'FullScreen' mode cannot utilise Mode 2 the way the drivers are
currently configured...the reason for this is that if the application is
configured for 3840 x 2400 resolution it forces the card to go into Mode
1 above and therefore drops the frequency to 12Hz and therefore 12FPS.
If the application is configured for 2 x 1920 x 2400 mode then you can't
utilise FullScreen mode as it'll only go FullScreen on the first monitor
(and therefore not utilise the second monitor properly).

So ideally what would be perfect in the next driver release would be a
new driver mode...

Appear to be mode 1 above but work as mode 2...I'll try to describe what
I mean.

In the Windows video settings box I would ideally want an option box
that says something like "Very High Resolution Monitor in use?" and if
it's ticked I then can ONLY output to a single monitor at 3840 x 2400
(so that's what windows sees...1 Monitor) but behind the scenes the
driver at a low level is actually pushing the data out to two monitors
using both DVI's and therefore any applications can output to ONE
monitor when in fact the driver is pushing the data to TWO monitors at
25Hz. I hope this makes sense and someone reading it can understand the
problem.

To get a further insight have a look at the Matrox Parhelia driver with
specific regard to how it operates using Surround Mode..it does pretty
much what I'm asking for here in that even though you have up to three
monitors physically attached the OS sees them as 1 monitor and the
driver handles how the data is pushed.

Paul

Try e-mailing nVIDIA instead. I doubt that they are reading this.

Paul Duffy paul at scim dot co dot uk wrote in message k...

So ideally what would be perfect in the next driver release would be a
new driver mode...

Appear to be mode 1 above but work as mode 2...I'll try to describe what
I mean.

Or you can upgrade to the 9503DG5 with a dual-link DVI converter box.

Paul Duffy paul at scim dot co dot uk wrote in message k...
What's a Dual Link DVI Convertor box?

Googled it and can't find an appropriate link.

P

IBM released a newer version of the T221 called the 9503DG5. It has
an internal refresh rate of 48Hz while the DG0, DG1, and DG3 have a
41Hz rate. The DG5 also comes with a dual-link DVI to 2x single-link
converter box. Dual-link DVI has 2 data channels to support up to
330MHz pixel clock. Single-link DVI maxes out at 165MHz. What this
means is that your Quadro FX 2000 would be able to drive the DG5 at
3840x2400@24Hz using just the dual-link connector. Supposedly the
Quadro FX 3000 has a special mode to support 3840x2400@48Hz using both
the dual-link and single-link ports when driving the DG5.

IBM's site still doesn't have much info on the DG5 but it's available
for sale.

Paul Duffy paul at scim dot co dot uk wrote in message ...

IBM Brought out a BIOS/EDID upgrade for the others (I've got a DG3) to
address the frequency upgrade rate. I still can't visualise what you
mean by this dual link DVI box....

The firmware upgrade doesn't change the refresh rate of the DG3, it's
still at 41Hz.

The Quadro FX 3000 has a dual-link DVI port that can talk to the DG5
at 3840x2400@24Hz. That way you don't have to use horizontal span.
It's 1 screen using 1 DVI port. The FX2k has a dual-link DVI port
also but no one has tested it with the DG5.