3D DRI for ATI AGP chipsets

Disclaimer:?? It took me three tries to make this work.?? Your system may blow up by trying this.?? Do not try this unless you are willing to re-install.

Okay, now that's out of the way....this is just a small howto on getting the ATI IGP chipsets to work in full 3D under Mepis.?? I wrote another howto for Kanotix (http://kanotix.mipooh.net/viewtopic.php?t=1293) on the same subject, but had to do things slightly different for Mepis.

My hardware is a Compaq Presario 2500 (model 2438CL) with:
?????? 2.6 GHz P4
?????? 1 GB RAM
?????? 60 GB HDD
?????? DVD/CD-RW
?????? ATI IGP345 video with 1400x1050 resolution
Everything was detected and setup properly by Mepis (including the 1400x1050 screen - love the new Grub startup menu).

You need the 2.6 series kernel for working AGP.?? I used the SimplyMepis rc2 CD with kernel 2.6.7

1.?? Add the following line to your /etc/apt/sources.list (Mepis System Center -> Package Management)
?????????????????????????? deb http://people.debian.org/~daenzer/dri-trunk-unstable ./

2.?? Run apt-get update to update the package list.

3.?? Install DRI packages by entering
???????????? apt-get install xserver-xfree86-dri-trunk xlibmesa-gl1-dri-trunk

4.?? You need the complete kernel source for the final portion.?? Go to www.kernel.org and download the 2.6.7 sources.?? The debian kernel-source package might also work.?? Download the kernel source package to the directory /usr/src and then unzip/untar it (I use mc -> F2 -> "x").?? The kernel sources should go into the /usr/src/linux-2.6.7 directory that already exists.

5.?? Change into /usr/src/linux-2.6.7 and make some coffee.?? The needed kernel modules won't compile unless there's a complete kernel build, so we have to build the kernel.
?????? make oldconfig
?????? make (go drink the coffee made in the previous step)
?????? make modules_install

6.?? Now go to www.freedesktop.org/~dri/snapshots/archive and find the latest r200-xxxxxxxx-linux-i386.tar.bz2 package and download it.?? The package I used was the 20040724 file.

7.?? Un-archive the r200 file to /usr/src (again, using mc -> F2 -> "x" is easiest).?? This will make the directory /usr/src/dripkg.

8. Change to /usr/src/dripkg and run the script ./install.sh
Press "Enter" at the prompts and watch for errors.?? If you receive errors during the compile/install, then I can't help you.?? Like I said earlier, it took me three tries to get it to work properly.

10.?? Edit /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and add/modify the following lines:

?????? Section "Modules" should include:
?????? ???? Load "dri"
?????? ???? Load "glcore"
?????? ???? Load "glx" (probably already there - just check to make sure)

?????? Section "Device" should include"
?????? ???? Driver???? ???? "radeon"
?????? ???? Option???? ???? "AGPMode"?? "4"
?????? ???? Option???? ???? "AGPFastWrite"?? "on"
?????? ???? Option???? ???? "EnablePageFlip"?? "on"???? (these options speed things up a little and are optional)

?????? Make sure the following section is at the end of the file
?????? ???? Section "DRI"
?????? ???? ???? Mode 0666
?????? ???? EndSection

Hopefully, everything will work at this point.?? Exist KDE by logging out and choosing "End Session Only"
At the KDM screen, press Alt-E or choose the option "Restart xserver".?? If KDM didn't come up, you may have to enter startx to start KDE again.?? You may also need to add the following lines to /etc/modules

?????? ati-agp
?????? radeon

although the xserver should cause these to be loaded automatically.?? Once back in X, check your setting by running glxinfo in a terminal.?? At the top of the ouput, look for "direct rendering:?? Yes".?? Run glxgearsand check your FPS and CPU usage.

My 2.6GHz P4 laptop showed about 300 FPS with 100% CPU originally.
With DRI enabled, I'm getting a little over 500 FPS with 10-15% CPU.?? Tuxracer, Tuxkart, Tribes2, and UnrealTournament work just fine (Enemy Territory is a little slow - this isn't the fastest chipset in the world).?? Some of the OpenGL screensavers flicker - I still haven't figured that out.?? If anybody knows, please respond to this and let me know how to fix it.

Happy Gaming!