Big trouble for users of Matrox Gxxx graphics cards with new versions of Linux (including MEPIS)
Also got some ideas from Mepis Lovers, but wondered whether anyone here could add anything more. First noticed something wrong when the Planet Penguin Racer game hopelessly juddered and Tuxkart disappeared on loading. Here are some comparisons:
glxgears -printfps =>
- Mepis 6.0b2 = 105 fps
- Mepis 3.4-3 = 525 fps
- Knoppix 4.0 = 690 fps
glxinfo =>
- Mepis 6.0b2 = NO direct rendering
- Mepis 3.4-3 = direct rendering
- Knoppix 4.0 = direct rendering
All readings taken after clean boot from live CD with default settings. All OS are using the generic 'mga' Matrox driver with my Millennium G400 card.
Should I put this down to a beta 2 problem or is it more of a Debian -> Ubuntu something to worry about? 
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Looks like a problem from Ubuntu after all
Also found that PCLinuxOS 0.92 works okay, giving similar results to every other live CD except MEPIS 6.0b2.
The Ubuntu post here shows almost exactly the same error as I get in my Xorg.0.log:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=96272&highlight=matrox+g400
(II) MGA(0): [drm] installed DRM signal handler
(II) MGA(0): [DRI] installation complete
(EE) MGA(0): [drm] Failed to map DMA buffers list
(II) MGA(0): [drm] removed 1 reserved context for kernel
(II) MGA(0): [drm] unmapping 8192 bytes of SAREA 0xd0ac2000 at 0xb6190000
(WW) MGA(0): Direct rendering disabled
Looks like a problem from Ubuntu after all
Maybe not , check this out .
Http://forum.matrox.com/mga/
Im sure some one else has had that problem looks like a lot of posts over there.
jim
The buck stops with Matrox apparently
Jim, looks like you are right.
"Eventually [X.org] 7.0 will be supported." - from Matrox at:
http://forum.matrox.com/mga/viewtopic.php?t=18949
Bad news for MEPIS and Linux in general. For example, we have *five* HP PCs at home which use Matrox cards!
The buck stops with Matrox
Im thinking you should rag on them a little bit about linux support .
Especially from the rep standpoint ! Linux didnt get here yesterday maybe they need a wakeup call.
jim
Can the good folk at MEPIS hassle Matrox about this?
Considering the huge number of graphics cards which Matrox must have sold, their attitude to Linux users is pathetic and wholly inadequate in this day and age.
This will affect all Matrox Gxxx users who move onto any modern distros of Linux (including MEPIS) which use X.org 7.0. And even if they "eventually" support X.org 7.0, will they drag their feet in the same way over v8.0, 9.0 etc?
Can the good folk at MEPIS exert their (growing) influence on Matrox?
attitude to linux
Quoted from their site - and our employees aren't to touch
General Linux
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