1RADEON(4) Kernel Interfaces Manual RADEON(4)
2
6 radeon - ATI RADEON video driver
7
9 Section "Device"
10 Identifier "devname"
11 Driver "radeon"
12 ...
13 EndSection
14
16 radeon is an Xorg driver for ATI RADEON based video cards. It contains
17 full support for 8, 15, 16 and 24 bit pixel depths, dual-head setup,
18 flat panel, hardware 2D acceleration, hardware 3D acceleration (experi‐
19 mental on R300 and R400 series cards), hardware cursor, XV extension,
20 and the Xinerama extension.
21
23 The radeon driver supports PCI and AGP video cards based on the follow‐
24 ing ATI chips
25 R100 Radeon 7200
27 RV100 Radeon 7000(VE), M6
29 RS100 Radeon IGP320(M)
31 RV200 Radeon 7500, M7, FireGL 7800
33 RS200 Radeon IGP330(M)/IGP340(M)
35 RS250 Radeon Mobility 7000 IGP
37 R200 Radeon 8500, 9100, FireGL 8800/8700
39 RV250 Radeon 9000PRO/9000, M9
41 RS300 Radeon 9100 IGP
43 RS350 Radeon 9200 IGP
45 RS400 Radeon XPRESS 200/200M IGP
47 RV280 Radeon 9200PRO/9200/9200SE, M9+
49 R300 Radeon 9700PRO/9700/9500PRO/9500/9600TX, FireGL X1/Z1 (2D
51 only)
52 R350 Radeon 9800PRO/9800SE/9800, FireGL X2 (2D only)
54 R360 Radeon 9800XT (2d only)
56 RV350 Radeon 9600PRO/9600SE/9600, M10/M11, FireGL T2 (2D only)
58 RV360 Radeon 9600XT (2d only)
60 RV370 Radeon X300, M22 (2d only)
62 RV380 Radeon X600, M24 (2d only)
64 RV410 Radeon X700, M26 PCIE (2d only)
66 R420 Radeon X800 AGP (2d only)
68 R423/R430 Radeon X800, M28 PCIE (2d only)
70 R480/R481 Radeon X850 PCIE/AGP (2d only)
72
75 Please refer to xorg.conf(5x) for general configuration details. This
76 section only covers configuration details specific to this driver.
77 The driver auto-detects all device information necessary to initialize
79 the card. However, if you have problems with auto-detection, you can
80 specify:
81 VideoRam - in kilobytes
83 MemBase - physical address of the linear framebuffer
84 IOBase - physical address of the MMIO registers
85 ChipID - PCI DEVICE ID
86 In addition, the following driver Options are supported:
88 Option "SWcursor" "boolean"
90 Selects software cursor. The default is off.
91 Option "NoAccel" "boolean"
93 Enables or disables all hardware acceleration.
94 The default is to enable hardware acceleration.
95 Option "Dac6Bit" "boolean"
97 Enables or disables the use of 6 bits per color component when
98 in 8 bpp mode (emulates VGA mode). By default, all 8 bits per
99 color component are used.
100 The default is off.
101 Option "VideoKey" "integer"
103 This overrides the default pixel value for the YUV video overlay
104 key.
105 The default value is 0x1E.
106 Option "UseFBDev" "boolean"
108 Enable or disable use of an OS-specific framebuffer device
109 interface (which is not supported on all OSs). MergedFB does
110 not work when this option is in use. See fbdevhw(4) for further
111 information.
112 The default is off.
113 Option "AGPMode" "integer"
115 Set AGP data transfer rate. (used only when DRI is enabled)
116 1 -- x1 (default)
117 2 -- x2
118 4 -- x4
119 8 -- x8
120 others -- invalid
121 Option "AGPFastWrite" "boolean"
123 Enable AGP fast write. Enabling this option is frequently the
124 cause of instability. Used only when the DRI is enabled.
125 The default is off.
126 Option "BusType" "string"
128 Used to replace previous ForcePCIMode option. Should only be
129 used when driver's bus detection is incorrect or you want to
130 force a AGP card to PCI mode. Should NEVER force a PCI card to
131 AGP bus.
132 PCI -- PCI bus
133 AGP -- AGP bus
134 PCIE -- PCI Express (falls back to PCI at present)
135 (used only when DRI is enabled)
136 The default is auto detect.
137 Option "DDCMode" "boolean"
139 Force to use the modes queried from the connected monitor.
140 The default is off.
141 Option "DisplayPriority" "string"
143 Used to prevent flickering or tearing problem caused by display
144 buffer underflow.
145 AUTO -- Driver calculated (default).
146 BIOS -- Remain unchanged from BIOS setting.
147 Use this if the calculation is not correct
148 for your card.
149 HIGH -- Force to the highest priority.
150 Use this if you have problem with above options.
151 This may affect performance slightly.
152 The default value is AUTO.
153 Option "MonitorLayout" "string"
155 This option is used to overwrite the detected monitor types.
156 This is only required when driver makes a false detection. The
157 possible monitor types are:
158 NONE -- Not connected
159 CRT -- Analog CRT monitor
160 TMDS -- Desktop flat panel
161 LVDS -- Laptop flat panel
162 This option can be used in following format:
163 Option "MonitorLayout" "[type on primary], [type on secondary]"
164 For example, Option "MonitorLayout" "CRT, TMDS"
165 Primary/Secondary head for dual-head cards:
167 (when only one port is used, it will be treated as the primary
168 regardless)
169 Primary head:
170 DVI port on DVI+VGA cards
171 LCD output on laptops
172 Internal TMDS port on DVI+DVI cards
173 Secondary head:
174 VGA port on DVI+VGA cards
175 VGA port on laptops
176 External TMDS port on DVI+DVI cards
177 The default value is undefined.
179 Option "MergedFB" "boolean"
181 This enables merged framebuffer mode. In this mode you have a
182 single shared framebuffer with two viewports looking into it.
183 It is similar to Xinerama, but has some advantages. It is
184 faster than Xinerama, the DRI works on both heads, and it sup‐
185 ports clone modes.
186 Merged framebuffer mode provides two linked viewports looking
187 into a single large shared framebuffer. The size of the frame‐
188 buffer is determined by the Virtual keyword defined on the
189 Screen section of your xorg.conf file. It works just like regu‐
190 lar virtual desktop except you have two viewports looking into
191 it instead of one.
192 For example, if you wanted a desktop composed of two 1024x768
193 viewports looking into a single desktop you would create a vir‐
194 tual desktop of 2048x768 (left/right) or 1024x1536
195 (above/below), e.g.,
196 Virtual 2048 768 or Virtual 1024 1536
197 The virtual desktop can be larger than larger than the size of
198 the viewports looking into it. In this case the linked view‐
199 ports will scroll around in the virtual desktop. Viewports with
200 different sizes are also supported (e.g., one that is 1024x768
201 and one that is 640x480). In this case the smaller viewport
202 will scroll relative to the larger one such that none of the
203 virtual desktop is inaccessible. If you do not define a virtual
204 desktop the driver will create one based on the orientation of
205 the heads and size of the largest defined mode in the display
206 section that is supported on each head.
207 The relation of the viewports in specified by the CRT2Position
208 Option. The options are Clone , LeftOf , RightOf , Above , and
209 Below. MergedFB is enabled by default if a monitor is detected
210 on each output. If no position is given it defaults to clone
211 mode (the old clone options are now deprecated, also, the option
212 OverlayOnCRTC2 has been replaced by the Xv attribute
213 XV_SWITCHCRT; the overlay can be switched to CRT1 or CRT2 on the
214 fly in clone mode).
215 The maximum framebuffer size that the 2D acceleration engine can
216 handle is 8192x8192. The maximum framebuffer size that the 3D
217 engine can handle is 2048x2048.
218 Note: Page flipping does not work well in certain configurations
219 with MergedFB. If you see rendering errors or other strange
220 behavior, disable page flipping. Also MergedFB is not compatible
221 with the UseFBDev option.
222 The default value is undefined.
223 Option "CRT2HSync" "string"
225 Set the horizontal sync range for the secondary monitor. It is
226 not required if a DDC-capable monitor is connected.
227 For example, Option "CRT2HSync" "30.0-86.0"
228 The default value is undefined.
229 Option "CRT2VRefresh" "string"
231 Set the vertical refresh range for the secondary monitor. It is
232 not required if a DDC-capable monitor is connected.
233 For example, Option "CRT2VRefresh" "50.0-120.0"
234 The default value is undefined.
235 Option "CRT2Position" "string"
237 Set the relationship of CRT2 relative to CRT1. Valid options
238 are: Clone , LeftOf , RightOf , Above , and Below
239 For example, Option "CRT2Position" "RightOf"
240 This option also supports an offset. This is most useful when
241 MergedNonRectangular is enabled. For example if you want CRT2
242 to be offset 100 pixels down from the start of CRT1, you'd type:
243 Option "CRT2Position" "LeftOf 100"
244 The offset is vertical for LeftOf and RightOf and horizontal for
245 Above and Below. Offsets can be positive or negative.
246 The default value is Clone.
247 Option "MetaModes" "string"
249 MetaModes are mode combinations for CRT1 and CRT2. If you are
250 using merged frame buffer mode and want to change modes (CTRL-
251 ALT-+/-), these define which modes will be switched to on CRT1
252 and CRT2. The MetaModes are defined as CRT1Mode-CRT2Mode
253 (800x600-1024x768). Modes listed individually (800x600) define
254 clone modes, that way you can mix clone modes with non-clone
255 modes. Also some programs require "standard" modes. If you
256 want to add clone modes of different refreshes or sizes to the
257 mix, they are defined as CRT1Mode+CRT2Mode (800x600+1024x768).
258 Note: Any mode you use in the MetaModes must be defined in the
259 Screen section of your xorg.conf file. Modes not defined there
260 will be ignored when the MetaModes are parsed since the driver
261 uses them to make sure the monitors can handle those modes. If
262 you do not define a MetaMode the driver will create one based on
263 the orientation of the heads and size of the largest defined
264 mode in the display section that is supported on each head.
265 Modes 1024x768 800x600 640x480
266 For example, Option "MetaModes" "1024x768-1024x768
267 800x600-1024x768 640x480-800x600 800x600"
268 The default value is undefined.
269 Option "MergedXinerama" "boolean"
271 Since merged framebuffer mode does not use Xinerama, apps are
272 not able to intelligently place windows. Merged framebuffer
273 mode provides its own pseudo-Xinerama. This allows Xinerama
274 compliant applications to place windows appropriately. There
275 are some caveats. Since merged framebuffer mode is able to
276 change relative screen sizes and orientations on the fly, as
277 well has having overlapping viewports, pseudo-Xinerama, might
278 not always provide the right hints. Also many Xinerama compli‐
279 ant applications only query Xinerama once at startup; if the
280 information changes, they may not be aware of the change. If
281 you are already using Xinerama (e.g., a single head card and a
282 dualhead card providing three heads), pseudo-Xinerama will be
283 disabled.
284 This option allows you turn off the driver provided pseudo-Xin‐
285 erama extension.
286 The default value is TRUE.
287 Option "MergedXineramaCRT2IsScreen0" "boolean"
289 By default the pseudo-Xinerama provided by the driver makes the
290 left-most or bottom head Xinerama screen 0. Certain Xinerama-
291 aware applications do special things with screen 0. To change
292 that behavior, use this option.
293 The default value is undefined.
294 Option "MergedDPI" "string"
296 The driver will attempt to figure out an appropriate DPI based
297 on the DDC information and the orientation of the heads when in
298 merged framebuffer mode. If this value does not suit you, you
299 can manually set the DPI using this option.
300 For example, Option "MergedDPI" "100 100"
301 The default value is undefined.
302 Option "MergedNonRectangular" "boolean"
304 If you are using MergedFB with two modes of different sizes,
305 turn this option on to keep the smaller head from scrolling
306 within the larger virtual desktop and to keep the mouse from
307 moving into that area. Applications that are not Xinerama aware
308 can potentially end up stranded in this area.
309 The default value is FALSE.
310 Option "ColorTiling" "boolean"
312 Frame buffer can be addressed either in linear or tiled mode.
313 Tiled mode can provide significant performance benefits with 3D
314 applications, for 2D it shouldn't matter much. Tiling will be
315 disabled if the virtual x resolution exceeds 2048 (3968 for R300
316 and above), if option UseFBDev is used, or (if DRI is enabled)
317 the drm module is too old.
318 If this option is enabled, a new dri driver is required for
319 direct rendering too.
320 Color tiling will be automatically disabled in interlaced or
321 doublescan screen modes.
322 The default value is on.
323 Option "IgnoreEDID" "boolean"
325 Do not use EDID data for mode validation, but DDC is still used
326 for monitor detection. This is different from NoDDC option.
327 The default value is off.
328 Option "PanelSize" "string"
330 Should only be used when driver cannot detect the correct panel
331 size. Apply to both desktop (TMDS) and laptop (LVDS) digital
332 panels. When a valid panel size is specified, the timings col‐
333 lected from DDC and BIOS will not be used. If you have a panel
334 with timings different from that of a standard VESA mode, you
335 have to provide this information through the Modeline.
336 For example, Option "PanelSize" "1400x1050"
337 The default value is none.
338 Option "PanelOff" "boolean"
340 Disable panel output.
341 The default value is off.
342 Option "EnablePageFlip" "boolean"
344 Enable page flipping for 3D acceleration. This will increase
345 performance but not work correctly in some rare cases, hence the
346 default is off.
347 Option "ForceMinDotClock" "frequency"
349 Override minimum dot clock. Some Radeon BIOSes report a minimum
350 dot clock unsuitable (too high) for use with television sets
351 even when they actually can produce lower dot clocks. If this is
352 the case you can override the value here. Note that using this
353 option may damage your hardware. You have been warned. The fre‐
354 quency parameter may be specified as a float value with standard
355 suffixes like "k", "kHz", "M", "MHz".
356 Option "RenderAccel" "boolean"
358 Enables or disables hardware Render acceleration. This driver
359 does not support component alpha (subpixel) rendering. It is
360 only supported on Radeon series up to and including 9200
361 (9500/9700 and newer unsupported). The default is to enable
362 Render acceleration.
363 Option "AccelMethod" "string"
365 Chooses between available acceleration architectures. Valid
366 options are XAA and EXA. XAA is the traditional acceleration
367 architecture and support for it is very stable. EXA is a newer
368 acceleration architecture with better performance for the Render
369 and Composite extensions, but the rendering code for it is newer
370 and possibly unstable. The default is XAA.
371 Option "AccelDFS" "boolean"
373 Use or don't use accelerated EXA DownloadFromScreen hook when
374 possible (only when Direct Rendering is enabled, e.g.).
375 Default: off with AGP due to issues with GPU->host transfers
376 with some AGP bridges, on otherwise.
377 Option "FBTexPercent" "integer"
379 Amount of video RAM to reserve for OpenGL textures, in percent.
380 With EXA, the remainder of video RAM is reserved for EXA off‐
381 screen management. Specifying 0 results in all offscreen video
382 RAM being reserved for EXA and only GART memory being available
383 for OpenGL textures. This may improve EXA performance, but
384 beware that it may cause problems with OpenGL drivers from Mesa
385 versions older than 6.4. With XAA, specifiying lower percentage
386 than what gets reserved without this option has no effect, but
387 the driver tries to increase the video RAM reserved for textures
388 to the amount specified roughly. Default: 50.
389 Option "DepthBits" "integer"
391 Precision in bits per pixel of the shared depth buffer used for
392 3D acceleration. Valid values are 16 and 24. When this is 24,
393 there will also be a hardware accelerated stencil buffer, but
394 the combined depth/stencil buffer will take up twice as much
395 video RAM as when it's 16. Default: The same as the screen
396 depth.
397 Option "DMAForXv" "boolean"
399 Try or don't try to use DMA for Xv image transfers. This will
400 reduce CPU usage when playing big videos like DVDs, but may
401 cause instabilities. Default: on.
402 Option "SubPixelOrder" "string"
404 Force subpixel order to specified order. Subpixel order is used
405 for subpixel decimation on flat panels.
406 NONE -- No subpixel (CRT like displays)
407 RGB -- in horizontal RGB order (most flat panels)
408 BGR -- in horizontal BGR order (some flat panels)
409 This option is intended to be used in following cases:
411 1. The default subpixel order is incorrect for your panel.
412 2. Enable subpixel decimation on analog panels.
413 3. Adjust to one display type in dual-head clone mode setup.
414 4. Get better performance with Render acceleration on digital
415 panels (use NONE setting).
416 The default is NONE for CRT, RGB for digital panels
417 Option "DynamicClocks" "boolean"
419 Enable dynamic clock scaling. The on-chip clocks will scale
420 dynamically based on usage. This can help reduce heat and
421 increase battery life by reducing power usage. Some users
422 report reduced 3D performance with this enabled. The default is
423 off.
424 Option "BIOSHotkeys" "boolean"
426 Enable BIOS hotkey output switching. This allows the BIOS to
427 toggle outputs using hotkeys (e.g., fn-f7, etc.). Since the
428 driver does not support ACPI, there is no way to validate modes
429 on an output switch and the BIOS can potentially change things
430 behind the driver's back. The default is off.
431 Option "VGAAccess" "boolean"
433 Tell the driver if it can do legacy VGA IOs to the card. This is
434 necessary for properly resuming consoles when in VGA text mode,
435 but shouldn't be if the console is using radeonfb or some other
436 graphic mode driver. Some platforms like PowerPC have issues
437 with those, and they aren't necessary unless you have a real
438 text mode in console. The default is off on PowerPC and on on
439 other architectures.
440 Option "ReverseDDC" "boolean"
442 When BIOS connector informations aren't available, use this
443 option to reverse the mapping of the 2 main DDC ports. Use this
444 if the X serve obviously detects the wrong display for each con‐
445 nector. This is typically needed on the Radeon 9600 cards bun‐
446 dled with Apple G5s. The default is off.
447 Option "LVDSProbePLL" "boolean"
449 When BIOS panel informations aren't available (like on Power‐
450 Books), it may still be necessary to use the firmware provided
451 PLL values for the panel or flickering will happen. This option
452 will force probing of the current value programmed in the chip
453 when X is launched in that case. This is only useful for LVDS
454 panels (laptop internal panels). The default is on.
455 SEE ALSO
459 Xorg(1x), xorg.conf(5x), xorgconfig(1x), Xserver(1x), X(7)
460
462 Authors include:
463 Rickard E. (Rik) Faith faith@precisioninsight.com
464 Kevin E. Martin kem@freedesktop.org
465 Alan Hourihane alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
466 Marc Aurele La France tsi@xfree86.org
467 Benjamin Herrenschmidt benh@kernel.crashing.org
468 Michel Dänzer michel@tungstengraphics.com
469 Alex Deucher alexdeucher@gmail.com
470 Bogdan D. bogdand@users.sourceforge.net
471 Eric Anholt eric@anholt.net
472X Version 11 xf86-video-ati 6.6.3 RADEON(4)