[NTLUG:Discuss] Changing Cards

[Steve Baker]

JR Newsletters wrote:
> Pervaz Allaudin wrote:
> 
>> What is the "prescribed" way of changing video cards on a limux system.
> 
> 
> No one prescribed method.  Here's a summary of the steps I usually follow:
> 
> Step 1:  Make Certain you have the right video card drivers compiled 
> either in your kernel, or as kernel modules so the system can use them.  
> Check to make certain you have the right Xwindows servers available 
> too....It not, get them installled and ready on your machine.
> 
> Step 2:  Fix your sytem to boot into run level 3 by selecting the 
> runlevel in inittab.  (ie - set it to boot without starting X windows)
> 
> Step 3:  Take out old video car and put in new video card (obviously 
> without the machine being powered).
> 
> Step 4:  Boot up machine and Rerun XF86Setup, XFree --configure, or 
> Xconfigurator (easiest method if available) from the command line to get 
> a new XFConfig-4 file for your new video card.
> 
> Step 5:  Test X by specifying 'startx'.  If it works, then go to step 6, 
> otherwise correct X server errors until you can 'startx' successfully.
> 
> Step 6:  Reedit inittab to start back in Run Level 5  (Restart in 
> Graphical Mode on Bootup).
> 
> Step 7:  'telinit 5'
> 
> 
> BTW, I had a Vodoo 3dfx card a couple of years ago that worked very well 
> on my linux system then.

All good advice.

However, if this is a Voodoo-1 or -2, then it doesn't plug in INSTEAD of
your video card, it uses a feed-through cable from your existing card.
The '1 and '2 series didn't need X drivers because they ONLY do 2D rendering.
All you need is an appropriate copy of the Mesa (OpenGL) library.

If it's a Voodoo-3 then by all means follow the steps above.

The Voodoo cards are VERY ancient - IMHO, you should take a look around and
see if you can pick up a second hand nVidia GeForce card.   Those GeForce 256's
and GeForce-2's ought to be pretty cheap on eBay by now.

The Voodoo cards are very much first-generation 3D - and they are perhaps
50 times slower than even a GeForce-256 or later...especially if your CPU
isn't all that fast.  The Voodoo cards use extensive amounts of CPU time
for processing where the GeForce cards take all that away and run it in
their own "GPU" processor on the graphics card.

---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
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