From: cummings@hammer.prime.com (Kevin Cummings)
Subject: Re: Need working Xconfig for Diamond Stealth
Organization: Prime Computer, Inc.
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 17:09:23 GMT

In article <SVERKERW.92Dec11051515@meryl.csd.uu.se>, sverkerw@meryl.csd.uu.se (Sverker Wiberg) writes:
> crh@regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de (Christian Huebner) writes:
>    My Diamond Stealth works fine with 640x480x256, but I am unable to
>    get a higher resolution out of it. 
> 
>    I dont have any technical reference of the card (poor manual), so I
>    am unable to get the clock chip reference right. Experimenting has done
>    me no good so far. 
> 
> Uhoh, the poor wretch is S***t Out of Luck. 

Not entirely.

> The trick of getting the clock freq. right on Diamond Stealth is by
> doing some heavy, trade-secret, wizardry that the manufacturer won't
> talk about. This means that Linux won't support Diamond Sealth.

Not quite true.  Yes, the trick is getting the clocks set up right.  The
Diamond Stealth uses the new Diamond proprietary PLL clock synthesizer
to create the clocks it needs on the fly (except for the 25 and 28 MHz clocks).
Code exists that claims to be capable of programming the PLL so that the
clocks can be set.  The XS3 people don't want to integrate this code
into the X386-S3 driver.  The same PLL is being used by Diamond on their
Speedstar, Speedstar-24, and Speedstar-24X boards as well.  The XFree86
people don't want to integrate the clock programming code either!  It has
to do with Diamond's "proprietary and secret" clause that has them miffed.
Diamond will provide the code, but at the cost of a Non-Disclosure Agreement
that won;t allow them to release the source code necessary to build it.
No-one wants to be responsible for compiling lots of binaries into the
X distribution (can't say that I blame them), and noether do they want to
try and use some-else's code that has been re-engineered (disassembled)
from the VBIOS on the SS24X card.

However, you are not yet SOL if you own a Diamond Stealth, but you may not
be happy with what you have to do in order to run X in the resolution you
want to.

The following is known to work (by me, I do it).  It was posted a while back
by someone else (sorry, I've forgotten his/her name).

Boot MS-DOS on your machine, and run Windows-3.x in the resoltution you
want to run X in.  While in Windows, give it the infamous three-fingered
salute (Ctrl-Alt-DEL, twice if necessary to re-boot your machine).  This
time, boot into LINUX.  Your extended clock should still be programmed
for the resolution you were just running in MS-Windows.  login to linux,
and start up X using the X386-S3 server.  If your Xconfig file has the right
specification for the THIRD clock, it should work fine.  (It does for me!)

> I don't remember if the Diamond Stealth has made its way into the
> FAQL, byt it's most definitely a FAQ.
> 
>    At the moment I have resorted to put a Trident 8900 (Yaaawwwnnnnn!!!) 
>    into my 486 which works correctly in every mode.
> 
>    I hope somebody out there can solve my problem by either mailing
>    me the Xconfig or posting it on comp.os.linux.
> 
> Sell the Diamond (to a Windows-nerd?) and buy yourself a ET4000-card.
> They are fast.

Yes, but not as fast as the S3 at doing bitblits (window moves).  The S3
driver also makes use of the S3 line drawing speedups as well!  And according
to the Xstones just recently posted, even the Diamond Stealth should have
faster screen capabilities than a SPARC-1!  How about that!

Now if only I can convince the XS3 or XFree86 team to program the PLL for us!

=================================================================
Kevin J. Cummings                       ComputerVision Services
20 Briarwood Road                       500 Old Connecticut Path
Framingham, Mass.                       Framingham, Mass.
					
Home:  cummings@kjc386.framingham.ma.us	Work:  cummings@primerd.Prime.COM

Std. Disclaimer: "Mr. McKittrick, after careful consideration,
		  I've come to the conclusion that your new
		  defense system SUCKS..."   --  War Games
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Newsgroups: comp.os.linux