Visualization: graphics cards and 3D: Difference between revisions

Visualization: graphics cards and 3D (edit)

Revision as of 12:22, 20 March 2008

774 bytes added , 20 March 2008

m

no edit summary

Kay

Bureaucrats

1,328

edits

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-== graphics cards and drivers ==
+== graphics cards and drivers (Linux) ==
+For 3D applications like COOT and O, only recently (2007) cheap hardware has become fast enough to ''not'' require proprietary drivers. Proprietary drivers are not open-source and are usually not distributed with the [[Linux distros]]. Some distros make it easy to install them through their usual installation tools, for other distros you have to install and maintain them yourself.
+Some graphics cards (NVidia: starting with GeForce x600) are fast enough for useful 3D work with the drivers (in case of NVidia, the nv driver) that are part of Xorg.
+If the Xorg driver is installed, the output of "glxinfo|head" is something like:
+ name of display: :0.0
+ display: :0  screen: 0
+ direct rendering: No
+ server glx vendor string: SGI
+ server glx version string: 1.2
+ server glx extensions:
+     GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
+     GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, GLX_OML_swap_method,
+     GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_hyperpipe,
+    GLX_SGIX_swap_barrier, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer
+ client glx vendor string: SGI
 === NVidia ===
+NVidia cards are most popular for visualization. The proprietary driver is stable, and even the cheapest cards are suitable for crystallographic work.
 * [http://www.nvidia.com NVidia] - proprietary driver download for Linux at [http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html]
@@ Line 24: / Line 43: @@
   client glx vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
 </code>
-If however you get
- name of display: :0.0
- display: :0  screen: 0
- direct rendering: No
- server glx vendor string: SGI
- server glx version string: 1.2
- server glx extensions:
-     GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
-     GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, GLX_OML_swap_method,
-     GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_hyperpipe,
-    GLX_SGIX_swap_barrier, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer
- client glx vendor string: SGI
 ==== maintaining the NVidia driver ====