I have a nVidia GeForce 4 (AGP) as my primary video card; but I
also have sitting on my desk a nVidia GeForce 4 PCI card that I
would like to use in connection with a second monitor. I have
looked around on the internet for a how-to on doing this, and I
have so far only seen the howtos which direct how this can be
done with dual-headed video cards.

Can anyone point me in the correct direction for accomplishing
what I wish to do?

-Chris

Christopher T. Litwin wrote:
> I have a nVidia GeForce 4 (AGP) as my primary video card; but I
> also have sitting on my desk a nVidia GeForce 4 PCI card that I
> would like to use in connection with a second monitor.

i may be wrong, but i think such a configuration is referred to as
dual-head. you may have some luck googling for that.

--
Joost Kremers joostkremers@yahoo.com
Selbst in die Unterwelt dringt durch Spalten Licht
EN:SiS(9)

"Christopher T. Litwin" <clitwin@geek-garage.com> wrote:
>I have a nVidia GeForce 4 (AGP) as my primary video card; but I
>also have sitting on my desk a nVidia GeForce 4 PCI card that I
>would like to use in connection with a second monitor. I have
>looked around on the internet for a how-to on doing this, and I
>have so far only seen the howtos which direct how this can be
>done with dual-headed video cards.
>
>Can anyone point me in the correct direction for accomplishing
>what I wish to do?

Use google, you'll find them. I'm not going to go to the trouble,
because as I recall it took a good bit reading and searching on
my part before I realized which ones were telling me what I needed
to know, and which ones were about something else. It wasn't
obvious (which may mean I'm not too smart either).

I can however, from memory and with examples from the two dual
head systems I have (one with a dual-head video card and one
with two very different, and very old, video cards), point out
several pitfalls that you may or may not come across.

I would suggest first getting each video card to work
separately, without the other card installed. That will help
you find valid options and allow you to get other parts
correctly configured. Assuming you have that...

From the sound of your cards, you are talking about relatively
recent hardware (older hardware can be a problem as far as
initializing two video cards, and the worst case scenario is an
onboard video combined with a plugin card). In any case, look
at your BIOS setup, and see what it has to say about enabling
PCI or AGP first. It may require one or the other.

Then use /lspci/ to determine that both can be seen. Here is an
example, running on an old Dell box with a PII-300Mhz, which is
instructive:

00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: S3 Inc. ViRGE/DX or /GX (rev 01)
00:0e.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics, Inc. MGA 2164W [Millennium II]
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc 3D Rage Pro AGP 1X (rev 5c)

The ATI Technologies 3D Rage Pro is the onboard video, which in
this case absolutely cannot be initialized when another video
card is plugged in! Hence the need for two addition video
controllers on a box that already has one.

What you want are the BusID numbers (00:0d.0 and 00:0e.0 in the
above case).

Try each one separately, using the same configuration that
worked before, except you will need to add a BusID entry in
each "Device" Subsection.

To identify the Matrox controller above, this would have to be
in the "Device" Subsection,

BusID "PCI:00:14:00"

If that works with both cards, proceed to modify the
configuration file to enable both at once.

The X config file needs 2 Monitor sections, one for each
monitor. Here are examples from that some old Dell box. These
monitors just happen to be the same, but that is not necessary.
The key here is that each as a different "Identifier".

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Dell"
ModelName "D825H"
HorizSync 30.0-70.0
VertRefresh 40-120
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor2"
VendorName "Dell"
ModelName "D825H"
HorizSync 30.0-70.0
VertRefresh 40-120
EndSection

Then you need 2 "Device" sections, one for each video
controller. This is where you want those BusID numbers.

#$00:0e.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics ...
Section "Device"
Identifier "Graphics1"
Driver "mga"
Option "DPMS"
Videoram 8192
BusID "PCI:00:14:00"
EndSection

#00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: S3 Inc. ViRGE/DX ...
Section "Device"
Identifier "Graphics2"
Driver "s3virge"
Option "DPMS"
Videoram 4096
BusID "PCI:00:13:00"
EndSection

Then you need 2 screen sections, which reference the above
Device and Monitor sections:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Graphics1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24

SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen2"
Device "Graphics2"
Monitor "Monitor2"
DefaultDepth 24

SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Endsection

There are some things to take note of here. One is that I'm
using VESA modes. I didn't try on this box, but on another box
using a dual-head Matrox card and 17" monitors I was unable to
get it to work with custom modes. It can probably be done, but
I'd recommend starting out with VESA modes first, just to get it
working, and then try your own custom mode lines.

These examples have only one "Display" SubSection (for depth
24), but there could be others if that is useful to your
situation.

The two monitors do *not* need to be the same resolution;
however, the results can be difficult to work with if they
aren't. Also note that switching between the two resolutions
using hotkeys will switch only one of the two screens (which
works out kinda nice).

Then, the last requirement, is a "ServerLayout" section, which
might look something close to this example:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout1"

# see Matrox's documentation for other layouts
Screen "Screen1"
Screen "Screen2" RightOf "Screen1"

#Xinerama mode joins the screens into one desktop.
Option "Xinerama"

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

The only difference between the above and using a dual-headed
video card rather than two individual video cards, is 1) the
obvious problem of BIOS setup compatibilities to get both cards
initialized, and 2) the "Device" sections. Here are examples of
device sections for a Matrox dual-head video card. Note that
these "Device" sections have the same BusID, but also have (and
this is specific to the mga driver, so it might be different for
other dual-head cards) a "Screen" specifier, one for screen 0
and one for screen 1.

Section "Device"
# for Viewsonic
Identifier "Matrox2"
Driver "mga"
Videoram 32368
BusID "PCI:01:05:00"
Option "DPMS"

# This is NOT a screen section identifier!
Screen 0
EndSection

Section "Device"
# for Hitachi
Identifier "Matrox1"
Videoram 32368
Driver "mga"
BusID "PCI:01:05:00"
Option "DPMS"

# This is NOT a screen section identifier!
Screen 1
EndSection


It isn't really very difficult at all, and the results are just
fabulous. I had to sit down and rethink my entire layout for
fvwm2, and use a very different concept of a "screen" now.

--
FloydL. Davidson <http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@barrow.com

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Hash: SHA1

Christopher T. Litwin wrote:

> Can anyone point me in the correct direction for accomplishing
> what I wish to do?

Look up Xinerama configuration. It's pretty simple, you just set up a second
'Device', 'Monitor' and 'Screen' section in your xorg.conf file and then
add the new Screen to the 'ServerLayout' section, something like:

Section "ServerLayout"
....
Screen 0 "Left" 0 0
Screen 1 "Right" RightOf "Left"
Option "Xinerama" "yes"
....
EndSection

It's all in the docs.

Beware, using two seperate GFX cards can degrade performance, you might find
OpenGL and other fancy stuff only works on one screen.

Blumf

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On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 14:45:56 +0000, Christopher T. Litwin wrote:

> I have a nVidia GeForce 4 (AGP) as my primary video card; but I
> also have sitting on my desk a nVidia GeForce 4 PCI card that I
> would like to use in connection with a second monitor. I have
> looked around on the internet for a how-to on doing this, and I
> have so far only seen the howtos which direct how this can be
> done with dual-headed video cards.
>
> Can anyone point me in the correct direction for accomplishing
> what I wish to do?
>
> -Chris

xinerama howto. Should be installed with your howto's if you installed
that package. Else you'll find it at www.tldp.org.

I've done that on three or four systems - it is fairly simple and the
xinerama howto pretty much leads you by the hand.

Thanks. I got it working a few days ago. The assistance is much
appreciated.

Floyd L. Davidson <floyd@barrow.com> wrote:
>
> Use google, you'll find them. I'm not going to go to the trouble,
> because as I recall it took a good bit reading and searching on
> my part before I realized which ones were telling me what I needed
> to know, and which ones were about something else. It wasn't
> obvious (which may mean I'm not too smart either).
>
> I can however, from memory and with examples from the two dual
> head systems I have (one with a dual-head video card and one
> with two very different, and very old, video cards), point out
> several pitfalls that you may or may not come across.
>
> I would suggest first getting each video card to work
> separately, without the other card installed. That will help
> you find valid options and allow you to get other parts
> correctly configured. Assuming you have that...
>
> From the sound of your cards, you are talking about relatively
> recent hardware (older hardware can be a problem as far as
> initializing two video cards, and the worst case scenario is an
> onboard video combined with a plugin card). In any case, look
> at your BIOS setup, and see what it has to say about enabling
> PCI or AGP first. It may require one or the other.
>
> Then use /lspci/ to determine that both can be seen. Here is an
> example, running on an old Dell box with a PII-300Mhz, which is
> instructive:
>
> 00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: S3 Inc. ViRGE/DX or /GX (rev 01)
> 00:0e.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics, Inc. MGA 2164W [Millennium II]
> 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc 3D Rage Pro AGP 1X (rev 5c)
>
> The ATI Technologies 3D Rage Pro is the onboard video, which in
> this case absolutely cannot be initialized when another video
> card is plugged in! Hence the need for two addition video
> controllers on a box that already has one.
>
> What you want are the BusID numbers (00:0d.0 and 00:0e.0 in the
> above case).
>
> Try each one separately, using the same configuration that
> worked before, except you will need to add a BusID entry in
> each "Device" Subsection.
>
> To identify the Matrox controller above, this would have to be
> in the "Device" Subsection,
>
> BusID "PCI:00:14:00"
>
> If that works with both cards, proceed to modify the
> configuration file to enable both at once.
>
> The X config file needs 2 Monitor sections, one for each
> monitor. Here are examples from that some old Dell box. These
> monitors just happen to be the same, but that is not necessary.
> The key here is that each as a different "Identifier".
>
> Section "Monitor"
> Identifier "Monitor1"
> VendorName "Dell"
> ModelName "D825H"
> HorizSync 30.0-70.0
> VertRefresh 40-120
> EndSection
> Section "Monitor"
> Identifier "Monitor2"
> VendorName "Dell"
> ModelName "D825H"
> HorizSync 30.0-70.0
> VertRefresh 40-120
> EndSection
>
> Then you need 2 "Device" sections, one for each video
> controller. This is where you want those BusID numbers.
>
> #$00:0e.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics ...
> Section "Device"
> Identifier "Graphics1"
> Driver "mga"
> Option "DPMS"
> Videoram 8192
> BusID "PCI:00:14:00"
> EndSection
>
> #00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: S3 Inc. ViRGE/DX ...
> Section "Device"
> Identifier "Graphics2"
> Driver "s3virge"
> Option "DPMS"
> Videoram 4096
> BusID "PCI:00:13:00"
> EndSection
>
> Then you need 2 screen sections, which reference the above
> Device and Monitor sections:
>
> Section "Screen"
> Identifier "Screen1"
> Device "Graphics1"
> Monitor "Monitor1"
> DefaultDepth 24
>
> SubSection "Display"
> Depth 24
> Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
> ViewPort 0 0
> EndSubsection
> EndSection
> Section "Screen"
> Identifier "Screen2"
> Device "Graphics2"
> Monitor "Monitor2"
> DefaultDepth 24
>
> SubSection "Display"
> Depth 24
> Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
> ViewPort 0 0
> EndSubsection
> Endsection
>
> There are some things to take note of here. One is that I'm
> using VESA modes. I didn't try on this box, but on another box
> using a dual-head Matrox card and 17" monitors I was unable to
> get it to work with custom modes. It can probably be done, but
> I'd recommend starting out with VESA modes first, just to get it
> working, and then try your own custom mode lines.
>
> These examples have only one "Display" SubSection (for depth
> 24), but there could be others if that is useful to your
> situation.
>
> The two monitors do *not* need to be the same resolution;
> however, the results can be difficult to work with if they
> aren't. Also note that switching between the two resolutions
> using hotkeys will switch only one of the two screens (which
> works out kinda nice).
>
> Then, the last requirement, is a "ServerLayout" section, which
> might look something close to this example:
>
> Section "ServerLayout"
> Identifier "Layout1"
>
> # see Matrox's documentation for other layouts
> Screen "Screen1"
> Screen "Screen2" RightOf "Screen1"
>
> #Xinerama mode joins the screens into one desktop.
> Option "Xinerama"
>
> InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
> InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
> EndSection
>
> The only difference between the above and using a dual-headed
> video card rather than two individual video cards, is 1) the
> obvious problem of BIOS setup compatibilities to get both cards
> initialized, and 2) the "Device" sections. Here are examples of
> device sections for a Matrox dual-head video card. Note that
> these "Device" sections have the same BusID, but also have (and
> this is specific to the mga driver, so it might be different for
> other dual-head cards) a "Screen" specifier, one for screen 0
> and one for screen 1.
>
> Section "Device"
> # for Viewsonic
> Identifier "Matrox2"
> Driver "mga"
> Videoram 32368
> BusID "PCI:01:05:00"
> Option "DPMS"
>
> # This is NOT a screen section identifier!
> Screen 0
> EndSection
>
> Section "Device"
> # for Hitachi
> Identifier "Matrox1"
> Videoram 32368
> Driver "mga"
> BusID "PCI:01:05:00"
> Option "DPMS"
>
> # This is NOT a screen section identifier!
> Screen 1
> EndSection
>
>
> It isn't really very difficult at all, and the results are just
> fabulous. I had to sit down and rethink my entire layout for
> fvwm2, and use a very different concept of a "screen" now.
>