eBox 3350MX and VGA
eBox 3350MX and VGA
by wkulesza
Fri May 18, 2012 6:01 am
Hi,
first of all congrats to the community for being so active.
I got myself a Mini PC, which is exactly the same specs as eBox 3350MX (I wish i had found this store before and not needing to locate a vendor in Taiwan).
I got it shipped with Puppy Linux, but preferred to switch to Ubuntu-like distro.
I followed the fantastic tutorials on this forum, used the kernels provided and successfully installed both Ubuntu 10.04 and Lubuntu 10.04.
However, according to the guide, a resolution of more than 800x600 should be possible automatically. Im stuck at this stage, actually followed another tutorial to further push the XGI Volare Z9 graphics integrated with my Vortex86MX SoC and still didnt get the card to display more than 800x600.
I got as far as cofiguring xorg.conf (both form terminal and xorg edit tool), but no config helps.
Additionally, with 800x600 working, my system (when idle is taking some 7% of CPU) when playing any possible format of video (including MPEG1 and MPEG2) with Mplayer or VLC, "jumps" to 100% CPU and no video plays fluently. I know a 1Ghz processor with 512 Mb ram and 32 mg of GPU ram cant do magic, but i guess it should be able to play smoothly at least in smaller resolutions.
If anybody could provide me with tips on what could be achieved I would appreciate it very much!
Regards,
Wojciech
first of all congrats to the community for being so active.
I got myself a Mini PC, which is exactly the same specs as eBox 3350MX (I wish i had found this store before and not needing to locate a vendor in Taiwan).
I got it shipped with Puppy Linux, but preferred to switch to Ubuntu-like distro.
I followed the fantastic tutorials on this forum, used the kernels provided and successfully installed both Ubuntu 10.04 and Lubuntu 10.04.
However, according to the guide, a resolution of more than 800x600 should be possible automatically. Im stuck at this stage, actually followed another tutorial to further push the XGI Volare Z9 graphics integrated with my Vortex86MX SoC and still didnt get the card to display more than 800x600.
I got as far as cofiguring xorg.conf (both form terminal and xorg edit tool), but no config helps.
Additionally, with 800x600 working, my system (when idle is taking some 7% of CPU) when playing any possible format of video (including MPEG1 and MPEG2) with Mplayer or VLC, "jumps" to 100% CPU and no video plays fluently. I know a 1Ghz processor with 512 Mb ram and 32 mg of GPU ram cant do magic, but i guess it should be able to play smoothly at least in smaller resolutions.
If anybody could provide me with tips on what could be achieved I would appreciate it very much!
Regards,
Wojciech
by DexOS
Fri May 18, 2012 1:41 pm
Hi wkulesza,
I do not use linux on my board (but use my own OS), but some code in my OS did not work that used the MMX, now this would be used if available to speed graphic etc up etc.
I was informed "You need to enable MMX in BIOS", i have not done this, but it may help.
Where in the BIOS i do not know as i can not find any such settings.
DexOS
Also check out KolibriOS on the web and youtube, it runs fast on that board.
I do not use linux on my board (but use my own OS), but some code in my OS did not work that used the MMX, now this would be used if available to speed graphic etc up etc.
I was informed "You need to enable MMX in BIOS", i have not done this, but it may help.
Where in the BIOS i do not know as i can not find any such settings.
DexOS
Also check out KolibriOS on the web and youtube, it runs fast on that board.
by PedroR
Mon May 21, 2012 10:50 am
Hi wkulesza
Do you know what's the Processor version you have?
There were 2 releases of Vortex86MX and there is the newer Vortex86MX+.
On the boxes we sell (Vortex86MX/MX+), we've pushed VGA up to 1280px X (something, don't remember) using the default Linux VESA drivers.
With regards to the fluidity of Youtube videos, you do get low fps. This is due to 2 facts: the lack of advanced Multimedia Instructions (SSE for example) and also the fact that the VGA card is pretty simple.
We haven't tested installing DMP's VGA drivers but it may help improve performance.
Please check our Linux Installation tutorial as includes pointers to instructions on installing the VGA drivers on Linux.
Regards
Pedro
Do you know what's the Processor version you have?
There were 2 releases of Vortex86MX and there is the newer Vortex86MX+.
On the boxes we sell (Vortex86MX/MX+), we've pushed VGA up to 1280px X (something, don't remember) using the default Linux VESA drivers.
With regards to the fluidity of Youtube videos, you do get low fps. This is due to 2 facts: the lack of advanced Multimedia Instructions (SSE for example) and also the fact that the VGA card is pretty simple.
We haven't tested installing DMP's VGA drivers but it may help improve performance.
Please check our Linux Installation tutorial as includes pointers to instructions on installing the VGA drivers on Linux.
Regards
Pedro
by wkulesza
Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:54 pm
Pedro, thank you for the information.
My processor is Vortex86MX (not +) and video card is supposedly Xgi volare z9s.
But for some reason, when i type lspci | grep VGA i get:
00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: RDC Semiconductor, Inc. Device 2010
manufacturer says its XGI but for some reason this is not true according to lspci.
Trying with xorg driver but only 4:3 resolutions appear to be there, and no 16:9.
Could any1 point me to the right direction? I read something one needs to create custom EDID information (so that graphics card gets the right information about the screen that its attached to) and refer to it from xorg.conf file.
Regards,
Wojciech
My processor is Vortex86MX (not +) and video card is supposedly Xgi volare z9s.
But for some reason, when i type lspci | grep VGA i get:
00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: RDC Semiconductor, Inc. Device 2010
manufacturer says its XGI but for some reason this is not true according to lspci.
Trying with xorg driver but only 4:3 resolutions appear to be there, and no 16:9.
Could any1 point me to the right direction? I read something one needs to create custom EDID information (so that graphics card gets the right information about the screen that its attached to) and refer to it from xorg.conf file.
Regards,
Wojciech
by PedroR
Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:20 pm
Hi Wojciech
I've ran into a similar problem not with eBox but with an old nVidia card.
As you say there seems to be a way to force X windows to detect certain resolutions that you want. If you google around for ti you will find the right resources.
Regarding the VGA chip I do not know what is the exact model on eBox 3350MX but I assume it is from RDC Semiconductors (not XGI).
If I understand correctly XGI were the old chips used by the 3310A models (which had VGA outside the SoC).
The official DMP resource for 3350MX drivers is now here http://www.compactpc.com.tw/support.aspx?mode=3&id=28
I've noticed they don't have a VGA driver for Linux listed there (they only have one for XP) so I assume they expect you to use the default VESA based one under Linux (what I mentioned before).
In any case it may be worth giving both drivers a try and forcing the resolution that you want.
If you need any particular information or resource _about the hardware_ let me know and I'll ask the manufacturer.
Regards
Pedro.
I've ran into a similar problem not with eBox but with an old nVidia card.
As you say there seems to be a way to force X windows to detect certain resolutions that you want. If you google around for ti you will find the right resources.
Regarding the VGA chip I do not know what is the exact model on eBox 3350MX but I assume it is from RDC Semiconductors (not XGI).
If I understand correctly XGI were the old chips used by the 3310A models (which had VGA outside the SoC).
The official DMP resource for 3350MX drivers is now here http://www.compactpc.com.tw/support.aspx?mode=3&id=28
I've noticed they don't have a VGA driver for Linux listed there (they only have one for XP) so I assume they expect you to use the default VESA based one under Linux (what I mentioned before).
In any case it may be worth giving both drivers a try and forcing the resolution that you want.
If you need any particular information or resource _about the hardware_ let me know and I'll ask the manufacturer.
Regards
Pedro.
by Linx
Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:35 pm
In another post you say...
Hi Pedro.
I'm Javier.
I have a 3350MX and I followed his instructions. They are perfect, no problems, congratulations Pedro.
1st. - I installed Ubuntu 10.04 desktop with automatic partition and ext4 file type in a Samsung 16Gb SD Class 10.
2nd. - I installed the kernel linux-image-2.6.34.10-vortex86-sg_1.2_i386. No problems. Now I have audio and network.
3rd. - I have left to update many packages from ubuntu network site. So far so good.
but ....
The screen resolution does not exceed 800x600.
To try to increase it I do:
a) sudo Xorg -configure && From text terminal in text mode, without X. This creates /root/xorg.conf.new and I copied it to /etc/X11/xorg.conf
b) sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
This written as driver: fbdev. It does not work and I changed it to vesa and add modes from 1024x768,,, up to 640x480 and reboot the machine.
This does not work properly. Only 640x480 and 800x600.
If the solution is in /etc/X11/xorg.con, could copy the entire text file here?
Best Regards
EDITED: The SD i'snt 16Gb. It's a Kingston 4Gb class 4. I'm sorry by the mistake.
PedroR wrote:...//...
2)
From our own experience, we've been able to use Ubuntu 10.04 with the standard VESA based drivers and a resolution of 1280X1024 I believe.
...//...
Hi Pedro.
I'm Javier.
I have a 3350MX and I followed his instructions. They are perfect, no problems, congratulations Pedro.
1st. - I installed Ubuntu 10.04 desktop with automatic partition and ext4 file type in a Samsung 16Gb SD Class 10.
2nd. - I installed the kernel linux-image-2.6.34.10-vortex86-sg_1.2_i386. No problems. Now I have audio and network.
3rd. - I have left to update many packages from ubuntu network site. So far so good.
but ....
The screen resolution does not exceed 800x600.
To try to increase it I do:
a) sudo Xorg -configure && From text terminal in text mode, without X. This creates /root/xorg.conf.new and I copied it to /etc/X11/xorg.conf
b) sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
This written as driver: fbdev. It does not work and I changed it to vesa and add modes from 1024x768,,, up to 640x480 and reboot the machine.
This does not work properly. Only 640x480 and 800x600.
If the solution is in /etc/X11/xorg.con, could copy the entire text file here?
Best Regards
EDITED: The SD i'snt 16Gb. It's a Kingston 4Gb class 4. I'm sorry by the mistake.
Last edited by Linx on Fri Sep 21, 2012 1:42 am, edited 3 times in total.
by PedroR
Wed Sep 19, 2012 6:49 pm
Hi Linx
Thank you for your kind words.
Regarding the issue with VGA, when we first wrote the tutorial, we didn't even need to touch any of the VGA settings.
If I recall we just used the GUI to change the resolution to a higher resolution (no need to go to the command line) so whenever these questions come up I don't have a lot of information to provide.
One of the solutions is trying a different monitor to check if it's detected differently.
The other thing you can try to do is follow the instructions at the end of Installation post http://robosavvy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7482 that include links to compile and install the DMP's Linux VGA driver.
As I said in a previous post, the Linux VGA driver is not distributed in the general DMP support page (as the VESA one works fine for almost everyone).
There is a special Linux driver for VGA and we have mirrored it here http://robosavvy.com/RoboSavvyPages/DMP ... ex86MX.zip
The Zip file has many versions of pre compiled moduels and information.
I would recommend installing the latest one and following these instructions that accompanied the driver:
I haven't tried installing the DMP VGA drivers myself but let me know how it goes and let me know if you run into any issue.
Regards
Pedro.
Thank you for your kind words.
Regarding the issue with VGA, when we first wrote the tutorial, we didn't even need to touch any of the VGA settings.
If I recall we just used the GUI to change the resolution to a higher resolution (no need to go to the command line) so whenever these questions come up I don't have a lot of information to provide.
One of the solutions is trying a different monitor to check if it's detected differently.
The other thing you can try to do is follow the instructions at the end of Installation post http://robosavvy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7482 that include links to compile and install the DMP's Linux VGA driver.
As I said in a previous post, the Linux VGA driver is not distributed in the general DMP support page (as the VESA one works fine for almost everyone).
There is a special Linux driver for VGA and we have mirrored it here http://robosavvy.com/RoboSavvyPages/DMP ... ex86MX.zip
The Zip file has many versions of pre compiled moduels and information.
I would recommend installing the latest one and following these instructions that accompanied the driver:
- Code: Select all
# cp rdc_drv.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/
# vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Add an option as below at the end of the file:
Section “ServerFlags”
Option “IgnoreABI” “True”
End Section
I haven't tried installing the DMP VGA drivers myself but let me know how it goes and let me know if you run into any issue.
Regards
Pedro.
by Linx
Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:46 am
PedroR wrote:.../...
I haven't tried installing the DMP VGA drivers myself but let me know how it goes and let me know if you run into any issue.
Regards
Pedro.
Well Pedro. I've finally gotten the 1024x768 screen resolution works stable. I think so...
With vesa driver only once Ubuntu started in 1024. No more times could increase the resolution from 800x600 to 1024.
In desperation I started to try to install the new driver and not die trying.
IMPORTANT:
The new driver is too much faster than the standard. The window slides much smoother and faster. It really works well.
I do not know if this is the best procedure, but it work fine to me.
PROCEDURE:
# cp rdc_drv.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/.
- Use the newest version of the drivers, the 1.7.5.
# gdm-stop
- From a terminal, stop the X and go to text mode. This takes a few seconds.
# (Login & passwd)
# sudo su
# (more passwd)
# Xorg -configure
- For a few seconds we lose the screen and the program writes the file /root/xorg.conf.new.
# cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf
# reboot
Nothing more and I not use the utility named "RDCUtility_Linux". I did not modify the xorg.conf file and add any other section. I have found that it is not necessary to add the section quoted by Pedro.
I have rebooted the machine several times in hot & in could with the same result: 1024x768 working fine now.
Best regards
-Javier-
=============================================
MY FILE /X11/xorg.conf to copy->paste if it's necessary.
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "X.org Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
Section "Files"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
FontPath "built-ins"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "dri2"
Load "record"
Load "dbe"
Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
EndSection
Section "Device"
### Available Driver options are:-
### Values: <int>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
### [arg]: arg optional
#Option "NoAccel" # [<bool>]
#Option "MMIO2D" # [<bool>]
#Option "SWCursor" # [<bool>]
#Option "HWCNumber" # <int>
#Option "ENGCaps" # <int>
#Option "NoDDC" # [<bool>]
#Option "AccelMethod" # <str>
#Option "RandRRotation" # [<bool>]
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "rdc"
VendorName "RDC Semiconductor, Inc."
BoardName "Unknown Board"
BusID "PCI:0:13:0"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 1
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 4
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 15
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection
Last edited by Linx on Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
by PedroR
Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:27 pm
Hi Javier
Thank you very much for sharing your findings.
We were not aware of the speed increase with the new driver, and we will definitely give that a try.
I'll also update the Linux installation instructions to point to your post so that users can improve their eBoxes even further
Regards
Pedro.
Thank you very much for sharing your findings.
We were not aware of the speed increase with the new driver, and we will definitely give that a try.
I'll also update the Linux installation instructions to point to your post so that users can improve their eBoxes even further
Regards
Pedro.
by PedroR
Fri Sep 28, 2012 2:53 pm
Hi Islero
The ZIP file includes several versions of the RDC driver (1.7.5 is the latest).
I do not have information if this is compatible with earlier versions of Ubuntu.
You can certainly try it out and see how it goes.
(if you have a Vortex86MX+, make sure you download the correct version driver from the drivers location for Vortex86MX+ http://robosavvy.com/RoboSavvyPages/DMP ... rtex86MX+/ )
As a final note we support and strongly encounrage the use of Ubuntu (or Lubuntu) 10.04 LTS on eBox.
Regards
Pedro
The ZIP file includes several versions of the RDC driver (1.7.5 is the latest).
I do not have information if this is compatible with earlier versions of Ubuntu.
You can certainly try it out and see how it goes.
(if you have a Vortex86MX+, make sure you download the correct version driver from the drivers location for Vortex86MX+ http://robosavvy.com/RoboSavvyPages/DMP ... rtex86MX+/ )
As a final note we support and strongly encounrage the use of Ubuntu (or Lubuntu) 10.04 LTS on eBox.
Regards
Pedro
by Islero
Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:21 pm
Hi PedroR,
Pedro, I see that you are the "master of ebox", it is seems that you have been the designer of the device.
Thanks for your answer. The attempt to install the driver in the same way that Linx did, has crashed in my ubuntu 8.04. The X server system does not work correctly. Anyway, with VESA drivers I have reached a 1024x768px resolution which is enough for me. I will not used this device like a video server, so VESA drivers are OK, little slow, but ok.
In the hardisk of my EPATEC mx3350 (http://store.epatec.net/es/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=76) (brother of ebox) I have installed a ubuntu 10.04 with all devices working ok. Nevertheless, I want to try to install LABVIEW and NI-VISA on this machine. For this issue better if I have a ubuntu 8.04 system.
Thanks so much
Vicente
PS. It seems that only latin people works with this device...
Pedro, I see that you are the "master of ebox", it is seems that you have been the designer of the device.
Thanks for your answer. The attempt to install the driver in the same way that Linx did, has crashed in my ubuntu 8.04. The X server system does not work correctly. Anyway, with VESA drivers I have reached a 1024x768px resolution which is enough for me. I will not used this device like a video server, so VESA drivers are OK, little slow, but ok.
In the hardisk of my EPATEC mx3350 (http://store.epatec.net/es/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=76) (brother of ebox) I have installed a ubuntu 10.04 with all devices working ok. Nevertheless, I want to try to install LABVIEW and NI-VISA on this machine. For this issue better if I have a ubuntu 8.04 system.
Thanks so much
Vicente
PS. It seems that only latin people works with this device...