NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver README and Installation Guide

    NVIDIA Corporation
    Last Updated: Thu Sep 14 14:16:47 PDT 2017
    Most Recent Driver Version: 304.137

Published by
NVIDIA Corporation
2701 San Tomas Expressway
Santa Clara, CA
95050


NOTICE:

ALL NVIDIA DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS, REFERENCE BOARDS, FILES, DRAWINGS,
DIAGNOSTICS, LISTS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS (TOGETHER AND SEPARATELY, "MATERIALS")
ARE BEING PROVIDED "AS IS." NVIDIA MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED, IMPLIED,
STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE MATERIALS, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS
ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Information furnished is believed to be accurate and
reliable. However, NVIDIA Corporation assumes no responsibility for the
consequences of use of such information or for any infringement of patents or
other rights of third parties that may result from its use. No license is
granted by implication or otherwise under any patent or patent rights of
NVIDIA Corporation. Specifications mentioned in this publication are subject
to change without notice. This publication supersedes and replaces all
information previously supplied. NVIDIA Corporation products are not
authorized for use as critical components in life support devices or systems
without express written approval of NVIDIA Corporation.

NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, NVIDIA nForce, GeForce, NVIDIA Quadro, Vanta, TNT2,
TNT, RIVA, RIVA TNT, Quincunx Antialiasing, and TwinView are registered
trademarks or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and/or
other countries.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Fedora and Red Hat are
trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. SuSE is a registered trademark of SuSE AG.
Mandriva is a registered trademark of Mandriva S.A. Intel and Pentium are
registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Athlon is a registered trademark
of Advanced Micro Devices. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon
Graphics Inc. PCI Express is a registered trademark and/or service mark of
PCI-SIG. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and other countries. Other company and product names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they
are associated.


Copyright 2006 - 2011 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved.

______________________________________________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS
______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Minimum Software Requirements
Chapter 3. Selecting and Downloading the NVIDIA Packages for Your System
Chapter 4. Installing the NVIDIA Driver
Chapter 5. Listing of Installed Components
Chapter 6. Configuring X for the NVIDIA Driver
Chapter 7. Frequently Asked Questions
Chapter 8. Common Problems
Chapter 9. Known Issues
Chapter 10. Allocating DMA Buffers on 64-bit Platforms
Chapter 11. Specifying OpenGL Environment Variable Settings
Chapter 12. Configuring AGP
Chapter 13. Configuring Multiple Display Devices on One X Screen
Chapter 14. Configuring GLX in Xinerama
Chapter 15. Configuring Multiple X Screens on One Card
Chapter 16. Configuring TV-Out
Chapter 17. Support for the X Resize and Rotate Extension
Chapter 18. Configuring a Notebook
Chapter 19. Using the NVIDIA Driver with Optimus Laptops
Chapter 20. Programming Modes
Chapter 21. Configuring Flipping and UBB
Chapter 22. Using the Proc Filesystem Interface
Chapter 23. Configuring Power Management Support
Chapter 24. Using the X Composite Extension
Chapter 25. Using the nvidia-settings Utility
Chapter 26. Using the nvidia-smi Utility
Chapter 27. The NVIDIA Management Library
Chapter 28. Using the nvidia-debugdump Utility
Chapter 29. Configuring SLI and Multi-GPU FrameRendering
Chapter 30. Configuring Frame Lock and Genlock
Chapter 31. Configuring SDI Video Output
Chapter 32. Configuring Depth 30 Displays
Chapter 33. Addressing Capabilities
Chapter 34. NVIDIA Contact Info and Additional Resources
Chapter 35. Acknowledgements

Appendix A. Supported NVIDIA GPU Products
Appendix B. X Config Options
Appendix C. Display Device Names
Appendix D. GLX Support
Appendix E. Dots Per Inch
Appendix F. i2c Bus Support
Appendix G. XvMC Support
Appendix H. VDPAU Support
Appendix I. Audio Support
Appendix J. Tips for New Linux Users

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1. Introduction
______________________________________________________________________________


1A. ABOUT THE NVIDIA ACCELERATED LINUX GRAPHICS DRIVER

The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver brings accelerated 2D
functionality and high-performance OpenGL support to Linux x86_64 with the
use of NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs).

These drivers provide optimized hardware acceleration for OpenGL and X
applications and support nearly all recent NVIDIA GPU products (see Appendix A
for a complete list of supported GPUs). TwinView, TV-Out and flat panel
displays are also supported.


1B. ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

This document provides instructions for the installation and use of the NVIDIA
Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver. Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 6 walk the
user through the process of downloading, installing and configuring the
driver. Chapter 7 addresses frequently asked questions about the installation
process, and Chapter 8 provides solutions to common problems. The remaining
chapters include details on different features of the NVIDIA Linux Driver.
Frequently asked questions about specific tasks are included in the relevant
chapters. These pages are posted on NVIDIA's web site (http://www.nvidia.com),
and are installed in '/usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/'.


1C. ABOUT THE AUDIENCE

It is assumed that the user and reader of this document has at least a basic
understanding of Linux techniques and terminology. However, new Linux users
can refer to Appendix J for details on parts of the installation process.


1D. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In case additional information is required, Chapter 34 provides contact
information for NVIDIA Linux driver resources, as well as a brief listing of
external resources.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 2. Minimum Software Requirements
______________________________________________________________________________



    Software Element         Supported versions       Check With...
    ---------------------    ---------------------    ---------------------
    Linux kernel             2.4.22 and newer         `cat /proc/version`
    XFree86*                 4.0.1 and newer          `XFree86 -version`
    X.Org*                   1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,      `Xorg -version`
                             1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7,  
                             1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11,
                             1.12, 1.13, 1.14,    
                             1.15, 1.16, 1.17,    
                             1.18, 1.19           
    Kernel modutils          2.1.121 and newer        `insmod --version`
    glibc                    2.0                      `ls /lib/libc.so.*` >
                                                      6


* It is only required that you have one of XFree86 or X.Org, not both.

Please see "Q. How do I interpret X server version numbers?" in Chapter 7 for
a note about X server version numbers.

If you need to build the NVIDIA kernel module:

    Software Element         Min Requirement          Check With...
    ---------------------    ---------------------    ---------------------
    binutils                 2.9.5                    `size --version`
    GNU make                 3.77                     `make --version`
    gcc                      2.91.66                  `gcc --version`


All official stable kernel releases from 2.4.22 and up are supported;
"prerelease" versions such as "2.6.23-rc1" are not supported, nor are
development series kernels such as 2.3.x or 2.5.x. The Linux kernel can be
downloaded from http://www.kernel.org or one of its mirrors.

binutils and gcc can be retrieved from http://www.gnu.org or one of its
mirrors.

If you are using XFree86, but do not have a file '/var/log/XFree86.0.log',
then you probably have a 3.x version of XFree86 and must upgrade.

Sometimes very recent X server versions are not supported immediately
following release, but we aim to support all new versions as soon as possible.
Support is not added for new X server versions until after the video driver
ABI is frozen, which usually happens at the release candidate stage.
Prerelease versions that are not release candidates, such as "1.10.99.1", are
not supported.

If you are setting up the X Window System for the first time, it is often
easier to begin with one of the open source drivers that ships with XFree86
and X.Org (either "nv", "vga" or "vesa"). Once your system is operating
properly with the open source driver, you may then switch to the NVIDIA
driver.

Note that newer NVIDIA GPUs may not work with older versions of the "nv"
driver shipped with X.Org and XFree86. For example, the "nv" driver that
shipped with X.Org's X11R7.2 release did not recognize the GeForce 8 family
and the Quadro 4600/5600 GPUs. This was fixed in the X11R7.3 release. X.Org
releases (and individual packages) can be retrieved from http://www.x.org/.

These software packages may also be available through your Linux distributor.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 3. Selecting and Downloading the NVIDIA Packages for Your System
______________________________________________________________________________

NVIDIA drivers can be downloaded from the NVIDIA website
(http://www.nvidia.com).

The NVIDIA graphics driver uses a Unified Driver Architecture: the single
graphics driver supports all modern NVIDIA GPUs. "Legacy" GPU support has been
moved from the unified driver to special legacy GPU driver releases. See
Appendix A for a list of legacy GPUs.

The NVIDIA graphics driver is bundled in a self-extracting package named
'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run'. On Linux-x86_64, that file contains
both the 64-bit driver binaries as well as 32-bit compatibility driver
binaries; the 'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-no-compat32.run' file only
contains the 64-bit driver binaries.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 4. Installing the NVIDIA Driver
______________________________________________________________________________

This chapter provides instructions for installing the NVIDIA driver. Note that
after installation, but prior to using the driver, you must complete the steps
described in Chapter 6. Additional details that may be helpful for the new
Linux user are provided in Appendix J.


4A. BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Before you begin the installation, exit the X server and terminate all OpenGL
applications (note that it is possible that some OpenGL applications persist
even after the X server has stopped). You should also set the default run
level on your system such that it will boot to a VGA console, and not directly
to X. Doing so will make it easier to recover if there is a problem during the
installation process. See Appendix J for details.

If you're installing on a system that is set up to use the Nouveau driver,
then you should first disable it before attempting to install the NVIDIA
driver. See Interaction with the Nouveau Driver for details.


4B. STARTING THE INSTALLER

After you have downloaded the file 'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run',
change to the directory containing the downloaded file, and as the 'root' user
run the executable:

    # cd yourdirectory
    # sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run

The '.run' file is a self-extracting archive. When executed, it extracts the
contents of the archive and runs the contained 'nvidia-installer' utility,
which provides an interactive interface to walk you through the installation.

 'nvidia-installer' will also install itself to '/usr/bin/nvidia-installer',
which may be used at some later time to uninstall drivers, auto-download
updated drivers, etc. The use of this utility is detailed later in this
chapter.

You may also supply command line options to the '.run' file. Some of the more
common options are listed below.

Common '.run' Options

--info

    Print embedded info about the '.run' file and exit.

--check

    Check integrity of the archive and exit.

--extract-only

    Extract the contents of './NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run', but do
    not run 'nvidia-installer'.

--help

    Print usage information for the common commandline options and exit.

--advanced-options

    Print usage information for common command line options as well as the
    advanced options, and then exit.



4C. INSTALLING THE KERNEL INTERFACE

The NVIDIA kernel module has a kernel interface layer that must be compiled
specifically for each kernel. NVIDIA distributes the source code to this
kernel interface layer.

When the installer is run, it will check your system for the required kernel
sources and compile the kernel interface. You must have the source code for
your kernel installed for compilation to work. On most systems, this means
that you will need to locate and install the correct kernel-source,
kernel-headers, or kernel-devel package; on some distributions, no additional
packages are required.

After the correct kernel interface has been compiled, the kernel interface
will be linked with the closed-source portion of the NVIDIA kernel module.
This requires that you have a linker installed on your system. The linker,
usually '/usr/bin/ld', is part of the binutils package. You must have a linker
installed prior to installing the NVIDIA driver.

The installer will check for the presence of DKMS on your system. If DKMS is
found, you will be given the option of registering the kernel module with
DKMS, and using the DKMS infrastructure to build and install the kernel
module. On most systems with DKMS, DKMS will take care of automatically
rebuilding registered kernel modules when installing a different Linux kernel.

Not all kernel configurations are supported by DKMS: for example, DKMS does
not support kernels built with separate KBUILD source and output directories.
If 'nvidia-installer' is unable to install the kernel module through DKMS, the
installation will be aborted and no kernel module will be installed. If this
happens, installation should be attempted again, without the DKMS option.

Note that versions of 'nvidia-installer' shipped with drivers before release
304 do not interact with DKMS. If you choose to register the NVIDIA kernel
module with DKMS, please ensure that the module is removed from the DKMS
database before using a non-DKMS aware version of 'nvidia-installer' to
install an older driver; otherwise, module source files may be deleted without
first unregistering the module, potentially leaving the DKMS database in an
inconsistent state. Running 'nvidia-uninstall' before installing a driver
using an older installer will invoke the correct `dkms remove` command to
clean up the installation.


4D. FEATURES OF THE INSTALLER

Without options, the '.run' file executes the installer after unpacking it.
The installer can be run as a separate step in the process, or can be run at a
later time to get updates, etc. Some of the more important commandline options
of 'nvidia-installer' are:

'nvidia-installer' options

--uninstall

    During installation, the installer will make backups of any conflicting
    files and record the installation of new files. The uninstall option
    undoes an install, restoring the system to its pre-install state.

--ui=none

    The installer uses an ncurses-based user interface if it is able to locate
    the correct ncurses library. Otherwise, it will fall back to a simple
    commandline user interface. This option disables the use of the ncurses
    library.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 5. Listing of Installed Components
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver consists of the following
components (filenames in parentheses are the full names of the components
after installation; "x.y.z" denotes the current version. In these cases
appropriate symlinks are created during installation):

   o An X driver (/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.so); this driver
     is needed by the X server to use your NVIDIA hardware.

   o A GLX extension module for X
     (/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so.x.y.z); this module is used
     by the X server to provide server-side GLX support.

   o An X module for wrapped software rendering
     (/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libnvidia-wfb.so.x.y.z and optionally,
     /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libwfb.so); this module is used by the X driver to
     perform software rendering on GeForce 8 series GPUs. If libwfb.so already
     exists, nvidia-installer will not overwrite it. Otherwise, it will create
     a symbolic link from libwfb.so to libnvidia-wfb.so.x.y.z.

   o An OpenGL library (/usr/lib/libGL.so.x.y.z); this library provides the
     API entry points for all OpenGL and GLX function calls. It is linked to
     at run-time by OpenGL applications.

   o An OpenGL core library (/usr/lib/libnvidia-glcore.so.x.y.z); this library
     is implicitly used by libGL and by libglx. It contains the core
     accelerated 3D functionality. You should not explicitly load it in your X
     config file -- that is taken care of by libglx.

   o Two XvMC (X-Video Motion Compensation) libraries: a static library and a
     shared library (/usr/X11R6/lib/libXvMCNVIDIA.a,
     /usr/X11R6/lib/libXvMCNVIDIA.so.x.y.z); see Appendix G for details.

   o A VDPAU (Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix-like systems) library
     for the NVIDIA vendor implementation,
     (/usr/X11R6/lib/libvdpau_nvidia.so.x.y.z); see Appendix H for details.

   o Two CUDA libraries (/usr/lib/libcuda.so.x.y.z, /usr/lib/libcuda.la);
     these libraries provide runtime support for CUDA (high-performance
     computing on the GPU) applications.

   o Two OpenCL libraries (/usr/lib/libOpenCL.so.1.0.0,
     /usr/lib/libnvidia-opencl.so.x.y.z); the former is a vendor-independent
     Installable Client Driver (ICD) loader, and the latter is the NVIDIA
     Vendor ICD. A config file /usr/lib/vendors/nvidia.icd is also installed,
     to advertise the NVIDIA Vendor ICD to the ICD Loader.

   o A kernel module (/lib/modules/`uname -r`/video/nvidia.o or
     /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o); this kernel
     module provides low-level access to your NVIDIA hardware for all of the
     above components. It is generally loaded into the kernel when the X
     server is started, and is used by the X driver and OpenGL. nvidia.o
     consists of two pieces: the binary-only core, and a kernel interface that
     must be compiled specifically for your kernel version. Note that the
     Linux kernel does not have a consistent binary interface like the X
     server, so it is important that this kernel interface be matched with the
     version of the kernel that you are using. This can either be accomplished
     by compiling yourself, or using precompiled binaries provided for the
     kernels shipped with some of the more common Linux distributions.

   o The nvidia-tls libraries (/usr/lib/libnvidia-tls.so.x.y.z and
     /usr/lib/tls/libnvidia-tls.so.x.y.z); these files provide thread local
     storage support for the NVIDIA OpenGL libraries (libGL, libnvidia-glcore,
     and libglx). Each nvidia-tls library provides support for a particular
     thread local storage model (such as ELF TLS), and the one appropriate for
     your system will be loaded at run time.

   o The nvidia-ml library (/usr/lib/libnvidia-ml.so.x.y.z); The NVIDIA
     Management Library provides a monitoring and management API. See Chapter
     27 for more information.

   o The application nvidia-installer (/usr/bin/nvidia-installer) is NVIDIA's
     tool for installing and updating NVIDIA drivers. See Chapter 4 for a more
     thorough description.

   o The application nvidia-xconfig (/usr/bin/nvidia-xconfig) is NVIDIA's tool
     for manipulating X server configuration files. See Chapter 6 for more
     information.

   o The application nvidia-settings (/usr/bin/nvidia-settings) is NVIDIA's
     tool for dynamic configuration while the X server is running. See Chapter
     25 for more information.

   o The application nvidia-smi (/usr/bin/nvidia-smi) is the NVIDIA System
     Management Interface for management and monitoring functionality. See
     Chapter 26 for more information.

   o The application nvidia-debugdump (/usr/bin/nvidia-debugdump) is NVIDIA's
     tool for collecting internal GPU state. It is normally invoked by the
     nvidia-bug-report.sh (/usr/bin/nvidia-bug-report.sh) script. See Chapter
     28 for more information.

   o An X driver configuration file
     (/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/nvidia-drm-outputclass.conf); If the X server
     is sufficiently new, this file will be installed to configure the X
     server to load the nvidia_drv.so driver automatically if it is started
     after the NVIDIA kernel module is loaded. This feature is supported in
     X.Org xserver 1.16 and higher when running on Linux 3.9 or higher with
     CONFIG_DRM enabled.


Problems will arise if applications use the wrong version of a library. This
can be the case if there are either old libGL libraries or stale symlinks left
lying around. If you think there may be something awry in your installation,
check that the following files are in place (these are all the files of the
NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver, as well as their symlinks):

    /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.so
    /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libwfb.so (if your X server is new enough), or
    /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libnvidia-wfb.so and
    /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libwfb.so -> libnvidia-wfb.so

    /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so.x.y.z
    /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so -> libglx.so.x.y.z

    (the above may also be in /usr/lib/modules or /usr/X11R6/lib/modules)

    /usr/lib/libGL.so.x.y.z
    /usr/lib/libGL.so.x -> libGL.so.x.y.z
    /usr/lib/libGL.so -> libGL.so.x

    /usr/lib/libnvidia-glcore.so.x.y.z

    /usr/lib/libcuda.so.x.y.z
    /usr/lib/libcuda.so -> libcuda.so.x.y.z

    /lib/modules/`uname -r`/video/nvidia.{o,ko}, or
    /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.{o,ko}

If there are other libraries whose "soname" conflicts with that of the NVIDIA
libraries, ldconfig may create the wrong symlinks. It is recommended that you
manually remove or rename conflicting libraries (be sure to rename clashing
libraries to something that ldconfig will not look at -- we have found that
prepending "XXX" to a library name generally does the trick), rerun
'ldconfig', and check that the correct symlinks were made. An example of a
library that often creates conflicts is "/usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so*".

If the libraries appear to be correct, then verify that the application is
using the correct libraries. For example, to check that the application
/usr/X11R6/bin/glxgears is using the NVIDIA libraries, run:

    % ldd /usr/X11R6/bin/glxgears
	linux-gate.so.1 =>  (0xffffe000)
	libGL.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 (0xb7ed1000)
	libXext.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libXext.so.6 (0xb7ec0000)
	libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0xb7de0000)
	libpthread.so.0 => /lib/tls/libpthread.so.0 (0x00946000)
	libm.so.6 => /lib/tls/libm.so.6 (0x0075d000)
	libc.so.6 => /lib/tls/libc.so.6 (0x00631000)
	libnvidia-tls.so.304.137 => /usr/lib/tls/libnvidia-tls.so.__DRV_VER__
(0xb7ddd000)
	libnvidia-glcore.so.304.137 => /usr/lib/libnvidia-glcore.so.__DRV_VER__
(0xb5d1f000)
	libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00782000)
	/lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0x00614000)

Check the files being used for libGL -- if it is something other than the
NVIDIA library, then you will need to either remove the library that is
getting in the way or adjust your ld search path using the 'LD_LIBRARY_PATH'
environment variable. You may want to consult the man pages for 'ldconfig' and
'ldd'.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 6. Configuring X for the NVIDIA Driver
______________________________________________________________________________

The X configuration file provides a means to configure the X server. This
section describes the settings necessary to enable the NVIDIA driver. A
comprehensive list of parameters is provided in Appendix B.

The NVIDIA Driver includes a utility called nvidia-xconfig, which is designed
to make editing the X configuration file easy. You can also edit it by hand.


6A. USING NVIDIA-XCONFIG TO CONFIGURE THE X SERVER

nvidia-xconfig will find the X configuration file and modify it to use the
NVIDIA X driver. In most cases, you can simply answer "Yes" when the installer
asks if it should run it. If you need to reconfigure your X server later, you
can run nvidia-xconfig again from a terminal. nvidia-xconfig will make a
backup copy of your configuration file before modifying it.

Note that the X server must be restarted for any changes to its configuration
file to take effect.

More information about nvidia-xconfig can be found in the nvidia-xconfig
manual page by running.

    % man nvidia-xconfig




6B. MANUALLY EDITING THE CONFIGURATION FILE

In April 2004 the X.Org Foundation released an X server based on the XFree86
server. While your release may use the X.Org X server, rather than XFree86,
the differences between the two should have no impact on NVIDIA Linux users
with two exceptions:

   o The X.Org configuration file is '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' while the XFree86
     configuration file is '/etc/X11/XF86Config'. The files use the same
     syntax. This document refers to both files as "the X config file".

   o The X.Org log file is '/var/log/Xorg.#.log' while the XFree86 log file is
     '/var/log/XFree86.#.log' (where '#' is the server number -- usually 0).
     The format of the log files is nearly identical. This document refers to
     both files as "the X log file".

In order for any changes to be read into the X server, you must edit the file
used by the server. While it is not unreasonable to simply edit both files, it
is easy to determine the correct file by searching for the line

    (==) Using config file:

in the X log file. This line indicates the name of the X config file in use.

If you do not have a working X config file, there are a few different ways to
obtain one. A sample config file is included both with the XFree86
distribution and with the NVIDIA driver package (at
'/usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/'). The 'nvidia-xconfig' utility, provided with
the NVIDIA driver package, can generate a new X configuration file. Additional
information on the X config syntax can be found in the XF86Config manual page
(`man XF86Config` or `man xorg.conf`).

If you have a working X config file for a different driver (such as the "nv"
or "vesa" driver), then simply edit the file as follows.

Remove the line:

      Driver "nv"
  (or Driver "vesa")
  (or Driver "fbdev")

and replace it with the line:

    Driver "nvidia"

Remove the following lines:

    Load "dri"
    Load "GLCore"

In the "Module" section of the file, add the line (if it does not already
exist):

    Load "glx"

If the X config file does not have a "Module" section, you can safely skip the
last step if the X server installed on your system is an X.Org X server or an
XFree86 X release version 4.4.0 or greater. If you are using an older XFree86
X server, add the following to your X config file:

Section "Module"
    Load "extmod"
    Load "dbe"
    Load "type1"
    Load "freetype"
    Load "glx"
EndSection

There are numerous options that may be added to the X config file to tune the
NVIDIA X driver. See Appendix B for a complete list of these options.

Once you have completed these edits to the X config file, you may restart X
and begin using the accelerated OpenGL libraries. After restarting X, any
OpenGL application should automatically use the new NVIDIA libraries. (NOTE:
If you encounter any problems, see Chapter 8 for common problem diagnoses.)


6C. RESTORING THE X CONFIGURATION AFTER UNINSTALLING THE DRIVER

If X is explicitly configured to use the NVIDIA driver, then the X config file
should be edited to use a different X driver after uninstalling the NVIDIA
driver. Otherwise, X may fail to start, since the driver it was configured to
use will no longer be present on the system after uninstallation.

If you edited the file manually, revert any edits you made. If you used the
'nvidia-xconfig' utility, either by answering "Yes" when prompted to configure
the X server by the installer, or by running it manually later on, then you
may restore the backed-up X config file, if it exists and reflects the X
config state that existed before the NVIDIA driver was installed.

If you do not recall any manual changes that you made to the file, or do not
have a backed-up X config file that uses a non-NVIDIA X driver, you may want
to try simply renaming the X configuration file, to see if your X server loads
a sensible default.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 7. Frequently Asked Questions
______________________________________________________________________________

This section provides answers to frequently asked questions associated with
the NVIDIA Linux x86_64 Driver and its installation. Common problem
diagnoses can be found in Chapter 8 and tips for new users can be found in
Appendix J. Also, detailed information for specific setups is provided in the
Appendices.


NVIDIA-INSTALLER

Q. How do I extract the contents of the '.run' without actually installing the
   driver?

A. Run the installer as follows:
   
       # sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --extract-only
   
   This will create the directory NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137,
   containing the uncompressed contents of the '.run' file.


Q. How can I see the source code to the kernel interface layer?

A. The source files to the kernel interface layer are in the kernel directory
   of the extracted .run file. To get to these sources, run:
   
       # sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --extract-only
       # cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137/kernel/
   
   

Q. How and when are the the NVIDIA device files created?

A. Depending on the target system's configuration, the NVIDIA device files
   used to be created in one of three different ways:
   
      o at installation time, using mknod
   
      o at module load time, via devfs (Linux device file system)
   
      o at module load time, via hotplug/udev
   
   With current NVIDIA driver releases, device files are created or modified
   by the X driver when the X server is started.

   By default, the NVIDIA driver will attempt to create device files with the
   following attributes:
   
         UID:  0     - 'root'
         GID:  0     - 'root'
         Mode: 0666  - 'rw-rw-rw-'
   
   Existing device files are changed if their attributes don't match these
   defaults. If you want the NVIDIA driver to create the device files with
   different attributes, you can specify them with the "NVreg_DeviceFileUID"
   (user), "NVreg_DeviceFileGID" (group) and "NVreg_DeviceFileMode" NVIDIA
   Linux kernel module parameters.

   For example, the NVIDIA driver can be instructed to create device files
   with UID=0 (root), GID=44 (video) and Mode=0660 by passing the following
   module parameters to the NVIDIA Linux kernel module:
   
         NVreg_DeviceFileUID=0 
         NVreg_DeviceFileGID=44 
         NVreg_DeviceFileMode=0660
   
   The "NVreg_ModifyDeviceFiles" NVIDIA kernel module parameter will disable
   dynamic device file management, if set to 0.


Q. Why does NVIDIA not provide RPMs?

A. Not every Linux distribution uses RPM, and NVIDIA provides a single
   solution that works across all Linux distributions. NVIDIA encourages Linux
   distributions to repackage and redistribute the NVIDIA Linux driver in
   their native package management formats. These repackaged NVIDIA drivers
   are likely to inter-operate best with the Linux distribution's package
   management technology. For this reason, NVIDIA encourages users to use
   their distribution's repackaged NVIDIA driver, where available.


Q. What is the significance of the '-no-compat32' suffix on Linux-x86_64
   '.run' files?

A. To distinguish between Linux-x86_64 driver package files that do or do not
   also contain 32-bit compatibility libraries, "-no-compat32" is be appended
   to the latter. 'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run' contains both 64-bit
   and 32-bit driver binaries; but
   'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-no-compat32.run' omits the 32-bit
   compatibility libraries.


Q. Can I add my own precompiled kernel interfaces to a '.run' file?

A. Yes, the --add-this-kernel  '.run' file option will unpack the '.run' file,
   build a precompiled kernel interface for the currently running kernel, and
   repackage the '.run' file, appending '-custom' to the filename. This may be
   useful, for example. if you administer multiple Linux computers, each
   running the same kernel.


Q. Where can I find the source code for the 'nvidia-installer' utility?

A. The 'nvidia-installer' utility is released under the GPL. The source code
   for the version of nvidia-installer built with driver 304.137 is in
   'nvidia-installer-304.137.tar.bz2' available here:
   https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/nvidia-installer/



NVIDIA DRIVER

Q. Where should I start when diagnosing display problems?

A. One of the most useful tools for diagnosing problems is the X log file in
   '/var/log'. Lines that begin with "(II)" are information, "(WW)" are
   warnings, and "(EE)" are errors. You should make sure that the correct
   config file (i.e. the config file you are editing) is being used; look for
   the line that begins with:
   
       (==) Using config file:
   
   Also make sure that the NVIDIA driver is being used, rather than the "nv"
   or "vesa" driver. Search for
   
       (II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
   
   Lines from the driver should begin with:
   
       (II) NVIDIA(0)
   
   

Q. How can I increase the amount of data printed in the X log file?

A. By default, the NVIDIA X driver prints relatively few messages to stderr
   and the X log file. If you need to troubleshoot, then it may be helpful to
   enable more verbose output by using the X command line options -verbose and
   -logverbose, which can be used to set the verbosity level for the 'stderr'
   and log file messages, respectively. The NVIDIA X driver will output more
   messages when the verbosity level is at or above 5 (X defaults to verbosity
   level 1 for 'stderr' and level 3 for the log file). So, to enable verbose
   messaging from the NVIDIA X driver to both the log file and 'stderr', you
   could start X with the verbosity level set to 5, by doing the following
   
       % startx -- -verbose 5 -logverbose 5
   
   

Q. What is NVIDIA's policy towards development series Linux kernels?

A. NVIDIA does not officially support development series kernels. However, all
   the kernel module source code that interfaces with the Linux kernel is
   available in the 'kernel/' directory of the '.run' file. NVIDIA encourages
   members of the Linux community to develop patches to these source files to
   support development series kernels. A web search will most likely yield
   several community supported patches.


Q. Where can I find the tarballs?

A. Plain tarballs are not available. The '.run' file is a tarball with a shell
   script prepended. You can execute the '.run' file with the --extract-only
   option to unpack the tarball.


Q. How do I tell if I have my kernel sources installed?

A. If you are running on a distro that uses RPM (Red Hat, Mandriva, SuSE,
   etc), then you can use 'rpm' to tell you. At a shell prompt, type:
   
       % rpm -qa | grep kernel
   
   and look at the output. You should see a package that corresponds to your
   kernel (often named something like kernel-2.6.15-7) and a kernel source
   package with the same version (often named something like
   kernel-devel-2.6.15-7 or kernel-source-2.4.22-7). If none of the lines seem
   to correspond to a source package, then you will probably need to install
   it. If the versions listed mismatch (e.g., kernel-2.6.15-7 vs.
   kernel-devel-2.6.15-10), then you will need to update the kernel-devel
   package to match the installed kernel. If you have multiple kernels
   installed, you need to install the kernel-devel package that corresponds to
   your RUNNING kernel (or make sure your installed source package matches the
   running kernel). You can do this by looking at the output of 'uname -r' and
   matching versions.


Q. What is SELinux and how does it interact with the NVIDIA driver ?

A. Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is a set of modifications applied to the
   Linux kernel and utilities that implement a security policy architecture.
   When in use it requires that the security type on all shared libraries be
   set to 'shlib_t'. The installer detects when to set the security type, and
   sets it on all shared libraries it installs. The option --force-selinux
   passed to the '.run' file overrides the detection of when to set the
   security type.


Q. Why does X use so much memory?

A. When measuring any application's memory usage, you must be careful to
   distinguish between physical system RAM used and virtual mappings of shared
   resources. For example, most shared libraries exist only once in physical
   memory but are mapped into multiple processes. This memory should only be
   counted once when computing total memory usage. In the same way, the video
   memory on a graphics card or register memory on any device can be mapped
   into multiple processes. These mappings do not consume normal system RAM.

   This has been a frequently discussed topic on XFree86 mailing lists; see,
   for example:

    http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=xfree-xpert&m=96835767116567&w=2

   The 'pmap' utility described in the above thread is available in the
   "procps" package shipped with most recent Linux distributions, and is a
   useful tool in distinguishing between types of memory mappings. For
   example, while 'top' may indicate that X is using several hundred MB of
   memory, the last line of output from the output of pmap (note that pmap may
   need to be run as root):
   
       # pmap -d `pidof X` | tail -n 1
       mapped: 161404K    writeable/private: 7260K    shared: 118056K
   
   reveals that X is really only using roughly 7MB of system RAM (the
   "writeable/private" value).

   Note, also, that X must allocate resources on behalf of X clients (the
   window manager, your web browser, etc); the X server's memory usage will
   increase as more clients request resources such as pixmaps, and decrease as
   you close X applications.

   The "IndirectMemoryAccess" X configuration option may cause additional
   virtual address space to be reserved.


Q. Why do applications that use DGA graphics fail?

A. The NVIDIA driver does not support the graphics component of the
   XFree86-DGA (Direct Graphics Access) extension. Applications can use the
   XDGASelectInput() function to acquire relative pointer motion, but
   graphics-related functions such as XDGASetMode() and XDGAOpenFramebuffer()
   will fail.

   The graphics component of XFree86-DGA is not supported because it requires
   a CPU mapping of framebuffer memory. As graphics cards ship with increasing
   quantities of video memory, the NVIDIA X driver has had to switch to a more
   dynamic memory mapping scheme that is incompatible with DGA. Furthermore,
   DGA does not cooperate with other graphics rendering libraries such as Xlib
   and OpenGL because it accesses GPU resources directly.

   NVIDIA recommends that applications use OpenGL or Xlib, rather than DGA,
   for graphics rendering. Using rendering libraries other than DGA will yield
   better performance and improve interoperability with other X applications.


Q. My kernel log contains messages that are prefixed with "Xid"; what do these
   messages mean?

A. "Xid" messages indicate that a general GPU error occurred, most often due
   to the driver misprogramming the GPU or to corruption of the commands sent
   to the GPU. These messages provide diagnostic information that can be used
   by NVIDIA to aid in debugging reported problems.


Q. I use the Coolbits overclocking interface to adjust my graphics card's
   clock frequencies, but the defaults are reset whenever X is restarted. How
   do I make my changes persistent?

A. Clock frequency settings are not saved/restored automatically by default to
   avoid potential stability and other problems that may be encountered if the
   chosen frequency settings differ from the defaults qualified by the
   manufacturer. You can use the command line below in '~/.xinitrc' to
   automatically apply custom clock frequency settings when the X server is
   started:
   
       # nvidia-settings -a GPUOverclockingState=1 -a
   GPU2DClockFreqs=<GPU>,<MEM> -a GPU3DClockFreqs=<GPU>,<MEM>
   
   Here '<GPU>' and '<MEM>' are the desired GPU and video memory frequencies
   (in MHz), respectively.


Q. Why is the refresh rate not reported correctly by utilities that use the
   XRandR X extension (e.g., the GNOME "Screen Resolution Preferences" panel,
   `xrandr -q`, etc)?

A. The XRandR X extension is not presently aware of multiple display devices
   on a single X screen; it only sees the MetaMode bounding box, which may
   contain one or more actual modes. This means that if multiple MetaModes
   have the same bounding box, XRandR will not be able to distinguish between
   them.

   In order to support DynamicTwinView, the NVIDIA X driver must make each
   MetaMode appear to be unique to XRandR. Presently, the NVIDIA X driver
   accomplishes this by using the refresh rate as a unique identifier.

   You can use `nvidia-settings -q RefreshRate` to query the actual refresh
   rate on each display device.

   This behavior can be disabled by setting the X configuration option
   "DynamicTwinView" to FALSE.

   For details, see Chapter 13.


Q. Why does starting certain applications result in Xlib error messages
   indicating extensions like "XFree86-VidModeExtension" or "SHAPE" are
   missing?

A. If your X config file has a "Module" section that does not list the
   "extmod" module, some X server extensions may be missing, resulting in
   error messages of the form:
   
   Xlib: extension "SHAPE" missing on display ":0.0"
   Xlib: extension "XFree86-VidModeExtension" missing on display ":0.0"
   Xlib: extension "XFree86-DGA" missing on display ":0.0"
   
   You can solve this problem by adding the line below to your X config file's
   "Module" section:
   
       Load "extmod"
   
   

Q. Where can I find older driver versions?

A. Please visit https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/


Q. What is the format of a PCI Bus ID?

A. Different tools have different formats for the PCI Bus ID of a PCI device.

   The X server's "BusID" X configuration file option interprets the BusID
   string in the format "bus@domain:device:function" (the "@domain" portion is
   only needed if the PCI domain is non-zero), in decimal. More specifically,
   
   "%d@%d:%d:%d", bus, domain, device, function
   
   in printf(3) syntax. NVIDIA X driver logging, nvidia-xconfig, and
   nvidia-settings match the X configuration file BusID convention.

   The lspci(8) utility, in contrast, reports the PCI BusID of a PCI device in
   the format "domain:bus:device.function", printing the values in
   hexadecimal. More specifically,
   
   "%04x:%02x:%02x.%x", domain, bus, device, function
   
   in printf(3) syntax. The "Bus Location" reported in the
   /proc/driver/nvidia/gpus/0..N/information files matches the lspci format.


Q. How do I interpret X server version numbers?

A. X server version numbers can be difficult to interpret because some X.Org X
   servers report the versions of different things.

   In 2003, X.Org created a fork of the XFree86 project's code base, which
   used a monolithic build system to build the X server, libraries, and
   applications together in one source code repository. It resumed the release
   version numbering where it left off in 2001, continuing with 6.7, 6.8,
   etc., for the releases of this large bundle of code. These version numbers
   are sometimes written X11R6.7, X11R6.8, etc. to include the version of the
   X protocol.

   In 2005, an effort was made to split the monolithic code base into separate
   modules with their own version numbers to make them easier to maintain and
   so that they could be released independently. X.Org still occasionally
   releases these modules together, with a single version number. These
   releases are simply referred to as "X.Org releases", or sometimes
   "katamari" releases. For example, X.Org 7.6 was released on December 20,
   2010 and contains version 1.9.3 of the xorg-server package, which contains
   the core X server itself.

   The release management changes from XFree86, to X.Org monolithic releases,
   to X.Org modular releases impacted the behavior of the X server's
   "-version" command line option. For example, XFree86 X servers always
   report the version of the XFree86 monolithic package:
   
   
   XFree86 Version 4.3.0 (Red Hat Linux release: 4.3.0-2)
   Release Date: 27 February 2003
   X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 6.6
   
   
   X servers in X.Org monolithic and early "katamari" releases did something
   similar:
   
   
   X Window System Version 7.1.1
   Release Date: 12 May 2006
   X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 7.1.1
   
   
   However, X.Org later modified the X server to start printing its individual
   module version number instead:
   
   
   X.Org X Server 1.9.3
   Release Date: 2010-12-13
   X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
   
   
   Please keep this in mind when comparing X server versions: what looks like
   "version 7.x" is OLDER than version 1.x.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 8. Common Problems
______________________________________________________________________________

This section provides solutions to common problems associated with the NVIDIA
Linux x86_64 Driver.

Q. My X server fails to start, and my X log file contains the error:
   
   (EE) NVIDIA(0): The NVIDIA kernel module does not appear to
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):      be receiving interrupts generated by the NVIDIA
   graphics
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):      device PCI:x:x:x. Please see the COMMON PROBLEMS
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):      section in the README for additional information.
   
   
A. This can be caused by a variety of problems, such as PCI IRQ routing
   errors, I/O APIC problems or conflicts with other devices sharing the IRQ
   (or their drivers).

   If possible, configure your system such that your graphics card does not
   share its IRQ with other devices (try moving the graphics card to another
   slot if applicable, unload/disable the driver(s) for the device(s) sharing
   the card's IRQ, or remove/disable the device(s)).

   Depending on the nature of the problem, one of (or a combination of) these
   kernel parameters might also help:
   
       Parameter         Behavior
       --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
       pci=noacpi        don't use ACPI for PCI IRQ routing
       pci=biosirq       use PCI BIOS calls to retrieve the IRQ routing
                         table
       noapic            don't use I/O APICs present in the system
       acpi=off          disable ACPI
   
   

Q. My X server fails to start, and my X log file contains the error:
   
   (EE) NVIDIA(0): The interrupt for NVIDIA graphics device PCI:x:x:x
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):      appears to be edge-triggered. Please see the COMMON
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):      PROBLEMS section in the README for additional
   information.
   
   
A. An edge-triggered interrupt means that the kernel has programmed the
   interrupt as edge-triggered rather than level-triggered in the Advanced
   Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC). Edge-triggered interrupts are not
   intended to be used for sharing an interrupt line between multiple devices;
   level-triggered interrupts are the intended trigger for such usage. When
   using edge-triggered interrupts, it is common for device drivers using that
   interrupt line to stop receiving interrupts. This would appear to the end
   user as those devices no longer working, and potentially as a full system
   hang. These problems tend to be more common when multiple devices are
   sharing that interrupt line.

   This occurs when ACPI is not used to program interrupt routing in the APIC.
   This often occurs on Linux 2.4 kernels, which do not fully support ACPI. It
   may also occur with Linux 2.6 or more recent kernels when ACPI is disabled,
   or fails to initialize. In these cases, the Linux kernel falls back to
   tables provided by the system BIOS. In some cases the system BIOS assumes
   ACPI will be used for routing interrupts and configures these tables to
   incorrectly label all interrupts as edge-triggered. The current interrupt
   configuration can be found in /proc/interrupts.

   Available workarounds include: updating to a newer system BIOS, trying a
   Linux 2.6 or later kernel with ACPI enabled, or passing the 'noapic' option
   to the kernel to force interrupt routing through the traditional
   Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC). Newer Linux kernels also provide
   an interrupt polling mechanism to attempt to work around this problem. This
   mechanism can be enabled by passing the 'irqpoll' option to the kernel.

   Currently, the NVIDIA driver will attempt to detect edge triggered
   interrupts and X will purposely fail to start (to avoid stability issues).
   This behavior can be overridden by setting the "NVreg_RMEdgeIntrCheck"
   NVIDIA Linux kernel module parameter. This parameter defaults to "1", which
   enables the edge triggered interrupt detection. Set this parameter to "0"
   to disable this detection.


Q. X starts for me, but OpenGL applications terminate immediately.

A. If X starts but you have trouble with OpenGL, you most likely have a
   problem with other libraries in the way, or there are stale symlinks. See
   Chapter 5 for details. Sometimes, all it takes is to rerun 'ldconfig'.

   You should also check that the correct extensions are present;
   
       % xdpyinfo
   
   should show the "GLX" and "NV-GLX" extensions present. If these two
   extensions are not present, then there is most likely a problem loading the
   glx module, or it is unable to implicitly load GLcore. Check your X config
   file and make sure that you are loading glx (see Chapter 6). If your X
   config file is correct, then check the X log file for warnings/errors
   pertaining to GLX. Also check that all of the necessary symlinks are in
   place (refer to Chapter 5).


Q. When Xinerama is enabled, my stereo glasses are shuttering only when the
   stereo application is displayed on one specific X screen. When the
   application is displayed on the other X screens, the stereo glasses stop
   shuttering.

A. This problem occurs with DDC and "blue line" stereo glasses, that get the
   stereo signal from one video port of the graphics card. When a X screen
   does not display any stereo drawable the stereo signal is disabled on the
   associated video port.

   Forcing stereo flipping allows the stereo glasses to shutter continuously.
   This can be done by enabling the OpenGL control "Force Stereo Flipping" in
   nvidia-settings, or by setting the X configuration option
   "ForceStereoFlipping" to "1".


Q. Stereo is not in sync across multiple displays.

A. There are two cases where this may occur. If the displays are attached to
   the same GPU, and one of them is out of sync with the stereo glasses, you
   will need to reconfigure your monitors to drive identical mode timings; see
   Chapter 20 for details.

   If the displays are attached to different GPUs, the only way to synchronize
   stereo across the displays is with a Quadro Sync device, which is only
   supported by certain Quadro cards. See Chapter 30 for details. This applies
   to seperate GPUs on seperate cards as well as seperate GPUs on the same
   card, such as Quadro FX 4500 X2. Note that the Quadro FX 4500 X2 only
   provides a single DIN connector for stereo, tied to the bottommost GPU. In
   order to synchronize onboard stereo on the other GPU you must use a Quadro
   Sync device.


Q. I just upgraded my kernel, and now the NVIDIA kernel module will not load.

A. The kernel interface layer of the NVIDIA kernel module must be compiled
   specifically for the configuration and version of your kernel. If you
   upgrade your kernel, then the simplest solution is to reinstall the driver.

   ADVANCED: You can install the NVIDIA kernel module for a non running kernel
   (for example: in the situation where you just built and installed a new
   kernel, but have not rebooted yet) with a command line such as this:
   
       # sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --kernel-name='KERNEL_NAME'
   
   
   Where 'KERNEL_NAME' is what 'uname -r' would report if the target kernel
   were running.


Q. My X server fails to start, and my X log file contains the error:
   
   (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module!
   
   
A. The X driver will abort with this error message if the NVIDIA kernel module
   fails to load. If you receive this error, you should check the output of
   `dmesg` for kernel error messages and/or attempt to load the kernel module
   explicitly with `modprobe nvidia`. If unresolved symbols are reported, then
   the kernel module was most likely built against a Linux kernel source tree
   (or kernel headers) for a kernel revision or configuration that doesn't
   match the running kernel.

   You can specify the location of the kernel source tree (or headers) when
   you install the NVIDIA driver using the --kernel-source-path command line
   option (see `sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --advanced-options`
   for details).

   Old versions of the module-init-tools include `modprobe` binaries that
   report an error when instructed to load a module that's already loaded into
   the kernel. Please upgrade your module-init-tools if you receive an error
   message to this effect.

   The X server reads '/proc/sys/kernel/modprobe' to determine the path to the
   `modprobe` utility and falls back to '/sbin/modprobe' if the file doesn't
   exist. Please make sure that this path is valid and refers to a `modprobe`
   binary compatible with the Linux kernel running on your system.


Q. Installing the NVIDIA kernel module gives an error message like:
   
   #error Modules should never use kernel-headers system headers
   #error but headers from an appropriate kernel-source
   
   
A. You need to install the source for the Linux kernel. In most situations you
   can fix this problem by installing the kernel-source or kernel-devel
   package for your distribution


Q. OpenGL applications crash and print out the following warning:
   
   WARNING: Your system is running with a buggy dynamic loader.
   This may cause crashes in certain applications.  If you
   experience crashes you can try setting the environment
   variable __GL_SINGLE_THREADED to 1.  For more information,
   consult the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section in
   the file /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/README.txt.
   
   
A. The dynamic loader on your system has a bug which will cause applications
   linked with pthreads, and that dlopen() libGL multiple times, to crash.
   This bug is present in older versions of the dynamic loader. Distributions
   that shipped with this loader include but are not limited to Red Hat Linux
   6.2 and Mandrake Linux 7.1. Version 2.2 and later of the dynamic loader are
   known to work properly. If the crashing application is single threaded then
   setting the environment variable '__GL_SINGLE_THREADED' to "1" will prevent
   the crash. In the bash shell you would enter:
   
       % export __GL_SINGLE_THREADED=1
   
   and in csh and derivatives use:
   
       % setenv __GL_SINGLE_THREADED 1
   
   Previous releases of the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver attempted
   to work around this problem. Unfortunately, the workaround caused problems
   with other applications and was removed after version 1.0-1541.


Q. Quake3 crashes when changing video modes.

A. You are probably experiencing a problem described above. Please check the
   text output for the "WARNING" message described in the previous hint.
   Setting '__GL_SINGLE_THREADED' to "1" as will fix the problem.


Q. I cannot build the NVIDIA kernel module, or, I can build the NVIDIA kernel
   module, but modprobe/insmod fails to load the module into my kernel.

A. These problems are generally caused by the build using the wrong kernel
   header files (i.e. header files for a different kernel version than the one
   you are running). The convention used to be that kernel header files should
   be stored in '/usr/include/linux/', but that is deprecated in favor of
   '/lib/modules/RELEASE/build/include' (where RELEASE is the result of 'uname
   -r'. The 'nvidia-installer' should be able to determine the location on
   your system; however, if you encounter a problem you can force the build to
   use certain header files by using the --kernel-include-dir option. For this
   to work you will of course need the appropriate kernel header files
   installed on your system. Consult the documentation that came with your
   distribution; some distributions do not install the kernel header files by
   default, or they install headers that do not coincide properly with the
   kernel you are running.


Q. There are problems running Heretic II.

A. Heretic II installs, by default, a symlink called 'libGL.so' in the
   application directory. You can remove or rename this symlink, since the
   system will then find the default 'libGL.so' (which our drivers install in
   '/usr/lib'). From within Heretic II you can then set your render mode to
   OpenGL in the video menu. There is also a patch available to Heretic II
   from Loki Software, Inc.


Q. My system hangs when switching to a virtual terminal if I have rivafb
   enabled.

A. Using both rivafb and the NVIDIA kernel module at the same time is
   currently broken. In general, using two independent software drivers to
   drive the same piece of hardware is a bad idea.


Q. Compiling the NVIDIA kernel module gives this error:
   
   You appear to be compiling the NVIDIA kernel module with
   a compiler different from the one that was used to compile
   the running kernel. This may be perfectly fine, but there
   are cases where this can lead to unexpected behavior and
   system crashes.
   
   If you know what you are doing and want to override this
   check, you can do so by setting IGNORE_CC_MISMATCH.
   
   In any other case, set the CC environment variable to the
   name of the compiler that was used to compile the kernel.
   
   
A. You should compile the NVIDIA kernel module with the same compiler version
   that was used to compile your kernel. Some Linux kernel data structures are
   dependent on the version of gcc used to compile it; for example, in
   'include/linux/spinlock.h':
   
           ...
           * Most gcc versions have a nasty bug with empty initializers.
           */
           #if (__GNUC__ > 2)
             typedef struct { } rwlock_t;
             #define RW_LOCK_UNLOCKED (rwlock_t) { }
           #else
             typedef struct { int gcc_is_buggy; } rwlock_t;
             #define RW_LOCK_UNLOCKED (rwlock_t) { 0 }
           #endif
   
   If the kernel is compiled with gcc 2.x, but gcc 3.x is used when the kernel
   interface is compiled (or vice versa), the size of rwlock_t will vary, and
   things like ioremap will fail. To check what version of gcc was used to
   compile your kernel, you can examine the output of:
   
       % cat /proc/version
   
   To check what version of gcc is currently in your '$PATH', you can examine
   the output of:
   
       % gcc -v
   
   

Q. X fails with error
   
   Failed to allocate LUT context DMA
   
   
A. This is one of the possible consequences of compiling the NVIDIA kernel
   interface with a different gcc version than used to compile the Linux
   kernel (see above).


Q. I recently updated various libraries on my system using my Linux
   distributor's update utility, and the NVIDIA graphics driver no longer
   works.

A. Conflicting libraries may have been installed by your distribution's update
   utility; see Chapter 5 for details on how to diagnose this.


Q. I have rebuilt the NVIDIA kernel module, but when I try to insert it, I get
   a message telling me I have unresolved symbols.

A. Unresolved symbols are most often caused by a mismatch between your kernel
   sources and your running kernel. They must match for the NVIDIA kernel
   module to build correctly. Make sure your kernel sources are installed and
   configured to match your running kernel.


Q. OpenGL applications leak significant amounts of memory on my system!

A. If your kernel is making use of the -rmap VM, the system may be leaking
   memory due to a memory management optimization introduced in -rmap14a. The
   -rmap VM has been adopted by several popular distributions, the memory leak
   is known to be present in some of the distribution kernels; it has been
   fixed in -rmap15e.

   If you suspect that your system is affected, try upgrading your kernel or
   contact your distribution's vendor for assistance.


Q. Some OpenGL applications (like Quake3 Arena) crash when I start them on Red
   Hat Linux 9.0.

A. Some versions of the glibc package shipped by Red Hat that support TLS do
   not properly handle using dlopen() to access shared libraries which use
   some TLS models. This problem is exhibited, for example, when Quake3 Area
   dlopen() 's NVIDIA's libGL library. Please obtain at least glibc-2.3.2-11.9
   which is available as an update from Red Hat.


Q. I have installed the driver, but my Enable 3D Acceleration check box is
   still grayed out.

A. Most distribution-provided configuration applets are not aware of the
   NVIDIA accelerated driver, and consequently will not update themselves when
   you install the driver. Your driver, if it has been installed properly,
   should function fine.


Q. When changing settings in games like Quake 3 Arena, or Wolfenstein Enemy
   Territory, the game crashes and I see this error:
   
   ...loading libGL.so.1: QGL_Init: dlopen libGL.so.1 failed: 
   /usr/lib/tls/libGL.so.1: shared object cannot be dlopen()ed:
   static TLS memory too small
   
   
A. These games close and reopen the NVIDIA OpenGL driver (via dlopen() /
   dlclose()) when settings are changed. On some versions of glibc (such as
   the one shipped with Red Hat Linux 9), there is a bug that leaks static TLS
   entries. This glibc bug causes subsequent re-loadings of the OpenGL driver
   to fail. This is fixed in more recent versions of glibc; see Red Hat bug
   #89692: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=89692


Q. When I try to install the driver, the installer claims that X is running,
   even though I have exited X.

A. The installer detects the presence of an X server by checking for the X
   server's lock files: '/tmp/.Xn-lock', where 'n' is the number of the X
   Display (the installer checks for X Displays 0-7). If you have exited X,
   but one of these files has been left behind, then you will need to manually
   delete the lock file. DO NOT remove this file if X is still running!


Q. Why does the VBIOS fail to load on my Optimus system?

A. On some notebooks with Optimus graphics, the NVIDIA driver may not be able
   to retrieve the Video BIOS due to interactions between the System BIOS and
   the Linux kernel's ACPI subsystem. On affected notebooks, applications that
   require the GPU will fail, and messages like the following may appear in
   the system log:
   
   
   NVRM: failed to copy vbios to system memory.
   NVRM: RmInitAdapter failed! (0x30:0xffffffff:858)
   NVRM: rm_init_adapter(0) failed
   
   
   Such problems are typically beyond the control of the NVIDIA driver, which
   relies on proper cooperation of ACPI and the System BIOS to retrieve
   important information about the GPU, including the Video BIOS.


Q. My system runs, but seems unstable.

A. If you're using an AGP card, your stability problems may be AGP-related.
   See Chapter 12 for details.


Q. OpenGL applications are running slowly

A. The application is probably using a different library that still remains on
   your system, rather than the NVIDIA supplied OpenGL library. See Chapter 5
   for details.


Q. There are problems running Quake2.

A. Quake2 requires some minor setup to get it going. First, in the Quake2
   directory, the install creates a symlink called 'libGL.so' that points at
   'libMesaGL.so'. This symlink should be removed or renamed. Second, in order
   to run Quake2 in OpenGL mode, you must type
   
       % quake2 +set vid_ref glx +set gl_driver libGL.so
   
   Quake2 does not seem to support any kind of full-screen mode, but you can
   run your X server at the same resolution as Quake2 to emulate full-screen
   mode.


Q. X takes a long time to start (possibly several minutes).

A. Most of the X startup delay problems we have found are caused by incorrect
   data in video BIOSes about what display devices are possibly connected or
   what i2c port should be used for detection. You can work around these
   problems with the X config option IgnoreDisplayDevices (see the description
   in Appendix B).


Q. Fonts are incorrectly sized after installing the NVIDIA driver.

A. Incorrectly sized fonts are generally caused by incorrect DPI (Dots Per
   Inch) information. You can check what X thinks the physical size of your
   monitor is, by running:
   
    % xdpyinfo | grep dimensions
   
   This will report the size in pixels, and in millimeters.

   If these numbers are wrong, you can correct them by modifying the X
   server's DPI setting. See Appendix E for details.


Q. General problems with ALi chipsets

A. There are some known timing and signal integrity issues on ALi chipsets.
   The following tips may help stabilize problematic ALI systems:
   
      o Disable TURBO AGP MODE in the BIOS.
   
      o When using a P5A upgrade to BIOS Revision 1002 BETA 2.
   
      o When using 1007, 1007A or 1009 adjust the IO Recovery Time to 4
        cycles.
   
      o AGP is disabled by default on some ALi chipsets (ALi1541, ALi1647) to
        work around severe system stability problems with these chipsets. See
        the comments for EnableALiAGP in 'nv-reg.h' to force AGP on anyway.
   
   

Q. Using GNOME configuration utilities, I am unable to get a resolution above
   800x600.

A. The installation of GNOME provided in operating systems such as Red Hat
   Enterprise Linux 4 contain several competing interfaces for specifying
   resolution:
   
   
       'System Settings' -> 'Display'
   
   
   which will update the X configuration file, and
   
   
       'Applications' -> 'Preferences' -> 'Screen Resolution'
   
   
   which will update the per-user screen resolution using the XRandR
   extension. Your desktop resolution will be limited to the smaller of the
   two settings. Be sure to check the setting of each.


Q. OpenGL applications don't work, and my X log file contains the error:
   
   (EE) NVIDIA(0): Unable to map device node /dev/zero with read and write
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):     privileges.  The GLX extension will be disabled on this
   
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):     X screen.  Please see the COMMON PROBLEMS section in
   the 
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):     README for more information.
   
   
A. The NVIDIA OpenGL driver must be able to map anonymous memory with read and
   write execute privileges in order to function correctly. The driver needs
   this ability to allocate aligned memory, which is used for certain
   optimizations. Currently, GLX cannot run without these optimizations.


Q. X doesn't start, and my log file contains a message like the following:
   
   
   (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to allocate primary buffer: failed to set CPU access
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):     for surface.  Please see Chapter 8: Common Problems in
   (EE) NVIDIA(0):     the README for troubleshooting suggestions.
   
   
   
A. The NVIDIA X driver needs to be able to access the buffers it allocates
   from the CPU, but wasn't able to set up this access. This commonly fails if
   you're using a large virtual desktop size. Although your GPU may have
   enough onboard video memory for the buffer, the amount of usable memory may
   be limited if the "IndirectMemoryAccess" option is disabled, or if not
   enough address space was reserved for indirect memory access (this commonly
   occurs on 32-bit systems). If you're seeing this problem and are using a
   32-bit operating system, it may be resolved by switching to a 64-bit
   operating system.


Q. My log file contains a message like the following:
   
   
   (WW) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Unable to enter interactive mode, because
   non-interactive
   (WW) NVIDIA(GPU-0): mode has been previously requested.  The most common
   (WW) NVIDIA(GPU-0): cause is that a GPU compute application is currently
   (WW) NVIDIA(GPU-0): running. Please see the README for details.
   
   
   
A. This indicates that the X driver was not able to put the GPU in interactive
   mode, because another program has requested non-interactive mode. The GPU
   watchdog will not run, and long-running GPU compute programs may cause the
   X server and OpenGL programs to hang. If you intend to run long-running GPU
   compute programs, set the "Interactive" option to "off" to disable
   interactive mode.



INTERACTION WITH THE NOUVEAU DRIVER

Q. What is Nouveau, and why do I need to disable it?

A. Nouveau is a display driver for NVIDIA GPUs, developed as an open-source
   project through reverse-engineering of the NVIDIA driver. It ships with
   many current Linux distributions as the default display driver for NVIDIA
   hardware. It is not developed or supported by NVIDIA, and is not related to
   the NVIDIA driver, other than the fact that both Nouveau and the NVIDIA
   driver are capable of driving NVIDIA GPUs. Only one driver can control a
   GPU at a time, so if a GPU is being driven by the Nouveau driver, Nouveau
   must be disabled before installing the NVIDIA driver.

   Nouveau performs modesets in the kernel. This can make disabling Nouveau
   difficult, as the kernel modeset is used to display a framebuffer console,
   which means that Nouveau will be in use even if X is not running. As long
   as Nouveau is in use, its kernel module cannot be unloaded, which will
   prevent the NVIDIA kernel module from loading. It is therefore important to
   make sure that Nouveau's kernel modesetting is disabled before installing
   the NVIDIA driver.


Q. How do I prevent Nouveau from loading and performing a kernel modeset?

A. A simple way to prevent Nouveau from loading and performing a kernel
   modeset is to add configuration directives for the module loader to a file
   in one of the system's module loader configuration directories: for
   example, '/etc/modprobe.d/' or '/usr/local/modprobe.d'. These configuration
   directives can technically be added to any file in these directories, but
   many of the existing files in these directories are provided and maintained
   by your distributor, which may from time to time provide updated
   configuration files which could conflict with your changes. Therefore, it
   is recommended to create a new file, for example,
   '/etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf', rather than editing one of the
   existing files, such as the popular '/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf'. Note
   that some module loaders will only look for configuration directives in
   files whose names end with '.conf', so if you are creating a new file, make
   sure its name ends with '.conf'.

   Whether you choose to create a new file or edit an existing one, the
   following two lines will need to be added:
   
   blacklist nouveau
   options nouveau modeset=0
   
   The first line will prevent Nouveau's kernel module from loading
   automatically at boot. It will not prevent manual loading of the module,
   and it will not prevent the X server from loading the kernel module; see
   "How do I prevent the X server from loading Nouveau?" below. The second
   line will prevent Nouveau from doing a kernel modeset. Without the kernel
   modeset, it is possible to unload Nouveau's kernel module, in the event
   that it is accidentally or intentionally loaded.

   You will need to reboot your system after adding these configuration
   directives in order for them to take effect.

   If nvidia-installer detects Nouveau is in use by the system, it will offer
   to create such a modprobe configuration file to disable Nouveau.

Q. What if my initial ramdisk image contains Nouveau?

A. Some distributions include Nouveau in an initial ramdisk image (henceforth
   referred to as "initrd" in this document, and sometimes also known as
   "initramfs"), so that Nouveau's kernel modeset can take place as early as
   possible in the boot process. This poses an additional challenge to those
   who wish to prevent the modeset from occurring, as the modeset will occur
   while the system is executing within the initrd, before any directives in
   the module loader configuration files are processed.

   If you have an initrd which loads the Nouveau driver, you will additionally
   need to ensure that Nouveau is disabled in the initrd. In most cases,
   rebuilding the initrd will pick up the module loader configuration files,
   including any which may disable Nouveau. Please consult your distribution's
   documentation on how to rebuild the initrd, as different distributions have
   different tools for building and modifying the initrd. Some popular distro
   initrd tools include: 'dracut', 'mkinitrd', and 'update-initramfs'.

   Some initrds understand the rdblacklist parameter. On these initrds, as an
   alternative to rebuilding the initrd, you can add the option
   rdblacklist=nouveau to your kernel's boot parameters. On initrds that do
   not support rdblacklist, it is possible to prevent Nouveau from performing
   a kernel modeset by adding the option nouveau.modeset=0 to your kernel's
   boot parameters. Note that nouveau.modeset=0 will prevent a kernel modeset,
   but it may not prevent Nouveau from being loaded, so rebuilding the initrd
   or using rdblacklist may be more effective than using nouveau.modeset=0.

   Any changes to the default kernel boot parameters should be made in your
   bootloader's configuration file(s), so that the options get passed to your
   kernel every time the system is booted. Please consult your distribution's
   documentation on how to configure your bootloader, as different
   distributions use different bootloaders and configuration files.


Q. How do I prevent the X server from loading Nouveau?

A. Blacklisting Nouveau will only prevent it from being loaded automatically
   at boot. If an X server is started as part of the normal boot process, and
   that X server uses the Nouveau X driver, then the Nouveau kernel module
   will still be loaded. Should this happen, you will be able to unload
   Nouveau with `modprobe -r nouveau` after stopping the X server, as long as
   you have taken care to prevent it from doing a kernel modeset; however, it
   is probably better to just make sure that X does not load Nouveau in the
   first place.

   If your system is not configured to start an X server at boot, then you can
   simply run the NVIDIA driver installer after rebooting. Otherwise, the
   easiest thing to do is to edit your X server's configuration file so that
   your X server uses a non-modesetting driver that is compatible with your
   card, such as the 'vesa' driver. You can then stop X and and install the
   driver as usual. Please consult your X server's documentation to determine
   where your X server configuration file is located.



______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 9. Known Issues
______________________________________________________________________________

The following problems still exist in this release and are in the process of
being resolved.

Known Issues

OpenGL and dlopen()

    There are some issues with older versions of the glibc dynamic loader
    (e.g., the version that shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.2) and applications
    such as Quake3 and Radiant, that use dlopen(). See Chapter 7 for more
    details.

Interaction with pthreads

    Single-threaded applications that use dlopen() to load NVIDIA's libGL
    library, and then use dlopen() to load any other library that is linked
    against libpthread will crash in libGL. This does not happen in NVIDIA's
    new ELF TLS OpenGL libraries (see Chapter 5 for a description of the ELF
    TLS OpenGL libraries). Possible workarounds for this problem are:
    
      1. Load the library that is linked with libpthread before loading libGL.
    
      2. Link the application with libpthread.
    
    
The X86-64 platform (AMD64/EM64T) and early Linux 2.6 kernels

    Many 2.4 and 2.6 x86_64 kernels have an accounting problem in their
    implementation of the change_page_attr kernel interface. Early 2.6 kernels
    include a check that triggers a BUG() when this situation is encountered
    (triggering a BUG() results in the current application being killed by the
    kernel; this application would be your OpenGL application or potentially
    the X server). The accounting issue has been resolved in the 2.6.11
    kernel.

    We have added checks to recognize that the NVIDIA kernel module is being
    compiled for the x86-64 platform on a kernel between Linux 2.6.0 and Linux
    2.6.11. In this case, we will disable usage of the change_page_attr kernel
    interface. This will avoid the accounting issue but leaves the system in
    danger of cache aliasing (see entry below on Cache Aliasing for more
    information about cache aliasing). Note that this change_page_attr
    accounting issue and BUG() can be triggered by other kernel subsystems
    that rely on this interface.

    If you are using a Linux 2.6 x86_64 kernel, it is recommended that you
    upgrade to Linux 2.6.11 or to a later kernel.

    Also take note of common dma issues on 64-bit platforms in Chapter 10.

Cache Aliasing

    Cache aliasing occurs when multiple mappings to a physical page of memory
    have conflicting caching states, such as cached and uncached. Due to these
    conflicting states, data in that physical page may become corrupted when
    the processor's cache is flushed. If that page is being used for DMA by a
    driver such as NVIDIA's graphics driver, this can lead to hardware
    stability problems and system lockups.

    NVIDIA has encountered bugs with some Linux kernel versions that lead to
    cache aliasing. Although some systems will run perfectly fine when cache
    aliasing occurs, other systems will experience severe stability problems,
    including random lockups. Users experiencing stability problems due to
    cache aliasing will benefit from updating to a kernel that does not cause
    cache aliasing to occur.

    NVIDIA has added driver logic to detect cache aliasing and to print a
    warning with a message similar to the following:
    
    NVRM: bad caching on address 0x1cdf000: actual 0x46 != expected 0x73
    
    If you see this message in your log files and are experiencing stability
    problems, you should update your kernel to the latest version.

    If the message persists after updating your kernel, send a bug report to
    NVIDIA.

64-Bit BARs (Base Address Registers)

    Starting with native PCI Express GPUs, NVIDIA's GPUs will advertise a
    64-bit BAR capability (a Base Address Register stores the location of a
    PCI I/O region, such as registers or a frame buffer). This means that the
    GPU's PCI I/O regions (registers and frame buffer) can be placed above the
    32-bit address space (the first 4 gigabytes of memory).

    The decision of where the BAR is placed is made by the system BIOS at boot
    time. If the BIOS supports 64-bit BARs, then the NVIDIA PCI I/O regions
    may be placed above the 32-bit address space. If the BIOS does not support
    this feature, then our PCI I/O regions will be placed within the 32-bit
    address space as they have always been.

    Unfortunately, some Linux kernels (such as 2.6.11.x) do not understand or
    support 64-bit BARs. If the BIOS does place any NVIDIA PCI I/O regions
    above the 32-bit address space, such kernels will reject the BAR and the
    NVIDIA driver will not work.

    The only known workaround is to upgrade to a newer kernel.

Kernel virtual address space exhaustion on the X86 platform

    On X86 systems and AMD64/EM64T systems using X86 kernels, only 4GB of
    virtual address space are available, which the Linux kernel typically
    partitions such that user processes are allocated 3GB, the kernel itself
    1GB. Part of the kernel's share is used to create a direct mapping of
    system memory (RAM). Depending on how much system memory is installed, the
    kernel virtual address space remaining for other uses varies in size and
    may be as small as 128MB, if 1GB of system memory (or more) are installed.
    The kernel typically reserves a minimum of 128MB by default.

    The kernel virtual address space still available after the creation of the
    direct system memory mapping is used by both the kernel and by drivers to
    map I/O resources, and for some memory allocations. Depending on the
    number of consumers and their respective requirements, the Linux kernel's
    virtual address space may be exhausted. Typically when this happens, the
    kernel prints an error message that looks like
    
    allocation failed: out of vmalloc space - use vmalloc=<size> to increase
    size.
    
    or
    
    vmap allocation for size 16781312 failed: use vmalloc=<size> to increase
    size.
    
    
    The NVIDIA kernel module requires portions of the kernel's virtual address
    space for each GPU and for certain memory allocations. If no more than
    128MB are available to the kernel and device drivers at boot time, the
    NVIDIA kernel module may be unable to initialize all GPUs, or fail memory
    allocations. This is not usually a problem with only 1 or 2 GPUs, however
    depending on the number of other drivers and their usage patterns, it can
    be; it is likely to be a problem with 3 or more GPUs.

    Possible solutions for this problem include:
    
       o If your system is equipped with an X86-64 (AMD64/EM64T) processor, it
         is recommended that you switch to a 64-bit Linux kernel/distribution.
         Due to the significantly larger address space provided by the X86-64
         processors' addressing capabilities, X86-64 kernels will not run out
         of kernel virtual address space in the foreseeable future.
    
       o If a 64-bit kernel cannot be used, the 'vmalloc' kernel parameter can
         be used on recent kernels to increase the size of the kernel virtual
         address space reserved by the Linux kernel (the default is usually
         128MB). Incrementally raising this to find the best balance between
         the size of the kernel virtual address space made available and the
         size of the direct system memory mapping is recommended. You can
         achieve this by passing 'vmalloc=192M', 'vmalloc=256MB', ..., to the
         kernel and checking if the above error message continues to be
         printed.
    
         Note that some versions of the GRUB boot loader have problems
         calculating the memory layout and loading the initrd if the 'vmalloc'
         kernel parameter is used. The 'uppermem' GRUB command can be used to
         force GRUB to load the initrd into a lower region of system memory to
         work around this problem. This will not adversely affect system
         performance once the kernel has been loaded. The suggested syntax
         (assuming GRUB version 1) is:
         
         title     Kernel Title
         uppermem  524288
         kernel    (hdX,Y)/boot/vmlinuz...
         
         
         Also note that the 'vmalloc' kernel parameter only exists on Linux
         2.6.9 and later kernels. On older kernels, the amount of system
         memory used by the kernel can be reduced with the 'mem' kernel
         parameter, which also reduces the size of the direct mapping and thus
         increases the size of the kernel virtual address space available. For
         example, 'mem=512M' instructs the kernel to ignore all but the first
         512MB of system memory. Although it is undesirable to reduce the
         amount of usable system memory, this approach can be used to check if
         initialization problems are caused by kernel virtual address space
         exhaustion.
    
       o In some cases, disabling frame buffer drivers such as vesafb can
         help, as such drivers may attempt to map all or a large part of the
         installed graphics cards' video memory into the kernel's virtual
         address space, which rapidly consumes this resource. You can disable
         the vesafb frame buffer driver by passing these parameters to the
         kernel: 'video=vesa:off vga=normal'.
    
       o Some Linux kernels can be configured with alternate address space
         layouts (e.g. 2.8GB:1.2GB, 2GB:2GB, etc.). This option can be used to
         avoid exhaustion of the kernel virtual address space without reducing
         the size of the direct system memory mapping. Some Linux distributors
         also provide kernels that use seperate 4GB address spaces for user
         processes and the kernel. Such Linux kernels provide sufficient
         kernel virtual address space on typical systems.
    
    
Valgrind

    The NVIDIA OpenGL implementation makes use of self modifying code. To
    force Valgrind to retranslate this code after a modification you must run
    using the Valgrind command line option:
    
    --smc-check=all
    
    Without this option Valgrind may execute incorrect code causing incorrect
    behavior and reports of the form:
    
    ==30313== Invalid write of size 4
    
    
MMConfig-based PCI Configuration Space Accesses

    2.6 kernels have added support for Memory-Mapped PCI Configuration Space
    accesses. Unfortunately, there are many problems with this mechanism, and
    the latest kernel updates are more careful about enabling this support.

    The NVIDIA driver may be unable to reliably read/write the PCI
    Configuration Space of NVIDIA devices when the kernel is using the
    MMCONFIG method to access PCI Configuration Space, specifically when using
    multiple GPUs and multiple CPUs on 32-bit kernels.

    This access method can be identified by the presence of the string "PCI:
    Using MMCONFIG" in the 'dmesg' output on your system. This access method
    can be disabled via the "pci=nommconf" kernel parameter.

HDMI screen blanks unless audio is played

    The ALSA audio driver in some Linux kernels contains a bug affecting some
    systems with integrated graphics that causes the display to go blank on
    some HDMI TVs whenever audio is not being played. This bug occurs when the
    ALSA audio driver configures the HDMI hardware to send an HDMI audio info
    frame that contains an invalid checksum. Some TVs blank the video when
    they receive such invalid audio packets.

    To ensure proper display, please make sure your Linux kernel contains
    commit 1f348522844bb1f6e7b10d50b9e8aa89a2511b09. This fix is in Linux
    2.6.39-rc3 and later, and may be be back-ported to some older kernels.

Notebooks

    If you are using a notebook see the "Known Notebook Issues" in Chapter 18.

Texture seams in Quake 3 engine

    Many games based on the Quake 3 engine set their textures to use the
    "GL_CLAMP" clamping mode when they should be using "GL_CLAMP_TO_EDGE".
    This was an oversight made by the developers because some legacy NVIDIA
    GPUs treat the two modes as equivalent. The result is seams at the edges
    of textures in these games. To mitigate this, older versions of the NVIDIA
    display driver remap "GL_CLAMP" to "GL_CLAMP_TO_EDGE" internally to
    emulate the behavior of the older GPUs, but this workaround has been
    disabled by default. To re-enable it, uncheck the "Use Conformant Texture
    Clamping" checkbox in nvidia-settings before starting any affected
    applications.

FSAA

    When FSAA is enabled (the __GL_FSAA_MODE environment variable is set to a
    value that enables FSAA and a multisample visual is chosen), the rendering
    may be corrupted when resizing the window.

libGL DSO finalizer and pthreads

    When a multithreaded OpenGL application exits, it is possible for libGL's
    DSO finalizer (also known as the destructor, or "_fini") to be called
    while other threads are executing OpenGL code. The finalizer needs to free
    resources allocated by libGL. This can cause problems for threads that are
    still using these resources. Setting the environment variable
    "__GL_NO_DSO_FINALIZER" to "1" will work around this problem by forcing
    libGL's finalizer to leave its resources in place. These resources will
    still be reclaimed by the operating system when the process exits. Note
    that the finalizer is also executed as part of dlclose(3), so if you have
    an application that dlopens(3) and dlcloses(3) libGL repeatedly,
    "__GL_NO_DSO_FINALIZER" will cause libGL to leak resources until the
    process exits. Using this option can improve stability in some
    multithreaded applications, including Java3D applications.

Thread cancellation

    Canceling a thread (see pthread_cancel(3)) while it is executing in the
    OpenGL driver causes undefined behavior. For applications that wish to use
    thread cancellation, it is recommended that threads disable cancellation
    using pthread_setcancelstate(3) while executing OpenGL or GLX commands.

This section describes problems that will not be fixed. Usually, the source of
the problem is beyond the control of NVIDIA. Following is the list of
problems:

Problems that Will Not Be Fixed

Gigabyte GA-6BX Motherboard

    This motherboard uses a LinFinity regulator on the 3.3 V rail that is only
    rated to 5 A -- less than the AGP specification, which requires 6 A. When
    diagnostics or applications are running, the temperature of the regulator
    rises, causing the voltage to the NVIDIA GPU to drop as low as 2.2 V.
    Under these circumstances, the regulator cannot supply the current on the
    3.3 V rail that the NVIDIA GPU requires.

    This problem does not occur when the graphics card has a switching
    regulator or when an external power supply is connected to the 3.3 V rail.

VIA KX133 and 694X Chip sets with AGP 2x

    On Athlon motherboards with the VIA KX133 or 694X chip set, such as the
    ASUS K7V motherboard, NVIDIA drivers default to AGP 2x mode to work around
    insufficient drive strength on one of the signals.

Irongate Chip sets with AGP 1x

    AGP 1x transfers are used on Athlon motherboards with the Irongate chipset
    to work around a problem with signal integrity.

ALi chipsets, ALi1541 and ALi1647

    On ALi1541 and ALi1647 chipsets, NVIDIA drivers disable AGP to work around
    timing issues and signal integrity issues. See Chapter 8 for more
    information on ALi chipsets.

NV-CONTROL versions 1.8 and 1.9

    Version 1.8 of the NV-CONTROL X Extension introduced target types for
    setting and querying attributes as well as receiving event notification on
    targets. Targets are objects like X Screens, GPUs and Quadro Sync devices.
    Previously, all attributes were described relative to an X Screen. These
    new bits of information (target type and target id) were packed in a
    non-compatible way in the protocol stream such that addressing X Screen 1
    or higher would generate an X protocol error when mixing NV-CONTROL client
    and server versions.

    This packing problem has been fixed in the NV-CONTROL 1.10 protocol,
    making it possible for the older (1.7 and prior) clients to communicate
    with NV-CONTROL 1.10 servers. Furthermore, the NV-CONTROL 1.10 client
    library has been updated to accommodate the target protocol packing bug
    when communicating with a 1.8 or 1.9 NV-CONTROL server. This means that
    the NV-CONTROL 1.10 client library should be able to communicate with any
    version of the NV-CONTROL server.

    NVIDIA recommends that NV-CONTROL client applications relink with version
    1.10 or later of the NV-CONTROL client library (libXNVCtrl.a, in the
    nvidia-settings-304.137.tar.bz2 tarball). The version of the client
    library can be determined by checking the NV_CONTROL_MAJOR and
    NV_CONTROL_MINOR definitions in the accompanying nv_control.h.

    The only web released NVIDIA Linux driver that is affected by this problem
    (i.e., the only driver to use either version 1.8 or 1.9 of the NV-CONTROL
    X extension) is 1.0-8756.

CPU throttling reducing memory bandwidth on IGP systems

    For some models of CPU, the CPU throttling technology may affect not only
    CPU core frequency, but also memory frequency/bandwidth. On systems using
    integrated graphics, any reduction in memory bandwidth will affect the GPU
    as well as the CPU. This can negatively affect applications that use
    significant memory bandwidth, such as video decoding using VDPAU, or
    certain OpenGL operations. This may cause such applications to run with
    lower performance than desired.

    To work around this problem, NVIDIA recommends configuring your CPU
    throttling implementation to avoid reducing memory bandwidth. This may be
    as simple as setting a certain minimum frequency for the CPU.

    Depending on your operating system and/or distribution, this may be as
    simple as writing to a configuration file in the /sys or /proc
    filesystems, or other system configuration file. Please read, or search
    the Internet for, documentation regarding CPU throttling on your operating
    system.

VDPAU initialization failures on supported GPUs

    If VDPAU gives the VDP_STATUS_NO_IMPLEMENTATION error message on a GPU
    which was labeled or specified as supporting PureVideo or PureVideo HD,
    one possible reason is a hardware defect. After ruling out any other
    software problems, NVIDIA recommends returning the GPU to the manufacturer
    for a replacement.

Some applications, such as Quake 3, crash after querying the OpenGL extension
string

    Some applications have bugs that are triggered when the extension string
    is longer than a certain size. As more features are added to the driver,
    the length of this string increases and can trigger these sorts of bugs.

    You can limit the extensions listed in the OpenGL extension string to the
    ones that appeared in a particular version of the driver by setting the
    "__GL_ExtensionStringVersion" environment variable to a particular version
    number. For example,
    
    __GL_ExtensionStringVersion=17700 quake3
    
    will run Quake 3 with the extension string that appeared in the 177.*
    driver series. Limiting the size of the extension string can work around
    this sort of application bug.

XVideo and the Composite X extension

    XVideo will not work correctly when Composite is enabled unless using
    X.Org 7.1 or later. See Chapter 24.

GLX visuals in Xinerama

    X servers prior to version 1.5.0 have a limitation in the number of
    visuals that can be available when Xinerama is enabled. Specifically,
    visuals with ID values over 255 will cause the server to corrupt memory,
    leading to incorrect behavior or crashes. In some configurations where
    many GLX features are enabled at once, the number of GLX visuals will
    exceed this limit. To avoid a crash, the NVIDIA X driver will discard
    visuals above the limit. To see which visuals are being discarded, run the
    X server with the -logverbose 6 option and then check the X server log
    file.

    Please see "Q. How do I interpret X server version numbers?" in Chapter 7
    when determining whether your X server is new enough to contain this fix.

Some X servers have trouble with multiple GPUs

    Some versions of the X.Org X server starting with 1.5.0 have a bug that
    causes X to fail with an error similar to the following when there is more
    than one GPU in the computer:

    
    
    (!!) More than one possible primary device found
    (II) Primary Device is:
    (EE) No devices detected.
    
    Fatal server error:
    no screens found
    
    
    This bug was fixed in the X.Org X Server 1.7 release.

    You can work around this problem by specifying the bus ID of the device
    you wish to use. For more details, please search the xorg.conf manual page
    for "BusID". You can configure the X server with an X screen on each
    NVIDIA GPU by running:

    
    
    nvidia-xconfig --enable-all-gpus
    
    
    Please see http://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=18321 for more
    details on this X server problem. In addition, please see "Q. How do I
    interpret X server version numbers?" in Chapter 7 when determining whether
    your X server is new enough to contain this fix.

I/O APIC (SMP)

    If you are experiencing stability problems with a Linux SMP computer and
    seeing I/O APIC warning messages from the Linux kernel, system reliability
    may be greatly improved by setting the "noapic" kernel parameter.

Local APIC (UP)

    On some systems, setting the "Local APIC Support on Uniprocessors" kernel
    configuration option can have adverse effects on system stability and
    performance. If you are experiencing lockups with a Linux UP computer and
    have this option set, try disabling local APIC support.

nForce2 Chipsets and AGPGART

    Some of the earlier versions of agpgart to support the nForce2 chipset are
    known to contain bugs that result in system hangs. The suggested
    workaround is to use NVAGP or update to a newer kernel. Known problematic
    versions include all known Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 kernels (through
    Update 7).

    If a broken agpgart is used on an nForce2 chipset, the NVIDIA driver will
    attempt to work around these agpgart bugs as best it can, by recovering
    from AGP errors and eventually disabling AGP.

    To configure NVAGP, see Chapter 12.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 10. Allocating DMA Buffers on 64-bit Platforms
______________________________________________________________________________

NVIDIA GPUs have limits on how much physical memory they can address. This
directly impacts DMA buffers, as a DMA buffer allocated in physical memory
that is unaddressable by the NVIDIA GPU cannot be used (or may be truncated,
resulting in bad memory accesses).

All pre-PCI Express GPUs and non-Native PCI Express GPUs (often known as
bridged GPUs) are limited to 32 bits of physical address space, which
corresponds to 4 GB of memory. On a system with greater than 4 GB of memory,
allocating usable DMA buffers can be a problem. Native PCI Express GPUs are
capable of addressing greater than 32 bits of physical address space and do
not experience the same problems.

Newer kernels provide a simple way to allocate memory that is guaranteed to
reside within the 32 bit physical address space. Linux 2.6.15 provides this
functionality with the __GFP_DMA32 interface. Kernels earlier than this
version provide a software I/O TLB on Intel's EM64T and IOMMU support on AMD's
AMD64 platform.

Unfortunately, some problems exist with both interfaces. Early implementations
of the Linux SWIOTLB set aside a very small amount of memory for its memory
pool (only 4 MB). Also, when this memory pool is exhausted, some SWIOTLB
implementations forcibly panic the kernel. This is also true for some
implementations of the IOMMU interface.

Kernel panics and related stability problems on Intel's EM64T platform can be
avoided by increasing the size of the SWIOTLB pool with the 'swiotlb' kernel
parameter. This kernel parameter expects the desired size as a number of 4 KB
pages. NVIDIA suggests raising the size of the SWIOTLB pool to 64 MB; this is
accomplished by passing 'swiotlb=16384' to the kernel. Please note that newer
Linux 2.6 kernels already default to a 64 MB SWIOTLB pool, see below for more
information.

Starting with Linux 2.6.9, the default size of the SWIOTLB is 64 MB and
overflow handling is improved. Both of these changes are expected to greatly
improve stability on Intel's EM64T platform. If you consider upgrading your
Linux kernel to benefit from these improvements, NVIDIA recommends that you
upgrade to Linux 2.6.11 or a more recent Linux kernel. See the previous
section for additional information.

On AMD's AMD64 platform, the size of the IOMMU can be configured in the system
BIOS or, if no IOMMU BIOS option is available, using the 'iommu=memaper'
kernel parameter. This kernel parameter expects an order and instructs the
Linux kernel to create an IOMMU of size 32 MB^order overlapping physical
memory. If the system's default IOMMU is smaller than 64 MB, the Linux kernel
automatically replaces it with a 64 MB IOMMU.

To reduce the risk of stability problems as a result of IOMMU or SWIOTLB
exhaustion on the X86-64 platform, the NVIDIA Linux driver internally limits
its use of these interfaces. By default, the driver will not use more than 60
MB of IOMMU/SWIOTLB space, leaving 4 MB for the rest of the system (assuming a
64 MB IOMMU/SWIOTLB).

This limit can be adjusted with the 'NVreg_RemapLimit' NVIDIA kernel module
option. Specifically, if the IOMMU/SWIOTLB is larger than 64 MB, the limit can
be adjusted to take advantage of the additional space. The 'NVreg_RemapLimit'
option expects the size argument in bytes.

NVIDIA recommends leaving 4 MB available for the rest of the system when
changing the limit. For example, if the internal limit is to be relaxed to
account for a 128 MB IOMMU/SWIOTLB, the recommended remap limit is 124 MB.
This remap limit can be specified by passing 'NVreg_RemapLimit=0x7c00000' to
the NVIDIA kernel module.

Also see the 'The X86-64 platform (AMD64/EM64T) and early Linux 2.6 kernels'
section in Chapter 9.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 11. Specifying OpenGL Environment Variable Settings
______________________________________________________________________________


11A. FULL SCENE ANTIALIASING

Antialiasing is a technique used to smooth the edges of objects in a scene to
reduce the jagged "stairstep" effect that sometimes appears. By setting the
appropriate environment variable, you can enable full-scene antialiasing in
any OpenGL application on these GPUs.

Several antialiasing methods are available and you can select between them by
setting the __GL_FSAA_MODE environment variable appropriately. Note that
increasing the number of samples taken during FSAA rendering may decrease
performance.

To see the available values for __GL_FSAA_MODE along with their descriptions,
run:

    nvidia-settings --query=fsaa --verbose

The __GL_FSAA_MODE environment variable uses the same integer values that are
used to configure FSAA through nvidia-settings and the NV-CONTROL X extension.
In other words, these two commands are equivalent:

    export __GL_FSAA_MODE=5

    nvidia-settings --assign FSAA=5

Note that there are three FSAA related configuration attributes (FSAA,
FSAAAppControlled and FSAAAppEnhanced) which together determine how a GL
application will behave. If FSAAAppControlled is 1, the FSAA specified through
nvidia-settings will be ignored, in favor of what the application requests
through FBConfig selection. If FSAAAppControlled is 0 but FSAAAppEnhanced is
1, then the FSAA value specified through nvidia-settings will only be applied
if the application selected a multisample FBConfig.

Therefore, to be completely correct, the nvidia-settings command line to
unconditionally assign FSAA should be:

    nvidia-settings --assign FSAA=5 --assign FSAAAppControlled=0 --assign
FSAAAppEnhanced=0


The driver may not be able to support a particular FSAA mode for a given
application due to video or system memory limitations. In that case, the
driver will silently fall back to a less demanding FSAA mode.


11B. ANISOTROPIC TEXTURE FILTERING

Automatic anisotropic texture filtering can be enabled by setting the
environment variable __GL_LOG_MAX_ANISO. The possible values are:

    __GL_LOG_MAX_ANISO                    Filtering Type
    ----------------------------------    ----------------------------------
    0                                     No anisotropic filtering
    1                                     2x anisotropic filtering
    2                                     4x anisotropic filtering
    3                                     8x anisotropic filtering
    4                                     16x anisotropic filtering

4x and greater are only available on GeForce3 or newer GPUs; 16x is only
available on GeForce 6800 or newer GPUs.


11C. VBLANK SYNCING

The __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK (boolean) environment variable can be used to control
whether swaps are synchronized to a display device's vertical refresh.

   o Setting __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK=0 allows glXSwapBuffers to swap without
     waiting for vblank.

   o Setting __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK=1 forces glXSwapBuffers to synchronize with
     the vertical blanking period. This is the default behavior.


When sync to vblank is enabled with TwinView, OpenGL can only sync to one of
the display devices; this may cause tearing corruption on the display device
to which OpenGL is not syncing. You can use the environment variable
__GL_SYNC_DISPLAY_DEVICE to specify to which display device OpenGL should
sync. You should set this environment variable to the name of a display
device; for example "CRT-1". Look for the line "Connected display device(s):"
in your X log file for a list of the display devices present and their names.
You may also find it useful to review Chapter 13 "Configuring Twinview" and
the section on Ensuring Identical Mode Timings in Chapter 20.


11D. CONTROLLING THE SORTING OF OPENGL FBCONFIGS

The NVIDIA GLX implementation sorts FBConfigs returned by glXChooseFBConfig()
as described in the GLX specification. To disable this behavior set
__GL_SORT_FBCONFIGS to 0 (zero), then FBConfigs will be returned in the order
they were received from the X server. To examine the order in which FBConfigs
are returned by the X server run:

nvidia-settings --glxinfo

This option may be be useful to work around problems in which applications
pick an unexpected FBConfig.


11E. OPENGL YIELD BEHAVIOR

There are several cases where the NVIDIA OpenGL driver needs to wait for
external state to change before continuing. To avoid consuming too much CPU
time in these cases, the driver will sometimes yield so the kernel can
schedule other processes to run while the driver waits. For example, when
waiting for free space in a command buffer, if the free space has not become
available after a certain number of iterations, the driver will yield before
it continues to loop.

By default, the driver calls sched_yield() to do this. However, this can cause
the calling process to be scheduled out for a relatively long period of time
if there are other, same-priority processes competing for time on the CPU. One
example of this is when an OpenGL-based composite manager is moving and
repainting a window and the X server is trying to update the window as it
moves, which are both CPU-intensive operations.

You can use the __GL_YIELD environment variable to work around these
scheduling problems. This variable allows the user to specify what the driver
should do when it wants to yield. The possible values are:

    __GL_YIELD         Behavior
    ---------------    ------------------------------------------------------
    <unset>            By default, OpenGL will call sched_yield() to yield.
    "NOTHING"          OpenGL will never yield.
    "USLEEP"           OpenGL will call usleep(0) to yield.



11F. CONTROLLING WHICH OPENGL FBCONFIGS ARE AVAILABLE

The NVIDIA GLX implementation will hide FBConfigs that are associated with a
32-bit ARGB visual when the XLIB_SKIP_ARGB_VISUALS environment variable is
defined. This matches the behavior of libX11, which will hide those visuals
from XGetVisualInfo and XMatchVisualInfo. This environment variable is useful
when applications are confused by the presence of these FBConfigs.


11G. USING UNOFFICIAL GLX PROTOCOL

By default, the NVIDIA GLX implementation will not expose GLX protocol for GL
commands if the protocol is not considered complete. Protocol could be
considered incomplete for a number of reasons. The implementation could still
be under development and contain known bugs, or the protocol specification
itself could be under development or going through review. If users would like
to test the client-side portion of such protocol when using indirect
rendering, they can set the __GL_ALLOW_UNOFFICIAL_PROTOCOL environment
variable to a non-zero value before starting their GLX application. When an
NVIDIA GLX server is used, the related X Config option
"AllowUnofficialGLXProtocol" will need to be set as well to enable support in
the server.


11H. OVERRIDING DRIVER DETECTION OF SELINUX POLICY BOOLEANS

On Linux, the NVIDIA GLX implementation will attempt to detect whether SELinux
is enabled and modify its behavior to respect SELinux policy. By default, the
driver adheres to SELinux policy boolean settings at the beginning of a client
process's execution; due to shared library limitations, these settings remain
fixed throughout the lifetime of the driver instance. Additionally, the driver
will adhere to policy boolean settings regardless of whether SELinux is
running in permissive mode or enforcing mode. The __GL_SELINUX_BOOLEANS
environment variable allows the user to override driver detection of specified
SELinux booleans so the driver acts as if these booleans were set or unset.
This allows the user, for example, to run the driver under a more restrictive
policy than specified by SELinux, or to work around problems when running the
driver under SELinux while operating in permissive mode.

__GL_SELINUX_BOOLEANS should be set to a comma-separated list of key/value
pairs:

 __GL_SELINUX_BOOLEANS="key1=val1,key2=val2,key3=val3,..."

Valid keys are any SELinux booleans specified by "getsebool -a", and valid
values are 1, true, yes, or on to enable the boolean, and 0, false, no, or off
to disable it. There should be no whitespace between any key, value, or
delimiter. Currently, the driver only uses the allow_execmem boolean to
determine whether it can apply optimizations that use executable memory.


11I. LIMITING HEAP ALLOCATIONS IN THE OPENGL DRIVER

The NVIDIA OpenGL implementation normally does not enforce limits on dynamic
system memory allocations (i.e., memory allocated by the driver from the C
library via the malloc(3) memory allocation package). The
__GL_HEAP_ALLOC_LIMIT environment variable enables the user to specify a
per-process heap allocation limit for as long as libGL is loaded in the
application.

__GL_HEAP_ALLOC_LIMIT is specified in the form BYTES SUFFIX, where BYTES is a
nonnegative integer and SUFFIX is an optional multiplicative suffix: kB =
1000, k = 1024, MB = 1000*1000, M = 1024*1024, GB = 1000*1000*1000, and G =
1024*1024*1024. SUFFIX is not case-sensitive. For example, to specify a heap
allocation limit of 20 megabytes:

__GL_HEAP_ALLOC_LIMIT="20 MB"

If SUFFIX is not specified, the limit is assumed to be given in bytes. The
minimum heap allocation limit is 12 MB. If a lower limit is specified, the
limit is clamped to the minimum.

The GNU C library provides several hooks that may be used by applications to
modify the behavior of malloc(3), realloc(3), and free(3). In addition, an
application or library may specify allocation symbols that the driver will use
in place of those exported by libc. Heap allocation tracking is incompatible
with these features, and the driver will disable the heap allocation limit if
it detects that they are in use.

WARNING: Enforcing a limit on heap allocations may cause unintended behavior
and lead to application crashes, data corruption, and system instability.
ENABLE AT YOUR OWN RISK.


11J. OPENGL SHADER DISK CACHE

The NVIDIA OpenGL driver utilizes a shader disk cache. This optimization
benefits some applications, by reusing shader binaries instead of compiling
them repeatedly. The related environment variables __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE and
__GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE_PATH, as well as the GLShaderDiskCache X configuration
option, allow fine-grained configuration of the shader cache behavior. The
shader disk cache:


  1. is always disabled for indirect rendering

  2. is always disabled for setuid and setgid binaries

  3. by default, is disabled for direct rendering when the OpenGL application
     is run as the root user

  4. by default, is enabled for direct rendering when the OpenGL application
     is run as a non-root user


The GLShaderDiskCache X configuration option forcibly enables or disables the
shader disk cache, for direct rendering as a non-root user.

By default, caches are stored in $HOME/.nv/GLCache. Caches are persistent
across runs of an application. Cached shader binaries are specific to each
driver version; changing driver versions will cause binaries to be recompiled.

The following environment variables configure shader disk cache behavior, and
override the GLShaderDiskCache configuration option:

    Environment Variable                  Description
    ----------------------------------    ----------------------------------
    __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE (boolean)      Enables or disables the shader
                                          cache for direct rendering.
    __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE_PATH           Enables configuration of where
    (string)                              shader caches are stored on disk.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 12. Configuring AGP
______________________________________________________________________________

There are several choices for configuring the NVIDIA kernel module's use of
AGP on Linux. You can choose to either use the NVIDIA builtin AGP driver
(NvAGP), or the AGP driver that comes with the Linux kernel (AGPGART). This is
controlled through the "NvAGP" option in your X config file:

    Option "NvAGP" "0"  ... disables AGP support
    Option "NvAGP" "1"  ... use NvAGP, if possible
    Option "NvAGP" "2"  ... use AGPGART, if possible
    Option "NvAGP" "3"  ... try AGPGART; if that fails, try NvAGP

The default is 3 (the default was 1 until after 1.0-1251).

You should use the AGP driver that works best with your AGP chipset. If you
are experiencing problems with stability, you may want to start by disabling
AGP and seeing if that solves the problems. Then you can experiment with the
AGP driver configuration.

You can query the current AGP status at any time via the '/proc' filesystem
interface (see Chapter 22).

To use the Linux 2.4 AGPGART driver, you will need to compile it with your
kernel and either statically link it in, or build it as a module and load it.
To use the AGPGART driver provided by Linux 2.6 or more recent Linux kernels,
both the AGPGART frontend module, 'apggart.ko', and the backend module for
your AGP chipset ('nvidia-agp.ko', 'intel-agp.ko', 'via-agp.ko', ...) need to
be statically linked into the kernel, or built as modules and loaded.

NVIDIA builtin AGP support is unavailable if an AGPGART backend driver is
loaded into the kernel. On Linux 2.4, it is recommended that you compile
AGPGART as a module and make sure that it is not loaded when trying to use the
NVIDIA AGP driver. On Linux 2.6 or later Linux kernels, the 'agpgart.ko'
frontend module will always be loaded, as it is used by the NVIDIA kernel
module to determine if an AGPGART backend module is loaded. When the NVIDIA
AGP driver is to be used on a Linux 2.6 or newer system, it is recommended
that you make sure the AGPGART backend drivers are built as modules and that
they are not loaded.

Also note that changing AGP drivers generally requires a reboot before the
changes actually take effect.

If you are using a Linux 2.6 or newer Linux kernel that has the Linux AGPGART
driver statically linked in (some distribution kernels do), you can pass the

    agp=off

parameter to the kernel (via LILO or GRUB, for example) to disable AGPGART
support. As of Linux 2.6.11, most AGPGART backend drivers should respect this
parameter.

The following AGP chipsets are supported by the NVIDIA AGP driver; for all
other chipsets it is recommended that you use the AGPGART module.

    Supported AGP Chipsets
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Intel 440LX
    Intel 440BX
    Intel 440GX
    Intel 815 ("Solano")
    Intel 820 ("Camino")
    Intel 830M
    Intel 840 ("Carmel")
    Intel 845 ("Brookdale")
    Intel 845G
    Intel 850 ("Tehama")
    Intel 855 ("Odem")
    Intel 860 ("Colusa")
    Intel 865G ("Springdale")
    Intel 875P ("Canterwood")
    Intel E7205 ("Granite Bay")
    Intel E7505 ("Placer")
    AMD 751 ("Irongate")
    AMD 761 ("IGD4")
    AMD 762 ("IGD4 MP")
    AMD 8151 ("Lokar")
    VIA 8371
    VIA 82C694X
    VIA KT133
    VIA KT266
    VIA KT400
    VIA P4M266
    VIA P4M266A
    VIA P4X400
    VIA K8T800
    VIA K8N800
    VIA PT880
    VIA KT880
    RCC CNB20LE
    RCC 6585HE
    Micron SAMDDR ("Samurai")
    Micron SCIDDR ("Scimitar")
    NVIDIA nForce
    NVIDIA nForce2
    NVIDIA nForce3
    ALi 1621
    ALi 1631
    ALi 1647
    ALi 1651
    ALi 1671
    SiS 630
    SiS 633
    SiS 635
    SiS 645
    SiS 646
    SiS 648
    SiS 648FX
    SiS 650
    SiS 651
    SiS 655
    SiS 655FX
    SiS 661
    SiS 730
    SiS 733
    SiS 735
    SiS 745
    SiS 755
    ATI RS200M


If you are experiencing AGP stability problems, you should be aware of the
following:

Additional AGP Information

AGP Rate

    You may want to decrease the AGP rate setting if you are seeing lockups
    with the value you are currently using. You can do so by extracting the
    '.run' file:
    
        # sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --extract-only
        # cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137/kernel/
    
    Then edit nv-reg.h, and make the following changes:
    
        - NV_DEFINE_REG_ENTRY(__NV_REQ_AGP_RATE, 15);
        + NV_DEFINE_REG_ENTRY(__NV_REQ_AGP_RATE, 4);   /* force AGP Rate to 4x
    */
    
    or
    
        + NV_DEFINE_REG_ENTRY(__NV_REQ_AGP_RATE, 2);   /* force AGP Rate to 2x
    */
    
    or
    
        + NV_DEFINE_REG_ENTRY(__NV_REQ_AGP_RATE, 1);   /* force AGP Rate to 1x
    */
    
    Then recompile and load the new kernel module. To do this, run
    'nvidia-installer' with the -n command line option:
    
        # cd ../../..; ./nvidia-installer -n
    
    
AGP drive strength BIOS setting (Via-based motherboards)

    Many Via-based motherboards allow adjusting the AGP drive strength in the
    system BIOS. The setting of this option largely affects system stability,
    the range between 0xEA and 0xEE seems to work best for NVIDIA hardware.
    Setting either nibble to 0xF generally results in severe stability
    problems.

    If you decide to experiment with this, you need to be aware of the fact
    that you are doing so at your own risk and that you may render your system
    unbootable with improper settings until you reset the setting to a working
    value (w/ a PCI graphics card or by resetting the BIOS to its default
    values).

System BIOS version

    Make sure you have the latest system BIOS provided by the motherboard
    manufacturer.

    On ALi1541 and ALi1647 chipsets, NVIDIA drivers disable AGP to work around
    timing and signal integrity problems. You can force AGP to be enabled on
    these chipsets by setting NVreg_EnableALiAGP to 1. Note that this may
    cause the system to become unstable.

    Early system BIOS revisions for the ASUS A7V8X-X KT400 motherboard
    misconfigure the chipset when an AGP 2.x graphics card is installed; if X
    hangs on your ASUS KT400 system with either Linux AGPGART or NvAGP enabled
    and the installed graphics card is not an AGP 8x device, make sure that
    you have the latest system BIOS installed.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 13. Configuring Multiple Display Devices on One X Screen
______________________________________________________________________________

Multiple display devices (digital flat panels, CRTs, and TVs) can display the
contents of a single X screen in any arbitrary configuration. Configuring
multiple display devices on a single X screen has several distinct advantages
over other techniques (such as Xinerama):


   o A single X screen is used. The NVIDIA driver conceals all information
     about multiple display devices from the X server; as far as X is
     concerned, there is only one screen.

   o Both display devices share one frame buffer. Thus, all the functionality
     present on a single display (e.g., accelerated OpenGL) is available with
     multiple display devices.

   o No additional overhead is needed to emulate having a single desktop.


If you are interested in using each display device as a separate X screen, see
Chapter 15.


13A. RELEVANT X CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

When the NVIDIA X driver starts, by default it will enable as many display
devices as are connected and as the GPU supports driving simultaneously. Most
NVIDIA GPUs based on the Kepler architecture, or newer, support driving up to
four display devices simultaneously. Most NVIDIA GPUs older than Kepler
support driving up to two display devices simultaneously.

If multiple X screens are configured on the GPU, the NVIDIA X driver will
attempt to reserve display devices and GPU resources for those other X screens
(honoring the "UseDisplayDevice" and "MetaModes" X configuration options of
each X screen) and then allocate all remaining resources to the first X screen
configured on the GPU.

There are several X configuration options that influence how multiple display
devices are used by an X screen:

    Option "MetaModes"                "<list of MetaModes>"

    Option "HorizSync"                "<hsync range(s)>"
    Option "VertRefresh"              "<vrefresh range(s)>"

    Option "MetaModeOrientation"      "<relationship of head 1 to head 0>"
    Option "ConnectedMonitor"         "<list of connected display devices>"

See detailed descriptions of each option below.


13B. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF OPTIONS


HorizSync
VertRefresh

    With these options, you can specify a semicolon-separated list of
    frequency ranges, each optionally prepended with a display device name. In
    addition, if SLI Mosaic mode is enabled, a GPU specifier can be used. For
    example:
    
        Option "HorizSync"   "CRT-0: 50-110; DFP-0: 40-70"
        Option "VertRefresh" "CRT-0: 60-120; GPU-0.DFP-0: 60"
    
    See Appendix C on Display Device Names for more information.

    These options are normally not needed: by default, the NVIDIA X driver
    retrieves the valid frequency ranges from the display device's EDID (see
    Appendix B for a description of the "UseEdidFreqs" option). The
    "HorizSync" and "VertRefresh" options override any frequency ranges
    retrieved from the EDID.

MetaModes

    MetaModes are "containers" that store information about what mode should
    be used on each display device.

    Multiple MetaModes list the combinations of modes and the sequence in
    which they should be used. In MetaMode syntax, modes within a MetaMode are
    comma separated, and multiple MetaModes are separated by semicolons. For
    example:
    
        "<mode name 0>, <mode name 1>; <mode name 2>, <mode name 3>"
    
    Where <mode name 0> is the name of the mode to be used on display device 0
    concurrently with <mode name 1> used on display device 1. A mode switch
    will then cause <mode name 2> to be used on display device 0 and <mode
    name 3> to be used on display device 1. Here is an example MetaMode:
    
        Option "MetaModes" "1280x1024,1280x1024; 1024x768,1024x768"
    
    If you want a display device to not be active for a certain MetaMode, you
    can use the mode name "NULL", or simply omit the mode name entirely:
    
        "1600x1200, NULL; NULL, 1024x768"
    
    or
    
        "1600x1200; , 1024x768"
    
    Optionally, mode names can be followed by offset information to control
    the positioning of the display devices within the virtual screen space;
    e.g.,
    
        "1600x1200 +0+0, 1024x768 +1600+0; ..."
    
    Offset descriptions follow the conventions used in the X "-geometry"
    command line option; i.e., both positive and negative offsets are valid,
    though negative offsets are only allowed when a virtual screen size is
    explicitly given in the X config file.

    When no offsets are given for a MetaMode, the offsets will be computed
    following the value of the MetaModeOrientation option (see below). Note
    that if offsets are given for any one of the modes in a single MetaMode,
    then offsets will be expected for all modes within that single MetaMode;
    in such a case offsets will be assumed to be +0+0 when not given.

    When not explicitly given, the virtual screen size will be computed as the
    the bounding box of all MetaMode bounding boxes. MetaModes with a bounding
    box larger than an explicitly given virtual screen size will be discarded.

    A MetaMode string can be further modified with a "Panning Domain"
    specification; e.g.,
    
        "1024x768 @1600x1200, 800x600 @1600x1200"
    
    A panning domain is the area in which a display device's viewport will be
    panned to follow the mouse. Panning actually happens on two levels with
    MetaModes: first, an individual display device's viewport will be panned
    within its panning domain, as long as the viewport is contained by the
    bounding box of the MetaMode. Once the mouse leaves the bounding box of
    the MetaMode, the entire MetaMode (i.e., all display devices) will be
    panned to follow the mouse within the virtual screen, unless the
    "PanAllDisplays" X configuration option is disabled. Note that individual
    display devices' panning domains default to being clamped to the position
    of the display devices' viewports, thus the default behavior is just that
    viewports remain "locked" together and only perform the second type of
    panning.

    The most beneficial use of panning domains is probably to eliminate dead
    areas -- regions of the virtual screen that are inaccessible due to
    display devices with different resolutions. For example:
    
        "1600x1200, 1024x768"
    
    produces an inaccessible region below the 1024x768 display. Specifying a
    panning domain for the second display device:
    
        "1600x1200, 1024x768 @1024x1200"
    
    provides access to that dead area by allowing you to pan the 1024x768
    viewport up and down in the 1024x1200 panning domain.

    Offsets can be used in conjunction with panning domains to position the
    panning domains in the virtual screen space (note that the offset
    describes the panning domain, and only affects the viewport in that the
    viewport must be contained within the panning domain). For example, the
    following describes two modes, each with a panning domain width of 1900
    pixels, and the second display is positioned below the first:
    
        "1600x1200 @1900x1200 +0+0, 1024x768 @1900x768 +0+1200"
    
    Because it is often unclear which mode within a MetaMode will be used on
    each display device, mode descriptions within a MetaMode can be prepended
    with a display device name. For example:
    
        "CRT-0: 1600x1200,  DFP-0: 1024x768"
    
    If no MetaMode string is specified, then the X driver uses the modes
    listed in the relevant "Display" subsection, attempting to place matching
    modes on each display device.

    Each mode of the MetaMode may also have extra attributes associated with
    it, specified as a comma-separated list of token=value pairs inside curly
    brackets. The value for each token can optionally be enclosed in
    parentheses, to prevent commas within the value from being interpreted as
    token=value pair separators. Currently, the only token that requires a
    parentheses-enclosed value is "Transform".

    The possible tokens within the curly bracket list are:


   o "Stereo": possible values are "PassiveLeft" or "PassiveRight". When used
     in conjunction with stereo mode "4", this allows each display to be
     configured independently to show any stereo eye. For example:
     
         "CRT-0: 1600x1200 +0+0 { Stereo = PassiveLeft }, CRT-1: 1600x1200
     +1600+0 { Stereo=PassiveRight }"
     
     If the X screen is not configured for stereo mode "4", these options are
     ignored. See Appendix B for more details about stereo configurations.

   o "Rotation": this rotates the content of an individual display device.
     Possible values are "0" (with synonyms "no", "off" and "normal"), "90"
     (with synonyms "left" and "CCW"), "180" (with synonyms "invert" and
     "inverted") and "270" (with synonyms "right" and "CW"). For example:
     
         "DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select { Rotation=left }, DFP-1:
     nvidia-auto-select { Rotation=right }"
     
     Independent rotation configurability of each display device is also
     possible through RandR. See Chapter 17 for details.

   o "Reflection": this reflects the content of an individual display device
     about either the X axis, the Y axis, or both the X and Y axes. Possible
     values are "X", "Y" and "XY". For example:
     
         "DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select { Reflection=X }, DFP-1:
     nvidia-auto-select"
     
     Independent reflection configurability of each display device is also
     possible through RandR. See Chapter 17 for details.

   o "Transform": this is a 3x3 matrix of floating point values that defines a
     transformation from the ViewPortOut for a display device to a region
     within the X screen. This is equivalent to the transformation matrix
     specified through the RandR 1.3 RRSetCrtcTransform request. As in RandR,
     the transform is applied before any specified rotation and reflection
     values to compute the complete transform.

     The 3x3 matrix is represented in the MetaMode syntax as a comma-separated
     list of nine floating point values, stored in row-major order. This is
     the same as the value passed to the xrandr(1) '--transform' command line
     option.

     Note that the transform value must be enclosed in parentheses, so that
     the commas separating the nine floating point values are interpreted
     correctly.

     For example:
     
         "DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select { Transform=(43.864288330078125,
     21.333328247070312, -16384, 0, 43.864288330078125, 0, 0,
     0.0321197509765625, 19.190628051757812) }"
     
     
   o "ViewPortOut": this specifies the region within the mode sent to the
     display device that will display pixels from the X screen. The region of
     the mode outside the ViewPortOut will contain black. The format is "WIDTH
     x HEIGHT +X +Y".

     This is useful, for example, for configuring overscan compensation. E.g.,
     if the mode sent to the display device is 1920x1080, to configure a 10
     pixel border on all four sides:
     
         "DFP-0: 1920x1080 { ViewPortOut=1900x1060+10+10 }"
     
     Or, to only display an image in the lower right quarter of the 1920x1080
     mode:
     
         "DFP-0: 1920x1080 { ViewPortOut=960x540+960+540 }"
     
     
     When not specified, the ViewPortOut defaults to the size of the mode.

     ViewPortOut is only available on G80 and later GPUs.

   o "ViewPortIn": this defines the size of the region of the X screen which
     will be displayed within the ViewPortOut. The format is "WIDTH x HEIGHT".

     ViewPortIn is useful for configuring scaling between the X screen and the
     display device. For example, to display an 800x600 region from the X
     screen on a 1920x1200 mode:
     
         "DFP-0: 1920x1200 { ViewPortIn=800x600 }"
     
     Or, to display a 2560x1600 region from the X screen on a 1920x1200 mode:
     
         "DFP-0: 1920x1200 { ViewPortIn=2560x1600 }"
     
     Or, in conjunction with ViewPortOut, to scale an 800x600 region of the X
     screen within a 1920x1200 mode while preserving the aspect ratio:
     
         "DFP-0: 1920x1200 { ViewPortIn=800x600, ViewPortOut=1600x1200+160+0
     }"
     
     
     Scaling from ViewPortIn to ViewPortOut is also expressible through the
     "Transform" attribute. In fact, ViewPortIn is just a shortcut for
     populating the transformation matrix. If both ViewPortIn and Transform
     are specified in the MetaMode for a display device, ViewPortIn is
     ignored.


    Note that the current MetaMode can also be configured through the
    NV-CONTROL X extension and the nvidia-settings utility. For example:
    
        nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="DFP-0: 1920x1200 {
    ViewPortIn=800x600, ViewPortOut=1600x1200+160+0 }"
    
    
MetaModeOrientation

    This option controls the positioning of the display devices within the
    virtual X screen, when offsets are not explicitly given in the MetaModes.
    The possible values are:
    
        "RightOf"  (the default)
        "LeftOf"
        "Above"
        "Below"
        "Clone"
    
    When "Clone" is specified, all display devices will be assigned an offset
    of 0,0.

    Because it is often unclear which display device relates to which,
    MetaModeOrientation can be confusing. You can further clarify the
    MetaModeOrientation with display device names to indicate which display
    device is positioned relative to which display device. For example:
    
        "CRT-0 LeftOf DFP-0"
    
    
ConnectedMonitor

    With this option you can override what the NVIDIA kernel module detects is
    connected to your graphics card. This may be useful, for example, if any
    of your display devices do not support detection using Display Data
    Channel (DDC) protocols. Valid values are a comma-separated list of
    display device names; for example:
    
        "CRT-0, CRT-1"
        "CRT"
        "CRT-1, DFP-0"
    
    WARNING: this option overrides what display devices are detected by the
    NVIDIA kernel module, and is very seldom needed. You really only need this
    if a display device is not detected, either because it does not provide
    DDC information, or because it is on the other side of a KVM
    (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) switch. In most other cases, it is best not to
    specify this option.


Just as in all X config entries, spaces are ignored and all entries are case
insensitive.


13C. DYNAMIC TWINVIEW

Using the NV-CONTROL X extension, the display devices in use by an X screen,
the mode pool for each display device, and the MetaModes for each X screen can
be dynamically manipulated. The "Display Configuration" page in
nvidia-settings uses this functionality to modify the MetaMode list and then
uses XRandR to switch between MetaModes. This gives the ability to dynamically
configure TwinView.

The details of how this works are documented in the nv-control-dpy.c sample
NV-CONTROL client in the nvidia-settings source tarball.

Because the NVIDIA X driver can now transition into and out of TwinView
dynamically, MetaModes are always used internally by the NVIDIA X driver,
regardless of how many display devices are currently in use by the X screen
and regardless of whether the TwinView X configuration option was specified.

One implication of this implementation is that each MetaMode must be uniquely
identifiable to the XRandR X extension. Unfortunately, two MetaModes with the
same bounding box will look the same to XRandR. For example, two MetaModes
with different orientations:

    "CRT: 1600x1200 +0+0, DFP: 1600x1200 +1600+0"
    "CRT: 1600x1200 +1600+0, DFP: 1600x1200 +0+0"

will look identical to the XRandR or XF86VidMode X extensions, because they
have the same total size (3200x1200), and nvidia-settings would not be able to
use XRandR to switch between these MetaModes. To work around this limitation,
the NVIDIA X driver "lies" about the refresh rate of each MetaMode, using the
refresh rate of the MetaMode as a unique identifier.

The XRandR extension is currently being redesigned by the X.Org community, so
the refresh rate workaround may be removed at some point in the future. This
workaround can also be disabled by setting the "DynamicTwinView" X
configuration option to FALSE, which will disable NV-CONTROL support for
manipulating MetaModes, but will cause the XRandR and XF86VidMode visible
refresh rate to be accurate.


FREQUENTLY ASKED TWINVIEW QUESTIONS

Q. Nothing gets displayed on my second monitor; what is wrong?

A. Monitors that do not support monitor detection using Display Data Channel
   (DDC) protocols (this includes most older monitors) are not detectable by
   your NVIDIA card. You need to explicitly tell the NVIDIA X driver what you
   have connected using the "ConnectedMonitor" option; e.g.,
   
       Option "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT, CRT"
   
   

Q. Will window managers be able to appropriately place windows (e.g., avoiding
   placing windows across both display devices, or in inaccessible regions of
   the virtual desktop)?

   Yes. Window managers can query the layout of display devices through either
   RandR 1.2 or Xinerama.

   The NVIDIA X driver provides a Xinerama extension that X clients (such as
   window managers) can use to discover the current layout of display devices.
   Note that the Xinerama protocol provides no way to notify clients when a
   configuration change occurs, so if you modeswitch to a different MetaMode,
   your window manager may still think you have the previous configuration.
   Using RandR 1.2, or the Xinerama extension in conjunction with the
   XF86VidMode extension to get modeswitch events, window managers should be
   able to determine the display device configuration at any given time.

   Unfortunately, the data provided by XineramaQueryScreens() appears to
   confuse some window managers; to work around such broken window managers,
   you can disable communication of the display device layout with the
   "nvidiaXineramaInfo" X configuration option (see Appendix B for details).

   The order that display devices are reported in via the NVIDIA Xinerama
   information can be configured with the nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder X
   configuration option.

   Be aware that the NVIDIA driver cannot provide the Xinerama extension if
   the X server's own Xinerama extension is being used. Explicitly specifying
   Xinerama in the X config file or on the X server commandline will prohibit
   NVIDIA's Xinerama extension from installing, so make sure that the X
   server's log file does not contain:
   
       (++) Xinerama: enabled
   
   if you want the NVIDIA driver to be able to provide the Xinerama extension
   while in TwinView.

   Another solution is to use panning domains to eliminate inaccessible
   regions of the virtual screen (see the MetaMode description above).

   A third solution is to use two separate X screens, rather than use
   TwinView. See Chapter 15.


Q. Why can I not get a resolution of 1600x1200 on the second display device
   when using a GeForce2 MX?

A. Because the second display device on the GeForce2 MX was designed to be a
   digital flat panel, the Pixel Clock for the second display device is only
   150 MHz. This effectively limits the resolution on the second display
   device to somewhere around 1280x1024 (for a description of how Pixel Clock
   frequencies limit the programmable modes, see the XFree86 Video Timings
   HOWTO). This constraint is not present on GeForce4 or GeForce FX GPUs --
   the maximum pixel clock is the same on both heads.


Q. Do video overlays work across both display devices?

A. With GPUs based on G80 and later, and some older GPUs, video overlays are
   available on all displays.

   On some older GPUs, hardware video overlays only work on the first display
   device. The current solution is that blitted video is used instead on
   TwinView with these GPUs.


Q. How are virtual screen dimensions determined in TwinView?

A. After all requested modes have been validated, and the offsets for each
   MetaMode's viewports have been computed, the NVIDIA driver computes the
   bounding box of the panning domains for each MetaMode. The maximum bounding
   box width and height is then found.

   Note that one side effect of this is that the virtual width and virtual
   height may come from different MetaModes. Given the following MetaMode
   string:
   
       "1600x1200,NULL; 1024x768+0+0, 1024x768+0+768"
   
   the resulting virtual screen size will be 1600 x 1536.


Q. Can I play full screen games across both display devices?

A. Yes. While the details of configuration will vary from game to game, the
   basic idea is that a MetaMode presents X with a mode whose resolution is
   the bounding box of the viewports for that MetaMode. For example, the
   following:
   
       Option "MetaModes" "1024x768,1024x768; 800x600,800x600"
       Option "MetaModeOrientation" "RightOf"
   
   produce two modes: one whose resolution is 2048x768, and another whose
   resolution is 1600x600. Games such as Quake 3 Arena use the VidMode
   extension to discover the resolutions of the modes currently available. To
   configure Quake 3 Arena to use the above MetaMode string, add the following
   to your q3config.cfg file:
   
       seta r_customaspect "1"
       seta r_customheight "600"
       seta r_customwidth  "1600"
       seta r_fullscreen   "1"
       seta r_mode         "-1"
   
   Note that, given the above configuration, there is no mode with a
   resolution of 800x600 (remember that the MetaMode "800x600, 800x600" has a
   resolution of 1600x600"), so if you change Quake 3 Arena to use a
   resolution of 800x600, it will display in the lower left corner of your
   screen, with the rest of the screen grayed out. To have single head modes
   available as well, an appropriate MetaMode string might be something like:
   
       "800x600,800x600; 1024x768,NULL; 800x600,NULL; 640x480,NULL"
   
   More precise configuration information for specific games is beyond the
   scope of this document, but the above examples coupled with numerous online
   sources should be enough to point you in the right direction.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 14. Configuring GLX in Xinerama
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA Linux Driver supports GLX when Xinerama is enabled on similar GPUs.
The Xinerama extension takes multiple physical X screens (possibly spanning
multiple GPUs), and binds them into one logical X screen. This allows windows
to be dragged between GPUs and to span across multiple GPUs. The NVIDIA driver
supports hardware accelerated OpenGL rendering across all NVIDIA GPUs when
Xinerama is enabled.

To configure Xinerama

  1. Configure multiple X screens (refer to the XF86Config(5x) or
     xorg.conf(5x) man pages for details).

  2. Enable Xinerama by adding the line
     
         Option "Xinerama" "True"
     
     to the "ServerFlags" section of your X config file.


Requirements:

   o Using identical GPUs is recommended. Some combinations of non-identical,
     but similar, GPUs are supported. If a GPU is incompatible with the rest
     of a Xinerama desktop then no OpenGL rendering will appear on the screens
     driven by that GPU. Rendering will still appear normally on screens
     connected to other supported GPUs. In this situation the X log file will
     include a message of the form:



(WW) NVIDIA(2): The GPU driving screen 2 is incompatible with the rest of
(WW) NVIDIA(2):      the GPUs composing the desktop.  OpenGL rendering will
(WW) NVIDIA(2):      be disabled on screen 2.



   o NVIDIA's GLX implementation only supports Xinerama when physical X screen
     0 is driven by the NVIDIA X driver. This is because the X.Org X server
     bases the visuals of the logical Xinerama X screen on the visuals of
     physical X screen 0.

     When physical X screen 0 is not being driven by the NVIDIA X driver and
     Xinerama is enabled, then GLX will be disabled. If physical X screens
     other than screen 0 are not being driven by the NVIDIA X driver, OpenGL
     rendering will be disabled on them.

   o Only the intersection of capabilities across all GPUs will be advertised.

     The maximum OpenGL viewport size depends on the hardware used, and is
     described by the following table. If an OpenGL window is larger than the
     maximum viewport, regions beyond the viewport will be blank.
     
         OpenGL Viewport Maximums in Xinerama
         
         GeForce GPUs before GeForce 8:      4096 x 4096 pixels
         GeForce 8 through GeForce GTX       8192 x 8192 pixels
         400 GPUs:                       
         GeForce GTX 400 series GPUs:        16384x16384 pixels
         Quadro GPUs before G80:             as large as the Xinerama
                                             desktop
         Quadro G80 through Quadro           8192 x 8192 pixels
         Fermi:                          
         Quadro Fermi and later GPUs:        16384x16384 pixels
     
     
   o X configuration options that affect GLX operation (e.g.: stereo,
     overlays) should be set consistently across all X screens in the X
     server.


Known Issues:

   o Versions of XFree86 prior to 4.5 and versions of X.Org prior to 6.8.0
     lack the required interfaces to properly implement overlays with the
     Xinerama extension. On earlier server versions mixing overlays and
     Xinerama will result in rendering corruption. If you are using the
     Xinerama extension with overlays, it is recommended that you upgrade to
     XFree86 4.5, X.Org 6.8.0, or newer.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 15. Configuring Multiple X Screens on One Card
______________________________________________________________________________

GPUs that support TwinView (Chapter 13) can also be configured to treat each
connected display device as a separate X screen.

While there are several disadvantages to this approach as compared to TwinView
(e.g.: windows cannot be dragged between X screens, hardware accelerated
OpenGL cannot span the two X screens), it does offer several advantages over
TwinView:

   o If each display device is a separate X screen, then properties that may
     vary between X screens may vary between displays (e.g.: depth, root
     window size, etc).

   o Hardware that can only be used on one display at a time (e.g.: video
     overlays and hardware accelerated RGB overlays on certain older GPUs),
     and which consequently cannot be used at all when in TwinView, can be
     exposed on the first X screen when each display is a separate X screen.

   o TwinView is a fairly new feature. X has historically used one screen per
     display device.


To configure two separate X screens to share one graphics card, here is what
you will need to do:

First, create two separate Device sections, each listing the BusID of the
graphics card to be shared and listing the driver as "nvidia", and assign each
a separate screen:

    Section "Device"
        Identifier  "nvidia0"
        Driver      "nvidia"
        # Edit the BusID with the location of your graphics card
        BusID       "PCI:2:0:0"
        Screen      0
    EndSection

    Section "Device"
        Identifier  "nvidia1"
        Driver      "nvidia"
        # Edit the BusID with the location of your graphics card
        BusId       "PCI:2:0:0"
        Screen      1
    EndSection

Then, create two Screen sections, each using one of the Device sections:

    Section "Screen"
        Identifier  "Screen0"
        Device      "nvidia0"
        Monitor     "Monitor0"
        DefaultDepth 24
        Subsection "Display"
            Depth       24
            Modes       "1600x1200" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" 
        EndSubsection
    EndSection

    Section "Screen"
        Identifier  "Screen1"
        Device      "nvidia1"
        Monitor     "Monitor1"
        DefaultDepth 24
        Subsection "Display"
            Depth       24
            Modes       "1600x1200" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" 
        EndSubsection
    EndSection

(Note: You'll also need to create a second Monitor section) Finally, update
the ServerLayout section to use and position both Screen sections:

    Section "ServerLayout"
        ...
        Screen         0 "Screen0" 
        Screen         1 "Screen1" leftOf "Screen0"
        ...
    EndSection

For further details, refer to the XF86Config(5x) or xorg.conf(5x) man pages.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 16. Configuring TV-Out
______________________________________________________________________________

NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards with a TV-Out connector can use a television
as another display device (the same way that it would use a CRT or digital
flat panel). The TV can be used by itself, or in conjunction with another
display device in a TwinView or multiple X screen configuration. If a TV is
the only display device connected to your graphics card, it will be used as
the primary display when you boot your system (i.e. the console will come up
on the TV just as if it were a CRT).

The NVIDIA X driver populates the mode pool for the TV with all the mode sizes
that the driver supports with the given TV standard and the TV encoder on the
graphics card. These modes are given names that correspond to their
resolution; e.g., "800x600".

Because these TV modes only depend on the TV encoder and the TV standard, TV
modes do not go through normal mode validation. The X configuration options
HorizSync and VertRefresh are not used for TV mode validation.

Additionally, the NVIDIA driver contains a hardcoded list of mode sizes that
it can drive for each combination of TV encoder and TV standard. Therefore,
custom modelines in your X configuration file are ignored for TVs.

To use your TV with X, there are several relevant X configuration options:

   o The Modes in the screen section of your X configuration file; you can use
     these to request any of the modes in the mode pool which the X driver
     created for this combination of TV standard and TV encoder. Examples
     include "640x480" and "800x600". If in doubt, use "nvidia-auto-select".

   o The "TVStandard" option should be added to your screen section; valid
     values are:
     
         TVStandard       Description
         -------------    --------------------------------------------------
         "PAL-B"          used in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
                          Guinea, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy,
                          Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
                          Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland
         "PAL-D"          used in China and North Korea
         "PAL-G"          used in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy,
                          Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
                          Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland
         "PAL-H"          used in Belgium
         "PAL-I"          used in Hong Kong and The United Kingdom
         "PAL-K1"         used in Guinea
         "PAL-M"          used in Brazil
         "PAL-N"          used in France, Paraguay, and Uruguay
         "PAL-NC"         used in Argentina
         "NTSC-J"         used in Japan
         "NTSC-M"         used in Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
                          Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto
                          Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, United States of
                          America, and Venezuela
         "HD480i"         480 line interlaced
         "HD480p"         480 line progressive
         "HD720p"         720 line progressive
         "HD1080i"        1080 line interlaced
         "HD1080p"        1080 line progressive
         "HD576i"         576 line interlace
         "HD576p"         576 line progressive
     
     The line in your X config file should be something like:
     
         Option "TVStandard" "NTSC-M"
     
     If you do not specify a TVStandard, or you specify an invalid value, the
     default "NTSC-M" will be used. Note: if your country is not in the above
     list, select the country closest to your location.

   o The "UseDisplayDevice" option can be used if there are multiple display
     devices connected, and you want the connected TV to be used instead of
     the connected CRTs and/or DFPs. E.g.,
     
         Option "UseDisplayDevice" "TV"
     
     Using the "UseDisplayDevice" option, rather than the "ConnectedMonitor"
     option, is recommended.

   o The "TVOutFormat" option can be used to force the output format. Without
     this option, the driver autodetects the output format. Unfortunately, it
     does not always do this correctly. The output format can be forced with
     the "TVOutFormat" option; valid values are:
     
         TVOutFormat            Description            Supported TV
                                                       standards
         -------------------    -------------------    -------------------
         "AUTOSELECT"           The driver             PAL, NTSC, HD
                                autodetects the    
                                output format      
                                (default value).   
         "COMPOSITE"            Force Composite        PAL, NTSC
                                output format      
         "SVIDEO"               Force S-Video          PAL, NTSC
                                output format      
         "COMPONENT"            Force Component        HD
                                output format, also
                                called YPbPr       
         "SCART"                Force Scart output     PAL, NTSC
                                format, also called
                                Peritel            
     
     The line in your X config file should be something like:
     
         Option "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
     
     
   o The "TVOverScan" option can be used to enable Overscan, when the TV
     encoder supports it. Valid values are decimal values in the range 1.0
     (which means overscan as much as possible: make the image as large as
     possible) and 0.0 (which means disable overscanning: make the image as
     small as possible). Overscanning is disabled (0.0) by default.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 17. Support for the X Resize and Rotate Extension
______________________________________________________________________________

This NVIDIA driver release contains support for the X Resize and Rotate
(RandR) Extension versions 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. The version of the RandR
extension advertised to X clients is controlled by the X server: the RandR
extension and protocol are provided by the X server, which routes protocol
requests to the NVIDIA X driver. Run `xrandr --version` to check the version
of RandR provided by the X server.


17A. RANDR SUPPORT

Specific supported features include:

   o Modes can be set per-screen, and the X screen can be resized through the
     RRSetScreenConfig request (e.g., with xrandr(1)'s '--size' and '--rate'
     command line options).

   o The X screen can be resized with the RandR 1.2 RRSetScreenSize request
     (e.g., with xrandr(1)'s '--fb' command line option).

   o The state of the display hardware can be queried with the RandR 1.2 and
     1.3 RRGetScreenResources, RRGetScreenResourcesCurrent, RRGetOutputInfo,
     and RRGetCrtcInfo requests (e.g., with xrandr(1)'s '--query' command line
     option).

   o Modes can be set with RandR CRTC granularity with the RandR 1.2
     RRSetCrtcConfig request. E.g., `xrandr --output DVI-I-2 --mode
     1920x1200`.

   o Rotation can be set with RandR CRTC granularity with the RandR 1.2
     RRSetCrtcConfig request. E.g., `xrandr --output DVI-I-2 --mode 1920x1200
     --rotation left`.

   o Per-CRTC transformations can be manipulated with the RandR 1.3
     RRSetCrtcTransform and RRGetCrtcTransform requests. E.g., `xrandr
     --output DVI-I-3 --mode 1920x1200 --transform 43.864288330078125,21.33332
     8247070312,-16384,0,43.864288330078125,0,0,0.0321197509765625,19.19062805
     1757812`.

   o The RandR 1.0/1.1 requests RRGetScreenInfo and RRSetScreenConfig
     manipulate MetaModes. The MetaModes that the X driver uses (either
     user-requested or implicitly generated) are reported through the
     RRGetScreenInfo request (e.g., `xrandr --query --q1`) and chosen through
     the RRSetScreenConfig request (e.g., `xrandr --size 1920x1200
     --orientation left`).


The configurability exposed through RandR is also available through the
MetaMode syntax, independent of X server version. See Chapter 13 for more
details. As an example, these two commands are equivalent:


  xrandr --output DVI-I-2 --mode 1280x1024 --pos 0x0 --rotate left \
    --output DVI-I-3 --mode 1920x1200 --pos 0x0

  nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="DVI-I-2: 1280x1024 +0+0 \
    { Rotation=left }, DVI-I-3: 1920x1200 +0+0"



17B. RANDR 1.1 ROTATION BEHAVIOR

On X servers that support RandR 1.2 or later, when an RandR 1.1 rotation
request is received (e.g., `xrandr --orientation left`), the NVIDIA X driver
will apply that request to an entire MetaMode. E.g., if you configure multiple
monitors, either through a MetaMode or through RandR 1.2:


  xrandr --output DVI-I-2 --mode 1280x1024 --pos 0x0 \
    --output DVI-I-3 --mode 1920x1200 --pos 1280x0

  nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="DVI-I-2: 1280x1024 +0+0, \
    DVI-I-3: 1920x1200 +1280+0"

Requesting RandR 1.1 rotation through `xrandr --orientation left`, will rotate
the entire MetaMode, producing the equivalent of either:


  xrandr --output DVI-I-2 --mode 1280x1024 --pos 176x0 --rotate left \
    --output DVI-I-3 --mode 1920x1200 --rotate left --pos 0x1280

  nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="DVI-I-2: 1280x1024 +176+0, \
    { Rotation=left }, DVI-I-3: 1920x1200 +0+1280 { Rotation=left }"


On X servers that do not support RandR 1.2 or later, the NVIDIA X driver does
not advertise RandR rotation support. On such X servers, it is recommended to
configure rotation through MetaModes, instead.


17C. OUTPUT PROPERTIES

The NVIDIA Linux driver supports a number of output device properties.


OFFICIAL PROPERTIES

Properties that do not start with an underscore are officially documented in
the file "randrproto.txt" in X.Org's randrproto package. See that file for a
full description of these properties.


   o "ConnectorNumber"

     This property groups RandR outputs by their physical connectors. For
     example, DVI-I ports have both an analog and a digital output, which is
     represented in RandR by two different output objects. One DVI-I port may
     be represented by RandR outputs "DVI-I-0" with "SignalFormat"  "TMDS"
     (transition-minimized differential signaling, a digital signal format)
     and "DVI-I-1" with "SignalFormat"  "VGA", representing the analog part.
     In this case, both RandR outputs would have the same value of
     "ConnectorNumber".

   o "ConnectorType"

     This property lists the physical type of the connector. For example, in
     the DVI-I example above, both "DVI-I-0" and "DVI-I-1" would have a
     "ConnectorType" of "DVI-I".

   o "EDID"

     This property contains the raw bytes of the display's extended display
     identification data. This data is intended for applications to use to
     glean information about the monitor connected.

   o "SignalFormat"

     This property describes the type of signaling used to send image data to
     the display device. For example, an analog device connected to a DVI-I
     port might use VGA as its signaling format.



UNOFFICIAL PROPERTIES

Properties whose names begin with an underscore are not specified by X.Org.
They may be removed or modified in future driver releases. The NVIDIA Linux
driver supports the following unofficial properties:


   o "_ConnectorLocation"

     This property describes the physical location of the connector. On add-in
     graphics boards, connector location 0 should generally be the position
     closest to the motherboard, with increasing location numbers indicating
     connectors progressively farther away.

     
     
         Type                                INTEGER
         Format                              32
         # Items                             1
         Flags                               Immutable, Static
         Range                               0-
     
     
   o "_GUID"

     DisplayPort 1.2 specifies that all devices must have a globally-unique
     identifier, referred to as a GUID. When a GUID is available, the "_GUID"
     property contains its raw bytes.

     
     
         Type                                INTEGER
         Format                              8
         # Items                             16
         Flags                               Immutable
         Range                               0-
     
     


17D. DISPLAYPORT 1.2

When display devices are connected via DisplayPort 1.2 branch devices,
additional RandR outputs will be created, one for each connected display
device. These dynamic outputs will remain as long as the display device is
connected or used in a MetaMode, even if they are not named in the current
MetaMode. They will be deleted automatically when the display is disconnected
and no MetaModes use them.

See Appendix C for a description of how the names of these outputs are
generated.

If you are developing applications that use the RandR extension, please be
aware that outputs can be created and destroyed dynamically. You should be
sure to use the XRRSelectInput function to watch for events that indicate when
this happens.


17E. KNOWN ISSUES


   o RandR per-CRTC panning configuration through the RandR 1.3 RRGetPanning
     and RRSetPanning requests is not yet implemented.

   o Rotation and Transformations (configured either through RandR or
     MetaModes) are not yet supported with Workstation overlays or stereo.

   o The RandR 1.2 X configuration options provided by the XFree86 DDX
     implementation and documented in xorg.conf(5) are not yet supported.

   o Transformations (configured either through RandR or MetaModes) are not
     yet correctly clipped.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 18. Configuring a Notebook
______________________________________________________________________________


18A. INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION

Installation and configuration of the NVIDIA Linux Driver Set on a notebook is
the same as for any desktop environment, with a few additions, as described
below.


18B. POWER MANAGEMENT

All notebook NVIDIA GPUs support power management, both S3 (also known as
"Standby" or "Suspend to RAM") and S4 (also known as "Hibernate", "Suspend to
Disk" or "SWSUSP"). Power management is system-specific and is dependent upon
all the components in the system; some systems may be more problematic than
other systems.

Most recent notebook NVIDIA GPUs also support PowerMizer, which monitors
application work load to adjust system parameters to deliver the optimal
balance of performance and battery life. However, PowerMizer is only enabled
by default on some notebooks. Please see the known issues below for more
details.


18C. HOTKEY SWITCHING OF DISPLAY DEVICES

Mobile NVIDIA GPUs also have the capacity to react to a display change hotkey
event, toggling between each of the connected display devices and each
possible combination of the connected display devices (note that only 2
display devices may be active at a time).

Hotkey switching dynamically changes the TwinView configuration; a given
hotkey event will indicate which display devices should be in use at that
time, and all MetaModes currently configured on the X screen will be updated
to use the new configuration of display devices.

Another important aspect of hotkey functionality is that you can dynamically
connect and remove display devices to/from your notebook and use the hotkey to
activate and deactivate them without restarting X.

Note that there are two approaches to implementing this hotkey support: ACPI
events and polling.

Most recent notebooks use ACPI events to deliver hotkeys from the System BIOS
to the graphics driver. This is the preferred method of delivering hotkey
events, but is still a new feature under most UNIX platforms and may not
always function correctly.

The polling mechanism requires checking during the vertical blanking interval
for a hotkey status change. It is an older mechanism for handling hotkeys, and
is therefore not supported on all notebooks and is not tested by notebook
manufacturers. It also does not always report the same combinations of display
devices that are reported by ACPI hotkey events.

The NVIDIA Linux Driver will attempt to use ACPI hotkey events, if possible.
In the case that ACPI hotkey event support is not available, the driver will
revert back to trying hotkey polling. In the case that the notebook does not
support hotkey polling, hotkeys will not work. Please see the known issues
section below for more details.

When switching away from X to a virtual terminal, the VGA console will always
be restored to the display device on which it was present when X was started.
Similarly, when switching back into X, the same display device configuration
will be used as when you switched away, regardless of what display change
hotkey activity occurred while the virtual terminal was active.


18D. DOCKING EVENTS

All notebook NVIDIA GPUs support docking, however support may be limited by
the OS or system. There are three types of notebook docking (hot, warm, and
cold), which refer to the state of the system when the docking event occurs.
hot refers to a powered on system with a live desktop, warm refers to a system
that has entered a suspended power management state, and cold refers to a
system that has been powered off. Only warm and cold docking are supported by
the NVIDIA driver.


18E. TWINVIEW

All notebook NVIDIA GPUs support TwinView. TwinView on a notebook can be
configured in the same way as on a desktop computer (refer to Chapter 13 );
note that in a TwinView configuration using the notebook's internal flat panel
and an external CRT, the CRT is the primary display device (specify its
HorizSync and VertRefresh in the Monitor section of your X config file) and
the flat panel is the secondary display device (specify its HorizSync and
VertRefresh through the SecondMonitorHorizSync and SecondMonitorVertRefresh
options).

The "UseEdidFreqs" X config option is enabled by default, so normally you
should not need to specify the "SecondMonitorHorizSync" and
"SecondMonitorVertRefresh" options. See the description of the UseEdidFreqs
option in Appendix B for details).


18F. KNOWN NOTEBOOK ISSUES

There are a few known issues associated with notebooks:

   o Display change hotkey switching is not available on all notebooks. In
     some cases, the ACPI infrastructure is not fully supported by the NVIDIA
     Linux Driver. Work is ongoing to increase the robustness of NVIDIA's
     support in this area. Toshiba and Lenovo notebooks are known to be
     problematic.

   o ACPI Display change hotkey switching is not supported by X.Org X servers
     earlier than 1.2.0; see EnableACPIHotkeys in Appendix B for details and
     "Q. How do I interpret X server version numbers?" in Chapter 7 for
     information on how to determine whether your X server is new enough.

   o In many cases, suspending and/or resuming will fail. As mentioned above,
     this functionality is very system-specific. There are still many cases
     that are problematic. Here are some tips that may help:
     
        o In some cases, hibernation can have bad interactions with the PCI
          Express bus clocks, which can lead to system hangs when entering
          hibernation. This issue is still being investigated, but a known
          workaround is to leave an OpenGL application running when
          hibernating.
     
        o On notebooks with relatively little system memory, repetitive
          hibernation attempts may fail due to insufficient free memory. This
          problem can be avoided by running `echo 0 > /sys/power/image_size`,
          which reduces the image size to be stored during hibernation.
     
        o Some distributions use a tool called vbetool to save and restore VGA
          adapter state. This tool is incompatible with NVIDIA GPUs' Video
          BIOSes and is likely to lead to problems restoring the GPU and its
          state. Disabling calls to this tool in your distribution's init
          scripts may improve power management reliability.
     
     
   o On some notebooks, PowerMizer is not enabled by default. This issue is
     being investigated, and there is no known workaround.

   o On GeForce 6- and 7-series GPUs, the video overlay only works on the
     first display device on which you started X. For example, if you start X
     on the internal LCD, run a video application that uses the video overlay
     (uses the "Video Overlay" adapter advertised through the XV extension),
     and then hotkey switch to add a second display device, the video will not
     appear on the second display device. To work around this, you can either
     configure the video application to use the "Video Blitter" adapter
     advertised through the XV extension (this is always available), or hotkey
     switch to the display device on which you want to use the video overlay
     *before* starting X.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 19. Using the NVIDIA Driver with Optimus Laptops
______________________________________________________________________________

Some laptops with NVIDIA GPUs make use of Optimus technology to allow
switching between an integrated GPU and a discrete NVIDIA GPU. The NVIDIA
Linux driver can be used on these systems, though functionality may be
limited.


19A. INSTALLING THE NVIDIA DRIVER ON AN OPTIMUS LAPTOP

The driver may be installed normally on Optimus systems, but the NVIDIA X
driver and the NVIDIA OpenGL driver may not be able to display to the laptop's
internal display panel unless a means to connect the panel to the NVIDIA GPU
(for example, a hardware multiplexer, or "mux", often controllable by a BIOS
setting) is available. On systems without a mux, the NVIDIA GPU can still be
useful for offscreen rendering, running CUDA applications, and other uses that
don't require driving a display.

On muxless Optimus laptops, or on laptops where a mux is present, but not set
to drive the internal display from the NVIDIA GPU, the internal display is
driven by the integrated GPU. On these systems, it's important that the X
server not be configured to use the NVIDIA X driver after the driver is
installed. Instead, the correct driver for the integrated GPU should be used.
Often, this can be determined automatically by the X server, and no explicit
configuration is required, especially on newer X server versions. If your X
server autoselects the NVIDIA X driver after installation, you may need to
explicitly select the driver for your integrated GPU.

An additional caveat is that existing OpenGL libraries may be overwritten by
the install process. If you want to prevent this from happening, e.g., if you
intend to use OpenGL on the integrated GPU, you may prevent the installer from
installing the OpenGL and GLX libraries by passing the option
--no-opengl-files to the '.run' file, or directly to nvidia-installer, e.g.:

# NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --no-opengl-files


See Chapter 4 for details on the driver install process.


19B. LOADING THE KERNEL MODULE AND CREATING THE DEVICE FILES WITHOUT X

In order for programs that use the NVIDIA driver to work correctly (e.g.: X,
OpenGL, and CUDA applications), the kernel module must be loaded, and the
device files '/dev/nvidiactl' and '/dev/nvidia[0-9]+' must exist with read and
write permissions for any users of such applications. When running X with the
NVIDIA X driver, the kernel module is automatically loaded and the device
files are automatically created when X starts; however, if X is not in use,
for example, on an Optimus laptop where the NVIDIA GPU is used to run CUDA
applications only, then this must be done separately.

The NVIDIA driver can load the kernel module and populate the device files
automatically, if an application that uses the driver is run as a super user
(usually root). Such applications include an X server configured to use the
NVIDIA X driver, CUDA applications, and some of the utilities that are
distributed with the NVIDIA driver.

For example, running:

# nvidia-xconfig --query-gpu-info

as root will cause the kernel module to be loaded, and the device files to be
created, if this hasn't already been done. Note: the --query-gpu-info option
to 'nvidia-xconfig' is important here: without it, 'nvidia-xconfig' will
configure the X server to use the NVIDIA X driver, which may prevent X from
starting later.

See "Q. How and when are the the NVIDIA device files created?" in Chapter 7
for more information.

Note that on some Optimus notebooks the driver may fail to initialize the GPU
due to system-specific ACPI interaction problems: see "Q. Why does the VBIOS
fail to load on my Optimus system?" in Chapter 8 for more information.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 20. Programming Modes
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver supports all standard VGA and
VESA modes, as well as most user-written custom mode lines; double-scan and
interlaced modes are supported on all GPUs supported by the NVIDIA driver.

To request one or more standard modes for use in X, you can simply add a
"Modes" line such as:

    Modes "1600x1200" "1024x768" "640x480"

in the appropriate Display subsection of your X config file (see the
XF86Config(5x) or xorg.conf(5x) man pages for details). Or, the
nvidia-xconfig(1) utility can be used to request additional modes; for
example:

    nvidia-xconfig --mode 1600x1200

See the nvidia-xconfig(1) man page for details.


20A. DEPTH, BITS PER PIXEL, AND PITCH

While not directly a concern when programming modes, the bits used per pixel
is an issue when considering the maximum programmable resolution; for this
reason, it is worthwhile to address the confusion surrounding the terms
"depth" and "bits per pixel". Depth is how many bits of data are stored per
pixel. Supported depths are 8, 15, 16, and 24. Depth 30 is also available on
GeForce 8 series and higher GPUs. Most video hardware, however, stores pixel
data in sizes of 8, 16, or 32 bits; this is the amount of memory allocated per
pixel. When you specify your depth, X selects the bits per pixel (bpp) size in
which to store the data. Below is a table of what bpp is used for each
possible depth:

    Depth                                 BPP
    ----------------------------------    ----------------------------------
    8                                     8
    15                                    16
    16                                    16
    24                                    32
    30                                    32

Lastly, the "pitch" is how many bytes in the linear frame buffer there are
between one pixel's data, and the data of the pixel immediately below. You can
think of this as the horizontal resolution multiplied by the bytes per pixel
(bits per pixel divided by 8). In practice, the pitch may be more than this
product due to alignment constraints.


20B. MAXIMUM RESOLUTIONS

The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver and NVIDIA GPU-based graphics
cards support resolutions up to 16384x16384 pixels for the GeForce GTX 400
series and newer GPUs, 8192x8192 pixels for the GeForce 8 series and above,
and up to 4096x4096 pixels for the GeForce 7 series and below, though the
maximum resolution your system can support is also limited by the amount of
video memory (see USEFUL FORMULAS for details) and the maximum supported
resolution of your display device (monitor/flat panel/television). Also note
that while use of a video overlay does not limit the maximum resolution or
refresh rate, video memory bandwidth used by a programmed mode does affect the
overlay quality.


20C. USEFUL FORMULAS

The maximum resolution is a function both of the amount of video memory and
the bits per pixel you elect to use:

HR * VR * (bpp/8) = Video Memory Used

In other words, the amount of video memory used is equal to the horizontal
resolution (HR) multiplied by the vertical resolution (VR) multiplied by the
bytes per pixel (bits per pixel divided by eight). Technically, the video
memory used is actually the pitch times the vertical resolution, and the pitch
may be slightly greater than (HR * (bpp/8)) to accommodate the hardware
requirement that the pitch be a multiple of some value.

Note that this is just memory usage for the frame buffer; video memory is also
used by other things, such as OpenGL and pixmap caching.

Another important relationship is that between the resolution, the pixel clock
(also known as the dot clock) and the vertical refresh rate:

RR = PCLK / (HFL * VFL)

In other words, the refresh rate (RR) is equal to the pixel clock (PCLK)
divided by the total number of pixels: the horizontal frame length (HFL)
multiplied by the vertical frame length (VFL) (note that these are the frame
lengths, and not just the visible resolutions). As described in the XFree86
Video Timings HOWTO, the above formula can be rewritten as:

PCLK = RR * HFL * VFL

Given a maximum pixel clock, you can adjust the RR, HFL and VFL as desired, as
long as the product of the three is consistent. The pixel clock is reported in
the log file. Your X log should contain a line like this:

    (--) NVIDIA(0): ViewSonic VPD150 (DFP-1): 165 MHz maximum pixel clock

which indicates the maximum pixel clock for that display device.


20D. HOW MODES ARE VALIDATED

In traditional XFree86/X.Org mode validation, the X server takes as a starting
point the X server's internal list of VESA standard modes, plus any modes
specified with special ModeLines in the X configuration file's Monitor
section. These modes are validated against criteria such as the valid
HorizSync/VertRefresh frequency ranges for the user's monitor (as specified in
the Monitor section of the X configuration file), as well as the maximum pixel
clock of the GPU.

Once the X server has determined the set of valid modes, it takes the list of
user requested modes (i.e., the set of modes named in the "Modes" line in the
Display subsection of the Screen section of X configuration file), and finds
the "best" validated mode with the requested name.

The NVIDIA X driver uses a variation on the above approach to perform mode
validation. During X server initialization, the NVIDIA X driver builds a pool
of valid modes for each display device. It gathers all possible modes from
several sources:

   o The display device's EDID

   o The X server's built-in list

   o Any user-specified ModeLines in the X configuration file

   o The VESA standard modes

For every possible mode, the mode is run through mode validation. The core of
mode validation is still performed similarly to traditional XFree86/X.Org mode
validation: the mode timings are checked against things such as the valid
HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges and the maximum pixelclock. Note that each
individual stage of mode validation can be independently controlled through
the "ModeValidation" X configuration option.

Note that when validating interlaced mode timings, VertRefresh specifies the
field rate, rather than the frame rate. For example, the following modeline
has a vertical refresh rate of 87 Hz:


 # 1024x768i @ 87Hz (industry standard)
 ModeLine "1024x768"  44.9  1024 1032 1208 1264  768 768 776 817 +hsync +vsync
Interlace


Invalid modes are discarded; valid modes are inserted into the mode pool. See
MODE VALIDATION REPORTING for how to get more details on mode validation
results for each considered mode.

Valid modes are given a unique name that is guaranteed to be unique across the
whole mode pool for this display device. This mode name is constructed
approximately like this:

    <width>x<height>_<refreshrate>

(e.g., "1600x1200_85")

The name may also be prepended with another number to ensure the mode is
unique; e.g., "1600x1200_85_0".

As validated modes are inserted into the mode pool, duplicate modes are
removed, and the mode pool is sorted, such that the "best" modes are at the
beginning of the mode pool. The sorting is based roughly on:

   o Resolution

   o Source (EDID-provided modes are prioritized higher than VESA-provided
     modes, which are prioritized higher than modes that were in the X
     server's built-in list)

   o Refresh rate

Once modes from all mode sources are validated and the mode pool is
constructed, all modes with the same resolution are compared; the best mode
with that resolution is added to the mode pool a second time, using just the
resolution as its unique modename (e.g., "1600x1200"). In this way, when you
request a mode using the traditional names (e.g., "1600x1200"), you still get
what you got before (the 'best' 1600x1200 mode); the added benefit is that all
modes in the mode pool can be addressed by a unique name.

When verbose logging is enabled (see "Q. How can I increase the amount of data
printed in the X log file?" in Chapter 7), the mode pool for each display
device is printed to the X log file.

After the mode pool is built for all display devices, the requested modes (as
specified in the X configuration file), are looked up from the mode pool. Each
requested mode that can be matched against a mode in the mode pool is then
advertised to the X server and is available to the user through the X server's
mode switching hotkeys (ctrl-alt-plus/minus) and the XRandR and XF86VidMode X
extensions.

Additionally, all modes in the mode pool of the primary display device are
implicitly made available to the X server. See the "IncludeImplicitMetaModes"
X configuration option in Appendix B for details.


20E. THE NVIDIA-AUTO-SELECT MODE

You can request a special mode by name in the X config file, named
"nvidia-auto-select". When the X driver builds the mode pool for a display
device, it selects one of the modes as the "nvidia-auto-select" mode; a new
entry is made in the mode pool, and "nvidia-auto-select" is used as the unique
name for the mode.

The "nvidia-auto-select" mode is intended to be a reasonable mode for the
display device in question. For example, the "nvidia-auto-select" mode is
normally the native resolution for flat panels, as reported by the flat
panel's EDID, or one of the detailed timings from the EDID. The
"nvidia-auto-select" mode is guaranteed to always be present, and to always be
defined as something considered valid by the X driver for this display device.

Note that the "nvidia-auto-select" mode is not necessarily the largest
possible resolution, nor is it necessarily the mode with the highest refresh
rate. Rather, the "nvidia-auto-select" mode is selected such that it is a
reasonable default. The selection process is roughly:


   o If the EDID for the display device reported a preferred mode timing, and
     that mode timing is considered a valid mode, then that mode is used as
     the "nvidia-auto-select" mode. You can check if the EDID reported a
     preferred timing by starting X with logverbosity greater than or equal to
     5 (see "Q. How can I increase the amount of data printed in the X log
     file?" in Chapter 7), and looking at the EDID printout; if the EDID
     contains a line:
     
         Prefer first detailed timing : Yes
     
     Then the first mode listed under the "Detailed Timings" in the EDID will
     be used.

   o If the EDID did not provide a preferred timing, the best detailed timing
     from the EDID is used as the "nvidia-auto-select" mode.

   o If the EDID did not provide any detailed timings (or there was no EDID at
     all), the best valid mode not larger than 1024x768 is used as the
     "nvidia-auto-select" mode. The 1024x768 limit is imposed here to restrict
     use of modes that may have been validated, but may be too large to be
     considered a reasonable default, such as 2048x1536.

   o If all else fails, the X driver will use a built-in 800 x 600 60Hz mode
     as the "nvidia-auto-select" mode.


If no modes are requested in the X configuration file, or none of the
requested modes can be found in the mode pool, then the X driver falls back to
the "nvidia-auto-select" mode, so that X can always start. Appropriate warning
messages will be printed to the X log file in these fallback scenarios.

You can add the "nvidia-auto-select" mode to your X configuration file by
running the command

    nvidia-xconfig --mode nvidia-auto-select

and restarting your X server.

The X driver can generally do a much better job of selecting the
"nvidia-auto-select" mode if the display device's EDID is available. This is
one reason why it is recommended to only use the "UseEDID" X configuration
option sparingly. Note that, rather than globally disable all uses of the EDID
with the "UseEDID" option, you can individually disable each particular use of
the EDID using the "UseEDIDFreqs", "UseEDIDDpi", and/or the "NoEDIDModes"
argument in the "ModeValidation" X configuration option.


20F. MODE VALIDATION REPORTING

When log verbosity is set to 6 or higher (see "Q. How can I increase the
amount of data printed in the X log file?" in Chapter 7), the X log will
record every mode that is considered for each display device's mode pool, and
report whether the mode passed or failed. For modes that were considered
invalid, the log will report why the mode was considered invalid.


20G. ENSURING IDENTICAL MODE TIMINGS

Some functionality, such as Active Stereo with TwinView, requires control over
exactly which mode timings are used. For explicit control over which mode
timings are used on each display device, you can specify the ModeLine you want
to use (using one of the ModeLine generators available), and using a unique
name. For example, if you wanted to use 1024x768 at 120 Hz on each monitor in
TwinView with active stereo, you might add something like this to the monitor
section of your X configuration file:

    # 1024x768 @ 120.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 98.76 kHz; pclk: 139.05 MHz
    Modeline "1024x768_120"  139.05  1024 1104 1216 1408  768 769 772 823
-HSync +Vsync

Then, in the Screen section of your X config file, specify a MetaMode like
this:

    Option "MetaModes" "1024x768_120, 1024x768_120"



20H. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

An XFree86 ModeLine generator, conforming to the GTF Standard is available at
http://gtf.sourceforge.net/. Additional generators can be found by searching
for "modeline" on freshmeat.net.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 21. Configuring Flipping and UBB
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver supports Unified Back Buffer
(UBB) and OpenGL Flipping. These features can provide performance gains in
certain situations.

   o Unified Back Buffer (UBB): UBB is available only on Quadro GPUs (Quadro
     NVS GPUs excluded) and is enabled by default when there is sufficient
     video memory available. This can be disabled with the UBB X config option
     described in Appendix B. When UBB is enabled, all windows share the same
     back, stencil and depth buffers. When there are many windows, the back,
     stencil and depth usage will never exceed the size of that used by a full
     screen window. However, even for a single small window, the back,
     stencil, and depth video memory usage is that of a full screen window. In
     that case video memory may be used less efficiently than in the non-UBB
     case.

   o Flipping: When OpenGL flipping is enabled, OpenGL can perform buffer
     swaps by changing which buffer is scanned out rather than copying the
     back buffer contents to the front buffer; this is generally a higher
     performance mechanism and allows tearless swapping during the vertical
     retrace (when __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK is set).


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 22. Using the Proc Filesystem Interface
______________________________________________________________________________

You can use the /proc filesystem interface to obtain run-time information
about the driver, any installed NVIDIA graphics cards, and the AGP status
(where applicable).

This information is contained in several files in /proc/driver/nvidia

/proc/driver/nvidia/version

    Lists the installed driver revision and the version of the GNU C compiler
    used to build the Linux kernel module.

/proc/driver/nvidia/warnings

    The NVIDIA graphics driver tries to detect potential problems with the
    host system's kernel and warns about them using the kernel's printk()
    mechanism, typically logged by the system to '/var/log/messages'.

    Important NVIDIA warning messages are also logged to dedicated text files
    in this /proc directory.

/proc/driver/nvidia/gpus/0..N/information

    Provide information about each of the installed NVIDIA graphics adapters
    (model name, IRQ, BIOS version, Bus Type). Note that the BIOS version is
    only available while X is running.

/proc/driver/nvidia/agp/card

    Information about the installed AGP card's AGP capabilities.

/proc/driver/nvidia/agp/host-bridge

    Information about the host bridge (model and AGP capabilities).

/proc/driver/nvidia/agp/status

    The current AGP status. If AGP support has been enabled on your system,
    the AGP driver being used, the AGP rate, and information about the status
    of AGP Fast Writes and Side Band Addressing is shown.

    The AGP driver is either NVIDIA (NVIDIA built-in AGP driver) or AGPGART
    (the Linux kernel's agpgart.o driver). If you see "inactive" next to
    AGPGART, then this means that the AGP chipset was programmed by AGPGART,
    but is not currently in use.

    SBA and Fast Writes indicate whether either one of these features is
    currently in use. Note that several factors determine whether support for
    either will be enabled. Even if both the AGP card and the host bridge
    support them, the driver may decide not to use these features in favor of
    system stability. This is particularly true of AGP Fast Writes.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 23. Configuring Power Management Support
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA driver includes support for both APM- and ACPI- based power
management. The NVIDIA Linux driver supports APM-based suspend and resume, as
well as ACPI standby (S3) and suspend (S4).

To use APM, your system's BIOS will need to support APM, rather than ACPI.
Many, but not all, of the GeForce2- and GeForce4-based notebooks include APM
support. You can check for APM support via the procfs interface (check for the
existence of /proc/apm) or via the kernel's boot output:

    % dmesg | grep -i apm

a message similar to this indicates APM support:

    apm: BIOS version 1.2 Flags 0x03 (Driver version 1.16)

or a message like this indicates no APM support:

    No APM support in Kernel

Note: If you are using Linux 2.6 (or a newer Linux kernel) that was configured
with support for both ACPI and APM, the NVIDIA kernel module will be built
with ACPI Power Management support. If you wish to use APM, you will need to
rebuild the Linux kernel without ACPI support and reinstall the NVIDIA Linux
graphics driver.

Sometimes chipsets lose their AGP configuration during suspend, and may cause
corruption on the bus upon resume. The AGP driver is required to save and
restore relevant register state on such systems; NVIDIA's NvAGP is notified of
power management events and ensures its configuration is kept intact across
suspend/resume cycles.

Linux 2.4 AGPGART does not support power management, Linux 2.6 or later
AGPGART does, but only for a few select chipsets. If you use either of these
two AGP drivers and find your system fails to resume reliably, you may have
more success with the NvAGP driver.

Disabling AGP support (see Chapter 12 for more details on disabling AGP) will
also work around this problem.

More recent systems are more likely to support ACPI. ACPI is supported by the
NVIDIA graphics driver in Linux 2.6 and newer kernels. The driver supports
ACPI standby (S3) and includes beta support for ACPI suspend (S4).

If you enable ACPI S4 support via suspend2 patches, you will need to tweak the
Linux kernel such that it dynamically determines the amount of pages needed by
the drivers that will be suspended in the system. This is done by issuing the
following command as root:

    % echo 0 > /sys/power/suspend2/extra_pages_allowance

Older versions of suspend2 may provide a different interface, in which case
the following command needs to be issued as root:

    % echo 0 > /proc/suspend2/extra_pages_allowance

The system does NOT need rebooting, and as a matter of fact, the setting is
volatile over reboots. You will need to include the tweak in your startup
scripts. However, failure to perform the tweak will result in a hang going to
sleep. For further information regarding suspend2 patches, see
http://www.suspend2.net/.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 24. Using the X Composite Extension
______________________________________________________________________________

X.Org X servers, beginning with X11R6.8.0, contain experimental support for a
new X protocol extension called Composite. This extension allows windows to be
drawn into pixmaps instead of directly onto the screen. In conjunction with
the Damage and Render extensions, this allows a program called a composite
manager to blend windows together to draw the screen.

Performance will be degraded significantly if the "RenderAccel" option is
disabled in xorg.conf. See Appendix B for more details.

When the NVIDIA X driver is used with an X.Org X server X11R6.9.0 or newer and
the Composite extension is enabled, NVIDIA's OpenGL implementation interacts
properly with the Damage and Composite X extensions. This means that OpenGL
rendering is drawn into offscreen pixmaps and the X server is notified of the
Damage event when OpenGL renders to the pixmap. This allows OpenGL
applications to behave properly in a composited X desktop.

If the Composite extension is enabled on an X server older than X11R6.9.0,
then GLX will be disabled. You can force GLX on while Composite is enabled on
pre-X11R6.9.0 X servers with the "AllowGLXWithComposite" X configuration
option. However, GLX will not render correctly in this environment. Upgrading
your X server to X11R6.9.0 or newer is recommended.

You can enable the Composite X extension by running 'nvidia-xconfig
--composite'. Composite can be disabled with 'nvidia-xconfig --no-composite'.
See the nvidia-xconfig(1) man page for details.

If you are using Composite with GLX, it is recommended that you also enable
the "DamageEvents" X option for enhanced performance. If you are using an
OpenGL-based composite manager, you may also need the "DisableGLXRootClipping"
option to obtain proper output.

The Composite extension also causes problems with other driver components:

   o In X servers prior to X.Org 7.1, Xv cannot draw into pixmaps that have
     been redirected offscreen and will draw directly onto the screen instead.
     For some programs you can work around this issue by using an alternative
     video driver. For example, "mplayer -vo x11" will work correctly, as will
     "xine -V xshm". If you must use Xv with an older server, you can also
     disable the compositing manager and re-enable it when you are finished.

     On X.Org 7.1 and higher, the driver will properly redirect video into
     offscreen pixmaps. Note that the Xv adaptors will ignore the
     sync-to-vblank option when drawing into a redirected window.

   o Workstation overlays, stereo visuals, and the unified back buffer (UBB)
     are incompatible with Composite. These features will be automatically
     disabled when Composite is detected.

   o The Composite extension is currently incompatible with Xinerama, due to
     limitations in the X.Org X server. Composite will be automatically
     disabled when Xinerama is enabled.


This NVIDIA Linux driver supports OpenGL rendering to 32-bit ARGB windows on
X.Org 7.2 and higher or when the "AddARGBGLXVisuals" X config file option is
enabled. 32-bit visuals are only available on screens with depths 24 or 30. If
you are an application developer, you can use these new visuals in conjunction
with a composite manager to create translucent OpenGL applications:

    int attrib[] = {
        GLX_RENDER_TYPE, GLX_RGBA_BIT,
        GLX_DRAWABLE_TYPE, GLX_WINDOW_BIT,
        GLX_RED_SIZE, 1,
        GLX_GREEN_SIZE, 1,
        GLX_BLUE_SIZE, 1,
        GLX_ALPHA_SIZE, 1,
        GLX_DOUBLEBUFFER, True,
        GLX_DEPTH_SIZE, 1,
        None };
    GLXFBConfig *fbconfigs, fbconfig;
    int numfbconfigs, render_event_base, render_error_base;
    XVisualInfo *visinfo;
    XRenderPictFormat *pictFormat;

    /* Make sure we have the RENDER extension */
    if(!XRenderQueryExtension(dpy, &render_event_base, &render_error_base)) {
        fprintf(stderr, "No RENDER extension found\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    /* Get the list of FBConfigs that match our criteria */
    fbconfigs = glXChooseFBConfig(dpy, scrnum, attrib, &numfbconfigs);
    if (!fbconfigs) {
        /* None matched */
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    /* Find an FBConfig with a visual that has a RENDER picture format that
     * has alpha */
    for (i = 0; i < numfbconfigs; i++) {
        visinfo = glXGetVisualFromFBConfig(dpy, fbconfigs[i]);
        if (!visinfo) continue;
        pictFormat = XRenderFindVisualFormat(dpy, visinfo->visual);
        if (!pictFormat) continue;

        if(pictFormat->direct.alphaMask > 0) {
            fbconfig = fbconfigs[i];
            break;
        }

        XFree(visinfo);
    }

    if (i == numfbconfigs) {
        /* None of the FBConfigs have alpha.  Use a normal (opaque)
         * FBConfig instead */
        fbconfig = fbconfigs[0];
        visinfo = glXGetVisualFromFBConfig(dpy, fbconfig);
        pictFormat = XRenderFindVisualFormat(dpy, visinfo->visual);
    }

    XFree(fbconfigs);


When rendering to a 32-bit window, keep in mind that the X RENDER extension,
used by most composite managers, expects "premultiplied alpha" colors. This
means that if your color has components (r,g,b) and alpha value a, then you
must render (a*r, a*g, a*b, a) into the target window.

More information about Composite can be found at
http://freedesktop.org/Software/CompositeExt

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 25. Using the nvidia-settings Utility
______________________________________________________________________________

A graphical configuration utility, 'nvidia-settings', is included with the
NVIDIA Linux graphics driver. After installing the driver and starting X, you
can run this configuration utility by running:

    % nvidia-settings

in a terminal window.

Detailed information about the configuration options available are documented
in the help window in the utility.

For more information, see the nvidia-settings man page.

The source code to nvidia-settings is released as GPL and is available here:
https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/nvidia-settings/

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 26. Using the nvidia-smi Utility
______________________________________________________________________________

A monitoring and management command line utility, 'nvidia-smi', is included
with the NVIDIA Linux graphics driver. After installing the driver, you can
run this utility by running:

    % nvidia-smi

in a terminal window.

Detailed help information is available via the --help command line option and
via the nvidia-smi man page.

To include nvidia-smi information in other applications see Chapter 27

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 27. The NVIDIA Management Library
______________________________________________________________________________

A C-based API for monitoring and managing various states of the NVIDIA GPU
devices. NVIDIA Management Library (NVML) provides a direct access to the
queries and commands exposed via nvidia-smi. NVML is included with the NVIDIA
Linux graphics driver.

To write applications against this library see the NVML developer page:
http://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-management-library-NVML

To include NVML functionality in scripting languages see:
http://search.cpan.org/~nvbinding/nvidia-ml-pl/lib/nvidia/ml.pm and
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/nvidia-ml-py/

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 28. Using the nvidia-debugdump Utility
______________________________________________________________________________

A utility for collecting internal GPU state, 'nvidia-debugdump', is included
with the NVIDIA Linux graphics driver. After installing the driver, you can
run this utility by running:

    % nvidia-debugdump

in a terminal window.

Detailed help information is available via the --help command line option, or
when no parameters are supplied.

In most cases, this utility is invoked by the 'nvidia-bug-report.sh'
(/usr/bin/nvidia-bug-report.sh) script. In rare cases, typically when directed
by an NVIDIA technical support representative, nvidia-debugdump may also be
invoked as a stand-alone diagnostics program. The "dump" output of
nvidia-debugdump is a binary blob that requires internal NVIDIA engineering
tools in order to be interpreted.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 29. Configuring SLI and Multi-GPU FrameRendering
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA Linux driver contains support for NVIDIA SLI FrameRendering and
NVIDIA Multi-GPU FrameRendering. Both of these technologies allow an OpenGL
application to take advantage of multiple GPUs to improve visual performance.

The distinction between SLI and Multi-GPU is straightforward. SLI is used to
leverage the processing power of GPUs across two or more graphics cards, while
Multi-GPU is used to leverage the processing power of two GPUs colocated on
the same graphics card. If you want to link together separate graphics cards,
you should use the "SLI" X config option. Likewise, if you want to link
together GPUs on the same graphics card, you should use the "MultiGPU" X
config option. If you have two cards, each with two GPUs, and you wish to link
them all together, you should use the "SLI" option.


29A. RENDERING MODES

In Linux, with two GPUs SLI and Multi-GPU can both operate in one of three
modes: Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), Split Frame Rendering (SFR), and
Antialiasing (AA). When AFR mode is active, one GPU draws the next frame while
the other one works on the frame after that. In SFR mode, each frame is split
horizontally into two pieces, with one GPU rendering each piece. The split
line is adjusted to balance the load between the two GPUs. AA mode splits
antialiasing work between the two GPUs. Both GPUs work on the same scene and
the result is blended together to produce the final frame. This mode is useful
for applications that spend most of their time processing with the CPU and
cannot benefit from AFR.

With four GPUs, the same options are applicable. AFR mode cycles through all
four GPUs, each GPU rendering a frame in turn. SFR mode splits the frame
horizontally into four pieces. AA mode splits the work between the four GPUs,
allowing antialiasing up to 64x. With four GPUs SLI can also operate in an
additional mode, Alternate Frame Rendering of Antialiasing. (AFR of AA). With
AFR of AA, pairs of GPUs render alternate frames, each GPU in a pair doing
half of the antialiasing work. Note that these scenarios apply whether you
have four separate cards or you have two cards, each with two GPUs.

With some GPU configurations, there is in addition a special SLI Mosaic Mode
to extend a single X screen transparently across all of the available display
outputs on each GPU. See below for the exact set of configurations which can
be used with SLI Mosaic Mode.


29B. ENABLING MULTI-GPU

Multi-GPU is enabled by setting the "MultiGPU" option in the X configuration
file; see Appendix B for details about the "MultiGPU" option.

The nvidia-xconfig utility can be used to set the "MultiGPU" option, rather
than modifying the X configuration file by hand. For example:

    % nvidia-xconfig --multigpu=on



29C. ENABLING SLI

SLI is enabled by setting the "SLI" option in the X configuration file; see
Appendix B for details about the SLI option.

The nvidia-xconfig utility can be used to set the SLI option, rather than
modifying the X configuration file by hand. For example:

    % nvidia-xconfig --sli=on



29D. ENABLING SLI MOSAIC MODE

The simplest way to configure SLI Mosaic Mode using a grid of monitors is to
use 'nvidia-settings' (see Chapter 25). The steps to perform this
configuration are as follows:



  1. Connect each of the monitors you would like to use to any connector from
     any GPU used for SLI Mosaic Mode. If you are going to use fewer monitors
     than there are connectors, connect one monitor to each GPU before adding
     a second monitor to any GPUs.

  2. Install the NVIDIA display driver set.

  3. Configure an X screen to use the "nvidia" driver on at least one of the
     GPUs (see Chapter 6 for more information).

  4. Start X.

  5. Run 'nvidia-settings'. You should see a tab in the left pane of
     nvidia-settings labeled "SLI Mosaic Mode Settings". Note that you may
     need to expand the entry for the X screen you configured earlier.

  6. Check the "Use SLI Mosaic Mode" check box.

  7. Select the monitor grid configuration you'd like to use from the "display
     configuration" dropdown.

  8. Choose the resolution and refresh rate at which you would like to drive
     each individual monitor.

  9. Set any overlap you would like between the displays.

  10. Click the "Save to X Configuration File" button. NOTE: If you don't have
     permissions to write to your system's X configuration file, you will be
     prompted to choose a location to save the file. After doing so, you MUST
     copy the X configuration file into a location the X server will consider
     upon startup (usually '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' for X.Org servers or
     '/etc/X11/XF86Config' for XFree86 servers).

  11. Exit nvidia-settings and restart your X server.


Alternatively, nvidia-xconfig can be used to configure SLI Mosaic Mode via a
command like 'nvidia-xconfig --sli=Mosaic --metamodes=METAMODES' where the
METAMODES string specifies the desired grid configuration. For example:

    nvidia-xconfig --sli=Mosaic --metamodes="GPU-0.DFP-0: 1920x1024+0+0,
GPU-0.DFP-1: 1920x1024+1920+0, GPU-1.DFP-0: 1920x1024+0+1024, GPU-1.DFP-1:
1920x1024+1920+1024"

will configure four DFPs in a 2x2 configuration, each running at 1920x1024,
with the two DFPs on GPU-0 driving the top two monitors of the 2x2
configuration, and the two DFPs on GPU-1 driving the bottom two monitors of
the 2x2 configuration.

See the MetaModes X configuration description in details in Chapter 13. See
Appendix C for further details on GPU and Display Device Names.


29E. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

SLI functionality requires:

   o Identical PCI Express graphics cards

   o A supported motherboard (with the exception of Quadro Plex)

   o In most cases, a video bridge connecting the two graphics cards

   o To use SLI Mosaic Mode, the GPUs must either be part of a Quadro Plex
     Visual Computing System (VCS) Model IV or newer, or each GPU must be
     Quadro FX 5800, or Quadro Fermi or newer.

For the latest in supported SLI and Multi-GPU configurations, including SLI-
and Multi-GPU capable GPUs and SLI-capable motherboards, see
http://www.slizone.com.


29F. OTHER NOTES AND REQUIREMENTS

The following other requirements apply to SLI and Multi-GPU:

   o Mobile GPUs are NOT supported

   o GPUs with ECC enabled may not be used in an SLI configuration

   o SLI on Quadro-based graphics cards always requires a video bridge

   o TwinView is also not supported with SLI or Multi-GPU. Only one display
     can be used when SLI or Multi-GPU is enabled, with the exception of
     Mosaic.

   o If X is configured to use multiple screens and screen 0 has SLI or
     Multi-GPU enabled, the other screens configured to use the nvidia driver
     will be disabled. Note that if SLI or Multi-GPU is enabled, the GPUs used
     by that configuration will be unavailable for single GPU rendering.



FREQUENTLY ASKED SLI AND MULTI-GPU QUESTIONS

Q. Why is glxgears slower when SLI or Multi-GPU is enabled?

A. When SLI or Multi-GPU is enabled, the NVIDIA driver must coordinate the
   operations of all GPUs when each new frame is swapped (made visible). For
   most applications, this GPU synchronization overhead is negligible.
   However, because glxgears renders so many frames per second, the GPU
   synchronization overhead consumes a significant portion of the total time,
   and the framerate is reduced.


Q. Why is Doom 3 slower when SLI or Multi-GPU is enabled?

A. The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver does not automatically detect
   the optimal SLI or Multi-GPU settings for games such as Doom 3 and Quake 4.
   To work around this issue, the environment variable __GL_DOOM3 can be set
   to tell OpenGL that Doom 3's optimal settings should be used. In Bash, this
   can be done in the same command that launches Doom 3 so the environment
   variable does not remain set for other OpenGL applications started in the
   same session:
   
       % __GL_DOOM3=1 doom3
   
   Doom 3's startup script can also be modified to set this environment
   variable:
   
       #!/bin/sh
       # Needed to make symlinks/shortcuts work.
       # the binaries must run with correct working directory
       cd "/usr/local/games/doom3/"
       export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:.
       export __GL_DOOM3=1
       exec ./doom.x86 "$@"
   
   This environment variable is temporary and will be removed in the future.


Q. Why does SLI or MultiGPU fail to initialize?

A. There are several reasons why SLI or MultiGPU may fail to initialize. Most
   of these should be clear from the warning message in the X log file; e.g.:
   
      o "Unsupported bus type"
   
      o "The video link was not detected"
   
      o "GPUs do not match"
   
      o "Unsupported GPU video BIOS"
   
      o "Insufficient PCIe link width"
   
   The warning message "'Unsupported PCI topology'" is likely due to problems
   with your Linux kernel. The NVIDIA driver must have access to the PCI
   Bridge (often called the Root Bridge) that each NVIDIA GPU is connected to
   in order to configure SLI or MultiGPU correctly. There are many kernels
   that do not properly recognize this bridge and, as a result, do not allow
   the NVIDIA driver to access this bridge. See the below "How can I determine
   if my kernel correctly detects my PCI Bridge?" FAQ for details.

   Below are some specific troubleshooting steps to help deal with SLI and
   MultiGPU initialization failures.
   
      o Make sure that ACPI is enabled in your kernel. NVIDIA's experience
        has been that ACPI is needed for the kernel to correctly recognize
        the Root Bridge. Note that in some cases, the kernel's version of
        ACPI may still have problems and require an update to a newer kernel.
   
      o Run 'lspci' to check that multiple NVIDIA GPUs can be identified by
        the operating system; e.g:
        
            % /sbin/lspci | grep -i nvidia
        
        If 'lspci' does not report all the GPUs that are in your system, then
        this is a problem with your Linux kernel, and it is recommended that
        you use a different kernel.
   
        Please note: the 'lspci' utility may be installed in a location other
        than '/sbin' on your system. If the above command fails with the
        error: "'/sbin/lspci: No such file or directory'", please try:
        
            % lspci | grep -i nvidia
        
        , instead. You may also need to install your distribution's
        "pciutils" package.
   
      o Make sure you have the most recent SBIOS available for your
        motherboard.
   
      o The PCI Express slots on the motherboard must provide a minimum link
        width. Please make sure that the PCI Express slot(s) on your
        motherboard meet the following requirements and that you have
        connected the graphics board to the correct PCI Express slot(s):
        
           o A dual-GPU board needs a minimum of 8 lanes (i.e. x8 or x16)
        
           o A pair of single-GPU boards requires one of the following
             supported link width combinations:
             
                o x16 + x16
             
                o x16 + x8
             
                o x16 + x4
             
                o x8 + x8
             
             
        
   

Q. How can I determine if my kernel correctly detects my PCI Bridge?

A. As discussed above, the NVIDIA driver must have access to the PCI Bridge
   that each NVIDIA GPU is connected to in order to configure SLI or MultiGPU
   correctly. The following steps will identify whether the kernel correctly
   recognizes the PCI Bridge:
   
      o Identify both NVIDIA GPUs:
        
            % /sbin/lspci | grep -i vga
        
            0a:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation [...]
            81:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation [...]
        
        
      o Verify that each GPU is connected to a bus connected to the Root
        Bridge (note that the GPUs in the above example are on buses 0a and
        81):
        
            % /sbin/lspci -t
        
        good:
        
            -+-[0000:80]-+-00.0
             |           +-01.0
             |           \-0e.0-[0000:81]----00.0
            ...
             \-[0000:00]-+-00.0
                         +-01.0
                         +-01.1
                         +-0e.0-[0000:0a]----00.0
        
        bad:
        
            -+-[0000:81]---00.0
            ...
             \-[0000:00]-+-00.0
                         +-01.0
                         +-01.1
                         +-0e.0-[0000:0a]----00.0
        
        Note that in the first example, bus 81 is connected to Root Bridge
        80, but that in the second example there is no Root Bridge 80 and bus
        81 is incorrectly connected at the base of the device tree. In the
        bad case, the only solution is to upgrade your kernel to one that
        properly detects your PCI bus layout.
   
   

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 30. Configuring Frame Lock and Genlock
______________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Frame Lock and Genlock features are supported only on specific hardware,
as noted below.

Visual computing applications that involve multiple displays, or even multiple
windows within a display, can require special signal processing and
application controls in order to function properly. For example, in order to
produce quality video recording of animated graphics, the graphics display
must be synchronized with the video camera. As another example, applications
presented on multiple displays must be synchronized in order to complete the
illusion of a larger, virtual canvas.

This synchronization is enabled through the frame lock and genlock
capabilities of the NVIDIA driver. This section describes the setup and use of
frame lock and genlock.


30A. DEFINITION OF TERMS

GENLOCK: Genlock refers to the process of synchronizing the pixel scanning of
one or more displays to an external synchronization source. NVIDIA Genlock
requires the external signal to be either TTL or composite, such as used for
NTSC, PAL, or HDTV. It should be noted that the NVIDIA Genlock implementation
is guaranteed only to be frame-synchronized, and not necessarily
pixel-synchronized.

FRAME LOCK: Frame Lock involves the use of hardware to synchronize the frames
on each display in a connected system. When graphics and video are displayed
across multiple monitors, frame locked systems help maintain image continuity
to create a virtual canvas. Frame lock is especially critical for stereo
viewing, where the left and right fields must be in sync across all displays.

In short, to enable genlock means to sync to an external signal. To enable
frame lock means to sync 2 or more display devices to a signal generated
internally by the hardware, and to use both means to sync 2 or more display
devices to an external signal.

SWAP SYNC: Swap sync refers to the synchronization of buffer swaps of multiple
application windows. By means of swap sync, applications running on multiple
systems can synchronize the application buffer swaps between all the systems.
In order to work across multiple systems, swap sync requires that the systems
are frame locked.

QUADRO SYNC DEVICE: A Quadro Sync Device refers to a device capable of Frame
lock/Genlock. See "Supported Hardware" below.


30B. SUPPORTED HARDWARE

Frame lock and genlock are supported for the following hardware:

   o Quadro G-Sync, used in conjunction with a Quadro FX 4400, Quadro FX 4500,
     or Quadro FX 5500

   o Quadro G-Sync II, used in conjunction with a Quadro FX 4600, Quadro FX
     5600, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX 5800, Quadro 5000, or Quadro 6000

   o Quadro Sync, used in conjunction with a Quadro K5000

   o Quadro Plex 1000 Models I, II and IV, Quadro Plex 2200 D2, or Quadro Plex
     7000.



30C. HARDWARE SETUP

Before you begin, you should check that your hardware has been properly
installed. The following steps must be performed while the system is off.

  1. On a Quadro Sync card with four Sync connectors, connect a ribbon cable
     to any of the four connectors, if none are already connected.

     On a Quadro G-Sync or G-Sync II card with two G-Sync connectors, locate
     the G-Sync connector labeled "primary". If the associated ribbon cable is
     not already joined to this connector, do so now. If you plan to use frame
     lock or genlock in conjunction with SLI FrameRendering or Multi-GPU
     FrameRendering (see Chapter 29) or other multi-GPU configurations, you
     should connect the G-Sync connector labeled "secondary" to the second
     GPU. A section at the end of this appendix describes restrictions on such
     setups.

  2. Install the Quadro Sync card in any available slot. Note that the slot
     itself is only used for physical mounting, so even a known "bad" slot is
     acceptable. The slot must be close enough to the graphics card that the
     ribbon cable can reach.

  3. On a Quadro Sync card with four Sync connectors, external power is
     required. Connect a 6-pin PCIe power cable or a SATA power cable to the
     card. No external power is required for Quadro G-Sync or Quadro G-Sync II
     cards with two framelock connectors.

  4. Connect the other end of the ribbon cable to the Quadro Sync connector on
     the graphics card.

     On supported Quadro Kepler cards, the Quadro Sync connector is identical
     in appearance to the SLI connector. The ribbon cable from the Quadro Sync
     card should be connected to the connector labeled "SDI | SYNC". If the
     ribbon cable is connected to the SLI connector, the GPU will not be able
     to synchronize with the Quadro Sync card.

You may now boot the system and begin the software setup of genlock and/or
frame lock. These instructions assume that you have already successfully
installed the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set. If you have not done so,
see Chapter 4.


30D. CONFIGURATION WITH NVIDIA-SETTINGS GUI

Frame lock and genlock are configured through the nvidia-settings utility. See
the 'nvidia-settings(1)' man page, and the nvidia-settings online help (click
the "Help" button in the lower right corner of the interface for per-page help
information).

From the nvidia-settings frame lock panel, you may control the addition of
Quadro Sync (and display) devices to the frame lock/genlock group, monitor the
status of that group, and enable/disable frame lock and genlock.

After the system has booted and X Windows has been started, run
nvidia-settings as

    % nvidia-settings

You may wish to start this utility before continuing, as we refer to it
frequently in the subsequent discussion.

The setup of genlock and frame lock are described separately. We then describe
the use of genlock and frame lock together.


30E. GENLOCK SETUP

After the system has been booted, connect the external signal to the house
sync connector (the BNC connector) on either the graphics card or the Quadro
Sync card. There is a status LED next to the connector. A solid red or unlit
LED indicates that the hardware cannot detect the timing signal. A green LED
indicates that the hardware is detecting a timing signal. An occasional red
flash is okay. On a Quadro Sync card with four Sync connectors, a blinking
green LED indicates that the server is locked to the house sync. The Quadro
Sync device (graphics card or Quadro Sync card) will need to be configured
correctly for the signal to be detected.

In the frame lock panel of the nvidia-settings interface, add the X Server
that contains the display and Quadro Sync devices that you would like to sync
to this external source by clicking the "Add Devices..." button. An X Server
is typically specified in the format "system:m", e.g.:

    mycomputer.domain.com:0

or

    localhost:0

After adding an X Server, rows will appear in the "Quadro Sync Devices"
section on the frame lock panel that displays relevant status information
about the Quadro Sync devices, GPUs attached to those Quadro Sync devices and
the display devices driven by those GPUs. In particular, the Quadro Sync rows
will display the server name and Quadro Sync device number along with
"Receiving" LED, "Rate", "House" LED, "Port 0"/"Port 1" Images, and "Delay"
information. The GPU rows will display the GPU product name information along
with the GPU ID for the server. The Display Device rows will show the display
device name and device type along with server/client check boxes, refresh
rate, "Timing" LED and "Stereo" LED.

Once the Quadro Sync and display devices have been added to the frame
lock/genlock group, a Server display device will need to be selected. This is
done by selecting the "Server" check box of the desired display device.

If you are using a Quadro Sync card, you must also click the "Use House Sync
if Present" check box. To enable synchronization of this Quadro Sync device to
the external source, click the "Enable Frame Lock" button. The display
device(s) may take a moment to stabilize. If it does not stabilize, you may
have selected a synchronization signal that the system cannot support. You
should disable synchronization by clicking the "Disable Frame Lock" button and
check the external sync signal.

Modifications to genlock settings (e.g., "Use House Sync if Present", "Add
Devices...") must be done while synchronization is disabled.


30F. FRAME LOCK SETUP

Frame Lock is supported across an arbitrary number of Quadro Sync systems,
although mixing different generations of Quadro Sync products in the same
frame lock group is not supported. Additionally, each system to be included in
the frame lock group must be configured with identical mode timings. See
Chapter 20 for information on mode timings.

Connect the systems through their RJ45 ports using standard CAT5 patch cables.
These ports are located on the frame lock card. DO NOT CONNECT A FRAME LOCK
PORT TO AN ETHERNET CARD OR HUB. DOING SO MAY PERMANENTLY DAMAGE THE HARDWARE.
The connections should be made in a daisy-chain fashion: each card has two
RJ45 ports, call them 1 and 2. Connect port 1 of system A to port 2 of system
B, connect port 1 of system B to port 2 of system C, etc. Note that you will
always have two empty ports in your frame lock group.

The ports self-configure as inputs or outputs once frame lock is enabled. Each
port has a yellow and a green LED that reflect this state. A flashing yellow
LED indicates an output and a flashing green LED indicates an input. On a
Quadro G-Sync or Quadro G-Sync II card with two G-Sync connectors, a solid
green LED indicates that the port has not yet been configured; on a Quadro
Sync card with four Sync connectors, a solid green LED indicates that the port
has been configured as an input, but no sync pulse is detected, and a solid
yellow LED means the card is configured as an output, but no sync is being
transmitted.

In the frame lock panel of the nvidia-settings interface, add the X server
that contains the display devices that you would like to include in the frame
lock group by clicking the "Add Devices..." button (see the description for
adding display devices in the previous section on GENLOCK SETUP. Like the
genlock status indicators, the "Port 0" and "Port 1" columns in the table on
the frame lock panel contain indicators whose states mirror the states of the
physical LEDs on the RJ45 ports. Thus, you may monitor the status of these
ports from the software interface.

Any X Server can be added to the frame lock group, provided that

  1. The system supporting the X Server is configured to support frame lock
     and is connected via RJ45 cable to the other systems in the frame lock
     group.

  2. The system driving nvidia-settings can communicate with the X server that
     is to be included for frame lock. This means that either the server must
     be listening over TCP and the system's firewall is permissive enough to
     allow remote X11 display connections, or that you've configured an
     alternative mechanism such as ssh(1) forwarding between the machines.

     For the case of listening over TCP, verify that the "-nolisten tcp"
     commandline option was not used when starting the X server. You can find
     the X server commandline with a command such as
     
         % ps ax | grep X
     
     If "-nolisten tcp" is on the X server commandline, consult your Linux
     distribution documentation for details on how to properly remove this
     option. For example, distributions configured to use the GDM login
     manager may need to set "DisallowTCP=false" in the GDM configuration file
     (e.g., /etc/gdm/custom.conf, /etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf, or /etc/gdb/gdb.conf;
     the exact configuration file name and path varies by the distribution).
     Or, distributions configured to use the KDM login manager may have the
     line
     
         ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp
     
     in their kdm file (e.g., /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc). This line can be commented
     out by prepending with "#".

  3. The system driving nvidia-settings can locate and has display privileges
     on the X server that is to be included for frame lock.

     A system can gain display privileges on a remote system by executing
     
         % xhost +
     
     on the remote system. See the xhost(1) man page for details.

Typically, frame lock is controlled through one of the systems that will be
included in the frame lock group. While this is not a requirement, note that
nvidia-settings will only display the frame lock panel when running on an X
server that supports frame lock.

To enable synchronization on these display devices, click the "Enable Frame
Lock" button. The screens may take a moment to stabilize. If they do not
stabilize, you may have selected mode timings that one or more of the systems
cannot support. In this case you should disable synchronization by clicking
the "Disable Frame Lock" button and refer to Chapter 20 for information on
mode timings.

Modifications to frame lock settings (e.g. "Add/Remove Devices...") must be
done while synchronization is disabled.

nvidia-settings will not automatically enable Frame Lock via the
nvidia-settings.rc file. To enable Frame Lock when starting the X server, a
line such as the following can be added to the '~/.xinitrc' file:

    # nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=1



30G. FRAME LOCK + GENLOCK

The use of frame lock and genlock together is a simple extension of the above
instructions for using them separately. You should first follow the
instructions for Frame Lock Setup, and then to one of the systems that will be
included in the frame lock group, attach an external sync source. In order to
sync the frame lock group to this single external source, you must select a
display device driven by the GPU connected to the Quadro Sync card (On Quadro
G-Sync or G-Sync II cards, this display device must be connected to the
primary connector) that is connected to the external source to be the signal
server for the group. This is done by selecting the check box labeled "Server"
of the tree on the frame lock panel in nvidia-settings. If you are using a
Quadro Sync based frame lock group, you must also select the "Use House Sync
if Present" check box. Enable synchronization by clicking the "Enable Frame
Lock" button. As with other frame lock/genlock controls, you must select the
signal server while synchronization is disabled.


30H. GPU STATUS LEDS ON THE QUADRO SYNC CARD

In addition to the graphical indicators in the control panel described in the
Genlock Setup section above, the Quadro Sync card for Quadro Kepler GPUs has
two status LEDs for each of the four ports:

A sync status LED indicates the sync status for each port. An unlit LED
indicates that no GPU is connected to the port; a steady amber LED indicates
that a GPU is connected, but not synced to any sync source; and a steady green
LED indicates that a GPU is connected and in sync with an internal or external
sync source. A flashing LED indicates that a connected GPU is in the process
of locking to a sync source; flashing green indicates that the sync source's
timings are within a reasonable range, and flashing amber indicates that the
timings are out of range, and the GPU may be unable to lock to the sync
source.

A stereo status LED indicates the stereo sync status for each port. The LED
will be lit steady amber when the card first powers on. An unlit LED indicates
that stereo is not active, or that no GPU is connected; a blinking green LED
indicates that stereo is active, but not locked to the stereo master; and a
steady green LED indicates that stereo is active and locked to the stereo
master.


30I. CONFIGURATION WITH NVIDIA-SETTINGS COMMAND LINE

Frame Lock may also be configured through the nvidia-settings command line.
This method of configuring Frame Lock may be useful in a scripted environment
to automate the setup process. (Note that the examples listed below depend on
the actual hardware configuration and as such may not work as-is.)

To properly configure Frame Lock, the following steps should be completed:

  1. Make sure Frame Lock Sync is disabled on all GPUs.

  2. Make sure all display devices that are to be frame locked have the same
     refresh rate.

  3. Configure which (display/GPU) device should be the master.

  4. Configure house sync (if applicable).

  5. Configure the slave display devices.

  6. Enable frame lock sync on the master GPU.

  7. Enable frame lock sync on the slave GPUs.

  8. Toggle the test signal on the master GPU (for testing the hardware
     connectivity.)


For a full list of the nvidia-settings Frame Lock attributes, please see the
'nvidia-settings(1)' man page. Examples:

  1. 1 System, 1 Frame Lock board, 1 GPU, and 1 display device syncing to the
     house signal:
     
       # - Make sure frame lock sync is disabled
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable
     
       # - Query the enabled displays on the gpu
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/EnabledDisplays
     
       # - Check that the refresh rate is the one we want
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/RefreshRate
     
       # - Set the master display device to CRT-0.  The desired display
       #   device(s) to be set are passed in as a hexadecimal number
       #   in which specific bits denote which display devices to set.
       #   examples:
       #
       #   0x00000001 - CRT-0
       #   0x00000002 - CRT-1
       #   0x00000003 - CRT-0 and CRT-1
       #
       #   0x00000100 - TV-0
       #   0x00000200 - TV-1
       #
       #   0x00020000 - DFP-1
       #
       #   0x00010101 - CRT-0, TV-0 and DFP-0
       #
       #   0x000000FF - All CRTs
       #   0x0000FF00 - All TVs
       #   0x00FF0000 - All DFPs
       #
       #   Note that the following command:
       # 
       #     nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/EnabledDisplays
       #
       #   will list the available displays on the given GPU.
     
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockMaster=0x00000001
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/FrameLockMaster
     
       # - Enable use of house sync signal
       nvidia-settings -a [framelock:0]/FrameLockUseHouseSync=1
     
       # - Configure the house sync signal video mode
       nvidia-settings -a [framelock:0]/FrameLockVideoMode=0
     
       # - Set the slave display device to none (to avoid
       #   having unwanted display devices locked to the
       #   sync signal.)
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000000
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/FrameLockSlaves
     
       # - Enable frame lock
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=1
     
       # - Toggle the test signal
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockTestSignal=1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockTestSignal=0
     
     
  2. 2 Systems, each with 2 GPUs, 1 Frame Lock board and 1 display device per
     GPU syncing from the first system's first display device:
     
       # - Make sure frame lock sync is disabled
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:1]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -a myslave1:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -a myslave1:0[gpu:1]/FrameLockEnable=0
     
       # - Query the enabled displays on the GPUs
       nvidia-settings -q myserver:0[gpu:0]/EnabledDisplays
       nvidia-settings -q myserver:0[gpu:1]/EnabledDisplays
       nvidia-settings -q myslave1:0[gpu:0]/EnabledDisplays
       nvidia-settings -q myslave1:0[gpu:1]/EnabledDisplays
     
       # - Check the refresh rate is the same for all displays
       nvidia-settings -q myserver:0[gpu:0]/RefreshRate
       nvidia-settings -q myserver:0[gpu:1]/RefreshRate
       nvidia-settings -q myslave1:0[gpu:0]/RefreshRate
       nvidia-settings -q myslave1:0[gpu:1]/RefreshRate
     
       # - Make sure the display device we want as master is masterable
       nvidia-settings -q myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockMasterable
     
       # - Set the master display device (CRT-0)
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockMaster=0x00000001
     
       # - Disable the house sync signal on the master device
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[framelock:0]/FrameLockUseHouseSync=0
     
       # - Set the slave display devices
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:1]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000001
       nvidia-settings -a myslave1:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000001
       nvidia-settings -a myslave1:0[gpu:1]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000001
     
       # - Enable frame lock on server
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=1
     
       # - Enable frame lock on slave devices
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:1]/FrameLockEnable=1
       nvidia-settings -a myslave1:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=1
       nvidia-settings -a myslave1:0[gpu:1]/FrameLockEnable=1
     
       # - Toggle the test signal
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockTestSignal=1
       nvidia-settings -a myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockTestSignal=0
     
     
  3. 1 System, 4 GPUs, 2 Frame Lock boards and 2 display devices per GPU
     syncing from the first GPU's display device:
     
       # - Make sure frame lock sync is disabled
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:2]/FrameLockEnable=0
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:3]/FrameLockEnable=0
     
       # - Query the enabled displays on the GPUs
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/EnabledDisplays
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:1]/EnabledDisplays
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:2]/EnabledDisplays
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:3]/EnabledDisplays
     
       # - Check the refresh rate is the same for all displays
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:0]/RefreshRate
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:1]/RefreshRate
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:2]/RefreshRate
       nvidia-settings -q [gpu:3]/RefreshRate
     
       # - Make sure the display device we want as master is masterable
       nvidia-settings -q myserver:0[gpu:0]/FrameLockMasterable
     
       # - Set the master display device (CRT-0)
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockMaster=0x00000001
     
       # - Disable the house sync signal on the master device
       nvidia-settings -a [framelock:0]/FrameLockUseHouseSync=0
     
       # - Set the slave display devices
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000002 # CRT-1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000003 # CRT-0 and CRT-1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:2]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000003 # CRT-0 and CRT-1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:3]/FrameLockSlaves=0x00000003 # CRT-0 and CRT-1
     
       # - Enable frame lock on master GPU
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockEnable=1
     
       # - Enable frame lock on slave devices
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/FrameLockEnable=1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:2]/FrameLockEnable=1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:3]/FrameLockEnable=1
     
       # - Toggle the test signal
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockTestSignal=1
       nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/FrameLockTestSignal=0
     
     


30J. LEVERAGING FRAME LOCK/GENLOCK IN OPENGL

With the GLX_NV_swap_group extension, OpenGL applications can be implemented
to join a group of applications within a system for local swap sync, and bind
the group to a barrier for swap sync across a frame lock group. A universal
frame counter is also provided to promote synchronization across applications.


30K. FRAME LOCK RESTRICTIONS:

The following restrictions must be met for enabling frame lock:

  1. All display devices set as client in a frame lock group must have the
     same mode timings as the server (master) display device. If a House Sync
     signal is used (instead of internal timings), all client display devices
     must be set to have the same refresh rate as the incoming house sync
     signal.

  2. All X Screens (driving the selected client/server display devices) must
     have the same stereo setting. See Appendix B for instructions on how to
     set the stereo X option.

  3. The frame lock server (master) display device must be on a GPU on the
     primary connector connected to a Quadro G-Sync or G-Sync II device. This
     restriction does not apply to Quadro Sync devices with four Sync
     connectors.

  4. If connecting a single GPU to a Quadro G-Sync or G-Sync II device, the
     primary connector must be used. On a Quadro Sync device with four Sync
     connectors, any connector may be used.

  5. In configurations with more than one display device per GPU, we recommend
     enabling frame lock on all display devices on those GPUs.

  6. Virtual terminal switching or mode switching will disable frame lock on
     the display device. Note that the glXQueryFrameCountNV entry point
     (provided by the GLX_NV_swap_group extension) will only provide
     incrementing numbers while frame lock is enabled. Therefore, applications
     that use glXQueryFrameCountNV to control animation will appear to stop
     animating while frame lock is disabled.



30L. SUPPORTED FRAME LOCK CONFIGURATIONS:

The following configurations are currently supported:

  1. Basic Frame Lock: Single GPU, Single X Screen, Single Display Device with
     or without OpenGL applications that make use of Quad-Buffered Stereo
     and/or the GLX_NV_swap_group extension.

  2. Frame Lock + TwinView: Single GPU, Single X Screen, Multiple Display
     Devices with or without OpenGL applications that make use of
     Quad-Buffered Stereo and/or the GLX_NV_swap_group extension.

  3. Frame Lock + Xinerama: 1 or more GPU(s), Multiple X Screens, Multiple
     Display Devices with or without OpenGL applications that make use of
     Quad-Buffered Stereo and/or the GLX_NV_swap_group extension.

  4. Frame Lock + TwinView + Xinerama: 1 or more GPU(s), Multiple X Screens,
     Multiple Display Devices with or without OpenGL applications that make
     use of Quad-Buffered Stereo and/or the GLX_NV_swap_group extension.

  5. Frame Lock + SLI SFR, AFR, or AA: 2 GPUs, Single X Screen, Single Display
     Device with either OpenGL applications that make use of Quad-Buffered
     Stereo or the GLX_NV_swap_group extension. Note that for Frame Lock + SLI
     Frame Rendering applications that make use of both Quad-Buffered Stereo
     and the GLX_NV_swap_group extension are not supported. Note that only
     2-GPU SLI configurations are currently supported.

  6. Frame Lock + Multi-GPU SFR, AFR, or AA: 2 GPUs, Single X Screen, Single
     Display Device with either OpenGL applications that make use of
     Quad-Buffered Stereo or the GLX_NV_swap_group extension. Note that for
     Frame Lock + Multi-GPU Frame Rendering applications that make use of both
     Quad-Buffered Stereo and the GLX_NV_swap_group extension are not
     supported.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 31. Configuring SDI Video Output
______________________________________________________________________________

Broadcast, film, and video post production and digital cinema applications can
require Serial Digital (SDI) or High Definition Serial Digital (HD-SDI) video
output. SDI/HD-SDI is a digital video interface used for the transmission of
uncompressed video signals as well as packetized data. SDI is standardized in
ITU-R BT.656 and SMPTE 259M while HD-SDI is standardized in SMPTE 292M. SMPTE
372M extends HD-SDI to define a dual-link configuration that uses a pair of
SMPTE 292M links to provide a 2.970 Gbit/second interface. SMPTE 424M extends
the interface further to define a single 2.97 Gbit/second serial data link.

SDI and HD-SDI video output is provided through the use of the NVIDIA driver
along with an NVIDIA SDI output daughter board. In addition to single- and
dual-link SDI/HD-SDI digital video output, frame lock and genlock
synchronization are provided in order to synchronize the outgoing video with
an external source signal (see Chapter 30 for details on these technologies).
This section describes the setup and use of the SDI video output.


31A. HARDWARE SETUP

Before you begin, you should check that your hardware has been properly
installed. If you are using the Quadro FX 4000 SDI, the SDI/HD-SDI hardware is
located on the dual-slot card itself, and after installing the card, no
additional setup is necessary. If you are using the Quadro FX 4500/5500 SDI or
Quadro FX 4600/5600 SDI II, the following additional setup steps are required
in order to connect the SDI daughter card to the graphics card. These steps
must be performed when the system is off.

  1. Insert the NVIDIA SDI Output card into any available expansion slot
     within six inches of the NVIDIA Quadro graphics card. Secure the card's
     bracket using the method provided by the chassis manufacturer (usually a
     thumb screw or an integrated latch).

  2. Connect one end of the 14-pin ribbon cable to the Quadro Sync connector
     on the NVIDIA Quadro graphics card, and the other end to the NVIDIA SDI
     output card.

  3. On Quadro FX 4500/5500 SDI, connect the SMA-to-BNC cables by screwing the
     male SMA connectors onto the female SMA connectors on the NVIDIA SDI
     output card. On Quadro FX 4600/5600 SDI II, this step is not necessary:
     the SDI II has BNC connectors rather than SMA connectors.

  4. Connect the DVI-loopback connector by connecting one end of the DVI cable
     to the DVI connector on the NVIDIA SDI output card and the other end to
     the "north" DVI connector on the NVIDIA Quadro graphics card. The "north"
     DVI connector on the NVIDIA Quadro graphics card is the DVI connector
     that is the farthest from the graphics card PCIe connection to the
     motherboard. The SDI output card will NOT function properly if this cable
     is connected to the "south" DVI connector.

Once the above installation is complete, you may boot the system and configure
the SDI video output using nvidia-settings. These instructions assume that you
have already successfully installed the NVIDIA Linux Accelerated Graphics
Driver. If you have not done so, see Chapter 4 for details.


31B. CLONE MODE CONFIGURATION WITH  'nvidia-settings'

SDI video output is configured through the nvidia-settings utility. See the
'nvidia-settings(1)' man page, and the nvidia-settings online help (click the
"Help" button in the lower right corner of the interface for per-page help
information).

After the system has booted and X Windows has been started, run
nvidia-settings as

    % nvidia-settings

When the NVIDIA X Server Settings page appears, follow the steps below to
configure the SDI video output.

  1. Click on the "Graphics to Video Out" tree item on the side menu. This
     will open the "Graphics to Video Out" page.

  2. Go to the "Synchronization Options" subpage and choose a synchronization
     method. From the "Sync Options" drop down click the list arrow to the
     right and then click the method that you want to use to synchronize the
     SDI output.
     
         Sync Method      Description
         -------------    --------------------------------------------------
         Free Running     The SDI output will be synchronized with the
                          timing chosen from the SDI signal format list.
         Genlock          SDI output will be synchronized with the external
                          sync signal.
         Frame Lock       The SDI output will be synchronized with the
                          timing chosen from the SDI signal format list. In
                          this case, the list of available timings is
                          limited to those timings that can be synchronized
                          with the detected external sync signal.
     
     
     Note that on Quadro FX 4600/5600 SDI II, you must first choose the
     correct Sync Format before an incoming sync signal will be detected.

  3. From the top Graphics to Video Out page, choose the output video format
     that will control the video resolution, field rate, and SMPTE signaling
     standard for the outgoing video stream. From the "Clone Mode" drop down
     box, click the "Video Format" arrow and then click the signal format that
     you would like to use. Note that only those resolutions that are smaller
     or equal to the desktop resolution will be available. Also, this list is
     pruned according to the sync option selected. If genlock synchronization
     is chosen, the output video format is automatically set to match the
     incoming video sync format and this drop down list will be grayed out
     preventing you from choosing another format. If frame lock
     synchronization has been selected, then only those modes that are
     compatible with the detected sync signal will be available.

  4. Choose the output data format from the "Output Data Format" drop down
     list.

  5. Click the "Enable SDI Output" button to enable video output using the
     settings above. The status of the SDI output can be verified by examining
     the LED indicators in the "Graphics to SDI property" page banner.

  6. To subsequently stop SDI output, simply click on the button that now says
     "Disable SDI Output".

  7. In order to change any of the SDI output parameters such as the Output
     Video Format, Output Data Format as well as the Synchronization Delay, it
     is necessary to first disable the SDI output.



31C. CONFIGURATION FOR TWINVIEW OR AS A SEPARATE X SCREEN

SDI video output can be configured through the nvidia-settings X Server
Display Configuration page, for use in TwinView or as a separate X screen. The
SDI video output can be configured as if it were a digital flat panel,
choosing the resolution, refresh rate, and position within the desktop.

Similarly, the SDI video output can be configured for use in TwinView or as a
separate X screen through the X configuration file. The supported SDI video
output modes can be requested by name anywhere a mode name can be used in the
X configuration file (either in the "Modes" line, or in the "MetaModes"
option). E.g.,


 Option "MetaModes" "CRT-0:nvidia-auto-select, DFP-1:1280x720_60.00_smpte296"
    

The mode names are reported in the nvidia-settings Display Configuration page
when in advanced mode.

As well, the initial output data format, sync mode and sync source can be set
via the Appendix B, Appendix B, and Appendix B. See Appendix B for
instructions on how to set these X options.

Note that SDI "Clone Mode" as configured through the Graphics to Video Out
page in nvidia-settings is mutually exclusive with using the SDI video output
in TwinView or as a separate X screen.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 32. Configuring Depth 30 Displays
______________________________________________________________________________

This driver release supports X screens with screen depths of 30 bits per pixel
(10 bits per color component) on NVIDIA GPUs based on G80 and higher chip
architectures. This provides about 1 billion possible colors, allowing for
higher color precision and smoother gradients.

When displaying a depth 30 image, the color data may be dithered to lower bit
depths, depending on the capabilities of the display device and how it is
connected to the GPU. Some devices connected via analog VGA or DisplayPort can
display the full 10 bit range of colors. Devices connected via DVI or HDMI, as
well as laptop internal panels connected via LVDS, will be dithered to 8 or 6
bits per pixel.

To work reliably, depth 30 requires X.Org 7.3 or higher and pixman 0.11.6 or
higher.

In addition to the above software requirements, many X applications and
toolkits do not understand depth 30 visuals as of this writing. Some programs
may work correctly, some may work but display incorrect colors, and some may
simply fail to run. In particular, many OpenGL applications request 8 bits of
alpha when searching for FBConfigs. Since depth 30 visuals have only 2 bits of
alpha, no suitable FBConfigs will be found and such applications will fail to
start.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 33. Addressing Capabilities
______________________________________________________________________________

Many PCIe devices have limitations in what memory addresses they can access
for DMA purposes (based on the number of lines dedicated to memory
addressing). This can cause problems if the host system has memory mapped to
addresses beyond what the PCIe device can support. If a PCIe device is
allocated memory at an address beyond what the device can support, the address
may be truncated and the device will access the incorrect memory location.

Note that since certain system resources, such as ACPI tables and PCI I/O
regions, are mapped to address ranges below the 4 GB boundary, the RAM
installed in x86/x86-64 systems cannot necessarily be mapped contiguously.
Similarly, system firmware is free to map the available RAM at its or its
users' discretion. As a result, it is common for systems to have RAM mapped
outside of the address range [0, RAM_SIZE], where RAM_SIZE is the amount of
RAM installed in the system.

For example, it is common for a system with 512 GB of RAM installed to have
physical addresses up to ~513 GB. In this scenario, a GPU with an addressing
capability of 512 GB would force the driver to fall back to the 4 GB DMA zone
for this GPU.

The NVIDIA Linux driver attempts to identify the scenario where the host
system has more memory than a given GPU can address. If this scenario is
detected, the NVIDIA driver will drop back to allocations from the 4 GB DMA
zone to avoid address truncation. This means that the driver will use the
__GFP_DMA32 flag and limit itself to memory addresses below the 4 GB boundary.
This is done on a per-GPU basis, so limiting one GPU will not limit other GPUs
in the system.

The addressing capabilities of an NVIDIA GPU can be queried at runtime via the
procfs interface:



% cat /proc/driver/nvidia/gpus/index/information
...
DMA Size:        40 bits
DMA Mask:        0xffffffffff
...



The memory mapping of RAM on a given system can be seen in the BIOS-e820 table
printed out by the kernel and available via `dmesg`. Note that the 'usable'
ranges are actual RAM:



[    0.000000] BIOS-provided physical RAM map:
[    0.000000]  BIOS-e820: 0000000000000000 - 000000000009f000 (usable)
[    0.000000]  BIOS-e820: 000000000009f000 - 00000000000a0000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  BIOS-e820: 0000000000100000 - 000000003fe5a800 (usable)
[    0.000000]  BIOS-e820: 000000003fe5a800 - 0000000040000000 (reserved)




33A. INDIVIDUAL CAPABILITIES
Listing of per-board addressing capabilities.

GEFORCE CAPABILITIES


  1. 1 Terabyte (40 bits)


   o All GeForce GPUs (minus following exceptions)


  2. 512 Gigabytes (39 bits)


   o GeForce GTX 460, 460 SE, 465, 470, 480

   o GeForce GTX 470M, 480M, 485M


  3. 128 Gigabytes (37 bits)


   o GeForce GT 420, 430, 440, 520, 530, 610, 620, 630

   o GeForce GT 415M, 420M, 425M, 435M, 520M, 525M, 540M, 550M, 555M, 610M,
     620M, 630M, 635M




QUADRO CAPABILITIES


  1. 1 Terabyte (40 bits)


   o All Quadro GPUs (minus following exceptions)


  2. 512 Gigabytes (39 bits)


   o Quadro 3000M, 4000, 4000M, 5000, 5000M, 6000


  3. 128 Gigabytes (37 bits)


   o Quadro 500M, 600, 1000M




TESLA CAPABILITIES


  1. 1 Terabyte (40 bits)


   o All Tesla GPUs (minus following exceptions)


  2. 512 Gigabytes (39 bits)


   o Tesla T20, C2050, C2070, M2070, M2070-Q




33B. SOLUTIONS

There are multiple potential ways to solve a discrepancy between your system
configuration and a GPU's addressing capabilities.


  1. Select a GPU with addressing capabilities that match your target
     configuration.

     The best way to achieve optimal system and GPU performance is to make
     sure that the capabilities of the two are in alignment. This is
     especially important with multiple GPUs in the system, as the GPUs may
     have different addressing capabilities. In this multiple GPU scenario,
     other solutions could needlessly impact the GPU that has larger
     addressing capabilities.

  2. Configure the system's IOMMU to the GPU's addressing capabilities.

     This is a solution targeted at developers and system builders. The use of
     IOMMU may be an option, depending on system configuration and IOMMU
     capabilities. Please contact NVIDIA to discuss solutions for specific
     configurations.

  3. Limit the amount of memory seen by the Operating System to match your
     GPU's addressing capabilities with kernel configuration.

     This is best used in the scenario where RAM is mapped to addresses that
     slightly exceeds a GPU's capabilities and other solutions are either not
     achievable or more intrusive. A good example is the 512 GB RAM scenario
     outlined above with a GPU capable of addressing 512 GB. The kernel
     parameter can be used to ignore the RAM mapped above 512 GB.

     This can be achieved in Linux by use of the "mem" kernel parameter. See
     the kernel-parameters.txt documentation for more details on this
     parameter.

     This solution does affect the entire system and will limit how much
     memory the OS and other devices can use. In scenarios where there is a
     large discrepancy between the system configuration and GPU capabilities,
     this is not a desirable solution.

  4. Remove RAM from the system to align with the GPU's addressing
     capabilities.

     This is the most heavy-handed, but may ultimately be the most reliable
     solution.


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 34. NVIDIA Contact Info and Additional Resources
______________________________________________________________________________

There is an NVIDIA Linux Driver web forum. You can access it by going to
http://devtalk.nvidia.com and following the "Linux" link in the "GPU Unix
Graphics" section. This is the preferable tool for seeking help; users can
post questions, answer other users' questions, and search the archives of
previous postings.

If all else fails, you can contact NVIDIA for support at:
linux-bugs@nvidia.com. But please, only send email to this address after you
have explored the Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 chapters of this document, and asked
for help on the devtalk.nvidia.com web forum. When emailing
linux-bugs@nvidia.com, please include the 'nvidia-bug-report.log.gz' file
generated by the 'nvidia-bug-report.sh' script (which is installed as part of
driver installation), along with a detailed description of your problem.

NVIDIA provides a technical contact for information about potential security
issues. Anyone who has identified what they believe to be a security issue
with an NVIDIA UNIX driver is encouraged to directly contact the NVIDIA UNIX
Graphics Driver security email alias, unix-security@nvidia.com, to report and
evaluate any potential issues prior to publishing a public security advisory.



Additional Resources

Linux OpenGL ABI

     http://www.opengl.org/registry/ABI/

The XFree86 Project

     http://www.xfree86.org/

XFree86 Video Timings HOWTO

     http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree86-Video-Timings-HOWTO/index.html

The X.Org Foundation

     http://www.x.org/

OpenGL

     http://www.opengl.org/


______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 35. Acknowledgements
______________________________________________________________________________


loki_update

    'nvidia-installer' was inspired by the 'loki_update' tool:
    http://icculus.org/loki_setup//

makeself

    The self-extracting archive (also known as the '.run' file) is generated
    using 'makeself.sh': http://www.megastep.org/makeself/

    The version of makeself.sh used to create the .run is bundled within the
    .run file, and can retrieved by extracting the .run file's contents, e.g.:
    
    
    $ sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run --extract-only
    $ ls -l NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137/makeself.sh
    
    
    
LLVM

    Portions of the NVIDIA OpenCL implementation contain components licensed
    from third parties under the following terms:

    Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
    copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
    to deal with the Software without restriction, including without
    limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute,
    sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to
    whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following
    conditions:


   o Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
     this list of conditions and the following disclaimers.

   o Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
     this list of conditions and the following disclaimers in the
     documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

   o Neither the names of the LLVM Team, University of Illinois at
     Urbana-Champaign, nor the names of its contributors may be used to
     endorse or promote products derived from this Software without specific
     prior written permission.


    THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
    IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
    FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
    THE CONTRIBUTORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
    OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
    ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR
    OTHER DEALINGS WITH THE SOFTWARE.

PNG Library

    The NVIDIA X driver splash screen is decoded using 'libpng':
    http://libpng.org/pub/png/libpng.html

X.Org

    This NVIDIA Linux driver contains code from the X.Org project.

    Source code from the X.Org project is available from
    http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver

NetBSD Compiler Intrinsics

    The NetBSD implementations of the following compiler intrinsics are used
    for better portability: __udivdi3, __umoddi3, __divdi3, __moddi3,
    __ucmpdi2, __cmpdi2, __fixunssfdi, __fixunsdfdi, __ashldi3 and __lshrdi3.

    These carry the following copyright notice:

    Copyright (c) 1992, 1993 The Regents of the University of California. All
    rights reserved.

    This software was developed by the Computer Systems Engineering group at
    Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory under DARPA contract BG 91-66 and contributed
    to Berkeley.

    Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
    modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
    met:


  1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
     this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

  2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
     this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
     and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

  3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
     must display the following acknowledgement: This product includes
     software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its
     contributors.

  4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors may
     be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without
     specific prior written permission.


    THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
    ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
    IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
    ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
    FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
    DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
    SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
    CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
    LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
    OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
    SUCH DAMAGE.


______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix A. Supported NVIDIA GPU Products
______________________________________________________________________________

For the most complete and accurate listing of supported GPUs, please see the
Supported Products List, available from the NVIDIA Linux x86_64 Graphics
Driver download page. Please go to http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html,
follow the Archive link under the Linux x86_64 heading, follow the link for
the 304.137 driver, and then go to the Supported Products List.

For an explanation of the VDPAU features column, please refer to the section
called "VdpDecoder" of Appendix H.

Note that the list of supported GPU products provided below and on the driver
download page is provided to indicate which GPUs are supported by a particular
driver version. Some designs incorporating supported GPUs may not be
compatible with the NVIDIA Linux driver: in particular, notebook and
all-in-one desktop designs with switchable (hybrid) or Optimus graphics will
not work if means to disable the integrated graphics in hardware are not
available. Hardware designs will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so
please consult with a system's manufacturer to determine whether that
particular system is compatible.


A1. NVIDIA GEFORCE GPUS


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID*     VDPAU features
    ----------------------------------    ---------------    ---------------
    GeForce 6800 Ultra                    0x0040             -
    GeForce 6800                          0x0041             -
    GeForce 6800 LE                       0x0042             -
    GeForce 6800 XE                       0x0043             -
    GeForce 6800 XT                       0x0044             -
    GeForce 6800 GT                       0x0045             -
    GeForce 6800 GT                       0x0046             -
    GeForce 6800 GS                       0x0047             -
    GeForce 6800 XT                       0x0048             -
    GeForce 7800 GTX                      0x0090             -
    GeForce 7800 GTX                      0x0091             -
    GeForce 7800 GT                       0x0092             -
    GeForce 7800 GS                       0x0093             -
    GeForce 7800 SLI                      0x0095             -
    GeForce Go 7800                       0x0098             -
    GeForce Go 7800 GTX                   0x0099             -
    GeForce 6800 GS                       0x00C0             -
    GeForce 6800                          0x00C1             -
    GeForce 6800 LE                       0x00C2             -
    GeForce 6800 XT                       0x00C3             -
    GeForce Go 6800                       0x00C8             -
    GeForce Go 6800 Ultra                 0x00C9             -
    GeForce 6600 GT                       0x00F1             -
    GeForce 6600                          0x00F2             -
    GeForce 6200                          0x00F3             -
    GeForce 6600 LE                       0x00F4             -
    GeForce 7800 GS                       0x00F5             -
    GeForce 6800 GS                       0x00F6             -
    GeForce 6800 Ultra                    0x00F9             -
    GeForce 6600 GT                       0x0140             -
    GeForce 6600                          0x0141             -
    GeForce 6600 LE                       0x0142             -
    GeForce 6600 VE                       0x0143             -
    GeForce Go 6600                       0x0144             -
    GeForce 6610 XL                       0x0145             -
    GeForce Go 6600 TE/6200 TE            0x0146             -
    GeForce 6700 XL                       0x0147             -
    GeForce Go 6600                       0x0148             -
    GeForce Go 6600 GT                    0x0149             -
    GeForce 6200                          0x014F             -
    GeForce 6500                          0x0160             -
    GeForce 6200 TurboCache(TM)           0x0161             -
    GeForce 6200SE TurboCache(TM)         0x0162             -
    GeForce 6200 LE                       0x0163             -
    GeForce Go 6200                       0x0164             -
    GeForce Go 6400                       0x0166             -
    GeForce Go 6200                       0x0167             -
    GeForce Go 6400                       0x0168             -
    GeForce 6250                          0x0169             -
    GeForce 7100 GS                       0x016A             -
    GeForce 8800 GTX                      0x0191             -
    GeForce 8800 GTS                      0x0193             -
    GeForce 8800 Ultra                    0x0194             -
    GeForce 7350 LE                       0x01D0             -
    GeForce 7300 LE                       0x01D1             -
    GeForce 7550 LE                       0x01D2             -
    GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS               0x01D3             -
    GeForce Go 7200                       0x01D6             -
    GeForce Go 7300                       0x01D7             -
    GeForce Go 7400                       0x01D8             -
    GeForce 7500 LE                       0x01DD             -
    GeForce 7300 GS                       0x01DF             -
    GeForce 6200                          0x0221             -
    GeForce 6200 A-LE                     0x0222             -
    GeForce 6150                          0x0240             -
    GeForce 6150 LE                       0x0241             -
    GeForce 6100                          0x0242             -
    GeForce Go 6150                       0x0244             -
    GeForce Go 6100                       0x0247             -
    GeForce 7900 GTX                      0x0290             -
    GeForce 7900 GT/GTO                   0x0291             -
    GeForce 7900 GS                       0x0292             -
    GeForce 7950 GX2                      0x0293             -
    GeForce 7950 GX2                      0x0294             -
    GeForce 7950 GT                       0x0295             -
    GeForce Go 7950 GTX                   0x0297             -
    GeForce Go 7900 GS                    0x0298             -
    GeForce 7600 GT                       0x02E0             -
    GeForce 7600 GS                       0x02E1             -
    GeForce 7300 GT                       0x02E2             -
    GeForce 7900 GS                       0x02E3             -
    GeForce 7950 GT                       0x02E4             -
    GeForce 7650 GS                       0x038B             -
    GeForce 7650 GS                       0x0390             -
    GeForce 7600 GT                       0x0391             -
    GeForce 7600 GS                       0x0392             -
    GeForce 7300 GT                       0x0393             -
    GeForce 7600 LE                       0x0394             -
    GeForce 7300 GT                       0x0395             -
    GeForce Go 7700                       0x0397             -
    GeForce Go 7600                       0x0398             -
    GeForce Go 7600 GT                    0x0399             -
    GeForce 6150SE nForce 430             0x03D0             -
    GeForce 6100 nForce 405               0x03D1             -
    GeForce 6100 nForce 400               0x03D2             -
    GeForce 6100 nForce 420               0x03D5             -
    GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a            0x03D6             -
    GeForce 8600 GTS                      0x0400             A
    GeForce 8600 GT                       0x0401             A
    GeForce 8600 GT                       0x0402             A
    GeForce 8600 GS                       0x0403             A
    GeForce 8400 GS                       0x0404             A
    GeForce 9500M GS                      0x0405             A
    GeForce 8300 GS                       0x0406             -
    GeForce 8600M GT                      0x0407             A
    GeForce 9650M GS                      0x0408             A
    GeForce 8700M GT                      0x0409             A
    GeForce GT 330                        0x0410             A
    GeForce 8400 SE                       0x0420             -
    GeForce 8500 GT                       0x0421             A
    GeForce 8400 GS                       0x0422             A
    GeForce 8300 GS                       0x0423             -
    GeForce 8400 GS                       0x0424             A
    GeForce 8600M GS                      0x0425             A
    GeForce 8400M GT                      0x0426             A
    GeForce 8400M GS                      0x0427             A
    GeForce 8400M G                       0x0428             A
    GeForce 9400 GT                       0x042C             A
    GeForce 9300M G                       0x042E             A
    GeForce 7150M / nForce 630M           0x0531             -
    GeForce 7000M / nForce 610M           0x0533             -
    GeForce 7050 PV / nForce 630a         0x053A             -
    GeForce 7050 PV / nForce 630a         0x053B             -
    GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a            0x053E             -
    GeForce GTX 295                       0x05E0             A
    GeForce GTX 280                       0x05E1             A
    GeForce GTX 260                       0x05E2             A
    GeForce GTX 285                       0x05E3             A
    GeForce GTX 275                       0x05E6             A
    GeForce GTX 260                       0x05EA             A
    GeForce GTX 295                       0x05EB             A
    GeForce 8800 GTS 512                  0x0600             A
    GeForce 9800 GT                       0x0601             A
    GeForce 8800 GT                       0x0602             A
    GeForce GT 230                        0x0603             A
    GeForce 9800 GX2                      0x0604             A
    GeForce 9800 GT                       0x0605             A
    GeForce 8800 GS                       0x0606             A
    GeForce GTS 240                       0x0607             A
    GeForce 9800M GTX                     0x0608             A
    GeForce 8800M GTS                     0x0609             A
    GeForce GTX 280M                      0x060A             A
    GeForce 9800M GT                      0x060B             A
    GeForce 8800M GTX                     0x060C             A
    GeForce 8800 GS                       0x060D             A
    GeForce GTX 285M                      0x060F             A
    GeForce 9600 GSO                      0x0610             A
    GeForce 8800 GT                       0x0611             A
    GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+            0x0612             A
    GeForce 9800 GTX+                     0x0613             A
    GeForce 9800 GT                       0x0614             A
    GeForce GTS 250                       0x0615             A
    GeForce 9800M GTX                     0x0617             A
    GeForce GTX 260M                      0x0618             A
    GeForce GT 230                        0x0621             A
    GeForce 9600 GT                       0x0622             A
    GeForce 9600 GS                       0x0623             A
    GeForce 9600 GSO 512                  0x0625             A
    GeForce GT 130                        0x0626             A
    GeForce GT 140                        0x0627             A
    GeForce 9800M GTS                     0x0628             A
    GeForce 9700M GTS                     0x062A             A
    GeForce 9800M GS                      0x062B             A
    GeForce 9800M GTS                     0x062C             A
    GeForce 9600 GT                       0x062D             A
    GeForce 9600 GT                       0x062E             A
    GeForce 9700 S                        0x0630             A
    GeForce GTS 160M                      0x0631             A
    GeForce GTS 150M                      0x0632             A
    GeForce 9600 GSO                      0x0635             A
    GeForce 9600 GT                       0x0637             A
    GeForce 9500 GT                       0x0640             A
    GeForce 9400 GT                       0x0641             A
    GeForce 9500 GT                       0x0643             A
    GeForce 9500 GS                       0x0644             A
    GeForce 9500 GS                       0x0645             A
    GeForce GT 120                        0x0646             A
    GeForce 9600M GT                      0x0647             A
    GeForce 9600M GS                      0x0648             A
    GeForce 9600M GT                      0x0649             A
    GeForce 9700M GT                      0x064A             A
    GeForce 9500M G                       0x064B             A
    GeForce 9650M GT                      0x064C             A
    GeForce G 110M                        0x0651             A
    GeForce GT 130M                       0x0652             A
    GeForce GT 120M                       0x0653             A
    GeForce GT 220M                       0x0654             A
    GeForce GT 120                        0x0655 0x0633      A
    GeForce 9650 S                        0x0656             A
    GeForce 9400 GT                       0x065B             A
    GeForce GTX 480                       0x06C0             C
    GeForce GTX 465                       0x06C4             C
    GeForce GTX 480M                      0x06CA             C
    GeForce GTX 470                       0x06CD             C
    GeForce 9300 GE                       0x06E0             B 1
    GeForce 9300 GS                       0x06E1             B 1
    GeForce 8400                          0x06E2             B 1
    GeForce 8400 SE                       0x06E3             -
    GeForce 8400 GS                       0x06E4             A 1
    GeForce 9300M GS                      0x06E5             B 1
    GeForce G100                          0x06E6             B 1
    GeForce 9300 SE                       0x06E7             -
    GeForce 9200M GS                      0x06E8             B 1
    GeForce 9300M GS                      0x06E9             B 1
    GeForce G 105M                        0x06EC             B 1
    GeForce G 103M                        0x06EF             B 1
    GeForce G105M                         0x06F1             B 1
    GeForce 7150 / nForce 630i            0x07E0             -
    GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i            0x07E1             -
    GeForce 7050 / nForce 630i            0x07E2             -
    GeForce 7050 / nForce 610i            0x07E3             -
    GeForce 7050 / nForce 620i            0x07E5             -
    GeForce 8200M                         0x0840             B 1
    GeForce 9100M G                       0x0844             B 1
    GeForce 8200M G                       0x0845             B 1
    GeForce 9200                          0x0846             B 1
    GeForce 9100                          0x0847             B 1
    GeForce 8300                          0x0848             B 1
    GeForce 8200                          0x0849             B 1
    nForce 730a                           0x084A             B 1
    GeForce 9200                          0x084B             B 1
    nForce 980a/780a SLI                  0x084C             B 1
    nForce 750a SLI                       0x084D             B 1
    GeForce 8100 / nForce 720a            0x084F             -
    GeForce 9400                          0x0860             B 1
    GeForce 9400                          0x0861             B 1
    GeForce 9400M G                       0x0862             B 1
    GeForce 9400M                         0x0863             B 1
    GeForce 9300                          0x0864             B 1
    ION                                   0x0865             B 1
    GeForce 9400M G                       0x0866             B 1
    GeForce 9400                          0x0867             B 1
    nForce 760i SLI                       0x0868             B 1
    GeForce 9400                          0x0869             B 1
    GeForce 9400                          0x086A             B 1
    GeForce 9300 / nForce 730i            0x086C             B 1
    GeForce 9200                          0x086D             B 1
    GeForce 9100M G                       0x086E             B 1
    GeForce 8200M G                       0x086F             B 1
    GeForce 9400M                         0x0870             B 1
    GeForce 9200                          0x0871             B 1
    GeForce G102M                         0x0872             B 1
    GeForce G102M                         0x0873             B 1
    ION                                   0x0874             B 1
    ION                                   0x0876             B 1
    GeForce 9400                          0x087A             B 1
    ION                                   0x087D             B 1
    ION LE                                0x087E             B 1
    ION LE                                0x087F             B 1
    GeForce 320M                          0x08A0             C
    GeForce 320M                          0x08A2             C
    GeForce 320M                          0x08A3             C
    GeForce 320M                          0x08A4             C
    GeForce 320M                          0x08A5             C
    GeForce GT 220                        0x0A20             C
    GeForce 315                           0x0A22             -
    GeForce 210                           0x0A23             C
    GeForce 405                           0x0A26             C
    GeForce 405                           0x0A27             C
    GeForce GT 230M                       0x0A28             C
    GeForce GT 330M                       0x0A29             C
    GeForce GT 230M                       0x0A2A             C
    GeForce GT 330M                       0x0A2B             C
    GeForce GT 320M                       0x0A2D             C
    GeForce GT 415                        0x0A32             C
    GeForce GT 240M                       0x0A34             C
    GeForce GT 325M                       0x0A35             C
    GeForce G210                          0x0A60             C
    GeForce 205                           0x0A62             C
    GeForce 310                           0x0A63             C
    Second Generation ION                 0x0A64             C
    GeForce 210                           0x0A65             C
    GeForce 310                           0x0A66             C
    GeForce 315                           0x0A67             -
    GeForce G105M                         0x0A68             B
    GeForce G105M                         0x0A69             B
    GeForce 305M                          0x0A6E             C
    Second Generation ION                 0x0A6F             C
    GeForce 310M                          0x0A70             C
    GeForce 305M                          0x0A71             C
    GeForce 310M                          0x0A72             C
    GeForce 305M                          0x0A73             C
    GeForce G210M                         0x0A74             C
    GeForce 310M                          0x0A75             C
    Second Generation ION                 0x0A76             C
    GeForce 315M                          0x0A7A             C
    GeForce GT 330                        0x0CA0             A
    GeForce GT 320                        0x0CA2             C
    GeForce GT 240                        0x0CA3             C
    GeForce GT 340                        0x0CA4             C
    GeForce GT 220                        0x0CA5             C
    GeForce GT 330                        0x0CA7             A
    GeForce GTS 260M                      0x0CA8             C
    GeForce GTS 250M                      0x0CA9             C
    GeForce GT 220                        0x0CAC             -
    GeForce GT 335M                       0x0CAF             C
    GeForce GTS 350M                      0x0CB0             C
    GeForce GTS 360M                      0x0CB1             C
    GeForce GT 440                        0x0DC0             C
    GeForce GTS 450                       0x0DC4             C
    GeForce GTS 450                       0x0DC5             C
    GeForce GTS 450                       0x0DC6             C
    GeForce GT 555M                       0x0DCD             C
    GeForce GT 555M                       0x0DCE             C
    GeForce GTX 460M                      0x0DD1             C
    GeForce GT 445M                       0x0DD2             C
    GeForce GT 435M                       0x0DD3             C
    GeForce GT 550M                       0x0DD6             C
    GeForce GT 440                        0x0DE0             C
    GeForce GT 430                        0x0DE1             C
    GeForce GT 420                        0x0DE2             C
    GeForce GT 635M                       0x0DE3             C
    GeForce GT 520                        0x0DE4             C
    GeForce GT 530                        0x0DE5             C
    GeForce GT 620M                       0x0DE8             C
    GeForce GT 630M                       0x0DE9             C
    GeForce 610M                          0x0DEA             C
    GeForce GT 555M                       0x0DEB             C
    GeForce GT 525M                       0x0DEC             C
    GeForce GT 520M                       0x0DED             C
    GeForce GT 415M                       0x0DEE             C
    GeForce GT 425M                       0x0DF0             C
    GeForce GT 420M                       0x0DF1             C
    GeForce GT 435M                       0x0DF2             C
    GeForce GT 420M                       0x0DF3             C
    GeForce GT 540M                       0x0DF4             C
    GeForce GT 525M                       0x0DF5             C
    GeForce GT 550M                       0x0DF6             C
    GeForce GT 520M                       0x0DF7             C
    GeForce GTX 460                       0x0E22             C
    GeForce GTX 460 SE                    0x0E23             C
    GeForce GTX 460                       0x0E24             C
    GeForce GTX 470M                      0x0E30             C
    GeForce GTX 485M                      0x0E31             C
    GeForce GT 630                        0x0F00             C
    GeForce GT 620                        0x0F01             C
    GeForce GT 640                        0x0FC0             C
    GeForce GT 640                        0x0FC1             C
    GeForce GT 630                        0x0FC2             C
    GeForce GTX 650                       0x0FC6             D
    GeForce GT 640M LE                    0x0FCE             D
    GeForce GT 650M                       0x0FD1             D
    GeForce GT 640M                       0x0FD2             D
    GeForce GT 640M LE                    0x0FD3             D
    GeForce GTX 660M                      0x0FD4             D
    GeForce GT 650M                       0x0FD5             D
    GeForce GT 640M                       0x0FD8             D
    GeForce GT 645M                       0x0FD9             D
    GeForce GTX 660M                      0x0FE0             D
    GeForce GT 520                        0x1040             C
    GeForce 510                           0x1042             D
    GeForce 605                           0x1048             D
    GeForce GT 620                        0x1049             C
    GeForce GT 610                        0x104A             D
    GeForce GT 520M                       0x1050             C
    GeForce GT 520MX                      0x1051             D
    GeForce GT 520M                       0x1052             C
    GeForce 410M                          0x1054             D
    GeForce 410M                          0x1055             D
    GeForce 610M                          0x1058             C
    GeForce 610M                          0x1059             C
    GeForce 610M                          0x105A             C
    GeForce GTX 580                       0x1080             C
    GeForce GTX 570                       0x1081             C
    GeForce GTX 560 Ti                    0x1082             C
    GeForce GTX 560                       0x1084             C
    GeForce GTX 570                       0x1086             C
    GeForce GTX 560 Ti                    0x1087             C
    GeForce GTX 590                       0x1088             C
    GeForce GTX 580                       0x1089             C
    GeForce GTX 580                       0x108B             C
    GeForce 9300 GS                       0x10C0             B
    GeForce 8400GS                        0x10C3             A
    GeForce 405                           0x10C5             C
    GeForce GT 630M                       0x1140 0x0565      C
    GeForce GT 630M                       0x1140 0x0568      C
    GeForce GT 620M                       0x1140 0x067A      C
    GeForce GT 620M                       0x1140 0x0680      C
    GeForce GT 620M                       0x1140 0x20DD      C
    GeForce GTX 680                       0x1180             D
    GeForce GTX 660 Ti                    0x1183             D
    GeForce GTX 660                       0x1185             D
    GeForce GTX 690                       0x1188             D
    GeForce GTX 670                       0x1189             D
    GeForce GTX 680M                      0x11A0             D
    GeForce GTX 670MX                     0x11A1             D
    GeForce GTX 675MX                     0x11A7             D
    GeForce GTX 660                       0x11C0             D
    GeForce GTX 650 Ti                    0x11C6             D
    GeForce GTX 560 Ti                    0x1200             C
    GeForce GTX 560                       0x1201             C
    GeForce GTX 460 SE v2                 0x1203             C
    GeForce GTX 460 v2                    0x1205             C
    GeForce GTX 555                       0x1206             C
    GeForce GT 645                        0x1207             C
    GeForce GTX 560 SE                    0x1208             C
    GeForce GTX 570M                      0x1210             C
    GeForce GTX 580M                      0x1211             C
    GeForce GTX 675M                      0x1212             C
    GeForce GTX 670M                      0x1213             C
    GeForce GT 545                        0x1241             C
    GeForce GT 545                        0x1243             C
    GeForce GTX 550 Ti                    0x1244             C
    GeForce GTS 450                       0x1245             C
    GeForce GT 550M                       0x1246             C
    GeForce GT 555M                       0x1247             C
    GeForce GT 635M                       0x1247 0x212A      C
    GeForce GT 635M                       0x1247 0x212B      C
    GeForce GT 635M                       0x1247 0x212C      C
    GeForce GT 555M                       0x1248             C
    GeForce GTS 450                       0x1249             C
    GeForce GT 640                        0x124B             C
    GeForce GT 555M                       0x124D             C
    GeForce GT 635M                       0x124D 0x10CC      C
    GeForce GTX 560M                      0x1251             C



A2. NVIDIA QUADRO GPUS


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID*     VDPAU features
    ----------------------------------    ---------------    ---------------
    Quadro FX 4000                        0x004E             -
    Quadro FX 4500                        0x009D             -
    Quadro FX Go1400                      0x00CC             -
    Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI               0x00CD             -
    Quadro FX 1400                        0x00CE             -
    Quadro FX 3400/Quadro FX 4000         0x00F8             -
    Quadro FX 540M                        0x014C             -
    Quadro FX 550                         0x014D             -
    Quadro FX 540                         0x014E             -
    Quadro FX 5600                        0x019D             -
    Quadro FX 4600                        0x019E             -
    Quadro FX 350M                        0x01DC             -
    Quadro FX 350                         0x01DE             -
    Quadro FX 2500M                       0x029A             -
    Quadro FX 1500M                       0x029B             -
    Quadro FX 5500                        0x029C             -
    Quadro FX 3500                        0x029D             -
    Quadro FX 1500                        0x029E             -
    Quadro FX 4500 X2                     0x029F             -
    Quadro FX 560M                        0x039C             -
    Quadro FX 560                         0x039E             -
    Quadro FX 370                         0x040A             A
    Quadro FX 570M                        0x040C             A
    Quadro FX 1600M                       0x040D             A
    Quadro FX 570                         0x040E             A
    Quadro FX 1700                        0x040F             A
    Quadro FX 360M                        0x042D             A
    Quadroplex 2200 D2                    0x05ED             A
    Quadroplex 2200 S4                    0x05F8             A
    Quadro CX                             0x05F9             A
    Quadro FX 5800                        0x05FD             A
    Quadro FX 4800                        0x05FE             A
    Quadro FX 3800                        0x05FF             A
    Quadro FX 4700 X2                     0x0619             A
    Quadro FX 3700                        0x061A             A
    Quadro VX 200                         0x061B             A
    Quadro FX 3600M                       0x061C             A
    Quadro FX 2800M                       0x061D             A
    Quadro FX 3700M                       0x061E             A
    Quadro FX 3800M                       0x061F             A
    Quadro FX 1800                        0x0638             A
    Quadro FX 2700M                       0x063A             A
    Quadro FX 380                         0x0658             A
    Quadro FX 580                         0x0659             A
    Quadro FX 1700M                       0x065A             A
    Quadro FX 770M                        0x065C             A
    Quadro 6000                           0x06D8             C
    Quadro 5000                           0x06D9             C
    Quadro 5000M                          0x06DA             C
    Quadro 6000                           0x06DC             C
    Quadro 4000                           0x06DD             C
    Quadro FX 370 LP                      0x06F9             B 1
    Quadro FX 370M                        0x06FB             B 1
    HICx16 + Graphics                     0x06FF             B 1
    Quadro 400                            0x0A38             C
    Quadro FX 880M                        0x0A3C             C
    Quadro FX 380 LP                      0x0A78             C
    Quadro FX 380M                        0x0A7C             C
    Quadro FX 1800M                       0x0CBC             C
    Quadro 2000                           0x0DD8             C
    Quadro 2000D                          0x0DD8 0x0914      C
    Quadro 2000M                          0x0DDA             C
    Quadro 600                            0x0DF8             C
    Quadro 500M                           0x0DF9             C
    Quadro 1000M                          0x0DFA             C
    Quadro 3000M                          0x0E3A             C
    Quadro 4000M                          0x0E3B             C
    Quadro K2000M                         0x0FFB             D
    Quadro K1000M                         0x0FFC             D
    Quadro 410                            0x0FFF             D
    Quadro 5010M                          0x109A             C
    Quadro 7000                           0x109B             C
    Quadro K5000                          0x11BA             D
    Quadro K5000M                         0x11BC             D
    Quadro K4000M                         0x11BD             D
    Quadro K3000M                         0x11BE             D



A3. NVIDIA NVS GPUS


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID*     VDPAU features
    ----------------------------------    ---------------    ---------------
    Quadro NVS 440                        0x014A             -
    Quadro NVS 285                        0x0165             -
    Quadro NVS 110M                       0x01DA             -
    Quadro NVS 120M                       0x01DB             -
    Quadro NVS 210S / GeForce 6150LE      0x0245             -
    Quadro NVS 510M                       0x0299             -
    Quadro NVS 320M                       0x040B             A
    Quadro NVS 140M                       0x0429             A
    Quadro NVS 130M                       0x042A             A
    Quadro NVS 135M                       0x042B             A
    Quadro NVS 290                        0x042F             A
    Quadro NVS 150M                       0x06EA             B 1
    Quadro NVS 160M                       0x06EB             B 1
    Quadro NVS 420                        0x06F8             B 1
    Quadro NVS 450                        0x06FA             B 1
    Quadro NVS 295                        0x06FD             B 1
    NVS 5100M                             0x0A2C             C
    NVS 2100M                             0x0A6A             C
    NVS 3100M                             0x0A6C             C
    NVS 5400M                             0x0DEF             C
    NVS 5200M                             0x0DFC             C
    NVS 510                               0x0FFD             D
    NVS 4200M                             0x1056             D
    NVS 4200M                             0x1057             D
    NVS 310                               0x107D             D
    NVS 300                               0x10D8             C



A4. NVIDIA TESLA GPUS


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID*     VDPAU features
    ----------------------------------    ---------------    ---------------
    Tesla C870                            0x0197             -
    Tesla C1060                           0x05E7             A
    Tesla T10 Processor                   0x05E7 0x0595      A
    Tesla T10 Processor                   0x05E7 0x068F      A
    Tesla M1060                           0x05E7 0x0697      A
    Tesla M1060                           0x05E7 0x0743      A
    Tesla C2050 / C2070                   0x06D1             C
    Tesla C2070                           0x06D1 0x0772      C
    Tesla M2070                           0x06D2             C
    Tesla T20 Processor                   0x06DE             C
    Tesla M2050                           0x06DE 0x082F      C
    Tesla M2050                           0x06DE 0x0846      C
    Tesla M2070-Q                         0x06DF             C
    Tesla K20c                            0x1022             D
    Tesla K20m                            0x1028             D
    Tesla M2090                           0x1091             C
    Tesla X2090                           0x1091 0x0974      C
    Tesla M2075                           0x1094             C
    Tesla C2075                           0x1096             C
    Tesla K10                             0x118F             D



A5. NVIDIA VGX GPUS


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID*     VDPAU features
    ----------------------------------    ---------------    ---------------
    GRID K1                               0x0FF2             D
    GRID K2                               0x11BF             D


Below are the legacy GPUs that are no longer supported in the unified driver.
These GPUs will continue to be maintained through the special legacy NVIDIA
GPU driver releases.

The 173.14.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID
    ----------------------------------    ----------------------------------
    GeForce PCX 5750                      0x00FA       
    GeForce PCX 5900                      0x00FB       
    Quadro FX 330/GeForce PCX 5300        0x00FC       
    Quadro FX 330/Quadro NVS 280 PCI-E    0x00FD       
    Quadro FX 1300                        0x00FE       
    GeForce FX 5800 Ultra                 0x0301       
    GeForce FX 5800                       0x0302       
    Quadro FX 2000                        0x0308       
    Quadro FX 1000                        0x0309       
    GeForce FX 5600 Ultra                 0x0311       
    GeForce FX 5600                       0x0312       
    GeForce FX 5600XT                     0x0314       
    GeForce FX Go5600                     0x031A       
    GeForce FX Go5650                     0x031B       
    Quadro FX Go700                       0x031C       
    GeForce FX 5200                       0x0320       
    GeForce FX 5200 Ultra                 0x0321       
    GeForce FX 5200                       0x0322       
    GeForce FX 5200LE                     0x0323       
    GeForce FX Go5200                     0x0324       
    GeForce FX Go5250                     0x0325       
    GeForce FX 5500                       0x0326       
    GeForce FX 5100                       0x0327       
    GeForce FX Go5200 32M/64M             0x0328       
    Quadro NVS 55/280 PCI                 0x032A       
    Quadro FX 500/FX 600                  0x032B       
    GeForce FX Go53xx                     0x032C       
    GeForce FX Go5100                     0x032D       
    GeForce FX 5900 Ultra                 0x0330       
    GeForce FX 5900                       0x0331       
    GeForce FX 5900XT                     0x0332       
    GeForce FX 5950 Ultra                 0x0333       
    GeForce FX 5900ZT                     0x0334       
    Quadro FX 3000                        0x0338       
    Quadro FX 700                         0x033F       
    GeForce FX 5700 Ultra                 0x0341       
    GeForce FX 5700                       0x0342       
    GeForce FX 5700LE                     0x0343       
    GeForce FX 5700VE                     0x0344       
    GeForce FX Go5700                     0x0347       
    GeForce FX Go5700                     0x0348       
    Quadro FX Go1000                      0x034C       
    Quadro FX 1100                        0x034E       


The 96.43.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID
    ----------------------------------    ----------------------------------
    GeForce2 MX/MX 400                    0x0110       
    GeForce2 MX 100/200                   0x0111       
    GeForce2 Go                           0x0112       
    Quadro2 MXR/EX/Go                     0x0113       
    GeForce4 MX 460                       0x0170       
    GeForce4 MX 440                       0x0171       
    GeForce4 MX 420                       0x0172       
    GeForce4 MX 440-SE                    0x0173       
    GeForce4 440 Go                       0x0174       
    GeForce4 420 Go                       0x0175       
    GeForce4 420 Go 32M                   0x0176       
    GeForce4 460 Go                       0x0177       
    Quadro4 550 XGL                       0x0178       
    GeForce4 440 Go 64M                   0x0179       
    Quadro NVS 400                        0x017A       
    Quadro4 500 GoGL                      0x017C       
    GeForce4 410 Go 16M                   0x017D       
    GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X            0x0181       
    GeForce4 MX 440SE with AGP8X          0x0182       
    GeForce4 MX 420 with AGP8X            0x0183       
    GeForce4 MX 4000                      0x0185       
    Quadro4 580 XGL                       0x0188       
    Quadro NVS 280 SD                     0x018A       
    Quadro4 380 XGL                       0x018B       
    Quadro NVS 50 PCI                     0x018C       
    GeForce2 Integrated GPU               0x01A0       
    GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU            0x01F0       
    GeForce3                              0x0200       
    GeForce3 Ti 200                       0x0201       
    GeForce3 Ti 500                       0x0202       
    Quadro DCC                            0x0203       
    GeForce4 Ti 4600                      0x0250       
    GeForce4 Ti 4400                      0x0251       
    GeForce4 Ti 4200                      0x0253       
    Quadro4 900 XGL                       0x0258       
    Quadro4 750 XGL                       0x0259       
    Quadro4 700 XGL                       0x025B       
    GeForce4 Ti 4800                      0x0280       
    GeForce4 Ti 4200 with AGP8X           0x0281       
    GeForce4 Ti 4800 SE                   0x0282       
    GeForce4 4200 Go                      0x0286       
    Quadro4 980 XGL                       0x0288       
    Quadro4 780 XGL                       0x0289       
    Quadro4 700 GoGL                      0x028C       


The 71.86.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:


    NVIDIA GPU product                    Device PCI ID
    ----------------------------------    ----------------------------------
    RIVA TNT                              0x0020       
    RIVA TNT2/TNT2 Pro                    0x0028       
    RIVA TNT2 Ultra                       0x0029       
    Vanta/Vanta LT                        0x002C       
    RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro       0x002D       
    Aladdin TNT2                          0x00A0       
    GeForce 256                           0x0100       
    GeForce DDR                           0x0101       
    Quadro                                0x0103       
    GeForce2 GTS/GeForce2 Pro             0x0150       
    GeForce2 Ti                           0x0151       
    GeForce2 Ultra                        0x0152       
    Quadro2 Pro                           0x0153       


* If two IDs are listed, the first ID is the PCI Device ID and the second ID
is the PCI Subsystem Device ID.

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix B. X Config Options
______________________________________________________________________________

The following driver options are supported by the NVIDIA X driver. They may be
specified either in the Screen or Device sections of the X config file.

X Config Options

Option "Accel" "boolean"

    Controls whether the X driver uses the GPU for graphics processing.
    Disabling acceleration is useful when another component, such as CUDA,
    requires exclusive use of the GPU's processing cores. Performance of the X
    server will be greatly reduced when acceleration is disabled, and some
    features may not be available.

    Acceleration can be disabled on Fermi and later GPUs only.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: acceleration is enabled.

Option "NvAGP" "integer"

    Configure AGP support. Integer argument can be one of:
    
        Value             Behavior
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        0                 disable AGP
        1                 use NVIDIA internal AGP support, if possible
        2                 use AGPGART, if possible
        3                 use any AGP support (try AGPGART, then NVIDIA AGP)
    
    Note that NVIDIA internal AGP support cannot work if AGPGART is either
    statically compiled into your kernel or is built as a module and loaded
    into your kernel. See Chapter 12 for details.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: 3.

Option "NoLogo" "boolean"

    Disable drawing of the NVIDIA logo splash screen at X startup. Default:
    the logo is drawn for screens with depth 24.

Option "LogoPath" "string"

    Sets the path to the PNG file to be used as the logo splash screen at X
    startup. If the PNG file specified has a bKGD (background color) chunk,
    then the screen is cleared to the color it specifies. Otherwise, the
    screen is cleared to black. The logo file must be owned by root and must
    not be writable by a non-root group. Note that a logo is only displayed
    for screens with depth 24. Default: The built-in NVIDIA logo is used.

Option "RenderAccel" "boolean"

    Enable or disable hardware acceleration of the RENDER extension. Default:
    hardware acceleration of the RENDER extension is enabled.

Option "NoRenderExtension" "boolean"

    Disable the RENDER extension. Other than recompiling it, the X server does
    not seem to have another way of disabling this. Fortunately, we can
    control this from the driver so we export this option. This is useful in
    depth 8 where RENDER would normally steal most of the default colormap.
    Default: RENDER is offered when possible.

Option "UBB" "boolean"

    Enable or disable the Unified Back Buffer on Quadro-based GPUs (Quadro NVS
    excluded); see Chapter 21 for a description of UBB. This option has no
    effect on non-Quadro GPU products. Default: UBB is on for Quadro GPUs.

Option "NoFlip" "boolean"

    Disable OpenGL flipping; see Chapter 21 for a description. Default: OpenGL
    will swap by flipping when possible.

Option "GLShaderDiskCache" "boolean"

    This option controls whether the OpenGL driver will utilize a disk cache
    to save and reuse compiled shaders. See the description of the
    __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE and __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE_PATH environment
    variables in Chapter 11 for more details.

Option "Dac8Bit" "boolean"

    Most Quadro products by default use a color look-up table (LUT) with a
    higher resolution, which can be 10, 11 or 14 bits depending on the card.
    This provides more accurate color on analog and DisplayPort outputs.
    Setting this option to TRUE forces these GPUs to use an 8-bit (LUT).
    Default: a high precision LUT is used, when available.

Option "Overlay" "boolean"

    Enables RGB workstation overlay visuals. This is only supported on Quadro
    GPUs (Quadro NVS GPUs excluded) in depth 24. This option causes the server
    to advertise the SERVER_OVERLAY_VISUALS root window property and GLX will
    report single- and double-buffered, Z-buffered 16-bit overlay visuals. The
    transparency key is pixel 0x0000 (hex). There is no gamma correction
    support in the overlay plane. This feature requires XFree86 version 4.2.0
    or newer, or the X.Org X server. On GPUs before G80, when the X screen is
    either wider than 2046 pixels or taller than 2047, the overlay may be
    emulated with a substantial performance penalty. RGB workstation overlays
    are not supported when the Composite extension is enabled.

    UBB must be enabled when overlays are enabled (this is the default
    behavior).

Option "CIOverlay" "boolean"

    Enables Color Index workstation overlay visuals with identical
    restrictions to Option "Overlay" above. This option causes the server to
    advertise the SERVER_OVERLAY_VISUALS root window property. Some of the
    visuals advertised that way may be listed in the main plane (layer 0) for
    compatibility purposes. They however belong to the overlay (layer 1). The
    server will offer visuals both with and without a transparency key. These
    are depth 8 PseudoColor visuals. Enabling Color Index overlays on X
    servers older than XFree86 4.3 will force the RENDER extension to be
    disabled due to bugs in the RENDER extension in older X servers. Color
    Index workstation overlays are not supported when the Composite extension
    is enabled. Default: off.

    UBB must be enabled when overlays are enabled (this is the default
    behavior).

Option "TransparentIndex" "integer"

    When color index overlays are enabled, use this option to choose which
    pixel is used for the transparent pixel in visuals featuring transparent
    pixels. This value is clamped between 0 and 255 (Note: some applications
    such as Alias's Maya require this to be zero in order to work correctly).
    Default: 0.

Option "OverlayDefaultVisual" "boolean"

    When overlays are used, this option sets the default visual to an overlay
    visual thereby putting the root window in the overlay. This option is not
    recommended for RGB overlays. Default: off.

Option "EmulatedOverlaysTimerMs" "integer"

    Enables the use of a timer within the X server to perform the updates to
    the emulated overlay or CI overlay. This option can be used to improve the
    performance of the emulated or CI overlays by reducing the frequency of
    the updates. The value specified indicates the desired number of
    milliseconds between overlay updates. To disable the use of the timer
    either leave the option unset or set it to 0. Default: off.

Option "EmulatedOverlaysThreshold" "boolean"

    Enables the use of a threshold within the X server to perform the updates
    to the emulated overlay or CI overlay. The emulated or CI overlay updates
    can be deferred but this threshold will limit the number of deferred
    OpenGL updates allowed before the overlay is updated. This option can be
    used to trade off performance and animation quality. Default: on.

Option "EmulatedOverlaysThresholdValue" "integer"

    Controls the threshold used in updating the emulated or CI overlays. This
    is used in conjunction with the EmulatedOverlaysThreshold option to trade
    off performance and animation quality. Higher values for this option favor
    performance over quality. Setting low values of this option will not cause
    the overlay to be updated more often than the frequence specified by the
    EmulatedOverlaysTimerMs option. Default: 5.

Option "SWCursor" "boolean"

    Enable or disable software rendering of the X cursor. Default: off.

Option "HWCursor" "boolean"

    Enable or disable hardware rendering of the X cursor. Default: on.

Option "CursorShadow" "boolean"

    Enable or disable use of a shadow with the hardware accelerated cursor;
    this is a black translucent replica of your cursor shape at a given offset
    from the real cursor. Default: off (no cursor shadow).

Option "CursorShadowAlpha" "integer"

    The alpha value to use for the cursor shadow; only applicable if
    CursorShadow is enabled. This value must be in the range [0, 255] -- 0 is
    completely transparent; 255 is completely opaque. Default: 64.

Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "integer"

    The offset, in pixels, that the shadow image will be shifted to the right
    from the real cursor image; only applicable if CursorShadow is enabled.
    This value must be in the range [0, 32]. Default: 4.

Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "integer"

    The offset, in pixels, that the shadow image will be shifted down from the
    real cursor image; only applicable if CursorShadow is enabled. This value
    must be in the range [0, 32]. Default: 2.

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "string"

    Allows you to override what the NVIDIA kernel module detects is connected
    to your graphics card. This may be useful, for example, if you use a KVM
    (keyboard, video, mouse) switch and you are switched away when X is
    started. In such a situation, the NVIDIA kernel module cannot detect which
    display devices are connected, and the NVIDIA X driver assumes you have a
    single CRT.

    Valid values for this option are "CRT" (cathode ray tube), "DFP" (digital
    flat panel), or "TV" (television); if using TwinView, this option may be a
    comma-separated list of display devices; e.g.: "CRT, CRT" or "CRT, DFP".

    It is generally recommended to not use this option, but instead use the
    "UseDisplayDevice" option.

    NOTE: anything attached to a 15 pin VGA connector is regarded by the
    driver as a CRT. "DFP" should only be used to refer to digital flat panels
    connected via a DVI port.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: string is NULL (the NVIDIA driver will detect the connected
    display devices).

Option "UseDisplayDevice" "string"

    The "UseDisplayDevice" X configuration option is a list of one or more
    display devices, which limits the display devices the NVIDIA X driver will
    consider for an X screen. The display device names used in the option may
    be either specific (with a numeric suffix; e.g., "DFP-1") or general
    (without a numeric suffix; e.g., "DFP").

    When assigning display devices to X screens, the NVIDIA X driver walks
    through the list of all (not already assigned) display devices detected as
    connected. When the "UseDisplayDevice" X configuration option is
    specified, the X driver will only consider connected display devices which
    are also included in the "UseDisplayDevice" list. This can be thought of
    as a "mask" against the connected (and not already assigned) display
    devices.

    Note the subtle difference between this option and the "ConnectedMonitor"
    option: the "ConnectedMonitor" option overrides which display devices are
    actually detected, while the "UseDisplayDevice" option controls which of
    the detected display devices will be used on this X screen.

    Of the list of display devices considered for this X screen (either all
    connected display devices, or a subset limited by the "UseDisplayDevice"
    option), the NVIDIA X driver first looks at CRTs, then at DFPs, and
    finally at TVs. For example, if both a CRT and a DFP are connected, by
    default the X driver would assign the CRT to this X screen. However, by
    specifying:
    
        Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP"
    
    the X screen would use the DFP instead. Or, if CRT-0, DFP-0, and DFP-1 are
    connected and TwinView is enabled, the X driver would assign CRT-0 and
    DFP-0 to the X screen. However, by specifying:
    
        Option "UseDisplayDevice" "CRT-0, DFP-1"
    
    the X screen would use CRT-0 and DFP-1 instead.

    Additionally, the special value "none" can be specified for the
    "UseDisplayDevice" option. When this value is given, any programming of
    the display hardware is disabled. The NVIDIA driver will not perform any
    mode validation or mode setting for this X screen. This is intended for
    use in conjunction with CUDA or in remote graphics solutions such as VNC
    or Hewlett Packard's Remote Graphics Software (RGS).

    "UseDisplayDevice" defaults to "none" on GPUs that have no display
    capabilities, such as some Tesla GPUs and some mobile GPUs used in Optimus
    notebook configurations.

    Note the following restrictions for setting the "UseDisplayDevice" to
    "none":
    
       o OpenGL SyncToVBlank will have no effect.
    
       o None of Stereo, Overlay, CIOverlay, or SLI are allowed when
         "UseDisplayDevice" is set to "none".
    
    
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "boolean"

    This option controls whether the NVIDIA X driver will use the HorizSync
    and VertRefresh ranges given in a display device's EDID, if any. When
    UseEdidFreqs is set to True, EDID-provided range information will override
    the HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges specified in the Monitor section. If
    a display device does not provide an EDID, or the EDID does not specify an
    hsync or vrefresh range, then the X server will default to the HorizSync
    and VertRefresh ranges specified in the Monitor section of your X config
    file. These frequency ranges are used when validating modes for your
    display device.

    Default: True (EDID frequencies will be used)

Option "UseEDID" "boolean"

    By default, the NVIDIA X driver makes use of a display device's EDID, when
    available, during construction of its mode pool. The EDID is used as a
    source for possible modes, for valid frequency ranges, and for collecting
    data on the physical dimensions of the display device for computing the
    DPI (see Appendix E). However, if you wish to disable the driver's use of
    the EDID, you can set this option to False:
    
        Option "UseEDID" "FALSE"
    
    Note that, rather than globally disable all uses of the EDID, you can
    individually disable each particular use of the EDID; e.g.,
    
        Option "UseEDIDFreqs" "FALSE"
        Option "UseEDIDDpi" "FALSE"
        Option "ModeValidation" "NoEdidModes"
    
    
    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: True (use EDID).

Option "UseInt10Module" "boolean"

    Enable use of the X Int10 module to soft-boot all secondary cards, rather
    than POSTing the cards through the NVIDIA kernel module.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: off (POSTing is done through the NVIDIA kernel module).

Option "TwinView" "boolean"

    Enable or disable TwinView. See Chapter 13 for details. Default: off
    (TwinView is disabled).

Option "MetaModeOrientation" "string"

    Controls the default relationship between display devices when using
    multiple display devices on a single X screen. Takes one of the following
    values: "RightOf" "LeftOf" "Above" "Below" "Clone". For backwards
    compatibility, "TwinViewOrientation" is a synonym for
    "MetaModeOrientation". See Chapter 13 for details. Default: string is
    NULL.

Option "MetaModes" "string"

    This option describes the combination of modes to use on each monitor when
    using TwinView or SLI Mosaic Mode. See Chapter 13 and Chapter 29 for
    details. Default: string is NULL.

Option "nvidiaXineramaInfo" "boolean"

    The NVIDIA X driver normally provides a Xinerama extension that X clients
    (such as window managers) can use to discover the current layout of
    display devices within an X screen. Some window mangers get confused by
    this information, so this option is provided to disable this behavior.
    Default: true (NVIDIA Xinerama information is provided).

    On X servers with RandR 1.2 support, the X server's RandR implementation
    may provide its own Xinerama implementation if NVIDIA Xinerama information
    is not provided. So, on X servers with RandR 1.2, disabling
    "nvidiaXineramaInfo" causes the NVIDIA X driver to still register its
    Xinerama implementation but report a single screen-sized region. On X
    servers without RandR 1.2 support, disabling "nvidiaXineramaInfo" causes
    the NVIDIA X driver to not register its Xinerama implementation.

    Due to bugs in some older software, NVIDIA Xinerama information is not
    provided by default on X.Org 7.1 and older when the X server is started
    with only one display device enabled.

    For backwards compatibility, "NoTwinViewXineramaInfo" is a synonym for
    disabling "nvidiaXineramaInfo".

Option "nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder" "string"

    When the NVIDIA X driver provides nvidiaXineramaInfo (see the
    nvidiaXineramaInfo X config option), it by default reports the currently
    enabled display devices in the order "CRT, DFP, TV". The
    nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder X config option can be used to override this
    order.

    The option string is a comma-separated list of display device names. The
    display device names can either be general (e.g, "CRT", which identifies
    all CRTs), or specific (e.g., "CRT-1", which identifies a particular CRT).
    Not all display devices need to be identified in the option string;
    display devices that are not listed will be implicitly appended to the end
    of the list, in their default order.

    Note that nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder tracks all display devices that could
    possibly be connected to the GPU, not just the ones that are currently
    enabled. When reporting the Xinerama information, the NVIDIA X driver
    walks through the display devices in the order specified, only reporting
    enabled display devices.

    Examples:
    
            "DFP"
            "TV, DFP"
            "DFP-1, DFP-0, TV, CRT"
    
    In the first example, any enabled DFPs would be reported first (any
    enabled CRTs or TVs would be reported afterwards). In the second example,
    any enabled TVs would be reported first, then any enabled DFPs (any
    enabled CRTs would be reported last). In the last example, if DFP-1 were
    enabled, it would be reported first, then DFP-0, then any enabled TVs, and
    then any enabled CRTs; finally, any other enabled DFPs would be reported.

    For backwards compatibility, "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" is a synonym for
    "nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder".

    Default: "CRT, DFP, TV"

Option "nvidiaXineramaInfoOverride" "string"

    This option overrides the values reported by the NVIDIA X driver's
    nvidiaXineramaInfo implementation. This disregards the actual display
    devices used by the X screen and any order specified in
    nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder.

    The option string is interpreted as a comma-separated list of regions,
    specified as '[width]x[height]+[x-offset]+[y-offset]'. The regions' sizes
    and offsets are not validated against the X screen size, but are directly
    reported to any Xinerama client.

    Examples:
    
            "1600x1200+0+0, 1600x1200+1600+0"
            "1024x768+0+0, 1024x768+1024+0, 1024x768+0+768, 1024x768+1024+768"
    
    
    For backwards compatibility, "TwinViewXineramaInfoOverride" is a synonym
    for "nvidiaXineramaInfoOverride".

Option "TVStandard" "string"

    See Chapter 16 for details on configuring TV-out.

Option "TVOutFormat" "string"

    See Chapter 16 for details on configuring TV-out.

Option "TVOverScan" "Decimal value in the range 0.0 to 1.0"

    Valid values are in the range 0.0 through 1.0; See Chapter 16 for details
    on configuring TV-out.

Option "Stereo" "integer"

    Enable offering of quad-buffered stereo visuals on Quadro. Integer
    indicates the type of stereo equipment being used:
    
        Value             Equipment
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        1                 DDC glasses. The sync signal is sent to the
                          glasses via the DDC signal to the monitor. These
                          usually involve a passthrough cable between the
                          monitor and the graphics card. This mode is not
                          available on G8xGL and higher GPUs.
        2                 "Blueline" glasses. These usually involve a
                          passthrough cable between the monitor and graphics
                          card. The glasses know which eye to display based
                          on the length of a blue line visible at the bottom
                          of the screen. When in this mode, the root window
                          dimensions are one pixel shorter in the Y
                          dimension than requested. This mode does not work
                          with virtual root window sizes larger than the
                          visible root window size (desktop panning). This
                          mode is not available on G8xGL and higher GPUs.
        3                 Onboard stereo support. This is usually only found
                          on professional cards. The glasses connect via a
                          DIN connector on the back of the graphics card.
        4                 One-eye-per-display passive stereo. This mode
                          allows each display to be configured to statically
                          display either left or right eye content. This can
                          be especially useful with multi-display
                          configurations (TwinView or SLI Mosaic). For
                          example, this is commonly used in conjunction with
                          special projectors to produce 2 polarized images
                          which are then viewed with polarized glasses. To
                          use this stereo mode, it is recommended that you
                          configure TwinView (or pairs of displays in SLI
                          Mosaic) in clone mode with the same resolution,
                          panning offset, and panning domains on each
                          display. See Chapter 13 for more information about
                          configuring multiple displays.
        5                 Vertical interlaced stereo mode, for use with
                          SeeReal Stereo Digital Flat Panels.
        6                 Color interleaved stereo mode, for use with
                          Sharp3D Stereo Digital Flat Panels.
        7                 Horizontal interlaced stereo mode, for use with
                          Arisawa, Hyundai, Zalman, Pavione, and Miracube
                          Digital Flat Panels.
        8                 Checkerboard pattern stereo mode, for use with 3D
                          DLP Display Devices.
        9                 Inverse checkerboard pattern stereo mode, for use
                          with 3D DLP Display Devices.
        10                NVIDIA 3D Vision mode for use with NVIDIA 3D
                          Vision glasses. The NVIDIA 3D Vision infrared
                          emitter must be connected to a USB port of your
                          computer, and to the 3-pin DIN connector of a
                          Quadro graphics board (based on G8xGL or higher
                          GPU) before starting the X server. Hot-plugging
                          the USB infrared stereo emitter is not yet
                          supported. Also, 3D Vision Stereo Linux support
                          requires a Linux kernel built with USB device
                          filesystem (usbfs) and USB 2.0 support. Not
                          presently supported on FreeBSD or Solaris.
        11                NVIDIA 3D VisionPro mode for use with NVIDIA 3D
                          VisionPro glasses. The NVIDIA 3D VisionPro RF hub
                          must be connected to a USB port of your computer,
                          and to the 3-pin DIN connector of a Quadro
                          graphics board (based on G8xGL or higher GPU)
                          before starting the X server. Hot-plugging the USB
                          RF hub is not yet supported. Also, 3D VisionPro
                          Stereo Linux support requires a Linux kernel built
                          with USB device filesystem (usbfs) and USB 2.0
                          support. When RF hub is connected and X is started
                          in NVIDIA 3D VisionPro stereo mode, a new page
                          will be available in nvidia-settings for various
                          configuration settings. Some of these settings can
                          also be done via nvidia-settings command line
                          interface. Refer to the corresponding Help section
                          in nvidia-settings for further details. Not
                          presently supported on FreeBSD or Solaris.
    
    Default: 0 (Stereo is not enabled).

    Stereo options 1, 2, 3, 10 and 11 are known as "active" stereo. Other
    options are known as "passive" stereo.

    When active stereo is used with multiple display devices, it is
    recommended that modes within each MetaMode have identical timing values
    (modelines). See Chapter 20 for suggestions on making sure the modes
    within your MetaModes are identical.

    The following table summarizes the available stereo modes, their supported
    GPUs, and their intended display devices:
    
        Stereo mode (value)     Graphics card           Display supported
                                supported [1]       
        --------------------    --------------------    --------------------
        DDC glasses (1)         Quadro graphics         CRTs with high
                                cards with              refresh rate
                                pre-G8xGL GPUs      
        Blueline glasses        Quadro graphics         CRTs with high
        (2)                     cards with              refresh rate
                                pre-G8xGL GPUs      
        Onboard DIN (3)         Quadro graphics         Displays with high
                                cards                   refresh rate
        One-eye-per-display     Quadro graphics         Any
        (4)                     cards               
        Vertical Interlaced     Quadro graphics         SeeReal Stereo DFP
        (5)                     cards               
        Color Interleaved       Quadro graphics         Sharp3D stereo DFP
        (6)                     cards               
        Horizontal              Quadro graphics         Arisawa, Hyundai,
        Interlaced (7)          cards with G8xGL or     Zalman, Pavione,
                                higher GPU              and Miracube
        Checkerboard            Quadro graphics         3D DLP display
        Pattern (8)             cards with G8xGL or     devices
                                higher GPU          
        Inverse                 Quadro graphics         3D DLP display
        Checkerboard (9)        cards with G8xGL or     devices
                                higher GPU          
        NVIDIA 3D Vision        Quadro graphics         Supported 3D Vision
        (10)                    cards with G8xGL or     ready displays [3]
                                higher GPUs [2]     
        NVIDIA 3D VisionPro     Quadro graphics         Supported 3D Vision
        (11)                    cards with G8xGL or     ready displays [3]
                                higher GPUs [2]     
        
        [1] Quadro graphics cards excluding Quadro NVS cards.
        [2]
        http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_pro_graphics_boards_linux.html
        [3] http://www.nvidia.com/object/3D_Vision_Requirements.html
    
    
    UBB must be enabled when stereo is enabled (this is the default behavior).

    Active stereo can be enabled on digital display devices (connected via
    DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort). However, some digital display devices might
    not behave as desired with active stereo:
    
       o Some digital display devices may not be able to toggle pixel colors
         quickly enough when flipping between eyes on every vblank.
    
       o Some digital display devices may have an optical polarization that
         interferes with stereo goggles.
    
       o Active stereo requires high refresh rates, because a vertical refresh
         is needed to display each eye. Some digital display devices have a
         low refresh rate, which will result in flickering when used for
         active stereo.
    
       o Some digital display devices might internally convert from other
         refresh rates to their native refresh rate (e.g., 60Hz), resulting in
         incompatible rates between the stereo glasses and stereo displayed on
         screen.
    
    These limitations do not apply to any display devices suitable for stereo
    option 10.

    Stereo applies to an entire X screen, so it will apply to all display
    devices on that X screen, whether or not they all support the selected
    Stereo mode.

    Multi-GPU cards (such as the Quadro FX 4500 X2) provide a single DIN
    connector for onboard stereo support (option 3), NVIDIA 3D Vision stereo
    (option 10) and NVIDIA 3D VisionPro stereo (option 11), which is tied to
    the bottommost GPU. In order to synchronize stereo with the other GPU, you
    must use a Quadro Sync device (see Chapter 30 for details).

Option "ForceStereoFlipping" "boolean"

    Stereo flipping is the process by which left and right eyes are displayed
    on alternating vertical refreshes. Normally, stereo flipping is only
    performed when a stereo drawable is visible. This option forces stereo
    flipping even when no stereo drawables are visible.

    This is to be used in conjunction with the "Stereo" option. If "Stereo" is
    0, the "ForceStereoFlipping" option has no effect. If otherwise, the
    "ForceStereoFlipping" option will force the behavior indicated by the
    "Stereo" option, even if no stereo drawables are visible. This option is
    useful in a multiple-screen environment in which a stereo application is
    run on a different screen than the stereo master.

    Possible values:
    
        Value             Behavior
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        0                 Stereo flipping is not forced. The default
                          behavior as indicated by the "Stereo" option is
                          used.
        1                 Stereo flipping is forced. Stereo is running even
                          if no stereo drawables are visible. The stereo
                          mode depends on the value of the "Stereo" option.
    
    Default: 0 (Stereo flipping is not forced).

Option "XineramaStereoFlipping" "boolean"

    By default, when using Stereo with Xinerama, all physical X screens having
    a visible stereo drawable will stereo flip. Use this option to allow only
    one physical X screen to stereo flip at a time.

    This is to be used in conjunction with the "Stereo" and "Xinerama"
    options. If "Stereo" is 0 or "Xinerama" is 0, the "XineramaStereoFlipping"
    option has no effect.

    If you wish to have all X screens stereo flip all the time, see the
    "ForceStereoFlipping" option.

    Possible values:
    
        Value             Behavior
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        0                 Stereo flipping is enabled on one X screen at a
                          time. Stereo is enabled on the first X screen
                          having the stereo drawable.
        1                 Stereo flipping in enabled on all X screens.
    
    Default: 1 (Stereo flipping is enabled on all X screens).

Option "IgnoreDisplayDevices" "string"

    This option tells the NVIDIA kernel module to completely ignore the
    indicated classes of display devices when checking which display devices
    are connected. You may specify a comma-separated list containing any of
    "CRT", "DFP", and "TV". For example:
    
    Option "IgnoreDisplayDevices" "DFP, TV"
    
    will cause the NVIDIA driver to not attempt to detect if any digital flat
    panels or TVs are connected. This option is not normally necessary;
    however, some video BIOSes contain incorrect information about which
    display devices may be connected, or which i2c port should be used for
    detection. These errors can cause long delays in starting X. If you are
    experiencing such delays, you may be able to avoid this by telling the
    NVIDIA driver to ignore display devices which you know are not connected.
    NOTE: anything attached to a 15 pin VGA connector is regarded by the
    driver as a CRT. "DFP" should only be used to refer to digital flat panels
    connected via a DVI port.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

Option "MultisampleCompatibility" "boolean"

    Enable or disable the use of separate front and back multisample buffers.
    Enabling this will consume more memory but is necessary for correct output
    when rendering to both the front and back buffers of a multisample or FSAA
    drawable. This option is necessary for correct operation of SoftImage XSI.
    Default: false (a single multisample buffer is shared between the front
    and back buffers).

Option "NoPowerConnectorCheck" "boolean"

    The NVIDIA X driver will fail initialization on a GPU if it detects that
    the GPU that requires an external power connector does not have an
    external power connector plugged in. This option can be used to bypass
    this test.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: false (the power connector test is performed).

Option "ThermalConfigurationCheck" "boolean"

    The NVIDIA X driver will fail initialization on a GPU if it detects that
    the GPU has a bad thermal configuration. This may indicate a problem with
    how your graphics board was built, or simply a driver bug. It is
    recommended that you contact your graphics board vendor if you encounter
    this problem.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    This option can be set to False to bypass this test. Default: true (the
    thermal configuration test is performed).

Option "XvmcUsesTextures" "boolean"

    Forces XvMC to use the 3D engine for XvMCPutSurface requests rather than
    the video overlay. Default: false (video overlay is used when available).

Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "boolean"

    Enables GLX even when the Composite X extension is loaded. ENABLE AT YOUR
    OWN RISK. OpenGL applications will not display correctly in many
    circumstances with this setting enabled.

    This option is intended for use on versions of X.Org older than X11R6.9.0.
    On X11R6.9.0 or newer, the NVIDIA OpenGL implementation interacts properly
    by default with the Composite X extension and this option should not be
    needed. However, on X11R6.9.0 or newer, support for GLX with Composite can
    be disabled by setting this option to False.

    Default: false (GLX is disabled when Composite is enabled on X releases
    older than X11R6.9.0).

Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "boolean"

    Adds a 32-bit ARGB visual for each supported OpenGL configuration. This
    allows applications to use OpenGL to render with alpha transparency into
    32-bit windows and pixmaps. This option requires the Composite extension.
    Default: ARGB GLX visuals are enabled on X servers new enough to support
    them when the Composite extension is also enabled and the screen depth is
    24 or 30.

Option "DisableGLXRootClipping" "boolean"

    If enabled, no clipping will be performed on rendering done by OpenGL in
    the root window. This option is deprecated. It is needed by older versions
    of OpenGL-based composite managers that draw the contents of redirected
    windows directly into the root window using OpenGL. Most OpenGL-based
    composite managers have been updated to support the Composite Overlay
    Window, a feature introduced in Xorg release 7.1. Using the Composite
    Overlay Window is the preferred method for performing OpenGL-based
    compositing.

Option "DamageEvents" "boolean"

    Use OS-level events to efficiently notify X when a client has performed
    direct rendering to a window that needs to be composited. This will
    significantly improve performance and interactivity when using GLX
    applications with a composite manager running. It will also affect
    applications using GLX when rotation is enabled. This option is currently
    incompatible with SLI and Multi-GPU modes and will be disabled if either
    are used. Enabled by default.

Option "ExactModeTimingsDVI" "boolean"

    Forces the initialization of the X server with the exact timings specified
    in the ModeLine. Default: false (for DVI devices, the X server initializes
    with the closest mode in the EDID list).

    The "AllowNonEdidModes" token in the "ModeValidation" X configuration
    option has the same effect as "ExactModeTimingsDVI", but
    "AllowNonEdidModes" has per-display device granularity.

Option "Coolbits" "integer"

    Enables various unsupported features, such as support for GPU clock
    manipulation in the NV-CONTROL X extension. This option accepts a bit mask
    of features to enable.

    WARNING: this may cause system damage and void warranties. This utility
    can run your computer system out of the manufacturer's design
    specifications, including, but not limited to: higher system voltages,
    above normal temperatures, excessive frequencies, and changes to BIOS that
    may corrupt the BIOS. Your computer's operating system may hang and result
    in data loss or corrupted images. Depending on the manufacturer of your
    computer system, the computer system, hardware and software warranties may
    be voided, and you may not receive any further manufacturer support.
    NVIDIA does not provide customer service support for the Coolbits option.
    It is for these reasons that absolutely no warranty or guarantee is either
    express or implied. Before enabling and using, you should determine the
    suitability of the utility for your intended use, and you shall assume all
    responsibility in connection therewith.

    When "1" (Bit 0) is set in the "Coolbits" option value, the
    nvidia-settings utility will contain a page labeled "Clock Frequencies"
    through which clock settings can be manipulated. On mobile GPUs, limited
    clock manipulation support is available when "1" is set in the "Coolbits"
    option value: clocks can be lowered relative to the default settings, but
    overclocking is not supported due to the thermal constraints of notebook
    designs.

    When "2" (Bit 1) is set in the "Coolbits" option value, the NVIDIA driver
    will attempt to initialize SLI when using GPUs with different amounts of
    video memory.

    When "4" (Bit 2) is set in the "Coolbits" option value, the
    nvidia-settings Thermal Monitor page will allow configuration of GPU fan
    speed, on graphics boards with programmable fan capability.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    The default for this option is 0 (unsupported features are disabled).

Option "MultiGPU" "string"

    This option controls the configuration of Multi-GPU rendering in supported
    configurations.
    
        Value                               Behavior
        --------------------------------    --------------------------------
        0, no, off, false, Single           Use only a single GPU when
                                            rendering
        1, yes, on, true, Auto              Enable Multi-GPU and allow the
                                            driver to automatically select
                                            the appropriate rendering mode.
        AFR                                 Enable Multi-GPU and use the
                                            Alternate Frame Rendering mode.
        SFR                                 Enable Multi-GPU and use the
                                            Split Frame Rendering mode.
        AA                                  Enable Multi-GPU and use
                                            antialiasing. Use this in
                                            conjunction with full scene
                                            antialiasing to improve visual
                                            quality.
    
    
Option "SLI" "string"

    This option controls the configuration of SLI rendering in supported
    configurations.
    
        Value                               Behavior
        --------------------------------    --------------------------------
        0, no, off, false, Single           Use only a single GPU when
                                            rendering
        1, yes, on, true, Auto              Enable SLI and allow the driver
                                            to automatically select the
                                            appropriate rendering mode.
        AFR                                 Enable SLI and use the Alternate
                                            Frame Rendering mode.
        SFR                                 Enable SLI and use the Split
                                            Frame Rendering mode.
        AA                                  Enable SLI and use SLI
                                            Antialiasing. Use this in
                                            conjunction with full scene
                                            antialiasing to improve visual
                                            quality.
        AFRofAA                             Enable SLI and use SLI Alternate
                                            Frame Rendering of Antialiasing
                                            mode. Use this in conjunction
                                            with full scene antialiasing to
                                            improve visual quality. This
                                            option is only valid for SLI
                                            configurations with 4 GPUs.
        Mosaic                              Enable SLI and use SLI Mosaic
                                            Mode. Use this in conjunction
                                            with the MetaModes X
                                            configuration option to specify
                                            the combination of mode(s) used
                                            on each display.
    
    
Option "TripleBuffer" "boolean"

    Enable or disable the use of triple buffering. If this option is enabled,
    OpenGL windows that sync to vblank and are double-buffered will be given a
    third buffer. This decreases the time an application stalls while waiting
    for vblank events, but increases latency slightly (delay between user
    input and displayed result).

Option "DPI" "string"

    This option specifies the Dots Per Inch for the X screen; for example:
    
        Option "DPI" "75 x 85"
    
    will set the horizontal DPI to 75 and the vertical DPI to 85. By default,
    the X driver will compute the DPI of the X screen from the EDID of any
    connected display devices. See Appendix E for details. Default: string is
    NULL (disabled).

Option "UseEdidDpi" "string"

    By default, the NVIDIA X driver computes the DPI of an X screen based on
    the physical size of the display device, as reported in the EDID, and the
    size in pixels of the first mode to be used on the display device. If
    multiple display devices are used by the X screen, then the NVIDIA X
    screen will choose which display device to use. This option can be used to
    specify which display device to use. The string argument can be a display
    device name, such as:
    
        Option "UseEdidDpi" "DFP-0"
    
    or the argument can be "FALSE" to disable use of EDID-based DPI
    calculations:
    
        Option "UseEdidDpi" "FALSE"
    
    See Appendix E for details. Default: string is NULL (the driver computes
    the DPI from the EDID of a display device and selects the display device).

Option "ConstantDPI" "boolean"

    By default on X.Org 6.9 or newer, the NVIDIA X driver recomputes the size
    in millimeters of the X screen whenever the size in pixels of the X screen
    is changed using XRandR, such that the DPI remains constant.

    This behavior can be disabled (which means that the size in millimeters
    will not change when the size in pixels of the X screen changes) by
    setting the "ConstantDPI" option to "FALSE"; e.g.,
    
        Option "ConstantDPI" "FALSE"
    
    ConstantDPI defaults to True.

    On X releases older than X.Org 6.9, the NVIDIA X driver cannot change the
    size in millimeters of the X screen. Therefore the DPI of the X screen
    will change when XRandR changes the size in pixels of the X screen. The
    driver will behave as if ConstantDPI was forced to FALSE.

Option "CustomEDID" "string"

    This option forces the X driver to use the EDID specified in a file rather
    than the display's EDID. You may specify a semicolon separated list of
    display names and filename pairs. Valid display device names include
    "CRT-0", "CRT-1", "DFP-0", "DFP-1", "TV-0", "TV-1", or one of the generic
    names "CRT", "DFP", "TV", which apply the EDID to all devices of the
    specified type. Additionally, if SLI Mosaic is enabled, this name can be
    prefixed by a GPU name (e.g., "GPU-0.CRT-0"). The file contains a raw EDID
    (e.g., a file generated by nvidia-settings).

    For example:
    
        Option "CustomEDID" "CRT-0:/tmp/edid1.bin; DFP-0:/tmp/edid2.bin"
    
    will assign the EDID from the file /tmp/edid1.bin to the display device
    CRT-0, and the EDID from the file /tmp/edid2.bin to the display device
    DFP-0. Note that a display device name must always be specified even if
    only one EDID is specified.

    Caution: Specifying an EDID that doesn't exactly match your display may
    damage your hardware, as it allows the driver to specify timings beyond
    the capabilities of your display. Use with care.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

Option "IgnoreEDIDChecksum" "string"

    This option forces the X driver to accept an EDID even if the checksum is
    invalid. You may specify a comma separated list of display names. Valid
    display device names include "CRT-0", "CRT-1", "DFP-0", "DFP-1", "TV-0",
    "TV-1", or one of the generic names "CRT", "DFP", "TV", which ignore the
    EDID checksum on all devices of the specified type. Additionally, if SLI
    Mosaic is enabled, this name can be prefixed by a GPU name (e.g.,
    "GPU-0.CRT-0").

    For example:
    
        Option "IgnoreEDIDChecksum" "CRT, DFP-0"
    
    will cause the nvidia driver to ignore the EDID checksum for all CRT
    monitors and the displays DFP-0 and TV-0.

    Caution: An invalid EDID checksum may indicate a corrupt EDID. A corrupt
    EDID may have mode timings beyond the capabilities of your display, and
    using it could damage your hardware. Use with care.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

Option "ModeValidation" "string"

    This option provides fine-grained control over each stage of the mode
    validation pipeline, disabling individual mode validation checks. This
    option should only very rarely be used.

    The option string is a semicolon-separated list of comma-separated lists
    of mode validation arguments. Each list of mode validation arguments can
    optionally be prepended with a display device name and GPU specifier.
    
        "<dpy-0>: <tok>, <tok>; <dpy-1>: <tok>, <tok>, <tok>; ..."
    
    
    Possible arguments:
    
       o "AllowNon60HzDFPModes": some lower quality TMDS encoders are only
         rated to drive DFPs at 60Hz; the driver will determine when only 60Hz
         DFP modes are allowed. This argument disables this stage of the mode
         validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoMaxPClkCheck": each mode has a pixel clock; this pixel clock is
         validated against the maximum pixel clock of the hardware (for a DFP,
         this is the maximum pixel clock of the TMDS encoder, for a CRT, this
         is the maximum pixel clock of the DAC). This argument disables the
         maximum pixel clock checking stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoEdidMaxPClkCheck": a display device's EDID can specify the maximum
         pixel clock that the display device supports; a mode's pixel clock is
         validated against this pixel clock maximum. This argument disables
         this stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "AllowInterlacedModes": interlaced modes are not supported on all
         NVIDIA GPUs; the driver will discard interlaced modes on GPUs where
         interlaced modes are not supported; this argument disables this stage
         of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoMaxSizeCheck": each NVIDIA GPU has a maximum resolution that it
         can drive; this argument disables this stage of the mode validation
         pipeline.
    
       o "NoHorizSyncCheck": a mode's horizontal sync is validated against the
         range of valid horizontal sync values; this argument disables this
         stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoVertRefreshCheck": a mode's vertical refresh rate is validated
         against the range of valid vertical refresh rate values; this
         argument disables this stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoWidthAlignmentCheck": the alignment of a mode's visible width is
         validated against the capabilities of the GPU; normally, a mode's
         visible width must be a multiple of 8. This argument disables this
         stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoDFPNativeResolutionCheck": when validating for a DFP, a mode's
         size is validated against the native resolution of the DFP; this
         argument disables this stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoVirtualSizeCheck": if the X configuration file requests a specific
         virtual screen size, a mode cannot be larger than that virtual size;
         this argument disables this stage of the mode validation pipeline.
    
       o "NoVesaModes": when constructing the mode pool for a display device,
         the X driver uses a built-in list of VESA modes as one of the mode
         sources; this argument disables use of these built-in VESA modes.
    
       o "NoEdidModes": when constructing the mode pool for a display device,
         the X driver uses any modes listed in the display device's EDID as
         one of the mode sources; this argument disables use of EDID-specified
         modes.
    
       o "NoXServerModes": when constructing the mode pool for a display
         device, the X driver uses the built-in modes provided by the core
         XFree86/Xorg X server as one of the mode sources; this argument
         disables use of these modes. Note that this argument does not disable
         custom ModeLines specified in the X config file; see the
         "NoCustomModes" argument for that.
    
       o "NoCustomModes": when constructing the mode pool for a display
         device, the X driver uses custom ModeLines specified in the X config
         file (through the "Mode" or "ModeLine" entries in the Monitor
         Section) as one of the mode sources; this argument disables use of
         these modes.
    
       o "NoPredefinedModes": when constructing the mode pool for a display
         device, the X driver uses additional modes predefined by the NVIDIA X
         driver; this argument disables use of these modes.
    
       o "NoUserModes": additional modes can be added to the mode pool
         dynamically, using the NV-CONTROL X extension; this argument
         prohibits user-specified modes via the NV-CONTROL X extension.
    
       o "NoExtendedGpuCapabilitiesCheck": allow mode timings that may exceed
         the GPU's extended capability checks.
    
       o "ObeyEdidContradictions": an EDID may contradict itself by listing a
         mode as supported, but the mode may exceed an EDID-specified valid
         frequency range (HorizSync, VertRefresh, or maximum pixel clock).
         Normally, the NVIDIA X driver prints a warning in this scenario, but
         does not invalidate an EDID-specified mode just because it exceeds an
         EDID-specified valid frequency range. However, the
         "ObeyEdidContradictions" argument instructs the NVIDIA X driver to
         invalidate these modes.
    
       o "NoTotalSizeCheck": allow modes in which the individual visible or
         sync pulse timings exceed the total raster size.
    
       o "DoubleScanPriority": on GPUs older than G80, doublescan modes are
         sorted before non-doublescan modes of the same resolution for
         purposes of mode pool sorting; but on G80 and later GPUs, doublescan
         modes are sorted after non-doublescan modes of the same resolution.
         This token inverts that priority (i.e., doublescan modes will be
         sorted after on pre-G80 GPUs, and sorted before on G80 and later
         GPUs).
    
       o "NoDualLinkDVICheck": for mode timings used on dual link DVI DFPs,
         the driver must perform additional checks to ensure that the correct
         pixels are sent on the correct link. For some of these checks, the
         driver will invalidate the mode timings; for other checks, the driver
         will implicitly modify the mode timings to meet the GPU's dual link
         DVI requirements. This token disables this dual link DVI checking.
    
       o "NoDisplayPortBandwidthCheck": for mode timings used on DisplayPort
         devices, the driver must verify that the DisplayPort link can be
         configured to carry enough bandwidth to support a given mode's pixel
         clock. For example, some DisplayPort-to-VGA adapters only support 2
         DisplayPort lanes, limiting the resolutions they can display. This
         token disables this DisplayPort bandwidth check.
    
       o "AllowNon3DVisionModes": modes that are not optimized for NVIDIA 3D
         Vision are invalidated, by default, when 3D Vision (stereo mode 10)
         or 3D Vision Pro (stereo mode 11) is enabled. This token allows the
         use of non-3D Vision modes on a 3D Vision monitor. (Stereo behavior
         of non-3D Vision modes on 3D Vision monitors is undefined.)
    
       o "AllowNonEdidModes": if a mode is not listed in a display device's
         EDID mode list, then the NVIDIA X driver will discard the mode if the
         EDID 1.3 "GTF Supported" flag is unset, if the EDID 1.4 "Continuous
         Frequency" flag is unset, or if the display device is connected to
         the GPU by a digital protocol (e.g., DVI, DP, etc). This token
         disables these checks for non-EDID modes.
    
    
    Examples:
    
        Option "ModeValidation" "NoMaxPClkCheck"
    
    disable the maximum pixel clock check when validating modes on all display
    devices.
    
        Option "ModeValidation" "CRT-0: NoEdidModes, NoMaxPClkCheck;
    GPU-0.DFP-0: NoVesaModes"
    
    do not use EDID modes and do not perform the maximum pixel clock check on
    CRT-0, and do not use VESA modes on DFP-0 of GPU-0.

Option "ColorSpace" "string"

    This option sets the color space for all or a subset of the connected flat
    panels.

    The option string is a semicolon-separated list of device specific
    options. Each option can optionally be prepended with a display device
    name and a GPU specifier.
    
        "<dpy-0>: <tok>; <dpy-1>: <tok>; ..."
    
    
    Possible arguments:
    
       o "RGB": sets color space to RGB. RGB color space supports two valid
         color ranges; full and limited. By default, full color range is set
         when the color space is RGB.
    
       o "YCbCr444": sets color space to YCbCr 4:4:4. YCbCr supports only
         limited color range. It is not possible to set this color space if
         the GPU or display is not capable of limited range.
    
    
    If the ColorSpace option is not specified, or is incorrectly specified,
    then the color space is set to RGB by default.

    Examples:
    
        Option "ColorSpace" "YCbCr444"
    
    set the color space to YCbCr 4:4:4 on all flat panels.
    
        Option "ColorSpace" "GPU-0.DFP-0: YCbCr444"
    
    set the color space to YCbCr 4:4:4 on DFP-0 of GPU-0.

Option "ColorRange" "string"

    This option sets the color range for all or a subset of the connected flat
    panels.

    The option string is a semicolon-separated list of device specific
    options. Each option can optionally be prepended with a display device
    name and a GPU specifier.
    
        "<dpy-0>: <tok>; <dpy-1>: <tok>; ..."
    
    
    The set of legal ColorRange values depends upon the selected color space.

    Possible arguments:
    
       o "Full": sets color range to full range. By default, full color range
         is set when the color space is RGB.
    
       o "Limited": sets color range to limited range. YUV supports only
         limited color range. Consequently, limited range is selected by the
         driver when color space is set to YUV, and can not be changed.
    
    
    If the ColorRange option is not specified, or is incorrectly specified,
    then an appropriate default value is selected based on the selected color
    space.

    Examples:
    
        Option "ColorRange" "Limited"
    
    set the color range to limited on all flat panels.
    
        Option "ColorRange" "GPU-0.DFP-0: Limited"
    
    set the color range to limited on DFP-0 of GPU-0.

Option "ModeDebug" "boolean"

    This option causes the X driver to print verbose details about mode
    validation to the X log file. Note that this option is applied globally:
    setting this option to TRUE will enable verbose mode validation logging
    for all NVIDIA X screens in the X server.

Option "UseEvents" "boolean"

    Enables the use of system events in some cases when the X driver is
    waiting for the hardware. The X driver can briefly spin through a tight
    loop when waiting for the hardware. With this option the X driver instead
    sets an event handler and waits for the hardware through the 'poll()'
    system call.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: the use of the events is disabled.

Option "FlatPanelProperties" "string"

    This option requests particular properties for all or a subset of the
    connected flat panels.

    The option string is a semicolon-separated list of comma-separated
    property=value pairs. Each list of property=value pairs can optionally be
    prepended with a flat panel name and GPU specifier.
    
        "<DFP-0>: <property=value>, <property=value>; <DFP-1>:
    <property=value>; ..."
    
    
    Recognized properties:
    
       o "Dithering": controls the flat panel dithering configuration;
         possible values are: 'Auto' (the driver will decide when to dither),
         'Enabled' (the driver will always dither, if possible), and
         'Disabled' (the driver will never dither).
    
       o "DitheringMode": controls the flat panel dithering mode; possible
         values are: 'Auto' (the driver will choose possible default mode),
         'Dynamic-2x2' (a 2x2 dithering pattern is updated for every frame),
         'Static-2x2' (a 2x2 dithering pattern remains constant throughout the
         frames), and 'Temporal' (a pseudo-random dithering algorithm is
         used).
    
    
    Examples:
    
        Option "FlatPanelProperties" "DitheringMode = Static-2x2"
    
    set the flat panel dithering mode to Static-2x2 on all flat panels.
    
        Option "FlatPanelProperties" "GPU-0.DFP-0: Dithering = Disabled;
    DFP-1: Dithering = Enabled, DitheringMode = Static-2x2"
    
    set dithering to disabled on DFP-0 on GPU-0, set DFP-1's dithering to
    enabled and dithering mode to static 2x2.

Option "ProbeAllGpus" "boolean"

    When the NVIDIA X driver initializes, it probes all GPUs in the system,
    even if no X screens are configured on them. This is done so that the X
    driver can report information about all the system's GPUs through the
    NV-CONTROL X extension. This option can be set to FALSE to disable this
    behavior, such that only GPUs with X screens configured on them will be
    probed.

    Note that disabling this option may affect configurability through
    nvidia-settings, since the X driver will not know about GPUs that aren't
    currently being used or the display devices attached to them.

    Default: all GPUs in the system are probed.

Option "DynamicTwinView" "boolean"

    Enable or disable support for dynamically configuring TwinView on this X
    screen. When DynamicTwinView is enabled (the default), the refresh rate of
    a mode (reported through XF86VidMode or XRandR) does not correctly report
    the refresh rate, but instead is a unique number such that each MetaMode
    has a different value. This is to guarantee that MetaModes can be uniquely
    identified by XRandR.

    When DynamicTwinView is disabled, the refresh rate reported through XRandR
    will be accurate, but NV-CONTROL clients such as nvidia-settings will not
    be able to dynamically manipulate the X screen's MetaModes. TwinView can
    still be configured from the X config file when DynamicTwinView is
    disabled.

    Default: DynamicTwinView is enabled.

Option "IncludeImplicitMetaModes" "boolean"

    When the X server starts, a mode pool is created per display device,
    containing all the mode timings that the NVIDIA X driver determined to be
    valid for the display device. However, the only MetaModes that are made
    available to the X server are the ones explicitly requested in the X
    configuration file.

    It is convenient for fullscreen applications to be able to change between
    the modes in the mode pool, even if a given target mode was not explicitly
    requested in the X configuration file.

    To facilitate this, the NVIDIA X driver will implicitly add MetaModes for
    all modes in the primary display device's mode pool. This makes all the
    modes in the mode pool available to full screen applications that use the
    XF86VidMode extension or RandR 1.0/1.1 requests.

    Further, to make sure that fullscreen applications have a reasonable set
    of MetaModes available to them, the NVIDIA X driver will also add implicit
    MetaModes for common resolutions: 1920x1200, 1920x1080, 1600x1200,
    1280x1024, 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480. For these common
    resolution implicit MetaModes, the common resolution will be the
    ViewPortIn, and nvidia-auto-select will be the mode. The ViewPortOut will
    be configured such that the ViewPortIn is aspect scaled within the mode.
    Each common resolution implicit MetaMode will be added if there is not
    already a MetaMode with that resolution, and if the resolution is not
    larger than the nvidia-auto-select mode of the display device. See Chapter
    13 for details of the relationship between ViewPortIn, ViewPortOut, and
    the mode within a MetaMode.

    The IncludeImplicitMetaModes X configuration option can be used to disable
    the addition of implicit MetaModes. Or, it can be used to alter how
    implicit MetaModes are added. The option can have either a boolean value
    or a comma-separated list of token=value pairs, where the possible tokens
    are:
    
       o "DisplayDevice": specifies the display device for which the implicit
         MetaModes should be created. Any name that can be used to identify a
         display device can be used here; see Appendix C for details.
    
       o "Mode": specifies the name of the mode to use with the common
         resolution-based implicit MetaModes. The default is
         "nvidia-auto-select". Any mode in the display device's mode pool can
         be used here.
    
       o "Scaling": specifies how the ViewPortOut should be configured between
         the ViewPortIn and the mode for the common resolution-based implicit
         MetaModes. Possible values are "Scaled", "Aspect-Scaled", or
         "Centered". The default is "Aspect-Scaled".
    
       o "UseModePool": specifies whether modes from the display device's mode
         pool should be used to create implicit MetaModes. The default is
         "true".
    
       o "UseCommonResolutions": specifies whether the common resolution list
         should be used to create implicit MetaModes. The default is "true".
    
       o "Derive16x9Mode": specifies whether to create an implicit MetaMode
         with a resolution whose aspect ratio is 16:9, using the width of
         nvidia-auto-select. E.g., using a 2560x1600 monitor, this would
         create an implicit MetaMode of 2560x1440. The default is "true".
    
       o "ExtraResolutions": a comma-separated list of additional resolutions
         to use for creating implicit MetaModes. These will be created in the
         same way as the common resolution implicit MetaModes: the resolution
         will be used as the ViewPortIn, the nvidia-auto-select mode will be
         used as the mode, and the ViewPortOut will be computed to aspect
         scale the resolution within the mode. Note that the list of
         resolutions must be enclosed in parentheses, so that the commas are
         not interpreted as token=value pair separators.
    
    Some examples:
    
    Option "IncludeImplicitMetaModes" "off"
    Option "IncludeImplicitMetaModes" "on" (the default)
    Option "IncludeImplicitMetaModes" "DisplayDevice = DVI-I-2,
    Scaling=Aspect-Scaled, UseModePool = false"
    Option "IncludeImplicitMetaModes" "ExtraResolutions = ( 2560x1440, 320x200
    ), DisplayDevice = DVI-I-0"
    
    
Option "IndirectMemoryAccess" "boolean"

    Some graphics cards have more video memory than can be mapped at once by
    the CPU (generally at most 256 MB of video memory can be CPU-mapped). On
    graphics cards based on G80 and higher, this option allows the driver to:
    
       o place more pixmaps in video memory, which will improve hardware
         rendering performance but may slow down software rendering;
    
       o allocate buffers larger than 256 MB, which is necessary to reach the
         maximum buffer size on newer GPUs.
    
    
    On some systems, up to 3 gigabytes of virtual address space may be
    reserved in the X server for indirect memory access. This virtual memory
    does not consume any physical resources. Note that the amount of reserved
    memory may be limited on 32-bit platforms, so some problems with large
    buffer allocations can be resolved by switching to a 64-bit operating
    system.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: on (indirect memory access will be used, when available).

Option "OnDemandVBlankInterrupts" "boolean"

    Normally, VBlank interrupts are generated on every vertical refresh of
    every display device connected to the GPU(s) installed in a given system.
    This experimental option enables on-demand VBlank control, allowing the
    driver to enable VBlank interrupt generation only when it is required.
    This can help conserve power.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: off (on-demand VBlank control is disabled).

Option "AllowSHMPixmaps" "boolean"

    This option controls whether applications can use the MIT-SHM X extension
    to create pixmaps whose contents are shared between the X server and the
    client. These pixmaps prevent the NVIDIA driver from performing a number
    of optimizations and degrade performance in many circumstances.

    Disabling this option disables only shared memory pixmaps. Applications
    can still use the MIT-SHM extension to transfer data to the X server
    through shared memory using XShmPutImage.

    Default: off (shared memory pixmaps are not allowed).

Option "InitializeWindowBackingPixmaps" "boolean"

    This option controls whether the NVIDIA X Driver initializes newly created
    redirected windows using the contents of their parent window if the X
    server doesn't do it. Leaving redirected windows uninitialized may cause
    new windows to flash with black or random colors when some compositing
    managers are running.

    This option will have no effect on X servers that already initialize
    redirected window contents. In most distributions, the X server is patched
    to skip that initialization. In this case, it is recommended to leave this
    option on for a better user experience.

    Default: on (redirected windows are initialized).

Option "AllowIndirectGLXProtocol" "boolean"

    There are two ways that GLX applications can render on an X screen: direct
    and indirect. Direct rendering is generally faster and more featureful,
    but indirect rendering may be used in more configurations. Direct
    rendering requires that the application be running on the same machine as
    the X server, and that the OpenGL library have sufficient permissions to
    access the kernel driver. Indirect rendering works with remote X11
    connections as well as unprivileged clients like those in a chroot with no
    access to device nodes.

    For those who wish to disable the use of indirect GLX protocol on a given
    X screen, setting the "AllowIndirectGLXProtocol" to a true value will
    cause GLX CreateContext requests with the "direct" parameter set to
    "False" to fail with a BadValue error.

    Starting with X.Org server 1.16, there are also command-line switches to
    enable or disable use of indirect GLX contexts. "-iglx" disables use of
    indirect GLX protocol, and "+iglx" enables use of indirect GLX protocol.
    +iglx is the default in server 1.16, but as of this writing it is expected
    that in the next major release -iglx will be the default.

    The NVIDIA GLX implementation will prohibit creation of indirect GLX
    contexts if the AllowIndirectGLXProtocol option is set to False, or the
    -iglx switch was passed to the X server (X.Org server 1.16 or higher), or
    the X server defaulted to '-iglx'.

    Default: enabled (indirect protocol is allowed, unless disabled by the
    server).

Option "AllowUnofficialGLXProtocol" "boolean"

    By default, the NVIDIA GLX implementation will not expose GLX protocol for
    GL commands if the protocol is not considered complete. Protocol could be
    considered incomplete for a number of reasons. The implementation could
    still be under development and contain known bugs, or the protocol
    specification itself could be under development or going through review.
    If users would like to test the server-side portion of such protocol when
    using indirect rendering, they can enable this option. If any X screen
    enables this option, it will enable protocol on all screens in the server.

    When an NVIDIA GLX client is used, the related environment variable
    "__GL_ALLOW_UNOFFICIAL_PROTOCOL" will need to be set as well to enable
    support in the client.

Option "PanAllDisplays" "boolean"

    When this option is enabled, all displays in the current MetaMode will pan
    as the pointer is moved. If disabled, only the displays whose panning
    domain contains the pointer (at its new location) are panned.

    Default: enabled (all displays are panned when the pointer is moved).

Option "GvoDataFormat" "string"

    This option controls the initial configuration of SDI (GVO) device's
    output data format.
    
        Valid Values
        ---------------------------------------------------------------------
        R8G8B8_To_YCrCb444
        R8G8B8_To_YCrCb422
        X8X8X8_To_PassThru444
    
    
    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: R8G8B8_To_YCrCb444.

Option "GvoSyncMode" "string"

    This option controls the initial synchronization mode of the SDI (GVO)
    device.
    
        Value             Behavior
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        FreeRunning       The SDI output will be synchronized with the
                          timing chosen from the SDI signal format list.
        GenLock           SDI output will be synchronized with the external
                          sync signal (if present/detected) with pixel
                          accuracy.
        FrameLock         SDI output will be synchronized with the external
                          sync signal (if present/detected) with frame
                          accuracy.
    
    
    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: FreeRunning (Will not lock to an input signal).

Option "GvoSyncSource" "string"

    This option controls the initial synchronization source (type) of the SDI
    (GVO) device. Note that the GvoSyncMode should be set to either GenLock or
    FrameLock for this option to take effect.
    
        Value             Behavior
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        Composite         Interpret sync source as composite.
        SDI               Interpret sync source as SDI.
    
    
    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: SDI.

Option "Interactive" "boolean"

    This option controls the behavior of the driver's watchdog, which attempts
    to detect and terminate GPU programs that get stuck, in order to ensure
    that the GPU remains available for other processes. GPU compute
    applications, however, often have long-running GPU programs, and killing
    them would be undesirable. If you are using GPU compute applications and
    they are getting prematurely terminated, try turning this option off.

    When this option is set for an X screen, it will be applied to all X
    screens running on the same GPU.

    Default: on. The driver will attempt to detect and terminate GPU programs
    that cause excessive delays for other processes using the GPU.

Option "BaseMosaic" "boolean"

    This option can be used to extend a single X screen transparently across
    display outputs on each GPU. This is like SLI Mosaic mode except that it
    does not require a video bridge connected to the graphics cards. Due to
    this Base Mosaic does not guarantee there will be no tearing between the
    display boundaries. Base Mosaic is supported on all G80 and higher SLI
    configurations up to three display devices. It is also supported on Quadro
    FX 380, Quadro FX 580 and all G80 or higher non-mobile NVS cards on all
    available display devices.

    Use this in conjunction with the MetaModes X configuration option to
    specify the combination of mode(s) used on each display. nvidia-xconfig
    can be used to configure Base Mosaic via a command like 'nvidia-xconfig
    --base-mosaic --metamodes=METAMODES' where the METAMODES string specifies
    the desired grid configuration. For example, to configure four DFPs in a
    2x2 configuration, each running at 1920x1024, with two DFPs connected to
    two cards, the command would be:
    
        nvidia-xconfig --base-mosaic --metamodes="GPU-0.DFP-0: 1920x1024+0+0,
    GPU-0.DFP-1: 1920x1024+1920+0, GPU-1.DFP-0: 1920x1024+0+1024, GPU-1.DFP-1:
    1920x1024+1920+1024"
    
    
Option "ConstrainCursor" "boolean"

    When this option is enabled, the mouse cursor will be constrained to the
    region of the desktop that is visible within the union of all displays'
    panning domains in the current MetaMode. When it is disabled, it may be
    possible to move the cursor to regions of the X screen that are not
    visible on any display.

    Note that if this would make display's panning domain is inaccessible (in
    other words, if the union of all panning domains is disjoint), then the
    cursor will not be constrained, so that it is still possible to move the
    cursor to each display.

    This option has no effect if the X server doesn't support cursor
    constraint. This support was added in X.Org server version 1.10 (see "Q.
    How do I interpret X server version numbers?" in Chapter 7).

    Default: on, if the X server supports it. The cursor will be constrained
    to the panning domain of each monitor, when possible.

Option "UseHotplugEvents" "boolean"

    When this option is enabled, the NVIDIA X driver will generate RandR
    display changed events when displays are plugged into or unplugged from an
    NVIDIA GPU. Some desktop environments will listen for these events and
    dynamically reconfigure the desktop when displays are added or removed.

    Disabling this option suppresses the generation of these RandR events for
    non-DisplayPort displays, i.e., ones connected via VGA, DVI, or HDMI.
    Hotplug events cannot be suppressed for displays connected via
    DisplayPort.

    Note that probing the display configuration (e.g. with xrandr or
    nvidia-settings) may cause RandR display changed events to be generated,
    regardless of whether this option is enabled or disabled. Additionally,
    some VGA ports are incapable of hotplug detection: on such ports, the
    addition or removal of displays can only be detected by re-probing the
    display configuration.

    Default: on. The driver will generate RandR events when displays are added
    or removed.

Option "ConnectToAcpid" "boolean"

    The ACPI daemon (acpid) receives information about ACPI events like
    AC/Battery power, docking, etc. acpid will deliver these events to the
    NVIDIA X driver via a UNIX domain socket connection. By default, the
    NVIDIA X driver will attempt to connect to acpid to receive these events.
    Set this option to "off" to prevent the NVIDIA X driver from connecting to
    acpid. Default: on (the NVIDIA X driver will attempt to connect to acpid).

Option "AcpidSocketPath" "string"

    The NVIDIA X driver attempts to connect to the ACPI daemon (acpid) via a
    UNIX domain socket. The default path to this socket is
    "/var/run/acpid.socket". Set this option to specify an alternate path to
    acpid's socket. Default: "/var/run/acpid.socket".

Option "EnableACPIHotkeys" "boolean"

    The NVIDIA Linux X driver can detect mobile display change hotkey events
    either through ACPI or by periodically checking the GPU hardware state.

    While checking the GPU hardware state is generally sufficient to detect
    display change hotkey events, ACPI hotkey event delivery is preferable.
    However, X servers prior to X.Org xserver-1.2.0 (see "Q. How do I
    interpret X server version numbers?" in Chapter 7) have a bug that cause
    the X server to crash when the X server receives an ACPI hotkey event
    (freedesktop.org bug 8776). The NVIDIA Linux X driver will key off the X
    server ABI version to determine if the X server in use has this bug (X
    servers with ABI 1.1 or later do not).

    Since some X servers may have an earlier ABI but have a patch to fix the
    bug, the "EnableACPIHotkeys" option can be specified to override the
    NVIDIA X driver's default decision to enable or disable ACPI display
    change hotkey events.

    When running on a mobile system, search for "ACPI display change hotkey
    events" in your X log to see the NVIDIA X driver's decision.

    Default: the NVIDIA X driver will decide whether to enable ACPI display
    change hotkey events based on the X server ABI.

Option "EnableACPIBrightnessHotkeys" "boolean"

    Enable or disable handling of ACPI brightness change hotkey events.
    Default: enabled

Option "3DVisionUSBPath" "string"

    When NVIDIA 3D Vision is enabled, the X driver searches through the usbfs
    to find the connected USB dongle. Set this option to specify the sysfs
    path of the dongle, from which the X driver will infer the usbfs path.

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionUSBPath" "/sys/bus/usb/devices/1-1"
    
    
Option "3DVisionProConfigFile" "string"

    NVIDIA 3D VisionPro provides various configuration options and pairs
    various glasses to sync to the hub. It is convenient to store this
    configuration information to re-use when X restarts. Filename provided in
    this option is used by NVIDIA X driver to store this information. Ensure
    that X server has read and write access permissions to the filename
    provided. Default: No configuration is stored.

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionProConfigFile" "/etc/nvidia_3d_vision_pro_config_filename"
    
    
Option "3DVisionDisplayType" "integer"

    When NVIDIA 3D Vision is enabled with a non 3D Vision ready display, use
    this option to specify the display type.
    
        Value             Behavior
        --------------    ---------------------------------------------------
        1                 Assume it is a CRT.
        2                 Assume it is a DLP.
        3                 Assume it is a DLP TV and enable the checkerboard
                          output.
    
    
    Default: 1

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionDisplayType" "1"
    
    
Option "3DVisionProHwButtonPairing" "boolean"

    When NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro is enabled, use this option to disable hardware
    button based pairing. Single click button on the hub to enter into pairing
    mode which pairs single pair of glasses at a time. Double click button on
    the hub to enter into a pairing mode which pairs multiple pairs of glasses
    at a time.

    Default: True

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionProHwButtonPairing" "False"
    
    
Option "3DVisionProHwSinglePairingTimeout" "integer"

    When NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro and hardware button based pairing are enabled,
    use this option to set timeout in seconds for pairing single pair of
    glasses.

    Default: 6

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionProHwSinglePairingTimeout" "10"
    
    
Option "3DVisionProHwMultiPairingTimeout" "integer"

    When NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro and hardware button based pairing is enabled,
    use this option to set timeout in seconds for pairing multiple pairs of
    glasses.

    Default: 10

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionProHwMultiPairingTimeout" "10"
    
    
Option "3DVisionProHwDoubleClickThreshold" "integer"

    When NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro and hardware button based pairing is enabled,
    use this option to set the threshold for detecting double click event of
    the button. Threshold is time in ms. within which user has to click the
    button twice to generate double click event.

    Default: 1000 ms

    Example:
    
    Option "3DVisionProHwDoubleClickThreshold" "1500"
    
    
Option "DisableBuiltin3DVisionEmitter" "boolean"

    This option can be used to disable the NVIDIA 3D Vision infrared emitter
    that is built into some 3D Vision ready display panels. This can be useful
    when an external NVIDIA 3D Vision emitter needs to be used with such a
    panel.

    Default: False

    Example:
    
    Option "DisableBuiltin3DVisionEmitter" "True"
    
    

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix C. Display Device Names
______________________________________________________________________________

A "display device" refers to a hardware device capable of displaying an image.
Most NVIDIA GPUs can drive multiple display devices simultaneously.

Many X configuration options can be used to separately configure each display
device in use by the X screen. To address an individual display device, you
can use one of several names that are assigned to it.

For example, the "ModeValidation" X configuration option by default applies to
all display devices on the X screen. E.g.,

    Option "ModeValidation" "NoMaxPClkCheck"

You can use a display device name qualifier to configure each display device's
ModeValidation separately. E.g.,

    Option "ModeValidation" "DFP-0: NoMaxPClkCheck; CRT-1: NoVesaModes"


The description of each X configuration option in Appendix B provides more
detail on the available syntax for each option.

The available display device names vary by GPU. To find all available names
for your configuration, start the X server with verbose logging enabled (e.g.,
`startx -- -logverbose 5`, or enable the "ModeDebug" X configuration option
with `nvidia-xconfig --mode-debug` and restart the X server).

The X log (normally /var/log/Xorg.0.log) will contain a list of what display
devices are valid for the GPU. E.g.,

(--) NVIDIA(0): Valid display device(s) on Quadro 6000 at PCI:10:0:0
(--) NVIDIA(0):     CRT-0
(--) NVIDIA(0):     CRT-1
(--) NVIDIA(0):     DELL U2410 (DFP-0) (connected)
(--) NVIDIA(0):     NEC LCD1980SXi (DFP-1) (connected)



The X log will also contain a list of which display devices are assigned to
the X screen. E.g.,

(II) NVIDIA(0): Display device(s) assigned to X screen 0:
(II) NVIDIA(0):   CRT-0
(II) NVIDIA(0):   CRT-1
(II) NVIDIA(0):   DELL U2410 (DFP-0)
(II) NVIDIA(0):   NEC LCD1980SXi (DFP-1)


Note that when multiple X screens are configured on the same GPU, the NVIDIA X
driver assigns different display devices to each X screen. On X servers that
support RandR 1.2 or later, the NVIDIA X driver will create an RandR output
for each display device assigned to an X screen.

The X log will also report a list of "Name Aliases" for each display device.
E.g.,

(--) NVIDIA(0): Name Aliases for NEC LCD1980SXi (DFP-1):
(--) NVIDIA(0):   DFP
(--) NVIDIA(0):   DFP-1
(--) NVIDIA(0):   DPY-3
(--) NVIDIA(0):   DVI-I-3
(--) NVIDIA(0):   DPY-EDID-373091cb-5c07-6430-54d2-1112efd64b44


These aliases can be used interchangeably to refer to the same display device
in any X configuration option, or in NV-CONTROL protocol that uses similar
strings, such as NV_CTRL_STRING_CURRENT_METAMODE_VERSION_2 (available through
the nvidia-settings command line as `nvidia-settings --query
CurrentMetaMode`).

Each alias has different properties that may affect which alias is appropriate
to use. The possible alias names are:


   o A "type"-based name (e.g., "DFP-1"). This name is a unique index plus a
     display device type name, though in actuality the "type name" is selected
     based on the protocol through which the X driver communicates to the
     display device. If the X driver communicates using VGA, then the name is
     "CRT"; if the driver communicates using TMDS, LVDS, or DP, then the name
     is "DFP"; if the driver communicates using S-Video, composite video, or
     component video, then the name is "TV".

     This may cause confusion in some cases (e.g., a digital flat panel
     connected via VGA will have the name "CRT"), but this name alias is
     provided for backwards compatibility with earlier NVIDIA driver releases.

     Also for backwards compatibility, an alias is provided that uses the
     "type name" without an index. This name alias will match any display
     device of that type: it is not unique across the X screen.

     Note that the index in this type-based name is based on which physical
     connector is used. If you reconnect a display device to a different
     connector on the GPU, the type-based name will be different.

   o A connector-based name (e.g., "DVI-I-3"). This name is a unique index
     plus a name that is based on the physical connector through which the
     display device is connected to the GPU. E.g., "VGA-1", "DVI-I-0",
     "DVI-D-3", "LVDS-1", "DP-2", "HDMI-3", "eDP-6". On X servers that support
     RandR 1.2 or later, this name is also used as the RandR output name.

     Note that the index in this connector-based name is based on which
     physical connector is used. If you reconnect a display device to a
     different connector on the GPU, the connector-based name will be
     different.

     When Mosaic is enabled, this name is prefixed with a GPU identifier to
     make it unique. For example, a Mosaic configuration with two DisplayPort
     devices might have two different outputs with names "GPU-0.DP-0" and
     "GPU-1.DP-0", respectively.

   o An EDID-based name (e.g.,
     "DPY-EDID-373091cb-5c07-6430-54d2-1112efd64b44"). This name is a SHA-1
     hash, formatted in canonical UUID 8-4-4-4-12 format, of the display
     device's EDID. This name will be the same regardless of which physical
     connector on the GPU you use, but it will not be unique if you have
     multiple display devices with the same EDID.

   o An NV-CONTROL target ID-based name (e.g., "DPY-3"). The NVIDIA X driver
     will assign a unique ID to each display device on the entire X server.
     These IDs are not guaranteed to be persistent from one run of the X
     server to the next, so is likely not convenient for X configuration file
     use. It is more frequently used in communication with NV-CONTROL clients
     such as nvidia-settings.


When DisplayPort 1.2 branch devices are present, display devices will be
created with type- and connector-based names that are based on how they are
connected to the branch device tree. For example, if a connector named DP-2
has a branch device attached and a DisplayPort device is connected to the
branch device's first downstream port, a display device named "DP-2.1" might
be created. If another branch device is connected between the first branch
device and the display device, the name might be "DP-2.1.1".

Any display device name can have an optional GPU qualifier prefix. E.g.,
"GPU-0.DVI-I-3". This is useful in Mosaic configurations: type- and
connector-based display device names are only unique within a GPU, so the GPU
qualifier is used to distinguish between identically named display devices on
different GPUs. For example:

    Option "MetaModes"   "GPU-0.CRT-0: 1600x1200, GPU-1.CRT-0: 1024x768"

If no GPU is specified for a particular display device name, the setting will
apply to any devices with that name across all GPUs.

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix D. GLX Support
______________________________________________________________________________

This release supports GLX 1.4.

Additionally, the following GLX extensions are supported on appropriate GPUs:

   o GLX_EXT_visual_info

   o GLX_EXT_visual_rating

   o GLX_SGIX_fbconfig

   o GLX_SGIX_pbuffer

   o GLX_ARB_get_proc_address

   o GLX_SGI_video_sync

   o GLX_SGI_swap_control

   o GLX_ARB_multisample

   o GLX_NV_float_buffer

   o GLX_ARB_fbconfig_float

   o GLX_NV_swap_group

   o GLX_NV_video_out

   o GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap

   o GLX_NV_copy_image

   o GLX_ARB_create_context

   o GLX_EXT_import_context

   o GLX_EXT_fbconfig_packed_float

   o GLX_EXT_framebuffer_sRGB

   o GLX_NV_present_video

   o GLX_NV_multisample_coverage

   o GLX_EXT_swap_control

   o GLX_NV_video_capture

   o GLX_ARB_create_context_profile

For a description of these extensions, see the OpenGL extension registry at
http://www.opengl.org/registry/

Some of the above extensions exist as part of core GLX 1.4 functionality,
however, they are also exported as extensions for backwards compatibility.

Unofficial GLX protocol support exists in NVIDIA's GLX client and GLX server
implementations for the following OpenGL extensions:

   o GL_ARB_geometry_shader4

   o GL_ARB_shader_objects

   o GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object

   o GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object

   o GL_ARB_vertex_shader

   o GL_EXT_bindable_uniform

   o GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array

   o GL_EXT_geometry_shader4

   o GL_EXT_gpu_shader4

   o GL_EXT_texture_buffer_object

   o GL_NV_geometry_program4

   o GL_NV_vertex_program

   o GL_NV_parameter_buffer_object

   o GL_NV_vertex_program4

Until the GLX protocol for these OpenGL extensions is finalized, using these
extensions through GLX indirect rendering will require the
AllowUnofficialGLXProtocol X configuration option, and the
__GL_ALLOW_UNOFFICIAL_PROTOCOL environment variable in the environment of the
client application. Unofficial protocol requires the use of NVIDIA GLX
libraries on both the client and the server. Note: GLX protocol is used when
an OpenGL application indirect renders (i.e., runs on one computer, but
submits protocol requests such that the rendering is performed on another
computer). The above OpenGL extensions are fully supported when doing direct
rendering.

GLX visuals and FBConfigs are only available for X screens with depths 16, 24,
or 30.

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix E. Dots Per Inch
______________________________________________________________________________

DPI (Dots Per Inch), also known as PPI (Pixels Per Inch), is a property of an
X screen that describes the physical size of pixels. Some X applications, such
as xterm, can use the DPI of an X screen to determine how large (in pixels) to
draw an object in order for that object to be displayed at the desired
physical size on the display device.

The DPI of an X screen is computed by dividing the size of the X screen in
pixels by the size of the X screen in inches:

    DPI = SizeInPixels / SizeInInches

Since the X screen stores its physical size in millimeters rather than inches
(1 inch = 25.4 millimeters):

    DPI = (SizeInPixels * 25.4) / SizeInMillimeters

The NVIDIA X driver reports the size of the X screen in pixels and in
millimeters. On X.Org 6.9 or newer, when the XRandR extension resizes the X
screen in pixels, the NVIDIA X driver computes a new size in millimeters for
the X screen, to maintain a constant DPI (see the "Physical Size" column of
the `xrandr -q` output as an example). This is done because a changing DPI can
cause interaction problems for some applications. To disable this behavior,
and instead keep the same millimeter size for the X screen (and therefore have
a changing DPI), set the ConstantDPI option to FALSE (see Appendix B for
details).

You can query the DPI of your X screen by running:


    % xdpyinfo | grep -B1 dot


which should generate output like this:


    dimensions:    1280x1024 pixels (382x302 millimeters)
    resolution:    85x86 dots per inch



The NVIDIA X driver performs several steps during X screen initialization to
determine the DPI of each X screen:


   o If the display device provides an EDID, and the EDID contains information
     about the physical size of the display device, that is used to compute
     the DPI, along with the size in pixels of the first mode to be used on
     the display device.

     Note that in some cases, the physical size information stored in a
     display device's EDID may be unreliable. This could result in a display
     device's DPI being computed incorrectly, potentially leading to undesired
     consequences such as fonts that are scaled larger or smaller than
     expected. These issues can be worked around by manually setting a DPI
     using the "DPI" X configuration option, or by disabling the use of the
     EDID's physical size information for computing DPI by setting the
     "UseEdidDpi" X configuration option to "FALSE"'. See Appendix B for
     details.

     If multiple display devices are used by this X screen, then the NVIDIA X
     screen will choose which display device to use. You can override this
     with the "UseEdidDpi" X configuration option: you can specify a
     particular display device to use; e.g.:
     
         Option "UseEdidDpi" "DFP-1"
     
     or disable EDID-computed DPI by setting this option to false:
     
         Option "UseEdidDpi" "FALSE"
     
     EDID-based DPI computation is enabled by default when an EDID is
     available.

   o If the "-dpi" commandline option to the X server is specified, that is
     used to set the DPI (see `X -h` for details). This will override the
     "UseEdidDpi" option.

   o If the "DPI" X configuration option is specified (see Appendix B for
     details), that will be used to set the DPI. This will override the
     "UseEdidDpi" option.

   o If none of the above are available, then the "DisplaySize" X config file
     Monitor section information will be used to determine the DPI, if
     provided; see the xorg.conf or XF86Config man pages for details.

   o If none of the above are available, the DPI defaults to 75x75.


You can find how the NVIDIA X driver determined the DPI by looking in your X
log file. There will be a line that looks something like the following:

    (--) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (101, 101); computed from "UseEdidDpi" X config
option


Note that the physical size of the X screen, as reported through `xdpyinfo` is
computed based on the DPI and the size of the X screen in pixels.

The DPI of an X screen can be poorly defined when multiple display devices are
enabled on the X screen: those display devices might have different actual
DPIs, yet DPI is advertised from the X server to the X application with X
screen granularity. Solutions for this include:


   o Use separate X screens, with one display device on each X screen; see
     Chapter 15 for details.

   o The RandR X extension version 1.2 and later reports the physical size of
     each RandR Output, so applications could possibly choose to render
     content at different sizes, depending on which portion of the X screen is
     displayed on which display devices. Client applications can also
     configure the reported per-RandR Output physical size. See, e.g., the
     xrandr(1) '--fbmm' command line option.

   o Experiment with different DPI settings to find a DPI that is suitable for
     all display devices on the X screen.


______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix F. i2c Bus Support
______________________________________________________________________________

The NVIDIA Linux kernel module now includes i2c (also called I-squared-c,
Inter-IC Communications, or IIC) functionality that allows the NVIDIA Linux
kernel module to export i2c ports found on board NVIDIA cards to the Linux
kernel. This allows i2c devices on-board the NVIDIA graphics card, as well as
devices connected to the VGA and/or DVI ports, to be accessed from kernel
modules or userspace programs in a manner consistent with other i2c ports
exported by the Linux kernel through the i2c framework.

You must have i2c support compiled into the kernel, or as a module, and X must
be running. The i2c framework is made available by Linux 2.4, Linux 2.6 and
newer Linux kernels. Linux kernel documentation covers the kernel and
userspace /dev APIs, which you must use to access NVIDIA i2c ports.

NVIDIA has noted that in some distibutions, i2c support is enabled. However,
the Linux kernel module i2c-core.o (Linux 2.4) or i2c-core.ko (Linux 2.6 or
newer), which provides the export infrastructure, was not shipped. In this
case, you will need to build the i2c support module. For directions on how to
build and install your kernel's i2c support, please refer to your
distribution's documentation for configuring, building, and installing the
kernel and associated modules.

For further information regarding the Linux kernel i2c framework, refer to the
documentation for your kernel, located at .../Documentation/i2c/ within the
kernel source tree.

The following functionality is currently supported:


  I2C_FUNC_I2C
  I2C_FUNC_SMBUS_QUICK
  I2C_FUNC_SMBUS_BYTE
  I2C_FUNC_SMBUS_BYTE_DATA
  I2C_FUNC_SMBUS_WORD_DATA



______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix G. XvMC Support
______________________________________________________________________________

This release includes support for the XVideo Motion Compensation (XvMC)
version 1.0 API on GeForce 6 series and GeForce 7 series add-in cards, as well
as motherboard chipsets with integrated graphics that have PureVideo support
based on these GPUs. There is a static library, "libXvMCNVIDIA.a", and a
dynamic one, "libXvMCNVIDIA_dynamic.so", which is suitable for dlopening.
XvMC's "IDCT" and "motion-compensation" levels of acceleration, AI44 and IA44
subpictures, and 4:2:0 Surfaces up to 2032x2032 are supported.

libXvMCNVIDIA observes the XVMC_DEBUG environment variable and will provide
some debug output to stderr when set to an appropriate integer value. '0'
disables debug output. '1' enables debug output for failure conditions. '2' or
higher enables output of warning messages.

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix H. VDPAU Support
______________________________________________________________________________

This release includes support for the Video Decode and Presentation API for
Unix-like systems (VDPAU) on most GeForce 8 series and newer add-in cards, as
well as motherboard chipsets with integrated graphics that have PureVideo
support based on these GPUs.

VDPAU is only available for X screens with depths 16, 24, or 30.

VDPAU supports Xinerama. The following restrictions apply:

   o Physical X screen 0 must be driven by the NVIDIA driver.

   o VDPAU will only display on physical X screens driven by the NVIDIA
     driver, and which are driven by a GPU both compatible with VDPAU, and
     compatible with the GPU driving physical X screen 0.


Under Xinerama, VDPAU performs all operations other than display on a single
GPU. By default, the GPU associated with physical X screen 0 is used. The
environment variable VDPAU_NVIDIA_XINERAMA_PHYSICAL_SCREEN may be used to
specify a physical screen number, and then VDPAU will operate on the GPU
associated with that physical screen. This variable should be set to the
integer screen number as configured in the X configuration file. The selected
physical X screen must be driven by the NVIDIA driver.


H1. IMPLEMENTATION LIMITS

VDPAU is specified as a generic API - the choice of which features to support,
and performance levels of those features, is left up to individual
implementations. The details of NVIDIA's implementation are provided below.


VDPVIDEOSURFACE

The maximum supported resolution is 4096x4096.

The following surface formats and get-/put-bits combinations are supported:

   o VDP_CHROMA_TYPE_420 (Supported get-/put-bits formats are
     VDP_YCBCR_FORMAT_NV12, VDP_YCBCR_FORMAT_YV12)

   o VDP_CHROMA_TYPE_422 (Supported get-/put-bits formats are
     VDP_YCBCR_FORMAT_UYVY, VDP_YCBCR_FORMAT_YUYV)



VDPBITMAPSURFACE

The maximum supported resolution is 16384x16384 pixels for the GeForce GTX 400
series and newer GPUs, and 8192x8192 pixels for older GPUs.

The following surface formats are supported:

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_B8G8R8A8

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_R8G8B8A8

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_B10G10R10A2

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_R10G10B10A2

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_A8


Note that VdpBitmapSurfaceCreate's frequently_accessed parameter directly
controls whether the bitmap data will be placed into video RAM (VDP_TRUE) or
system memory (VDP_FALSE). Note that if the bitmap data cannot be placed into
video RAM when requested due to resource constraints, the implementation will
automatically fall back to placing the data into system RAM.


VDPOUTPUTSURFACE

The maximum supported resolution is 16384x16384 pixels for the GeForce GTX 400
series and newer GPUs, and 8192x8192 pixels for older GPUs.

The following surface formats are supported:

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_B8G8R8A8

   o VDP_RGBA_FORMAT_R10G10B10A2


For all surface formats, the following get-/put-bits indexed formats are
supported:

   o VDP_INDEXED_FORMAT_A4I4

   o VDP_INDEXED_FORMAT_I4A4

   o VDP_INDEXED_FORMAT_A8I8

   o VDP_INDEXED_FORMAT_I8A8


For all surface formats, the following get-/put-bits YCbCr formats are
supported:

   o VDP_YCBCR_FORMAT_Y8U8V8A8

   o VDP_YCBCR_FORMAT_V8U8Y8A8



VDPDECODER

In all cases, VdpDecoder objects solely support 8-bit 4:2:0 streams, and only
support writing to VDP_CHROMA_TYPE_420 surfaces.

The exact set of supported VdpDecoderProfile values depends on the GPU in use.
Appendix A lists which GPUs support which video feature set. An explanation of
each video feature set may be found below. When reading these lists, please
note that VC1_SIMPLE and VC1_MAIN may be referred to as WMV, WMV3, or WMV9 in
other contexts. Partial acceleration means that VLD (bitstream) decoding is
performed on the CPU, with the GPU performing IDCT and motion compensation.
Complete acceleration means that the GPU performs all of VLD, IDCT, and motion
compensation.


VDPAU FEATURE SET A

GPUs with VDPAU feature set A support at least the following VdpDecoderProfile
values, and associated limits:

   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG1, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG2_SIMPLE,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG2_MAIN:
     
        o Partial acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8192
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_H264_MAIN, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_H264_HIGH:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8192
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_SIMPLE, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_MAIN,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_ADVANCED:
     
        o Partial acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8190
     
     


VDPAU FEATURE SET B

GPUs with VDPAU feature set B support at least the following VdpDecoderProfile
values, and associated limits:

   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG1, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG2_SIMPLE,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG2_MAIN:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8192
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_H264_MAIN, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_H264_HIGH:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width: 127 macroblocks (2032 pixels).
     
        o Maximum height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8190
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_SIMPLE, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_MAIN,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_ADVANCED:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8190
     
     


VDPAU FEATURE SETS C AND D

GPUs with VDPAU feature set C or D support at least the following
VdpDecoderProfile values, and associated limits:

   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG1, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG2_SIMPLE,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG2_MAIN:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8192
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_H264_MAIN, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_H264_HIGH:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8192
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_SIMPLE, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_MAIN,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_VC1_ADVANCED:
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8190
     
     
   o VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG4_PART2_SP, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_MPEG4_PART2_ASP,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX4_QMOBILE, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX4_MOBILE,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX4_HOME_THEATER,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX4_HD_1080P, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX5_QMOBILE,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX5_MOBILE, VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX5_HOME_THEATER,
     VDP_DECODER_PROFILE_DIVX5_HD_1080P
     
        o Complete acceleration.
     
        o Minimum width or height: 3 macroblocks (48 pixels).
     
        o Maximum width or height: 128 macroblocks (2048 pixels).
     
        o Maximum macroblocks: 8192
     
     The following features are currently not supported:
     
        o GMC (Global Motion Compensation)
     
        o Data partitioning
     
        o reversible VLC
     
     

These GPUs also support VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_HIGH_QUALITY_SCALING_L1.


VDPAU FEATURES NOTE 1

GPUs with this note may not support H.264 streams with the following widths:
49, 54, 59, 64, 113, 118, 123, 128 macroblocks (769-784, 849-864, 929-944,
1009-1024, 1793-1808, 1873-1888, 1953-1968, 2033-2048 pixels).


VDPVIDEOMIXER

The maximum supported resolution is 4096x4096.

The video mixer supports all video and output surface resolutions and formats
that the implementation supports.

The video mixer supports at most 4 auxiliary layers.

The following features are supported:

   o VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL

   o VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL_SPATIAL

   o VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_INVERSE_TELECINE

   o VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_NOISE_REDUCTION

   o VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_SHARPNESS

   o VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_LUMA_KEY


In order for either VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL or
VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL_SPATIAL to operate correctly, the
application must supply at least 2 past and 1 future fields to each
VdpMixerRender call. If those fields are not provided, the VdpMixer will fall
back to bob de-interlacing.

Both regular de-interlacing and half-rate de-interlacing are supported. Both
have the same requirements in terms of the number of past/future fields
required. Both modes should produce equivalent results.

In order for VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_INVERSE_TELECINE to have any effect, one
of VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL or
VDP_VIDEO_MIXER_FEATURE_DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL_SPATIAL must be requested and
enabled. Inverse telecine has the same requirement on the minimum number of
past/future fields that must be provided. Inverse telecine will not operate
when "half-rate" de-interlacing is used.

While it is possible to apply de-interlacing algorithms to progressive streams
using the techniques outlined in the VDPAU documentation, NVIDIA does not
recommend doing so. One is likely to introduce more artifacts due to the
inverse telecine process than are removed by detection of bad edits etc.


VDPPRESENTATIONQUEUE

The resolution of VdpTime is approximately 10 nanoseconds. At some arbitrary
point during system startup, the initial value of this clock is synchronized
to the system's real-time clock, as represented by nanoseconds since since Jan
1, 1970. However, no attempt is made to keep the two time-bases synchronized
after this point. Divergence can and will occur.

NVIDIA's VdpPresentationQueue supports two methods for displaying surfaces;
overlay and blit. The overlay method will be used wherever possible, with the
blit method acting as a more general fallback.

Whenever a presentation queue is created, the driver determines whether the
overlay method may ever be used, based on system configuration, and whether
any other application already owns the overlay. If overlay usage is
potentially possible, the presentation queue is marked as owning the overlay.

Whenever a surface is displayed, the driver determines whether the overlay
method may be used for that frame, based on both whether the presentation
queue owns the overlay, and the set of overlay usage limitations below. In
other words, the driver may switch back and forth between overlay and blit
methods dynamically. The most likely cause for dynamic switching is when a
compositing manager is enabled or disabled, and the window becomes redirected
or unredirected.

The following conditions or system configurations will prevent usage of the
overlay path:

   o Overlay hardware already in use, e.g. by another VDPAU, GL, or X11
     application, or by SDI output.

   o Desktop rotation enabled on the given X screen.

   o The presentation target window is redirected, due to a compositing
     manager actively running.

   o The environment variable VDPAU_NVIDIA_NO_OVERLAY is set to a string
     representation of a non-zero integer.

   o The driver determines that the performance requirements of overlay usage
     cannot be met by the current hardware configuration.


Both the overlay and blit methods sync to VBLANK. The overlay path is
guaranteed never to tear, whereas the blit method is classed as "best effort".

When TwinView is enabled, the blit method can only sync to one of the display
devices; this may cause tearing corruption on the display device to which
VDPAU is not syncing. You can use the environment variable
VDPAU_NVIDIA_SYNC_DISPLAY_DEVICE to specify the display device to which VDPAU
should sync. You should set this environment variable to the name of a display
device, for example "CRT-1". Look for the line "Connected display device(s):"
in your X log file for a list of the display devices present and their names.
You may also find it useful to review Chapter 13 "Configuring Twinview" and
the section on Ensuring Identical Mode Timings in Chapter 20.

A VdpPresentationQueue allows a maximum of 8 surfaces to be QUEUED or VISIBLE
at any one time. This limit is per presentation queue. If this limit is
exceeded, VdpPresentationQueueDisplay blocks until an entry in the
presentation queue becomes free.


H2. PERFORMANCE LEVELS

This documentation describes the capabilities of the NVIDIA VDPAU
implementation. Hardware performance may vary significantly between cards. No
guarantees are made, nor implied, that any particular combination of system
configuration, GPU configuration, VDPAU feature set, VDPAU API usage,
application, video stream, etc., will be able to decode streams at any
particular frame rate.


H3. GETTING THE BEST PERFORMANCE FROM THE API

System performance (raw throughput, latency, and jitter tolerance) can be
affected by a variety of factors. One of these factors is how the client
application uses VDPAU; i.e. the number of surfaces allocated for buffering,
order of operations, etc.

NVIDIA GPUs typically contain a number of separate hardware modules that are
capable of performing different parts of the video decode, post-processing,
and display operations in parallel. To obtain the best performance, the client
application must attempt to keep all these modules busy with work at all
times.

Consider the decoding process. At a bare minimum, the application must
allocate one video surface for each reference frame that the stream can use (2
for MPEG or VC-1, a variable stream-dependent number for H.264) plus one
surface for the picture currently being decoded. However, if this minimum
number of surfaces is used, performance may be poor. This is because
back-to-back decodes of non-reference frames will need to be written into the
same video surface. This will require that decode of the second frame wait
until decode of the first has completed; a pipeline stall.

Further, if the video surfaces are being read by the video mixer for
post-processing, and eventual display, this will "lock" the surfaces for even
longer, since the video mixer needs to read the data from the surface, which
prevents any subsequent decode operations from writing to the surface. Recall
that when advanced de-interlacing techniques are used, a history of video
surfaces must be provided to the video mixer, thus necessitating that even
more video surfaces be allocated.

For this reason, NVIDIA recommends the following number of video surfaces be
allocated:

   o (num_ref + 3) for progressive content, and no de-interlacing.

   o (num_ref + 5) for interlaced content using advanced de-interlacing.


Next, consider the display path via the presentation queue. This portion of
the pipeline requires at least 2 output surfaces; one that is being actively
displayed by the presentation queue, and one being rendered to for subsequent
display. As before, using this minimum number of surfaces may not be optimal.
For some video streams, the hardware may only achieve real-time decoding on
average, not for each individual frame. Using compositing APIs to render
on-screen displays, graphical user interfaces, etc., may introduce extra
jitter and latency into the pipeline. Similarly, system level issues such as
scheduler algorithms and system load may prevent the CPU portion of the driver
from operating for short periods of time. All of these potential issues may be
solved by allocating more output surfaces, and queuing more than one
outstanding output surface into the presentation queue.

The reason for using more than the minimum number of video surfaces is to
ensure that the decoding and post-processing pipeline is not stalled, and
hence is kept busy for the maximum amount of time possible. In contrast, the
reason for using more than the minimum number of output surfaces is to hide
jitter and latency in various GPU and CPU operations.

The choice of exactly how many surfaces to allocate is a resource usage v.s.
performance trade-off; Allocating more than the minimum number of surfaces
will increase performance, but use proportionally more video RAM. This may
cause allocations to fail. This could be particularly problematic on systems
with a small amount of video RAM. A stellar application would automatically
adjust to this by initially allocating the bare minimum number of surfaces
(failures being fatal), then attempting to allocate more and more surfaces,
provided the allocations kept succeeding, up to the suggested limits above.

The video decoder's memory usage is also proportional to the maximum number of
reference frames specified at creation time. Requesting a larger number of
reference frames can significantly increase memory usage. Hence it is best for
applications that decode H.264 to request only the actual number of reference
frames specified in the stream, rather than e.g. hard-coding a limit of 16, or
even the maximum number of surfaces allowable by some specific H.264 level at
the stream's resolution.

Note that the NVIDIA implementation correctly implements all required
interlocks between the various pipelined hardware modules. Applications never
need worry about correctness (providing their API usage is legal and
sensible), but simply have to worry about performance.


H4. ADDITIONAL NOTES

Note that output and bitmap surfaces are not cleared to any specific value
upon allocation. It is the application's responsibility to initialize all
surfaces prior to using them as input to any function. Video surfaces are
cleared to black upon allocation.


H5. DEBUGGING AND TRACING

The VDPAU wrapper library supports tracing VDPAU function calls, and their
parameters. This tracing is controlled by the following environment variables:

VDPAU_TRACE

    Enables tracing. Set to 1 to trace function calls. Set to 2 to trace all
    arguments passed to the function.

VDPAU_TRACE_FILE

    Filename to write traces to. By default, traces are sent to stderr. This
    variable may either contain a plain filename, or a reference to an
    existing open file-descriptor in the format "&N" where N is the file
    descriptor number.


The VDPAU wrapper library is responsible for determining which vendor-specific
driver to load for a given X11 display/screen. At present, it hard-codes
"nvidia" as the driver. The environment variable VDPAU_DRIVER may be set to
override this default. The actual library loaded will be
libvdpau_${VDPAU_DRIVER}.so. Setting VDPAU_DRIVER to "trace" is not advised.

The NVIDIA VDPAU driver can emit some diagnostic information when an error
occurs. To enable this, set the environment variable VDPAU_NVIDIA_DEBUG. A
value of 1 will request a small diagnostic that will enable NVIDIA engineers
to locate the source of the problem. A value of 3 will request that a complete
stack backtrace be printed, which provide NVIDIA engineers with more detailed
information, which may be needed to diagnose some problems.


H6. MULTI-THREADING

VDPAU supports multiple threads actively executing within the driver, subject
to certain limitations.

If any object is being created or destroyed, the VDPAU driver will become
single-threaded. This includes object destruction during preemption cleanup.

Otherwise, up to one thread may actively execute VdpDecoderRender per
VdpDecoder object, and up to one thread may actively execute any other
rendering API per VdpDevice (or child) object. Note that the driver enforces
these restrictions internally; applications are not required to implement the
rules outlined above.

Finally, some of the "query" or "get" APIs may actively execute irrespective
of the number of rendering threads currently executing.

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix I. Audio Support
______________________________________________________________________________

Many NVIDIA GPUs support embedding an audio stream in HDMI and DisplayPort
signals. In most cases, the GPU contains a standard HD-Audio controller, for
which there is a standard ALSA driver. For more details on how to configure
and use the ALSA driver with NVIDIA hardware, please see
https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/gpu-hdmi-audio-document/.

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix J. Tips for New Linux Users
______________________________________________________________________________

This installation guide assumes that the user has at least a basic
understanding of Linux techniques and terminology. In this section we provide
tips that the new user may find helpful. While the these tips are meant to
clarify and assist users in installing and configuring the NVIDIA Linux
Driver, it is by no means a tutorial on the use or administration of the Linux
operating system. Unlike many desktop operating systems, it is relatively easy
to cause irreparable damage to your Linux system. If you are unfamiliar with
the use of Linux, we strongly recommend that you seek a tutorial through your
distributor before proceeding.


J1. THE COMMAND PROMPT

While newer releases of Linux bring new desktop interfaces to the user, much
of the work in Linux takes place at the command prompt. If you are familiar
with the Windows operating system, the Linux command prompt is analogous to
the Windows command prompt, although the syntax and use varies somewhat. All
of the commands in this section are performed at the command prompt. Some
systems are configured to boot into console mode, in which case the user is
presented with a prompt at login. Other systems are configured to start the X
window system, in which case the user must open a terminal or console window
in order to get a command prompt. This can usually be done by searching the
desktop menus for a terminal or console program. While it is customizable, the
basic prompt usually consists of a short string of information, one of the
characters '#', '$', or '%', and a cursor (possibly flashing) that indicates
where the user's input will be displayed.


J2. NAVIGATING THE DIRECTORY STRUCTURE

Linux has a hierarchical directory structure. From anywhere in the directory
structure, the 'ls' command will list the contents of that directory. The
'file' command will print the type of files in a directory. For example,

    % file filename

will print the type of the file 'filename'. Changing directories is done with
the 'cd' command.

    % cd dirname

will change the current directory to 'dirname'. From anywhere in the directory
structure, the command 'pwd' will print the name of the current directory.
There are two special directories, '.' and '..', which refer to the current
directory and the next directory up the hierarchy, respectively. For any
commands that require a file name or directory name as an argument, you may
specify the absolute or the relative paths to those elements. An absolute path
begins with the "/" character, referring to the top or root of the directory
structure. A relative path begins with a directory in the current working
directory. The relative path may begin with '.' or '..'. Elements of a path
are separated with the "/" character. As an example, if the current directory
is '/home/jesse' and the user wants to change to the '/usr/local' directory,
he can use either of the following commands to do so:

    % cd /usr/local

or

    % cd ../../usr/local



J3. FILE PERMISSIONS AND OWNERSHIP

All files and directories have permissions and ownership associated with them.
This is useful for preventing non-administrative users from accidentally (or
maliciously) corrupting the system. The permissions and ownership for a file
or directory can be determined by passing the -l option to the 'ls' command.
For example:

% ls -l
drwxr-xr-x     2    jesse    users    4096    Feb     8 09:32 bin
drwxrwxrwx    10    jesse    users    4096    Feb    10 12:04 pub
-rw-r--r--     1    jesse    users      45    Feb     4 03:55 testfile
-rwx------     1    jesse    users      93    Feb     5 06:20 myprogram
-rw-rw-rw-     1    jesse    users     112    Feb     5 06:20 README
% 

The first character column in the first output field states the file type,
where 'd' is a directory and '-' is a regular file. The next nine columns
specify the permissions (see paragraph below) of the element. The second field
indicates the number of files associated with the element, the third field
indicates the owner, the fourth field indicates the group that the file is
associated with, the fifth field indicates the size of the element in bytes,
the sixth, seventh and eighth fields indicate the time at which the file was
last modified and the ninth field is the name of the element.

As stated, the last nine columns in the first field indicate the permissions
of the element. These columns are grouped into threes, the first grouping
indicating the permissions for the owner of the element ('jesse' in this
case), the second grouping indicating the permissions for the group associated
with the element, and the third grouping indicating the permissions associated
with the rest of the world. The 'r', 'w', and 'x' indicate read, write and
execute permissions, respectively, for each of these associations. For
example, user 'jesse' has read and write permissions for 'testfile', users in
the group 'users' have read permission only, and the rest of the world also
has read permissions only. However, for the file 'myprogram', user 'jesse' has
read, write and execute permissions (suggesting that 'myprogram' is a program
that can be executed), while the group 'users' and the rest of the world have
no permissions (suggesting that the owner doesn't want anyone else to run his
program). The permissions, ownership and group associated with an element can
be changed with the commands 'chmod', 'chown' and 'chgrp', respectively. If a
user with the appropriate permissions wanted to change the user/group
ownership of 'README' from jesse/users to joe/admin, he would do the
following:

    # chown joe README
    # chgrp admin README

The syntax for chmod is slightly more complicated and has several variations.
The most concise way of setting the permissions for a single element uses a
triplet of numbers, one for each of user, group and world. The value for each
number in the triplet corresponds to a combination of read, write and execute
permissions. Execute only is represented as 1, write only is represented as 2,
and read only is represented as 4. Combinations of these permissions are
represented as sums of the individual permissions. Read and execute is
represented as 5, where as read, write and execute is represented as 7. No
permissions is represented as 0. Thus, to give the owner read, write and
execute permissions, the group read and execute permissions and the world no
permissions, a user would do as follows:

    % chmod 750 myprogram



J4. THE SHELL

The shell provides an interface between the user and the operating system. It
is the job of the shell to interpret the input that the user gives at the
command prompt and call upon the system to do something in response. There are
several different shells available, each with somewhat different syntax and
capabilities. The two most common flavors of shells used on Linux stem from
the Bourne shell ('sh') and the C-shell ('csh') Different users have
preferences and biases towards one shell or the other, and some certainly make
it easier (or at least more intuitive) to do some things than others. You can
determine your current shell by printing the value of the 'SHELL' environment
variable from the command prompt with

    % echo $SHELL

You can start a new shell simply by entering the name of the shell from the
command prompt:

    % csh

or

    % sh

and you can run a program from within a specific shell by preceding the name
of the executable with the name of the shell in which it will be run:

    % sh myprogram

The user's default shell at login is determined by whoever set up his account.
While there are many syntactic differences between shells, perhaps the one
that is encountered most frequently is the way in which environment variables
are set.


J5. SETTING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

Every session has associated with it environment variables, which consist of
name/value pairs and control the way in which the shell and programs run from
the shell behave. An example of an environment variable is the 'PATH'
variable, which tells the shell which directories to search when trying to
locate an executable file that the user has entered at the command line. If
you are certain that a command exists, but the shell complains that it cannot
be found when you try to execute it, there is likely a problem with the 'PATH'
variable. Environment variables are set differently depending on the shell
being used. For the Bourne shell ('sh'), it is done as:

    % export MYVARIABLE="avalue"

for the C-shell, it is done as:

    % setenv MYVARIABLE "avalue"

In both cases the quotation marks are only necessary if the value contains
spaces. The 'echo' command can be used to examine the value of an environment
variable:

    % echo $MYVARIABLE

Commands to set environment variables can also include references to other
environment variables (prepended with the "$" character), including
themselves. In order to add the path '/usr/local/bin' to the beginning of the
search path, and the current directory '.' to the end of the search path, a
user would enter

    % export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH:.

in the Bourne shell, and

    % setenv PATH /usr/local/bin:${PATH}:.

in C-shell. Note the curly braces are required to protect the variable name in
C-shell.


J6. EDITING TEXT FILES

There are several text editors available for the Linux operating system. Some
of these editors require the X window system, while others are designed to
operate in a console or terminal. It is generally a good thing to be competent
with a terminal-based text editor, as there are times when the files necessary
for X to run are the ones that must be edited. Three popular editors are 'vi',
'pico' and 'emacs', each of which can be started from the command line,
optionally supplying the name of a file to be edited. 'vi' is arguably the
most ubiquitous as well as the least intuitive of the three. 'pico' is
relatively straightforward for a new user, though not as often installed on
systems. If you don't have 'pico', you may have a similar editor called
'nano'. 'emacs' is highly extensible and fairly widely available, but can be
somewhat unwieldy in a non-X environment. The newer versions each come with
online help, and offline help can be found in the manual and info pages for
each (see the section on Linux Manual and Info pages). Many programs use the
'EDITOR' environment variable to determine which text editor to start when
editing is required.


J7. ROOT USER

Upon installation, almost all distributions set up the default administrative
user with the username 'root'. There are many things on the system that only
'root' (or a similarly privileged user) can do, one of which is installing the
NVIDIA Linux Driver. WE MUST EMPHASIZE THAT ASSUMING THE IDENTITY OF 'root' IS
INHERENTLY RISKY AND AS 'root' IT IS RELATIVELY EASY TO CORRUPT YOUR SYSTEM OR
OTHERWISE RENDER IT UNUSABLE. There are three ways to become 'root'. You may
log in as 'root' as you would any other user, you may use the switch user
command ('su') at the command prompt, or, on some systems, use the 'sudo'
utility, which allows users to run programs as 'root' while keeping a log of
their actions. This last method is useful in case a user inadvertently causes
damage to the system and cannot remember what he has done (or prefers not to
admit what he has done). It is generally a good practice to remain 'root' only
as long as is necessary to accomplish the task requiring 'root' privileges
(another useful feature of the 'sudo' utility).


J8. BOOTING TO A DIFFERENT RUNLEVEL

Runlevels in Linux dictate which services are started and stopped
automatically when the system boots or shuts down. The runlevels typically
range from 0 to 6, with runlevel 5 typically starting the X window system as
part of the services (runlevel 0 is actually a system halt, and 6 is a system
reboot). It is good practice to install the NVIDIA Linux Driver while X is not
running, and it is a good idea to prevent X from starting on reboot in case
there are problems with the installation (otherwise you may find yourself with
a broken system that automatically tries to start X, but then hangs during the
startup, preventing you from doing the repairs necessary to fix X). Depending
on your network setup, runlevels 1, 2 or 3 should be sufficient for installing
the Driver. Level 3 typically includes networking services, so if utilities
used by the system during installation depend on a remote filesystem, Levels 1
and 2 will be insufficient. If your system typically boots to a console with a
command prompt, you should not need to change anything. If your system
typically boots to the X window system with a graphical login and desktop, you
must both exit X and change your default runlevel.

On most distributions, the default runlevel is stored in the file
'/etc/inittab', although you may have to consult the guide for your own
distribution. The line that indicates the default runlevel appears as

    id:n:initdefault:

or similar, where "n" indicates the number of the runlevel. '/etc/inittab'
must be edited as root. Please read the sections on editing files and root
user if you are unfamiliar with this concept. Also, it is recommended that you
create a copy of the file prior to editing it, particularly if you are new to
Linux text editors, in case you accidentally corrupt the file:

    # cp /etc/inittab /etc/inittab.original

The line should be edited such that an appropriate runlevel is the default (1,
2, or 3 on most systems):

    id:3:initdefault:

After saving the changes, exit X. After the Driver installation is complete,
you may revert the default runlevel to its original state, either by editing
the '/etc/inittab' again or by moving your backup copy back to its original
name.

Different distributions provide different ways to exit X. On many systems, the
'init' utility will change the current runlevel. This can be used to change to
a runlevel in which X is not running.

    # init 3

There are other methods by which to exit X. Please consult your distribution.


J9. LINUX MANUAL AND INFO PAGES

System manual or info pages are usually installed during installation. These
pages are typically up-to-date and generally contain a comprehensive listing
of the use of programs and utilities on the system. Also, many programs
include the --help option, which usually prints a list of common options for
that program. To view the manual page for a command, enter

    % man commandname

at the command prompt, where commandname refers to the command in which you
are interested. Similarly, entering

    % info commandname

will bring up the info page for the command. Depending on the application, one
or the other may be more up-to-date. The interface for the info system is
interactive and navigable. If you are unable to locate the man page for the
command you are interested in, you may need to add additional elements to your
'MANPATH' environment variable. See the section on environment variables.

