[English]
PDREADME.TXT                MATROX GRAPHICS INC.              2001.02.23

                 Matrox PowerDesk for Windows 95/98/Me
                             Revision 6.50.008


Contents
========

- Description of this release
- Installation
- New features
- More information
- Notes, problems, and limitations


Description of this release
===========================

Matrox PowerDesk software includes a display driver and display 
utilities. With this software, you can take full advantage of your 
Matrox graphics hardware and you can access additional Matrox 
display-related features.


Installation
============

To install Matrox PowerDesk, start the "setup" program included 
with it, then follow the on-screen instructions.

The setup program will only install software if a Matrox graphics 
card model supported by the setup program is installed in your 
computer.


New features
============

This software includes new features, especially for Matrox 
hardware with DualHead support. These include:

- The use of different DualHead features (Multi-Display, DVDMax, 
  Zoom, and Clone) *without* restarting Windows

- Easier-to-use interface for DualHead controls

- Controls for dividing graphics resources (memory and bandwidth) 
  between your main and secondary displays

- More features accessible through user-defined hot keys 
  (keyboard shortcuts)


More information
================

For more information on Matrox PowerDesk, see the help file 
included with it. For information specific to your Matrox 
graphics card, see your Matrox or system manual.


Notes, problems, and limitations
================================

- DirectDraw, Direct3D and DirectVideo support

  The DirectDraw driver we provide is compatible with DirectX 2 
  (or later) and includes Direct3D support. For our 
  DirectDraw/Direct3D driver to be called, and benefit from 
  hardware acceleration, Microsoft DirectX 2 (or later) MUST be 
  installed, even for programs originally made for DirectX 1.

  Also, if a recent version of DirectX isn't installed, some Matrox 
  PowerDesk features may not be available.

  We provide DirectX on the Matrox CD-ROM. The latest DirectX is 
  available from the Microsoft Web site, and is included with many 
  DirectX programs.

  IMPORTANT: If the DirectX setup program prompts you to replace 
  the existing display drivers, click "No". Otherwise, the setup 
  program installs display drivers which are not as optimized as 
  the Matrox drivers and which do not support PowerDesk software.

  Note that depending on the origin of your Microsoft DirectX 
  software, it may not include DirectVideo support. For faster 
  playback of Indeo and Cinepak AVI files, you should install 
  Microsoft DirectVideo support.

- Matrox bus mastering

  This driver supports bus mastering. Bus mastering is a feature 
  that allows expansion cards to perform tasks at the same time as 
  your computer's CPU. If you have a fast Pentium computer (faster 
  than 166 MHz), the display performance of most programs is 
  improved when bus mastering is used.

  To use bus mastering with 3D (Direct3D/OpenGL) programs, your 
  graphics card needs an interrupt request (IRQ). Most computers 
  automatically assign an IRQ to graphics cards, but some do not. 
  If your graphics card hasn't been assigned an IRQ, programs that 
  use Matrox bus mastering may not work properly. For more 
  information, see your Matrox or system manual.

- DirectDraw and Automatic Power Management

  As stated in "Microsoft DirectX Release Notes", September 30, 
  1995, a DirectDraw game may be unable to restore properly if it 
  is suspended by Automatic Power Management utilities.

- Installation in different language versions of Windows

  If you install software in a language different from the language 
  of your operating system (for example, English software on a 
  Japanese system), you may have problems with text and dialog box 
  controls being cut off. This is because of differences in system 
  fonts.

- OpenGL support

  Note the following limitations related to the OpenGL driver 
  included with Matrox PowerDesk:

    - If you have a newer Matrox product or your Matrox software 
      was provided by the manufacturer of your computer, full 
      OpenGL support may be disabled with your Matrox display 
      driver. For a Matrox display driver with full OpenGL support 
      enabled, see the Matrox Web site (www.matrox.com/mga). (If 
      your Matrox product was provided by the manufacturer of your 
      computer, check the Web site of that manufacturer for a 
      display driver. A display driver provided by the manufacturer 
      of your computer is more likely to be tested with your 
      computer model.)

    - Using 3D Studio MAX 2.0, you may experience problems with the 
      viewports being improperly redrawn. If this happens, simply 
      click in a viewport to properly update their display. This 
      problem isn't present with version 2.5 (or later) of 3D 
      Studio MAX.

- DualHead DVDMax with a TV

  While viewing video with a TV using the "DualHead DVDMax" 
  feature, you may notice occasionnal jerky video playback (dropped 
  frames) after playing a video for a few minutes. If you view 
  video playback with your computer monitor, this problem shouldn't 
  occur.