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2001-02-23
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[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installed, even for programs originally made for DirectX 1.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.