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Why not G400 Max Driver

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  • Why not G400 Max Driver

    I have a G400 Max Purchased from Matrox Direct. Matrox Display Properties Information reads as a G400 Max. The driver Properties in System Settings reads G400 DualHead English. Why does it not install as a Max. If you go to Settings/Control Panel/System and update display adapter driver - Do not let windows search for one - (choose driver from a specific location) under matrox is G400 DualHead Max

  • #2
    They are siamese twins
    "640K ought to be enough for anybody."
    [Bill Gates, 1981]

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    • #3
      Sean, so far as I've read (I've posted this same question twice now), no G400Max is detected during the driver install as a Max. It doesn't appear to have affected performance at all, and you can even force Win98 to let you specify the Max (Windows complains that the drivers weren't written for the card, no errors though).

      In the '.inf' file for the drivers, each type of card has a string that gets read from the BIOS (PCI ID?), which is used to identify the model. Either the string in all the drivers to date has been wrong, or all cards to date (Max and standard 32MB DH varieties) have had the same string in the BIOS (meaning the Max BIOS's are wrong).

      In any case, since all Max's use the same drivers (ref. bunnymud's Siamese Twins comment), the card works perfectly by just choosing 32MB DH from the list offered during driver installation. It appears as the Max under the information tab in the display properties.

      ------------------
      Ace
      "..so much for subtlety.."

      System specs:
      Gainward Ti4600
      AMD Athlon XP2100+ (o.c. to 1845MHz)

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      • #4
        Well i've purchased an Athlon 550 and a G400 Max yesterday...
        Today i've installed all the driver and, with a big surprise (i was ready to format and reinstall windows)...
        ALL WORKS PERFECTLY

        Also i've noted that the MAX is recognized from driver install as G400 DUAL HEAD but if i go to display i will see G400 MAX AGP as card type (first row on the Display Properties/Advanced/information)

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        • #5
          Well, some comments on Ace's reply. You are correct about .inf file. There are:

          Matrox Millennium G400 DualHead
          &
          Matrox Millennium G400 DualHead Max


          With the same PNP mfg id 102B (Matrox) but two different models: MAX is 217D and DH is 2159 or 2179 (probably 16M and 32M models).

          I am not sure these PNP data are in BIOS, as they are present in any PNP card.

          I think in the assembly line someone put the wrong chip or programming on MAX cards, so, for PNP routines, they are identical to DH cards.

          The only important thing is that cards are recognized as MAX by drivers.


          Bye,

          [This message has been edited by Brama (edited 15 October 1999).]

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          • #6
            Once again (this has got the be the 4th or 5th thread about this in the last 3 weeks)...

            The cards are the same.
            They use the same drivers.
            The only difference is the memory chips (5ns v 6ns), a fan, and the way it is clocked (which is no way, shape or form handled by the drivers).
            The cards use the same G400 chip.
            The cards use identical PCBs.
            The cards use the same drivers.
            IT DOES NOT MATTER IF IT DETECTED AS A MAX OR NOT.

            [This message has been edited by Kruzin (edited 15 October 1999).]
            Core2 Duo E7500 2.93, Asus P5Q Pro Turbo, 4gig 1066 DDR2, 1gig Asus ENGTS250, SB X-Fi Gamer ,WD Caviar Black 1tb, Plextor PX-880SA, Dual Samsung 2494s

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            • #7
              Kruzin:

              Why'd you edit the text of your reply? Perhaps you took out a few swear words?

              Bill
              People call me a computer god; I remind them that I am merely a minor deity...

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              • #8
                Thanks for replying Kruzin- don't forget the RAMDAC too. 360 Max vs. 300 non-Max. Also, theoretically (every other PNP card I have does this) the card actually returns an identifier of some sort to the system so that it can be properly identified.

                What you're saying isn't true- the cards are NOT identical. However, the drivers are, since the things that are different don't appear to affect/be affected by the drivers- ie.: the drivers don't control RAMDAC speeds, the fan's operation, or memory speed.

                So, even though the cards are different, drivers stay the same. The reason it bothered some of us (well, me, at least) that the card isn't identified properly during driver install is that it could have been due to BIOS problems on the card, and that would have been bad. Now that I think about it though, Brama had a good point, at least my V2 was this way- it was that there was a hardware resistor that determined the value returned to the PNP controller, not a BIOS value.

                Here's the thing- why bother differentiating in the installation .inf if the cards can't be told apart using the specified values anyway. Seems like a glitch somewhere, maybe a minor one, but still a glitch.

                Later, and please, don't have a stroke. If you don't like this topic, just don't post. There obviously are at least a few of us curious as to why this occurs, even if you're not, and even if it doesn't cause any problems with drivers.

                ------------------
                Ace


                [This message has been edited by Ace (edited 15 October 1999).]
                "..so much for subtlety.."

                System specs:
                Gainward Ti4600
                AMD Athlon XP2100+ (o.c. to 1845MHz)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Ace- the cards are the physicallty the same, except for what I stated (plus the ramdac clocking). Tell me what is different. I already know for a fact that they use the same PCB, chip, maven, etc. I'd be interested to hear just what you seem to think is different, aside from some clockings in the BIOS, the ram speed and the fan.

                  Billco- I like to correct typos if I catch them after my post.
                  Core2 Duo E7500 2.93, Asus P5Q Pro Turbo, 4gig 1066 DDR2, 1gig Asus ENGTS250, SB X-Fi Gamer ,WD Caviar Black 1tb, Plextor PX-880SA, Dual Samsung 2494s

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