3. Supported Architectures & Hardware

3.1. CPU Architectures

The architectures currently supported by the DRI have grown from the initial Intel i386 systems to now include the Alpha Processor and the Sun SPARC machines.

Intel's SSE (a.k.a. Katmai) instructions are used in optimized vertex transformation functions in Mesa-based drivers. This requires a recent Linux kernel both at compile and runtime. See the DRI Compile Guide for compile-time requirements. At runtime a check is made to determine if the CPU can execute SSE instructions. They're disabled otherwise.

AMD's 3DNow! instructions are also used in optimized vertex transformation functions in the Mesa-based DRI drivers. 3DNow! is supported in most versions of Linux. Like the SSE optimizations, a runtime check is made to determine if the CPU can execute 3DNow! instructions.

Alpha-based systems can use Compaq's optimized math library for improved 3D performance. See the DRI Compilation Guide for details.

3.2. Graphics Hardware

XFree86 4.2 (or later versions) includes 3D acceleration for the following graphics hardware:

• 3dfx, supported on Intel x86, AMD and Alpha:
  • Voodoo5 5500
  • Voodoo4 4500
  • Voodoo3 3500 TV
  • Voodoo3 3000 AGP
  • Voodoo3 3000 PCI
  • Voodoo3 2000 AGP
  • Voodoo3 2000 PCI
  • Voodoo Banshee
  • Velocity 100/200
  There are many configurations of 3dfx cards on the market. Not all have been tested.
• Matrox, supported on Intel x86 and AMD:
  • Matrox G200
  • Matrox G400
• Intel i810/i815/i830 (motherboard chipsets)
  • i810
  • i810-dc100
  • i810e
  • i815
  • i830
• ATI Rage 128, supported on Intel x86, AMD and Alpha:
  • Rage Fury
  • Rage Magnum
  • XPERT 2000
  • XPERT 128
  • XPERT 99
  • All-in-Wonder 128
  • Rage 128 PCI (Alpha-based systems)
  Note that both PCI and AGP versions of Rage 128 based cards are supported at this time.
• ATI Radeon, supported on Intel x86, AMD and Alpha:
  • Radeon SDR AGP
  • Radeon DDR AGP
  • Radeon 32MB SDR PCI (Alpha-based systems)
  • Radeon 7000, M6 (RV100)
  • Radeon 7200 (R100)
  • Radeon 7500, M7 (RV200)
  • Radeon 8500, 9100 (R200)
  • Radeon 9000, M9 (RV250)
• 3Dlabs, supported on Intel x86 and AMD:
  • Oxygen GMX 2000 (MX/Gamma based). Note: this driver is no longer being actively developed.

Support for other hardware is underway. Most of the DRI development work is funded by contracts with IHVs. These contracts often prevent us from announcing drivers before they're released. Queries about upcoming drivers may not be answerable.