MFGL V5200 + Win7 RC 32 + Single-link DVI + IBM T221

bhtooefr · Aug 24, 2009, 12:20 AM

I've got a ThinkPad T60p with the Advanced Mini Dock, which has a dual-link DVI port, although as I don't have the converter box, I can only use it in single-link mode.

I'm trying to get 3840x2400 @ 13 Hz (a fully supported mode on single-link DVI, it's in the EDID I'm using) running on this monitor on Windows 7 RC 32-bit. Unfortunately, the highest resolution it'll allow me to select, even with (ineffective) registry hacks, different driver versions, and (failed) PowerStrip custom resolutions, is 1920x2400 (@ 25 Hz.)

I know the M56GL can output that resolution, whenever it's in a VESA mode, the card is first scaling it to 3840x2400 @ 13 Hz before outputting it.

I've tried the following drivers:

8.383 Lenovo (latest official)
8.471 (ran MM on it to install, claimed specifically to support 3840x2400 @ 13 Hz on Vista, no change, it's what I'm currently running)
8.583 FirePro (refused to install even after running MM)
8.593 (ran MM on it to install, no change)
8.640 (ran MM on it to install, failed to work and Windows fell back to VgaSave)

Anything else I should try?

bhtooefr · Aug 28, 2009, 03:48 PM

Status update: Decided to try XP on a spare HDD, and found the following:

Driver and OS version really doesn't matter for this. Tried 8.533 for XP, same results.

So, I grabbed PowerStrip, and just started experimenting, because this XP install rebooted quickly.

3840x2400 was a no-go, of course.

So, I started playing with lower resolutions. I knew 2624x2400 worked, although I was using a dual-link mode on a single-link setup, so I tried a straight 2624x2400 mode. That worked perfectly.

Then, I tried for 4:3 - 3200x2400. No go.

So, I looked at the hex value, expecting something lying across some obvious boundary. 2624 = 0xA40, so I went for 0xB00, or 2816 - one over 0xAFF, if that was the problem. That worked, so I started experimenting.

I had previously read somewhere that Radeon X1xxx cards could only do 2900 horizontal pixels... well, my card is a Mobility FireGL V5200, aka the M56GL - basically an M56 (or Mobility Radeon X1600) with a different BIOS and different printing on the chip. So, I started playing.

I know ATI cards need their resolutions to be divisible by 8, so I went 2896, 2888, and then 2880.

2880x2400 is the maximum resolution that the chip can support, it seems. It can drive the monitor at 3840x2400, but only when scaling up from a VESA mode.

Interestingly, I see occasional artifacting at that resolution when there's video playing on the laptop's 2048x1536 panel... but on the laptop's panel, which hasn't been touched on timings or anything. My weakly educated guess is that there's some bus in the ATI chip that can only run so quickly, and when there's too much framebuffer data (like right now,) it gets overwhelmed. It's not timing issues with a TMDS transmitter - no artifacting on the external display, and the internal display is on LVDS anyway, not TMDS.

But, I've only got 960x2400 = 2.304 megapixels missing, out of 9.216 - one stripe of the striped mode that this monitor can run in, basically. That's not horrible. And, I've gotten 22 Hz out of the thing with tightened timings and running at 165 MHz DVI clock. Not bad at all.

Aug 24, 2009, 12:20 AM	#1
bhtooefr DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	MFGL V5200 + Win7 RC 32 + Single-link DVI + IBM T221 I've got a ThinkPad T60p with the Advanced Mini Dock, which has a dual-link DVI port, although as I don't have the converter box, I can only use it in single-link mode. I'm trying to get 3840x2400 @ 13 Hz (a fully supported mode on single-link DVI, it's in the EDID I'm using) running on this monitor on Windows 7 RC 32-bit. Unfortunately, the highest resolution it'll allow me to select, even with (ineffective) registry hacks, different driver versions, and (failed) PowerStrip custom resolutions, is 1920x2400 (@ 25 Hz.) I know the M56GL can output that resolution, whenever it's in a VESA mode, the card is first scaling it to 3840x2400 @ 13 Hz before outputting it. I've tried the following drivers: 8.383 Lenovo (latest official) 8.471 (ran MM on it to install, claimed specifically to support 3840x2400 @ 13 Hz on Vista, no change, it's what I'm currently running) 8.583 FirePro (refused to install even after running MM) 8.593 (ran MM on it to install, no change) 8.640 (ran MM on it to install, failed to work and Windows fell back to VgaSave) Anything else I should try?

Aug 28, 2009, 03:48 PM	Thread Starter #2
bhtooefr DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Re: MFGL V5200 + Win7 RC 32 + Single-link DVI + IBM T221 Status update: Decided to try XP on a spare HDD, and found the following: Driver and OS version really doesn't matter for this. Tried 8.533 for XP, same results. So, I grabbed PowerStrip, and just started experimenting, because this XP install rebooted quickly. 3840x2400 was a no-go, of course. So, I started playing with lower resolutions. I knew 2624x2400 worked, although I was using a dual-link mode on a single-link setup, so I tried a straight 2624x2400 mode. That worked perfectly. Then, I tried for 4:3 - 3200x2400. No go. So, I looked at the hex value, expecting something lying across some obvious boundary. 2624 = 0xA40, so I went for 0xB00, or 2816 - one over 0xAFF, if that was the problem. That worked, so I started experimenting. I had previously read somewhere that Radeon X1xxx cards could only do 2900 horizontal pixels... well, my card is a Mobility FireGL V5200, aka the M56GL - basically an M56 (or Mobility Radeon X1600) with a different BIOS and different printing on the chip. So, I started playing. I know ATI cards need their resolutions to be divisible by 8, so I went 2896, 2888, and then 2880. 2880x2400 is the maximum resolution that the chip can support, it seems. It can drive the monitor at 3840x2400, but only when scaling up from a VESA mode. Interestingly, I see occasional artifacting at that resolution when there's video playing on the laptop's 2048x1536 panel... but on the laptop's panel, which hasn't been touched on timings or anything. My weakly educated guess is that there's some bus in the ATI chip that can only run so quickly, and when there's too much framebuffer data (like right now,) it gets overwhelmed. It's not timing issues with a TMDS transmitter - no artifacting on the external display, and the internal display is on LVDS anyway, not TMDS. But, I've only got 960x2400 = 2.304 megapixels missing, out of 9.216 - one stripe of the striped mode that this monitor can run in, basically. That's not horrible. And, I've gotten 22 Hz out of the thing with tightened timings and running at 165 MHz DVI clock. Not bad at all.