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3 Interface Boards and Mass-Storage Drives
Matrox Millennium II Video Controller Board
Video Memory
The video memory (also known as window RAM, or WRAM) is a local block
of RAM for holding two major data structures: the double buffer (to hold one
frame steady on the screen whilst the next one is being processed), and the
Z-buffer (for storing depth information for each pixel). It is dual ported, so
that it can be inputting and outputting simultaneously. There is also
hardware support for Gouraud shading, Phong shading and texture
mapping.
The Matrox Millennium II AGP graphics controller board is supplied with
4 MB of video memory. This can be upgraded with an HP upgrade module.
Upgrading the memory to 8 MB (using the 4MB upgrade module D5486A),
gives access to higher refresh rates and video resolutions (as summarized on
the next page); upgrading the memory to 12 MB or 16 MB gives access to
greater acceleration on 3D operations.
The upgrade socket can alternatively be used for the installation of the
Matrox MGA Rainbow Runner upgrade module (also ordered from Matrox)
to support MPEG.
Available Video Resolutions
The number of colors supported is limited by the graphics device and the
video memory. The resolution/color/refresh-rate combination is limited by a
combination of the display driver, the graphics device, and the video
memory. If the resolution/refresh-rate combination is set higher than the
display can support, you risk damaging the display.
The tables below summarize the video resolutions which are supported.
2D Resolution and Pixel Depth
Resolution Bits/Pixel 4 MB Bits/Pixel 8, 12, 16 MB
640x480 8, 16, 24, 32 8, 16, 24, 32
800x600 8, 16, 24, 32 8, 16, 24, 32
1024x768 8, 16, 24, 32 8, 16, 24, 32
1152x864 8, 16, 24, 32 8, 16, 24, 32
1280x1024 8, 16, 24 8, 16, 24, 32
1600x1024 8, 16 8, 16, 24, 32
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