For now see VPro wiki topic.

IRIX support

Support for the V6 and V8 first appeared in IRIX 6.5.8.

V6/V8 Pixel Clock Issues

The first generation of VPro boards (V6 & V8) have a design flaw that prohibits graphics modes in much of what might otherwise be considered the normal range for SGI desktop systems:

  • Modes in the 109-193MHz range cannot be selected at all on V6/V8.
  • Modes that are close to the lower end of that range (like 1280x1024_59/60) are only allowed at 8 bytes/pixel framebuffer size and even at that setting some people reported display problems (noise, flickering).

This limits the ability of the V6 and V8 to use a number of common display resolutions, a situation that can be at least partially over come with the use of reduced blanking. As an example, a CVT-generated 1600x900@60Hz modeline without reduced blanking would have a Pixel Clock of 118.25MHz, which falls in the unusable 109-193MHz Pixel Clock range, while a modeline with reduced blanking would have a Pixel Clock of only 97.75MHz, which could be used by V6 or V8 graphics boards.

See Also

V6 vs MXE

V6 will only output 1280x1024 at 60 Hz. (common for 17" LCD flatpanels) at only 8 Bytes/pixel frame buffer depth.

MXE will output 1280x1024 at 60, 70, 72, 75, or 76 Hz. vertical, at 16 Bytes/pixel depth.

In my (perhaps not so humble) opinion, the MXE is still the better choice, unless you're doing something extremely critical that the VPro is better at. And if you're using a video option ( EVO or DVO), there is no choice, you must use MXE.

See Also