Subject: OpenGL on Linux and Insight/Sybyl - any experiences?

From: Malcolm Gillies <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 11:55:21 +0200

I'm interested in hearing about any experiences using Linux with an
X server supporting OpenGL/GLX as a remote display for modelling
programs such as MSI Insight or Tripos Sybyl.

In particular, I'd like to hear if the following kind of setup is
workable in practise:

* Insight running on SGI
* Linux 2.2.* kernel on x86
* Nvidia video card (GeForce 256/GeForce 2 GTS/Quadro)
* Nvidia OpenGL Linux reference drivers and Xfree86

But I'm also interested in information on other video cards, drivers,
or the new SGI Visual Workstations (VPro graphics) under Linux.

If this sort of configuration is practical, then it could be a cheap way
of expanding a modelling lab with extra workstations for light use by
students, etc.

cheers,

Malcolm
--
Malcolm Gillies <[email-masked]>
PhD student, computational medicinal chemistry
Dept Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy,
Utrecht University, The Netherlands

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From: Sigismondo Boschi <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 14:29:59 +0200

Dear Malcolm,

I have installed the glx module for the Matrox G400. It is a module in
development, for Xfree 3.x You can find it and information about it at
http://www.matroxusers.com/

It works quite fine interfacing MSI cerius2 (InsightII does not recognize it
giving the error "Couldn't get initial visual in app_init_display" indeed!
Xvision for windows does the same) running both on IBM rs6000 (SP) and
Origin2000. The main lack is the "depth cueing". For the rest it works fine,
very fast rendering atoms and isosurfaces, comparable with an SGI O2. The PC is
a PentiumIII 450MHz, Linux Redhat 6.1, XFree86 3.3.5, matrox G400 single-head
16MB.
Also other software runs fine: gaussview and gOpenMol for example.

Checking now the site "matroxusers" I have found they have included the DRI
driver (direct rendering interface) also for this board in the very new Xfree86
4.0.1. More information at http://www.xfree86.org and in particular
http://www.xfree86.org/4.0.1/RELNOTES.html

Actually I have not tried it: I have found it just now. I will let you know if
in the next days I will be able to try it.

Please, post the summary to CCL!
Thanks 

Kind regards

   Sigismondo

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