XF86Config - Part X

XF86Config - Part X

Today we’ve got the deci-installment of the XF86Config series. We’ll start a look at the Device section of the XF86Config file. It’s the section that defines your video card.

Identifier subsection:
The Identifier subsection of the Device section is similar in purpose and style to the Identifier subsection in the Monitor section. It defines a human-readable name for your video card, as well as providing a handle for the Screens section you build to pull all your display elements together. This section contains an identification string, a vendor name and a board name, in that order. The identification string is the element that will be referenced in the Screens section.

ChipSet subsection:
This is a necessary section only if your system doesn’t accurately probe the chipset on your video card. As it appears, it’s a string that identifies that critical video element.

Ramdac subsection:
Again, this subsection is an area that is most often auto-detected during your installation. If the Ramdac is not found during this probe, a string to identify it (often available in your video card documentation) will be required on this line.

Clocks subsection:
The Clocks subsection is safely left unconfigured. In the past, this settting has been something of a nightmare for Linux users, primarily because of the broad variance in monitor tolerances for the probing process. Modern Linux systems and monitors tend to do quite well without probing to set the Clock subsection.

We’ll move a bit deeper into the Devices section of XF86Config tomorrow. Given the size and importance of your video card configuration, we’ll actually spend the next two days on this subsection alone. After all, it’s all about keeping things in manageable chunks.