[CentOS] Video Card [SOLVED]

Sun Nov 16 18:56:42 UTC 2008
Tom Browder <tom.browder at gmail.com>

A recap of the problems for my configuration: Centos 5.2, x86_64, PNY
9600 GT 512 Mb video, Rosewill R913J 19" LCD monitor, Gigabyte
GA-P35-DS3L mobo, Intel Core 2 Duo, 8 Gb RAM.

Using the latest Nvidia x86_64 driver package (177.82) I could not get
the 1280x1060 resolution (I could get nothing but 640x480).

Additionally, while attempting various fixes, the monitor base color
turned blue.

Cure:

0.  I set run level 3 in /etc/inittab and then executed 'telinit 3' to
work from a text display.

1.  I set the Rosewill in VGA (analog) mode--that is the only mode
that will work with the Nvidia driver (discovered by trial and error).

2.  I deleted the existing xorg.conf file (at /etc/X11).

3.  I used nvidia-xconfig to write a new xorg.conf file.

4.  I initially tested with startx, but that didn't work with my set
up.   I found that using "gdm" let me see a successful X server.

5.  After a successful X start at the desired resolution, I then set
run level 5 and executed 'telinit 5'.

Weird monitor base color:

6.  To reset the monitor base color back to normal I had to clear the
BIOS CMOS memory and reload the BIOS defaults.

Note that the Nvidia list of Linux-capable video cards at
<http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_18897.html> (thanks to John Stanley)
is the one to consult to ensure a card is usable under Linux.

I have found no card manufacturers with any significant degree of tech
support for Linux, so I cannot recommend one over the other (over the
years I have tried cards from MSI, XFX, EVGA, PNY, and others, but it
was always hit or miss--I usually looked at the READMEs with the
Nvidia driver packages but that has proved to be unreliable for
me--once more, thanks to John Stanley for pointing out the other list
that I have always overlooked).

I hope this helps others with weird video problems.

-Tom

Tom Browder
Niceville, Florida
USA