It doesn't really do much in the way of processing (https://www.siliconmotion.com/download/3PS/a/SM750_PB_EN_201...); it's pretty much just a dumb framebuffer. You can wire it up to output over an HDMI connector, but with the features it supports you're really just getting a single-link DVI signal.
It is just an old school 2D style card, with some (shape) primitives acceleration (unused), two logical controllers (no idea why), but has DMA (used) and a hardware cursor (also used). There's no onboard audio either.
It's pretty much a GPU for rack mount servers that require occasional log in.
It's exactly what I was looking for desktop work, it runs cinnamon fairly well, and won't clash with my Nvidia setup :)
I agree but these things are only about $25 USD.
Arguably an older Nvidia GPU is a better investment at this price if you just want basic desktop use. Unfortunately if I did that, the old Nvidia drivers wouldn't support my newer Nvidia Blackwell hardware.
16 * 1024 * 1024 / 1920 / 1080 = 8.0909, so you have enough VRAM for double-buffered 24-bit 1080p, with a bit to spare. For pure software rendering, that's good enough!
VGA displays are something of a dying breed, and HDMI is the single likeliest interface you might find on a random newish display, so there is a market for absolute cheapest, most basic HDMI output device you can make. If you're going to build that interface, 1080p is the resolution you need to target. My point was simply that 16MB is just barely enough to build that interface, and barely enough is still enough.
datacenter guys didn't like digitals. they embrace blurry SVGA pictures coming through excessively long cables and sometimes mechanical switches, and to them DVI/HDMI felt to be an all-or-nothing risk factor
It doesn't really do much in the way of processing (https://www.siliconmotion.com/download/3PS/a/SM750_PB_EN_201...); it's pretty much just a dumb framebuffer. You can wire it up to output over an HDMI connector, but with the features it supports you're really just getting a single-link DVI signal.
It is just an old school 2D style card, with some (shape) primitives acceleration (unused), two logical controllers (no idea why), but has DMA (used) and a hardware cursor (also used). There's no onboard audio either. It's pretty much a GPU for rack mount servers that require occasional log in. It's exactly what I was looking for desktop work, it runs cinnamon fairly well, and won't clash with my Nvidia setup :)
two logical controllers (no idea why)
For dual-monitor versions?
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I agree but these things are only about $25 USD. Arguably an older Nvidia GPU is a better investment at this price if you just want basic desktop use. Unfortunately if I did that, the old Nvidia drivers wouldn't support my newer Nvidia Blackwell hardware.
old nvidia cards are pretty terrible actually on linux due to the proprietary drivers not working on mainline kernel after ~6.6
Maybe an LLM can also assist with modifying the Nvidia driver appropriately.
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16 * 1024 * 1024 / 1920 / 1080 = 8.0909, so you have enough VRAM for double-buffered 24-bit 1080p, with a bit to spare. For pure software rendering, that's good enough!
It's the HDMI output that's the oddity; mid-90s cards with that much (little?) VRAM could already do 2048x1536x32, but usually had a VGA connector.
Yeah, I could've been clearer.
VGA displays are something of a dying breed, and HDMI is the single likeliest interface you might find on a random newish display, so there is a market for absolute cheapest, most basic HDMI output device you can make. If you're going to build that interface, 1080p is the resolution you need to target. My point was simply that 16MB is just barely enough to build that interface, and barely enough is still enough.
datacenter guys didn't like digitals. they embrace blurry SVGA pictures coming through excessively long cables and sometimes mechanical switches, and to them DVI/HDMI felt to be an all-or-nothing risk factor
3840 x 2160[px] x 24[bit/px] / 8[bit/byte] = 24883200[bytes]
^ / 1024^2[bytes/MB] = 23.73[MB]
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