Ball Dawg!

Back in December 2009 NVidia finally released a graphics driver for Linux that supported Stereo/3d graphics on a few LCD monitors. Since then we have purchased a few different brands of monitors but have decided to standardize on the NVidia supported Alienware AW2310. The Monitor appears very well built and has a fantastic image. When the driver was initially released there was some confusion on how to get the Stereo working on Linux under CentOS or RHEL 5. Since it’s quite simple, I thought I’d share our configuration.

First grab the newest driver from NVidia, and install in whichever kernel you intend to run on the workstation. Next modify your xorg.conf, adding:

Section "Extensions"
   Option         "Composite" "false"
EndSection

This section is required for running any Stereo, whether it be on a CRT or an LCD on RHEL 5. For the description of what it does, I’d suggesting heading over to Archlinux’s Wiki.

Next you’ll need to setup the Screen section to allow for Stereo (Mode of 10 with LCDs):

Section "Screen"
   Identifier     "Screen0"
   Device         "Videocard0"
   Monitor        "Monitor0"
   DefaultDepth    24
   Option         "metamodes" "DFP: 1920x1080_120 +0+0"
   Option         "Stereo" "10"
   SubSection     "Display"
      Depth       24
      Modes      "nvidia-auto-select"
   EndSubSection
EndSection

You’ll also need your monitor and video card setup correctly:

Section "Monitor"
   Identifier     "Monitor0"
   VendorName     "Alienware"
   ModelName      "AW2310"
   HorizSync       30.0 - 140.0
   VertRefresh     56.0 - 120.0
   Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
   Identifier     "Videocard0"
   Driver         "nvidia"
   VendorName     "Videocard vendor"
   BoardName      "NVIDIA Quadro FX (generic)"
EndSection

At this resolution there is not enough bandwidth in a single channel DVI cable to run Stereo, so you will need a dual channel cable. Take note that if you run the system through a KVM, it too will need to support dual channel. I have a single setup running the IOGear GCS1782 and it has functioned flawlessly so far.

For a list of supported hardware, hit up NVidia’s site. Don’t forget to order your 3D Vision Kit.