I've had a bastard of a time with this card. Benefits immeasureably from a 4.3 version of XFree86 (as opposed to 4.2). With 4.2, if I changed anything (like upgrading to the next debian build) it would basically stop working. Worked like a charm in 4.3 but the modelines in your XF86Config have to be right to display 1280x1024. Is only capable of 60 Hz at this res, though so if you have a problem with that then you'll have to run at a lower res setting. 3D accel is crappy at best. Wont run neverwinter nights but will run Warcraft 3 in windows just fine. This makes me think that the linux drivers are inferior.

Framebuffer driver also exists for this device but currently conflicts with the XFree module so I don't recommend running it. There is a patch available for this not to happen but it's quite possibly more trouble than it's worth. Both the driver and patch are available here.

If you're using a 2.4 kernel then it's a good idea to get the intel driver from here (2.6 kernel not supported as of this time). With it you'll be able to run XFree 4.2 without too many problems. Without it on 4.2 you've got problems.

I have had no problems with this apart from when running XF86Config myself, where I can never seem to press the right keys to get it working, though this is likely to be because of my inexperience :D . It works like a charm in everything distro I have tried that will configure it for you.

The SUSE out-of-the-box driver works with this chipset, but be forewarned that you won't be able to run many X sessions at once, and graphics are jittery. No 3D at all. Fine for windowing in most things. Better than nothing--but just barely.

Notes. In Mozilla's "modern" theme, sometimes the video card has trouble refreshing the look of the browser and it takes a bit of playing around to get it to refresh correctly. Out of nine installs with three different GUI-based distro installers, this card couldn't display correctly once or twice.

As far as drivers go, it is compatible--no recompiling necessary unless you need more power than generic windowing applications. (Then again, go with another card if that's the case.)

Nice card. However, the display is all souped up after installing by default. Also, a grpahical install is almost impossible with this card. Blame it on the X.org drivers... You need to add option "noaccel" in /etc/xorg.conf after which it owrks fine. Intimidating for the newbie....

What would a working xorg.conf (mine is in /etc/X11/ for some reason) look like for my intel 85x i830 look like?

Here is what i have right now:

Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
Load "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a"
Load "dri" # direct rendering
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "no"
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Dell"
ModelName "Dell 1400x1050 Laptop Display Panel"
HorizSync 31.5-90.0
VertRefresh 59.0-75.0

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1280x800
ModeLine "1280x800" 147.89 1280 1376 1512 1744 800 801 804 848

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1680x1050
ModeLine "1680x1050" 214.51 1680 1800 1984 2288 1050 1051 1054 1103

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1920x1200
ModeLine "1920x1200" 230 1920 1936 2096 2528 1200 1201 1204 1250 +HSync +VSync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor2"

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1280x800
ModeLine "1280x800" 147.89 1280 1376 1512 1744 800 801 804 848

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1680x1050
ModeLine "1680x1050" 214.51 1680 1800 1984 2288 1050 1051 1054 1103

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1920x1200
ModeLine "1920x1200" 230 1920 1936 2096 2528 1200 1201 1204 1250 +HSync +VSync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "Intel Corp."
BoardName "Intel 85x"
Driver "i810"
Screen 0
BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device2"
VendorName "Intel Corp."
BoardName "Intel 85x"
Driver "i810"
Screen 0
BusID "PCI:0:2:1"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen2"
Device "device2"
Monitor "monitor2"
DefaultColorDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
Screen "screen2" RightOf "screen1"
#Option "Xinerama"
EndSection

=======================

it seems like there is a lot of duplicate info there. can i delete anything? is there anything i'm missing? right now here is what is working on my system: when i'm in console mode and have logged myself in i write "kde" and the screen flickers and a jumbled X comes up where i can't see everything on the screen and the splash logo is repeated several times across the screen from left to right (unusable). but when i press ctrl+alt+f1 and then ctrl+alt+f7 then X works just fine without any problems, but for some reason i need to go out of it (into another tty-console) and then back into it (without logging out). any suggestions as how to get it working right from when i type "kde" (or "startx")? where do i put that "noaccel" option? what exactly do i type?

Here's my new shrunken xorg.conf file. i have taken out all unnecessary code.

===========/etc/X11/xorg.conf===================
Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't
work
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "no"
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Dell"
ModelName "Dell 1400x1050 Laptop Display Panel"
HorizSync 31.5-90.0
VertRefresh 59.0-75.0

# Dell D800 and few Inspiron (16/10) 1280x800
ModeLine "1280x800" 147.89 1280 1376 1512 1744 800 801 804 848
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "Intel Corp."
BoardName "Intel 85x"
Driver "i810"
Screen 0
BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Virtual 1280 1024
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection

=====================================

but the question still remains: why the heck is the x window jumbled when i first start up "kde" but is then fine when i switch to another tty-console window and then back again?

another thing is that i noticed that the line "AllowMouseOpenFail" did not help when my mouse wasn't working. i still couldn't start X. why is that?