This is what I wrote to ATI but didnt get any response:

"hi

I am having the problem that I have
RH9 with the kernel 2.4.20-8 above working on a dualheaded radeon9700pro. I use XFree 4.3 so I had to use the drivers of the Schneider homepage. But they dont support dualhead and xinerama. So I used to browse the XFree mailing lists and finally found a driver that supports dualhead with my radeon. My problem is now: this driver has no opengl accelation. So when has ATI a driver for XFree 4.3 ? And will this driver support dualhead and opengl? Or do you have any suggestion what I can do.

greetings from germany"

Does anyone know more about this problem. Its kinda cool to have dualhead working but hardware opengl should be supportet for games. Otherwise they arent playable. I am very frustrated with ATIs drivers and I even think about buying a NVIDIA product. If somebody wants to see my XFree Config file I will post it later.

Isnt there anyone who can give me hint or has nearly the similar problems. I dont want to sell the card caus it rox. And if I have to do so what card should I buy with good linux support and dual head and good 3d functions. Matrox Nvidia=? But perhaps we can solve my problems together. I would really appreciate a reply. Thank you.

up

pleaaaaaase reply xperts.
ati is not answering. and all the other drivers dont work. perhaps i have to swith to an fx 5800. has anyone experience with this card?

ATI just started the public beta test for Radeon 9x00/XFree 4.3.0 drivers, and these will hopefully (or else! ) include full functionality for the cards. I suggest you wait just a little bit more before you by an nvidia card (I will ). And ffs, forget about the FX5800...even nvidia admits it was a mistake. The FX5900 seems like a reasonable choice though...if you're gonna make the switch.

do you have a clue when they might be finished with the beta test an release their new drivers=?
tomorow i will sign on to the beta test. perhaps this will do the thing.
i have read that the 5800 is nearly as good as the radeon 9700 pro. why shouldnt i switch?

No idea of a release date, but most likely it's a couple of weeks ahead. I have a Radeon 9700 Pro myself, so I'm eager to get fresh drivers as well.

About the FX5800...well, when it came, people were disappointed with the performance - a Radeon 9700 killer was expected, not something that performed worse and cost more. What turned most people off about the FX5800, however, was the noise level (more like a vacuum cleaner than like a computer). Nvidia made a cooling "solution" that makes the card occupy two (2!) PCI slots. There were some versions of the FX5800 retailing with water cooling (!!). Now that tells me something about what people are willing to do to get rid of the boeing 747 in their box.

Read more reviews of the FX5800, and then read reviews of the FX5900. The FX5900 is a lot quiter, plus it's faster. There is no reason whatsoever to get the FX5800...well, unless you're a collector or something.

yeah. i read some reviews and it always says that the card is noisy but i didnt think that its so horrable. the only problem is the price. the fx 5900 costs way too much for my pocket. and what to say about the matrox card in comparision with ati and nvidia? i dont mean the old chips. I mean the phaelia (dunno if the spelling is correct). Perhaps thats a solution. And do you have a link to the beta test=? I want to join it NOW

Made a post about the beta testing a couple of days ago, but I guess it was drowned. Anyway, check out http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthre...eadid=33703960

Good luck.

i have signed on.
anyone has experience with this beta test?
got mail from ati for example?

double post. plz delete