XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX''"> 5.9 3D Graphics Drivers
Patran automatically detects the presence of a hardware graphics device. If a supported hardware device is present, Patran hardware rendering can be enabled from an Patran session by selecting Graphics | Preference. The default can be changed using settings.pcl:
pref_env_set_string(“graphics_hardware”, “YES”)
“YES” indicates Hardware 3D mode and “NO” indicates Software 3D mode.
MSC.Software recommends that you run the 3D driver in Hardware 3D mode if the workstation has a supported graphics option.
Note that graphics acceleration is not applicable to remote displays except for homogenous OpenGL machines. Patran automatically switches to Software 3D mode if running from a remote Xserver that does not support OpenGL.
The Patran 3D driver requires that the DISPLAY environment variable be set to “<hostname>:0.0”, “:0.0”, “unix:0.0”, or “localhost:0.0”. Any other form uses the software 3D mode.
OpenGL Hardware Graphics
Patran supports the OpenGL graphics library. MSC recommends using the Patran OpenGL graphics driver for those hardware devices that support it. To engage the OpenGL drivers, set the following line in settings.pcl to “YES”:
pref_env_set_string( “graphics_hardware”, “YES”)
2D Graphics Accelerators
Some systems offer optional 2D graphics accelerators to improve X11 performance. Since Patran is a graphically intensive product, we recommend that you use a 3D graphics accelerator for optimum performance. Patran is only tested with the graphics boards shown in the system specific tables.
Potential Color Flashing Problem
If Patran is running with other X applications, the colors may flash if the mouse is moved outside of an Patran window.
Though harmless, the flashing occurs if Patran tries to allocate colors in the system’s default color map, when another X application has already allocated the color map. Patran instead creates its own custom color map.
As long as the mouse is in an Patran window, Patran uses a custom color map and the colors will
be correct.
On HP systems, the color flashing problem may also occur if you define the environment variable SB_X_SHARED_CMAP before you start the X Server. (Patran does not require this variable.)
Additionally, the following parameter in the settings.pcl file allows adjustment of the number of colors Patran tries to use. Lowering this value may also solve color flashing problems.
pref_env_set_integer( “graphics_colors”, 120 )
Do not lower the number of colors below 64.
Display Resolution
MSC recommends a minimum display resolution of 1280x1024.
Anti-aliasing on Nvidia Graphics Cards on Linux
Enabling anti-aliasing on certain Nvidia graphics cards can eliminate jagged lines in Patran. Below are the settings for enabling or disabling anti-aliasing on some Nvidia video cards.
For the GeForce, GeForce2, Quadro, and Quadro2 Pro.
__GL_FSAA_MODE | |
0 | FSAA disabled |
1 | FSAA disabled |
2 | FSAA disabled |
3 | 1.5 x 1.5 Supersampling |
4 | 2 x 2 Supersampling |
5 | FSAA disabled |
For the GeForce4 MX, GeForce4 4xx Go, Quadro4 380,550,580 XGL, and
Quadro4 NVS.
__GL_FSAA_MODE | |
0 | FSAA disabled |
1 | 2x Bilinear Multisampling |
2 | 2x Quincunx Multisampling |
3 | FSAA disabled |
4 | 2 x 2 Supersampling |
5 | FSAA disabled |
For the GeForce3, Quadro DCC, GeForce4 Ti, GeForce4 4200 Go, and Quadro4 700,750,780,900,980 XGL
__GL_FSAA_MODE | |
0 | FSAA disabled |
1 | 2x Bilinear Multisampling |
2 | 2x Quincunx Multisampling |
3 | FSAA disabled |
4 | 4x Bilinear Multisampling |
5 | 4x Gaussian Multisampling |
For the GeForce FX, Quadro FX
.
__GL_FSAA_MODE | |
0 | FSAA disabled |
1 | 2x Bilinear Multisampling |
2 | 2x Quincunx Multisampling |
3 | FSAA disabled |
4 | 4x Bilinear Multisampling |
5 | 4x Gaussian Multisampling |
Higher sampling rates will result in decreased graphics performance in Patran.