OpenGL 2.0 support on WinXP/Radeon9100SE

Hello. I’ve been working with DirectX for several years and I’d like to switch to OpenGL 2.0, since it’s looks like what I need.
I’m working on Radeon9100SE / WinXP SP2.
glGetString(GL_VERSION) tells me that OpenGL version is “1.3.1072 WinXP Release”, even with the latest drivers installed. (Catalyst 6.11)

I’d like to enable OpenGL 2.0 support, if possible. Looking at DirectX capabilities of my VideoCard, I suppose it could support OpenGL 2.0 with partial hardware acceleration. At least, it is possible to write compatibility layer, that enables OpenGL 2.0 support through DirectX. But it’s certainly too much work and a “wrong” way to do things…

I’ve been searching for information on this subject for some time and yet didn’t find anything useful. Many card manufacturers claims to have OpenGL 2.0 hardware support, but I’ve never seen something like a list of a platforms, drivers, and supported GL versions. It also looks like there is no subject-related information (maybe I’m wrong) on official ATI(r) site.

I’ve already read this thread: http://www.opengl.org/discussion_boards/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000748
Mesa is a possible solution, but I’d like to get as much hardware acceleration as possible. How can OpenGL 2.0 be “enabled” on WinXP / Radeon9100SE?

Have you read the FAQ and the wiki? (I did. Very good places to start.)

Originally posted by Leghorn:
Have you read the FAQ and the wiki? (I did. Very good places to start.)
I’ve checked them. Didn’t find something related to problem. By the way, ATI hardware specifics page (http://www.opengl.org/wiki/index.php?title=Hardware_specifics:_ATI) is empty in wiki (it tries to open in edit mode by default).

I’ve looked in “Windows Specific”, and “Technical FAQ”.
Already read/checked these pages:
http://www.opengl.org/resources/faq/technical/
http://www.opengl.org/resources/faq/technical/#indx0050

found broken link:
http://www.microsoft.com/HWDEV/devdes/openglalt.htm

I’ve already tried to find something in this site(www.opengl.org) via google using search string like:
“site:www.opengl.org “OpenGL 2.0” support on Windows”

I’ve got no result.

Maybe I’m doing something the wrong way? I can’t be first person asking this question, so there must be an answer somewhere…

Radeon9100SE is too old to support OpenGL 2.0.

I suppose it could support OpenGL 2.0 with partial hardware acceleration
Well, complain to ATI so that they update their drivers or buy a real GL 2 card.
“Enabling” accelerated GL is only done through video driver.
There is apparently no OpenGL Shading Language on 9100 !
http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/extsupport.php?extension=GL_ARB_shading_language_100

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:
[quote]I suppose it could support OpenGL 2.0 with partial hardware acceleration
Well, complain to ATI so that they update their drivers or buy a real GL 2 card.
“Enabling” accelerated GL is only done through video driver.
There is apparently no OpenGL Shading Language on 9100 !
http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/extsupport.php?extension=GL_ARB_shading_language_100 [/QUOTE]Well, as I know, GL usally emulates core features if they aren’t available in hardware and GLSL is a core feature of OpenGl 2.0. What about an “emulation” driver from ATI? The only mentioned driver is from NVidia, and Mesa3D doesn’t support OpenGL 2.0 right now (only 1.5).

Ask ATI then !
Problem is that software support of GLSL is very slow. No need to expose functionality if it is unusable.

And about mesa, they do have GLSL emulation according to this : http://www.clockworkcoders.com/oglsl/drivers.htm

You have to know that the low GL version is not a show stopper, because if the implementation support the right extensions it is ok.

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:
Ask ATI then !

I’ve already asked them. Didn’t get the answer yet. (only instructions for switching display resolutions ).

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:
And about mesa, they do have GLSL emulation according to this : http://www.clockworkcoders.com/oglsl/drivers.htm

Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:

You have to know that the low GL version is not a show stopper, because if the implementation support the right extensions it is ok.
NVIDIA video chips doesn’t support ATI extensions, does they? (I’m talking about cheaper chips, not the “super powerful” ones) The reason why I’m interested in OpenGL 2.0 is that it provides GLSL as a standart interface for all GPUs. I’ve got stuck with DirectX because of similar reasons. In DirectX 9 I need to write shader once, and It will run on both ATI and NVIDIA cards and I can test/debug/develop it on any card (RivaTNT included ) using Reference Device. GL didnt provide such functionality until recently.

Well, thanks for the answers . Guess I’ll have to work with Mesa3d.

For “the right extensions”, I really meant those you need, in this case GL_ARB_shading_language_100

For example, a geforce 5200 is cheap, is GL 1.5, and have GLSL support :
http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/viewreport.php?report=1070

“Submitted on 2004-06-15”
Recently means 2.5 years ?

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:
For “the right extensions”, I really meant those you need, in this case GL_ARB_shading_language_100

So it’s equivalent (or first version) of GLSL? thanks.

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:

For example, a geforce 5200 is cheap, is GL 1.5, and have GLSL support :
http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/viewreport.php?report=1070

I’ll keep it in mind, thanks for an advice.

Originally posted by ZbuffeR:

“Submitted on 2004-06-15”
Recently means 2.5 years ?
Well, a long time ago, when I started working with 3D (programming), I choose to learn DirectX (for some reasons). I’ve been working with it for some time (writing shaders, tests, etc…), but recently Microsoft started to change the API into something (IMHO) ugly. I’ve found that’s DirectX is quite clumsy when it comes to dynamically generated shapes, that change their geometry and topology almost every frame. (Rendering a BSP/Octree can be some of the examples). Finally, i’ve found myself writing something that looked exactly like OpenGL interface (a library/header for rendering dynamically calculated/generated geometry)… so I’ve decided to take a look at the recent specifications and found that GL 2.0 resembles some of DirectX capabilities, while having abilities, that are not available in DirectX. Also, it’s Cross-platform, etc…
I just haven’t been tracking changes and versions of OpenGL until recently. So consider it a misprint.

I don’t see why you wouldn’t use Mesa3D in this case. I guess it is 1.5 only because of some missing features.

Secondly, you need to check for GL_ARB_shading_language_100
GL_ARB_shader_objects
GL_ARB_vertex_shader
GL_ARB_fragment_shader

This is not the same as GL 2.0 GLSL but it comes close. The function names are different. Handles are uint instead of GLHandleptr(?). The shader code stays the same but you have more intrinsics.

I’ve just recieved response from ATI(r):

We have responded to your issue.
Solution:
OpenGL 2.0 is ONLY available for Radeon 9500 or higher cards (Radeon R300 series. The Radeon 9100 only supports openGL 1.4.
For more information on openGL cards, please have a look at the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_ATI_Graphics_Processing_Units

So, I’ve downloaded Mesa3D (nice library, looks like what I need).

Thanks for everyone for help.

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