Matrox Web Page BIOS - Drivers - Which Windows 98 Driver ? - OpenGL - m3D - Mystique Patches - Links

BIOS for G200 to G550 series boards

File Date Description Info Size
setup257.exe 16.01.03 Matrox Setup and Utilities (Version 2.57.001). There are no release notes yet; when they're available, I'll post the individual BIOS versions. Matrox 1,869Kb
recover.zip 20.01.00 Utility to create a G-series card BIOS recovery disk (originally named 'resetbios.zip'). Be sure to read the English.txt file included before using it. Matrox 928Kb

BIOS for Mystiques, Millenniums and Productiva G100s

Matrox's Unified BIOS that includes utilities which back up your existing Matrox BIOS before updating it - UPDBIOS.EXE, which replaces updbios.bat - and MakeDisk.exe, which will create a backup of your Matrox BIOS at any time. Both of these utilities will create bootable floppies which can be used to recover from a corrupt BIOS upgrade.

Note that G200 users should use the BIOS 1.04 above, which contains later BIOS files than the Unified BIOS file.

File Date Description Info Size
setup351.zip 09.04.99 Complete BIOS and Setup package (Revision 3.51.000). Supports the Mystique (BIOS 1.8.37), Mystique 220 (BIOS 1.8.37), Millennium (BIOS 3.0.60), Millennium II (PCI BIOS 1.5.24, AGP BIOS 1.4.14), MGA G200 (PCI BIOS 2.3.08, AGP BIOS 2.3.11), Mystique G200 TVO AGP (BIOS 2.2.04), Marvel G200 TVO PCI (BIOS 2.2.04), MGA G100 (AGP BIOS 1.6.22, PCI BIOS 1.2.09) and MGA G100 TVO AGP (BIOS 1.5.01). Rainbow Runner is also supported (Millennium II PCI rev. 1.4.03, AGP rev. 1.3.03, Mystique rev. 1.8.14). The version numbers in bold are the changes between versions 3.49 and 3.51. Matrox 691Kb

Unified Windows 95/98 Drivers

With the launch of the Series 5 Powerdesk, Matrox are in the process of re-organising the way their Unified drivers are stored on the FTP site. The picture is actually getting clearer, but the easiest way for me to present the drivers is by keeping the Which Windows 98 Driver ? table below up to date. So ... check out the table and pick the type of driver you want to use for the Matrox card you've got.

In line with Microsoft guidelines, there isn't the usual Uninstall option with the Series 5 Powerdesk, so Matrox have released their own, which you can download below. A word of warning - it'll uninstall support for all Matrox products, so make sure you've got your m3D drivers handy if that's your bag (grab them from the PowerVR page).

File Date Description Info Size
pd_unin201.exe 16.05.01 Matrox uninstaller - uninstalls all Matrox software, including display drivers, Powerdesk software and video capture/editing software. Matrox 157Kb

Which Windows 98 Driver ?

The latest certified drivers differ according to the card you're running ... to try and help you work out what to download, I've put the information from Matrox's Drivers pages into a table with FTP links to their site for download. The four types of driver are described as follows:

Note that the downloads of more recent drivers (6.50 and later) posted below do not include the eDualHead software, and are English-language only. To get the drivers with eDualHead, go to the Latest Drivers page and pick the version you want.

Also note that the latest drivers for G200s - G450s do not support Windows 95. If you're using '95, you may want to revert to the Matrox site to find your drivers.

Matrox Card Unified Latest Certified Beta
Millennium G450 6.82.016 6.82.016 6.71.011 6.83.017
Millennium G400 6.82.016 6.82.016 6.22.010 6.83.017
Millennium G200 6.82.016 6.82.016 6.22.010 n/a
Mystique G200 6.82.016 6.82.016 4.33.045 n/a
MGA-G200 6.82.016 6.82.016 4.33.045 n/a
Productiva G100 4.11.011 5.52.015 4.33.045 n/a
Millennium II 4.11.011 4.33.045 4.33.045 n/a
Millennium 4.11.011 4.12.013 4.12.013 n/a
Mystique 220 4.11.011 4.12.013 4.12.013 n/a
Mystique 4.11.011 4.12.013 4.12.013 n/a

OpenGL Drivers for G200 and G400

It's generally agreed that the OpenGL offerings from Matrox have gone downhill since the release of the G-series cards, disappointing even the most stalwart Matrox fans. This may be due to the fact that Matrox have tried to supply a driver which supports the full feature-set of OpenGL - the Matrox ICD.

As promised, Matrox have released a mini-client OpenGL driver supporting popular games that generally perform better under OpenGL than DirectX (namely Quake 2, Quake 3, Half-Life and Unreal). This mini-client currently supports Celeron, Pentium II, Pentium III, AMD K6-II, K6-III and K7 processors running under Windows 98. Hopefully this last restriction will be removed soon for those of us who still run good ol' 95...

For those of us who can't use TurboGL, the performance of the ICD is improving ... Matrox have also made a couple of beta-release ICDs and a Direct3D wrapper (which converts OpenGL calls into Direct3D calls) available. With the G200 at least (I've yet to try the wrapper on the G400), the D3D wrapper is by far your best bet. With the G400, using the Half-Life blowup.dem demo at 800x600 as a benchmark, I get a 50% performance increase using the 5.13.021 beta ICD over the 5.30.006 ICD included in PowerDesk 5.30. What's more, the beta ICD is within a few frames-per-second of the benchmark results I get using Direct3D.

Note that all Series 5 PowerDesks include an OpenGL ICD, but the beta release below appears to be the latest available (check the DLL version numbers - they appear to be 5.powerdesk version.icd release).

File Date Description Info Size
turboglv1.exe 13.12.99 TurboGL 1.00.002. You'll need PowerDesk 5.30 or later to use this version. turboglv1_notes.txt 1,326Kb
g400icd.exe 15.09.99 Beta release 5.13.021 of the OpenGL ICD for G400s. After installing PowerDesk, unzip this into your \Windows\System directory. None 587Kb
icdbeta2.exe 16.03.99 The second beta release of the OpenGL ICD for G200s, which has some improvement over Beta 1, mostly in Quake II. You'll need the 4.51 drivers (or later) to support this, and make sure bus mastering is enabled. Take care to read the enclosed readme.txt file (or use the Info link) before installing. By the way, the Direct3D wrapper is still quicker ... 15% faster on my system. icd2readme.txt 1,058Kb
d3d_wrapper3.zip 23.09.98 The third Direct3D wrapper for G200s. Check the Info link for installation etc. d3dwrapper3.txt 144Kb

Drivers for m3D

If you're looking for the PowerVR OpenGL drivers for GLQuake, GLHexen II, Quake II or Half-Life, check out the PowerVR page.

The 'm3D Button' registry patch below is all you need to add to the NEC/Videologic generic 4.1.2 PowerVR drivers to get access to the Advanced... button on the PowerVR Display Properties. All the extra Registry settings (AppHints etc.) are built in to the generic drivers, you just need the Advanced... button to get to them. (Grab the generic drivers on the PowerVR page.)

File Date Description Info Size
m3d_butt.zip 03.10.98 Registry patch to enable the Advanced... button on the generic 4.1.2 PowerVR Display Properties. Download and merge into your Registry after installing the generic 4.1.2 drivers. None 1Kb
4.1.1.5.002.zip 18.02.98 Matrox's horribly outdated Windows95 Drivers for m3D (v4.1.1.5.002) Matrox 832Kb

Mystique Game Patches

This section covers games patched specifically for the Matrox Mystique. PowerVR patches are on the PowerVR page, since they're not Matrox-specific.

File Date Description Info Size
tomb_mys.zip 04.09.97 Patched retail version of Tomb Raider for the Mystique (1.03) Eidos Interactive 430Kb

A Few Useful Links

First and foremost, the Matrox User's Resource Centre (or MURC). An excellent site for anyone who owns a Matrox video adapter. This site should definitely be up there in your Favourites. Check it out !

GTech - Matrox Performance, hosted by MURC, has some very useful tips for screwing the best performance out of your G200.

MatroX Files, a useful site with technical info - check out the BIOS Recovery Page for some life-saving BIOS programming information. I'd advise you to head over to the BIOS page and save a copy so you can view it offline. You never know when this'll come in handy !