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Lesser known feature was that the Matrox MGA/G200 chips were capable of delivering "sync on green" via regular VGA cable. This was a specialized format were VSy

Lesser known feature was that the Matrox MGA/G200 chips were capable of delivering "sync on green" via regular VGA cable. This was a specialized format were VSync/HSync weren't transmitted over dedicated pins, but encoded into the green signal. This was required by some (then) older workstation monitors. In the early 2000s, I managed to get a 20" SGI workstation monitor for 20€ at ebay (at times where 20" monitors were above 1000€) - because no one could use them with regular PC hardware. Using a single "sync_on_green" flag in my XFree86.conf file, and it would work flawlessly on my linux box.

pjmlp 26d ago
PS2Linux required monitors able to do sync on green, which caught many that managed to get it, in for a surprise.
- wolrah 26d ago
  Same with the early Xbox VGA mods.
ErroneousBosh 26d ago
Back then some friends and I got hold of some lovely 20" Sun monitors that were sync-on-green only but none of our cards supported it. No matter! A transistor, a couple of diodes, and half a dozen or so resistors soldered into a DE15 plug shell made the "sync plunger" that cured all your woes. I probably still have a couple lying around. I could still just about draw the circuit from memory, not much good in these HDMI days.
- a96 24d ago
  My memory says Sun used composite sync in the 13W3. I do remember making some cable mods as well to use monitors across Sun, Sgi, and a few other machines. Some used H+V, some C, some SOG. Maybe thankfully I no longer remember which ones were which after all.
  - ErroneousBosh 23d ago
    It might have been SGI, instead of Sun. I know I had a big pile of Sun kit that came from Glasgow Uni, and some SGIs.
raudette 26d ago
Sync on green could be done with the ATI Mach 64 as well. I picked up a 20" SGI monitor (if memory serves, it was made by Hitachi) on the "free" table around 1999 on my university campus. I got it working, but the one I had was pretty limited - it did a specific resolution at 60 Hz (I may have the details wrong - it was a long time ago). I never ended up using it, as I had a newer 17" DEC Trinitron from an old Alpha 3000/300LX that I also got super cheap, and it was a much better screen.
- nikau 25d ago
  The fixed frequency was a pain as text mode didn't work, i ended up installing a Hercules monitor which Linux would use in text mode until xf86 started

pjmlp 26d ago

PS2Linux required monitors able to do sync on green, which caught many that managed to get it, in for a surprise.

wolrah 26d ago
Same with the early Xbox VGA mods.

ErroneousBosh 26d ago

Back then some friends and I got hold of some lovely 20" Sun monitors that were sync-on-green only but none of our cards supported it. No matter! A transistor, a couple of diodes, and half a dozen or so resistors soldered into a DE15 plug shell made the "sync plunger" that cured all your woes. I probably still have a couple lying around. I could still just about draw the circuit from memory, not much good in these HDMI days.

a96 24d ago
My memory says Sun used composite sync in the 13W3. I do remember making some cable mods as well to use monitors across Sun, Sgi, and a few other machines. Some used H+V, some C, some SOG. Maybe thankfully I no longer remember which ones were which after all.
- ErroneousBosh 23d ago
  It might have been SGI, instead of Sun. I know I had a big pile of Sun kit that came from Glasgow Uni, and some SGIs.

raudette 26d ago

Sync on green could be done with the ATI Mach 64 as well. I picked up a 20" SGI monitor (if memory serves, it was made by Hitachi) on the "free" table around 1999 on my university campus. I got it working, but the one I had was pretty limited - it did a specific resolution at 60 Hz (I may have the details wrong - it was a long time ago). I never ended up using it, as I had a newer 17" DEC Trinitron from an old Alpha 3000/300LX that I also got super cheap, and it was a much better screen.

nikau 25d ago
The fixed frequency was a pain as text mode didn't work, i ended up installing a Hercules monitor which Linux would use in text mode until xf86 started