SiS

This page describes how to get Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) chipset graphical adapters working on Arch Linux:

Packages

You will need main xf86-video-sis with driver and it's good idea to install sisctrl (gui tool for setting video modes). Some cards not supported by sis driver package can work with xf86-video-sisusb and xf86-video-sisimedia. You can also check xf86-video-sis671^AUR from AUR.

lspci

Output of lspci should look like this (depends on present model):

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 661/741/760 PCI/AGP or 662/761Gx PCIE VGA Display Adapter

Modules & rc.conf

There are couple of modules related to SiS video cards:

$ modprobe -l | grep -i sis
/lib/modules/2.6.28-ARCH/kernel/drivers/usb/misc/sisusbvga/sisusbvga.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.28-ARCH/kernel/drivers/video/sis/sisfb.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.28-ARCH/kernel/drivers/char/agp/sis-agp.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.28-ARCH/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/sis/sis.ko

You will probably need to load only sisfb (it will probably load the other sis modules as required by your hardware) as first and then the other modules. So the beginning of MODULES array in your /etc/rc.conf should look like this:

MODULES=( sisfb ... )

xorg.conf

Here are few most important sections from /etc/X11/xorg.conf

1. Load some modules:

Section "Module"
  Load  "dbe"
  Load  "i2c"
  Load  "bitmap"
  Load  "ddc"
  Load  "dri"
  Load  "extmod"
  Load  "freetype"
  Load  "glx"
  Load  "int10"
  Load  "vbe"
EndSection

1. Device specification:

Section "Device"
  Identifier "Card0"
  Driver "sis"
  Card        "** SiS (generic)     [sis]"
  BusID "PCI:1:0:0"

  Option "UseFBDev" "true"
  Option "EnableSisCtrl" "yes"
  Option "ForceCRT1Type" "LCD"
  Option "ForceCRT2Type" "NONE"
  #Option "CRT2Detection" "true" #For me this worked better than forceing the detection. If you use this comment out the two Force lines above this.
  Option "CRT1Gamma" "on"
  Option "CRT2Gamma" "on"
  Option "Brightness" "0.000 0.000 0.000"
  Option "Contrast" "0.000 0.000 0.000"
  Option "CRT1Saturation" "0"
  Option "XvOnCRT2" "yes"
  Option "XvDefaultContrast" "2"
  Option "XvDefaultBrightness" "10"
  Option "XvDefaultHue" "0"
  Option "XvDefaultSaturation" "0"
  Option "XvDefaultDisableGfxLR" "no"
  Option "XvGamma" "off"
EndSection

1. Enable Direct Rendering:

Section "DRI"
  Mode         0666
EndSection

SiS 671 card

Add

Option          "UseTiming1366"      "yes"

to Device section.

Dual head configuration

You need 2 device sections to enable dualhead mode. Sis specific options should be placed into master head device section.

Section "Monitor"
  Identifier   "CRT1"
  ModelName    "PANEL"
  Option       "DPMS"
  VendorName   "LCD"
  HorizSync    31-60
  VertRefresh  40-60
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
  Identifier   "CRT2"
  ModelName    "tv"
  Option       "DPMS"
  VendorName   "tv"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
  DefaultDepth 24
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      24
    Modes      "1024x768".
  EndSubSection
  Device       "Device[0]"
  Identifier   "Screen[0]"
  Monitor      "CRT2"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
  DefaultDepth 24
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      24
    Modes      "1024x768".
  EndSubSection
  Device       "Device[1]"
  Identifier   "Screen[1]"
  Monitor      "CRT1"
EndSection

Section "Device"
  BoardName    "630"
  BusID        "PCI:1:0:0"
  Driver       "sis"
  Identifier   "Device[1]"
  Screen       1
  VendorName   "SiS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
  BoardName    "630"
  BusID        "PCI:1:0:0"
  Driver       "sis"
  Identifier   "Device[0]"
  Screen       0
  VendorName   "SiS"
  Option "EnableSisCtrl" "true"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
  Identifier   "Layout[dual]"
  ...
  Option       "Clone" "off"
  Screen       "Screen[0]"
  Screen       "Screen[1]" RightOf "Screen[0]"
  Option       "Xinerama" "off"
EndSection