Visual Workstation Graphics Configuration Information:

Did you ever wonder what those graphics and display control panel dialogs actually do? I did, and found out, mainly by making changes and seeing what happened. Here is some of what I have uncovered on the inner working of these settings. From the NT Registry Editor (regedit) take a look at the following sections and key/value pairs:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Silicon Graphics\Control Panel\Graphics

       AddMemorySize
               n = Number of MB Reserved for texture maps
       ColorPalette
               0 = 256 Colors
               2 = 32768 Colors
               4 = TrueColor
       DepthBufferBit
               0 = None
               2 = 16 Bit
               4 = 24 Bit Depth, 8 Bit Stencil
       EnableBackBuffer
               0 = Disabled
               1 = Enabled
       EnableOverlay
               0 = Disabled
               1 = Enabled
       FullSceneAntiAlias
               0 = Disabled
               1 = Enabled
       GdiOnOverlay (not visible by default)
               0 = False - GDI runs in the normal frame buffer
               1 = True - GDI runs in 8-bit overlay planes
       RefreshRate
               n = Hz
       ResolutionX
               x = Width in pixels
       ResolutionY
               y= Height in pixels
       SchedulerMode
               1 = GDI_MUST_SERIALIZE - Correct GDI operation for window move
               2 = GDI_MUST_ROUNDROBIN - Give GDI and OpenGL equal scheduler priority
                       Default for all but "CAD" and "DTP" profiles
               3 = GDI_MUST_SERIALIZE_FOR_OGL - GDI runs slower when OpenGL is running but gets higher priority
                       Default for CAD Design and Desktop Publishing profiles
               4 = GDI_MUST_YIELD_FOR_OGL - Experimental mode, GDI yields to OpenGL, but may run slower
       SwapVertRetrace
               0 = Disabled
               1 = Enabled

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Silicon Graphics\Control Panel\Display

       EnableDCCSupport
               0 = Disabled
               1 = Enabled
       GammaColorCalibrate
               ?
       GammaDataValue
               ?
       GammaValue
               n = Gamma * 100
       PowerSaveMode
               0 = Disabled
               1 = Enabled
       PowerSaveModeValue
               n = Power save time (minutes?)

You will also observe that the Profiles are saved per-user under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SiliconGraphics\ControlPanel\Profiles

This is the reason that the graphics must be configured for each user. It is not necessary that each user have the same exact setting, but realize that if they are significantly different (such as based upon different base profiles) rebooting between sessions may be required.

IMPORTANT:

I would not recommend actually changing anything with regedit, since you'll probably have to reboot to make the change work then you won't really know if it or the graphics profile is actually being used.