xf86-video-intel 2.4.0 Driver Released

[phoronix]

Phoronix: xf86-video-intel 2.4.0 Driver Released

It's been about three months since the xf86-video-intel 2.3.0 driver was released and today they have now issued their next quarterly update. Version 2.4.0 of this Intel X.Org graphics driver brings GMA 4-Series support (including their new flagship X4500 IGP), improved i965 EXA Render performance, integrated HDMI support, and SDVO-HDMI support...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=NjYwOQ

[mycroes]

Will the intel driver developers keep working on improving performance for older intel hardware, like the gma 915, too? Especially now 915 and 945 are getting used in cheap netbooks it would be nice if there's still ongoing work to improve performance there. On the other hand I'd rather see an excellent driver for the newest hardware, but both would be even nicer.
Regards,

Michael

[[Knuckles]]

Will the intel driver developers keep working on improving performance for older intel hardware, like the gma 915, too? Especially now 915 and 945 are getting used in cheap netbooks it would be nice if there's still ongoing work to improve performance there. On the other hand I'd rather see an excellent driver for the newest hardware, but both would be even nicer.
Regards,

Michael

++1 -- Yeah, and I would like to add that it would be nice to see some benchmarks, so we could know what to expect from these cool and cheap laptops with embedded intel graphics. (Also curious about X4500 performance on linux.)

[Michael]

X4500 Linux benchmarks should be out next week!

[crumja]

I'd say actually that most of the work being done is to improve the i915 and i945 generations of cards. i965 is on the back-burner in terms of xvmc, gem accel, and stuff. X4500 stuff will be supported on a bare minimum at first (2d, 3d and then perf optimizations). I'm as psyched as you guys about i945 soon reaching perf parity with windows.

[TechMage89]

What about my machine with an i845? A lot of (basic) stuff like thunderbird is as slow a molasses. I want to look into doing some hacking myself, but the i8xx isn't as prettily documented as the 9xx stuff.

[crumja]

I doubt it. The git logs haven't shown much dealing with things older than i915.

[curaga]

I recently read a complaint in Intel forums about how i915 looks so damn awesome on AIGLX and they can't deliver a Vista driver to enable it's lousy eye candy at all.

Intel, you just keep on bringing smile to my face :D

[crumja]

You must realize that the goal of the Wintel alliance is to sell hardware. Bloated software with higher system requirements will force people to upgrade, or so the thinking was. IMHO, it's a great way to alienate customers who bought your previous gen of hardware.

[TechMage89]

Ugh, my i845 only gets ~280fps on glxgears. I can get speeds almost that high using *software* rendering. It also chokes on flash and when I have lots of windows. Is something wrong here, or is this just the lousy performance I can expect from this chip. (I would have thought I could get a *little* better performance than that.

[crumja]

It was a pretty crappy card for the time. the GMA series was when Intel cards really became usable. It's just as crappy on windows.

[TechMage89]

I hate IGPs, blech. And I'll be getting a tablet with a GMA950 (I don't have a choice). Not even a 965. No more gaming for me :(. At least I still have my AMD PC.

[crumja]

That's why I keep a desktop for gaming. The laptop is for real work, business trips, and mobile productivity. The IGP helps to keep power consumption, cost, and heat down =D.

[zAo_]

Is there a (beta) distro which includes the new module? Ubuntu 8.10 doesn't.