S3 Graphics Is Working On New Linux Driver

[phoronix]

Phoronix: S3 Graphics Is Working On New Linux Driver

Yesterday we shared that S3 Graphics launched their Chrome 500 Series graphics cards, with the initial model being a sub-$50 USD OpenGL 3.0 capable solution. It's no power workhorse, but in the press release they shared: "Today's users will now be able to enjoy the latest Blu-ray playback, streaming HD video, DirectX 10.1, and OpenGL 3.0 applications on Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms." As we shared in the article yesterday, the last Linux driver from S3 Graphics was released last year and it's riddled with limitations...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=Njg3Mg

[Eragon]

Nice! I don't use an S3 card (and likely never will, I like to play games.), but it's good to see they will work on linux with full 3d (hear: compiz/games) support! I am glad that it'll be closed source, because I don't think an open-source project would be able to deliver an opengl 3.0 driver by mid-december.

This is still all in the same week that VIA released 490 pages of hardware specs, and adobe relaesed a linux-only 64-bit flash player, right??

[Zhick]

S3 might be a good choice for a netbook in combination with a Via Nano then in the future. I'd like to get something not so intel-ish since I fear they are building up to much of a monopoly.
Then again I'm right now way too drunk... and the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 looks like a very sweet netbook with already pretty good drivers...

[DeepDayze]

Nice to see yet another graphics company take the linux plunge. S3's a rather small company, yet if they deliver on their promises in a big way then that'll be a great thing too. Granted that their GPU's are not real powerhouses they'd be useful in low-cost notebooks and netbooks or even low-end desktop graphics cards.

I still have an old S3 ViRGE in my junk parts box...not a bad card in its time, and X had a driver for it albeit just a 2D driver.

[superppl]

If their cards are cheap, it should work well in a workstation. No need for crappy onboard graphics would you have a subpar gpu with excellent drivers!

[Redeeman]

If their cards are cheap, it should work well in a workstation. No need for crappy onboard graphics would you have a subpar gpu with excellent drivers!

except the intel onboard isnt really crappy..

[TechMage89]

Have you ever tried to play games on Windows Vista with a GMA950? I think some ten-year old cards beat it in terms of performance.

[xav1r]

But from reviews around the web this card is so-and-so at most.

[Redeeman]

Have you ever tried to play games on Windows Vista with a GMA950? I think some ten-year old cards beat it in terms of performance.

why, and why the hell should i give a flying fuck about a piece of garbage software? also do keep in mind that GMA 950 is several generations old, and FAR slower than more recent intel offerings.

[DeepDayze]

why, and why the hell should i give a flying fuck about a piece of garbage software? also do keep in mind that GMA 950 is several generations old, and FAR slower than more recent intel offerings.

Whoa, relax!

The poster is just making a comparison here.

I agree Vista is total garbage though...