Missing From Linux 2.6.36: VIA's TTM/GEM DRM

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Missing From Linux 2.6.36: VIA's TTM/GEM DRM

The Linux 2.6.36 kernel is set to carry some much-anticipated changes like AppArmor integration, major VFS performance improvements, a likely Btrfs performance regression fix, and quite a few changes when it comes to the graphics Direct Rendering Manager code. Just when it comes to the Linux DRM code in this next kernel release there is quite a bit of fun with the Intel kernel driver better supporting Embedded DisplayPort and tracepoints for page-flipping and vblank, the ATI Radeon kernel driver gaining R600/700 tiling support / support for reading R600 thermal sensors / R300 through R500 Hyper-Z support, and the Nouveau driver supporting KMS with the GeForce GTX 400 series and better DisplayPort capabilities. While the Intel, ATI/AMD, and NVIDIA/Nouveau DRM driver improvements will excite a majority of the desktop Linux user-base caring about open-source graphics drivers for their hardware, it's not enough to excite everyone. In particular, VIA is still missing from the field -- more than two years after they announced a new open-source initiative and promised to better engage within the Linux ecosystem...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=ODQ5Mg

[xir_]

Out of interest, does anyone who reads this site actually have a VIA?

[rmartinez]

Out of interest, does anyone who reads this site actually have a VIA?

Hi, I do have a notebook with VIA integrated graphic K8M890 Chrome9. And I intend to use it as a media center with an external monitor... But there is no good 2D acceleration when using full screen. Still waiting... meantime using XP...
I hope VIA can finally manage to do something good with Linux drivers. I do follow closely all the posts about this issue in this Forum.

[Hephasteus]

Out of interest, does anyone who reads this site actually have a VIA?

I would. I grew up on VIA. They used to own chipsets and did great drivers for them but they are having truoble. It's not just the open source driver hold ups that are showing their hand. It's the fact that the promised dual core chip nano 3000 chip hasn't shown up either.

[Adarion]

Out of interest, does anyone who reads this site actually have a VIA?

Sadly. Yes.
2 x CLE266 and a CN700. Im already happy if MPEG2 accel works. The chips would have been ok for small home entertainment system or whatever since the whole C7 Eden stuff boards consume very few and are silent but alas without any proper GPU drivers... some day I was so done with that mess I even put an old Geforce 2 into the CN700 box so it would just work somehow. Blocked the single PCI slot on that board (ITX).

The CLE266s are laptops so I can't do anything about them.


I'm so glad I have ATI-AMD chips on my main box. Even though I drive the large R600 with fglrx (energy saving) it just works with fglrx or the free drivers as well. Just some parts in 3d and enrgy management still miss in the free part.
Yes and fglrx's performance in 2d isn't really that great. Furthermore under W32 I often have problems to get it installed at all.

[Adarion]

PS
I use openchrome from svn in Gentoo, cause no other driver would work or even compile with Xorg-server >=1.6 iirc. At least it has XAA support and all that basic 2d stuff though MPEG2 is sometimes messy.

[Florian Schandinat]

Yes, proud user of (currently) 2x CLE266, 1x VX800 (my daily workhorse) and 1x VX855. Hope that this will increase in the near future. Works very well (for working, but this hardware isn't designed for gaming anyway)

But did anyone of you, especially Michael, ever try seriously communicating with VIA/Bruce Chang?
I admit it can be PITA to get something and it needs some endurance but I think after my experience I really can't say that VIA is uncooperative. Of course, as a developer I'd really like to see VIA releasing complete documentation of all their IGPs and related hardware, especially the older ones, but that's probably something one has to live with
In fact VIA hardware does partially work better for me than ATI/AMDs. I have 2 of those graphic chips but both failed with Debian stable and testing drivers to support the correct mode (1440x900) of my display while all VIA IGPs, including the oldest, work without problems.
I admit that the 3D driver is totally crap, even for the older hardware where it exists. Maybe the ATI/AMD drivers are better in this regard but for me they weren't good enough the last time I tried.
So in the end, VIAs open source support can improve, must improve, but it's not as hopeless as you make sound it

@nano dual core:
Certainly something I'd like to see so that compiling kernels wouldn't take ages. But hey AFAIK it was shown on Computex and announced for the end of this or the beginning of next year so that could still be on it's roadmap

[droidhacker]

I had a mainboard with a via chipset once, but that was back in the "slot" cpu days... I think it was a K7-750.

I gotta say that this VIA stuff is really getting boring. Occasional long-winded announcement that boils down to "no news". Gotta hand it to Michael though, it can't be easy to write a whole page that says "still nothin'".

[RobbieAB]

I have one of the HP netbooks with a VIA C7-M + Chrome9 in it. Whether VIA have much to do with it, the experience with it has been pretty good for me. It all depends on ones expectations, I guess.

[PsynoKhi0]

I have one of the HP netbooks with a VIA C7-M + Chrome9 in it. Whether VIA have much to do with it, the experience with it has been pretty good for me. It all depends on ones expectations, I guess.

Same here. Working ok with openchrome though without 3D. They've recently released drivers for Ubuntu 9.10 (I know, I know...) and 10.04, which contain a "source code" folder for the DRM part.
Since I run PCLinuxOS on mine I haven't poked much around with them yet. I've had bad experiences with their precompiled stuff, prone to messing up on a kernel upgrade.