AMD Catalyst 8.4 Linux Driver

[Porter]

Reading articles like this is bittersweet. I love that there is such coverage but I don't have any point of reference. Installing the AMD driver manually has been a shite in the past. However I've used the Ubuntu "Restricted Driver" quite well the last time I installed with 7.10

I'm struggling to make my point ...

Could you please make a note or two about how new AMD driver releases like this one relate to those in existing distribution use?

Does x distro update their repository driver packages with new releases that mirror those of AMD's public releases?

If so, how long does it normally take?

In Ubuntu specifically, how do I determine what the current "Restricted Driver" I am running actually is?

Are the version numbers similar between the Ubuntu package numbering and the AMD numbering?


Lastly, on a completely different note, can we all stop calling them ATi when clearly they are AMD?

Ubuntu 7.10 had (at best) the fglrx driver from September of last year in the repos, and they never updated it through the whole 7.10 cycle. That version of the driver was very problematic with certain functions compared to the current release, which has had monthly development improvements since... including a change in versioning style (7.12, 8.1, 8.2, etc) to match the Windows releases. Xv playback wasn't even supported for the newer cards in the repo driver.

Ubuntu 8.04 currently has fglrx 8.3 in the repos, though it doesn't include the full Catalyst packages. The repo driver works fine but if you want to stay current with the ATI driver releases (and use the full Catalyst control panel), you shouldn't count on the Ubuntu devs to package them for you. You'd be holding your breath until next October, because they don't like to update ("backport") drivers to add features... they usually only backport to fix serious bugs.

So... you have to compile your own. Using the ATI script is easy and pretty foolproof if you follow the directions at http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu

I hope this helps! Best of luck to you.

[cornelius]

I just installed Ubuntu 8.04. While suspend with compiz didn't work at all on Ubuntu 7.10, it seems to work just fine on Ubuntu 8.04. I'm a much happier camper now.

[C167]

I'm not happy with the actual version or the version before that. I have artifacts in every console. E.g. if i move the cursor in a text file, all chars around the cursor get corrupted and the only way to make them readable again is to scroll or reload the file! So I'm stuck at 8.02

[bladerunner6]

I am having some difficulty to get dri working with 8.04 final and 8.4 ati drivers.

i am stuck in indirect rendereing

made some changes to xorg but i still cant get it working for some reason,
a dodgy xorg.conf file stop direct rendering from working or is it how its built in the first place?

i followed the manual option from cchtml wiki

[brouhaha]

Processing files: ATI-fglrx-devel-8.476-1.f8
Requires(rpmlib): rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1 rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1
Requires: /usr/include/GL ATI-fglrx = 8.476-1.f8 libGL.so.1()(64bit)
Processing files: ATI-fglrx-IA32-libs-8.476-1.f8
error: File not found by glob: /tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1-13997-root/tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1.f8-root-root/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/*
Processing files: kernel-module-ATI-fglrx-2.6.24.3-12.fc8-8.476-1.f8
Requires(interp): /bin/sh /bin/sh
Requires(rpmlib): rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1 rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1
Requires(post): /bin/sh
Requires(postun): /bin/sh
Checking for unpackaged file(s): /usr/lib/rpm/check-files /tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1-13997-root/tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1.f8-root-root


RPM build errors:
File not found by glob: /tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1-13997-root/tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1.f8-root-root/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/*
Removing temporary directory: fglrx-install.U13916

[brouhaha]

Just want to know if HD AGP cards will working anyhow with this 8.4 driver?

On my Athlon 64X2 system running Fedora 8, this release still gets the "black screen of death" with the Visiontek HD2600 Pro 512MB AGP.

It works fine with the Sapphire X1950 Pro 512MB AGP, though, and with a Sapphire Radeon 9550SE.

[Skywalker]

Processing files: ATI-fglrx-devel-8.476-1.f8
Requires(rpmlib): rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1 rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1
Requires: /usr/include/GL ATI-fglrx = 8.476-1.f8 libGL.so.1()(64bit)
Processing files: ATI-fglrx-IA32-libs-8.476-1.f8
error: File not found by glob: /tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1-13997-root/tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1.f8-root-root/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/*
Processing files: kernel-module-ATI-fglrx-2.6.24.3-12.fc8-8.476-1.f8
Requires(interp): /bin/sh /bin/sh
Requires(rpmlib): rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1 rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1
Requires(post): /bin/sh
Requires(postun): /bin/sh
Checking for unpackaged file(s): /usr/lib/rpm/check-files /tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1-13997-root/tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1.f8-root-root


RPM build errors:
File not found by glob: /tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1-13997-root/tmp/ATI-fglrx-8.476-1.f8-root-root/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/*
Removing temporary directory: fglrx-install.U13916

Not a problem here. On Fedora 8, 64 bits. Neitrher was the previous version.

[SneakyPhil]

It works fine with the Sapphire X1950 Pro 512MB AGP

Can you post the steps you took to make it work properly and post your xorg.conf please?

[brouhaha]

Not a problem here. On Fedora 8, 64 bits. Neitrher was the previous version.

Did you actually build the RPM, or did you just install the driver? Installing works fine, but building the RPM has failed for me on F8 for the past three releases.

[brouhaha]

Can you post the steps you took to make it work properly and post your xorg.conf please?

Until just recently, I was running Catalyst 8.3 with a Sapphire Radion 9550 AGP card, on a Fedora 8 x86-64 system. First I installed the Catalyst 8.4 driver, which still worked fine with the 9550. Then I sawpped out that card for the Sapphire X1950 Pro 512MB AGP, and that worked fine too. I didn't change any configuration, and I don't have anything special in the xorg.conf, which can be seen below.

I have not tried Compiz or any of the other compositing stuff that people seem to routinely have trouble with. I've run a few games, though, and it seems to work fine.

Eric

Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier     "Default Layout"
        Screen      0  "aticonfig-Screen[0]" 0 0
        InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "Module"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Keyboard0"
        Driver      "kbd"
        Option      "XkbModel" "pc105"
        Option      "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"
        Option      "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
        Option      "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
        Option      "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]"
        Driver      "fglrx"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]"
        Device     "aticonfig-Device[0]"
        Monitor    "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"
        DefaultDepth     24
        SubSection "Display"
                Viewport   0 0
                Depth     24
        EndSubSection
EndSection