Open-Source NVIDIA Changes Are Exciting For Linux 3.16

Besides being able to try out re-clocking with Linux 3.16, there's also several other changes lined up for this next kernel release cycle when it comes to the Nouveau driver providing open-source NVIDIA graphics support.

Here's the key changes currently living within the Nouveau DRM repository that should be pulled into DRM-next and land within the Linux 3.16 merge window:

- The aforementioned ability for end-users to use (experimental) re-clocking for NV40, NVAA, and NVE0 hardware.

- The NVIDIA-contributed open-source Tegra K1 support. The Linux 3.16 will support kernel mode-setting on the new Tegra K1 SoC using the Nouveau DRM driver. NVIDIA's also worked out the Mesa/Gallium3D support for the Tegra K1. The Tegra K1's GPU is codenamed the "GK20A" and is a Kepler-based graphics processor.

- Support for the "GK110B" GPU. The GK110B is the graphics processor of the GeForce GTX 780 Ti and Tesla K40.

- Support for the video decoding engines of the GK110 and GK208 graphics processors. The covered hardware with the enabled video decode engine support is the GTX 780, TITAN, Tesla K20, Quadreo K6000, and several low-end Kepler parts: GT 630, 635, 640, 710M, 720M, 730M, 735M, and 740M.

Those are the main user-facing features Nouveau users can expect to find with the Linux 3.16 kernel when running this driver on their NVIDIA graphics hardware. The main Nouveau DRM development repository continues to be hosted on FreeDesktop.org. Of course, at Phoronix we will have many tests once the merge window has passed, but until then you can checkout today's results of testing over 60 graphics cards on Linux.