Intel Driver Changes Building Up For Linux 3.8 Kernel

The Intel DRM graphics driver in the Linux 3.8 kernel will feature a number of user-facing changes.

We're still a few days out from the Linux 3.7 kernel but already we know a lot of what to expect from the Linux 3.8 kernel, including the open-source GPU driver improvements for Linux 3.8.

Among the Intel DRM driver work you will find merged during the Linux 3.8 merge window when it's open around early December include:

- Intel Haswell display support is finally in good shape after the Intel open-source developers previously admitted they screwed up on the Linux driver enablement for these new CPUs to be released in H1'2013. Part of the Haswell display issue came down to there now being a unified DDI encoder for Haswell with DisplayPort and HDMI. Haswell VGA support is also in decent shape with Linux 3.8.

- DisplayPort support for Intel Valley View should also now be in good shape.

- The updated Intel DRM driver now has unified panel handling between LVDS and eDP (Embedded DisplayPort) panels. This will allow for further user-end improvements in the future.

- The AGP layer has finally been demolished for Intel "Gen6" (Sandy Bridge) and newer hardware.

- Improved DisplayPort helper core in the DRM core of the Linux kernel.

- The DRM core also now has page-flip completion and vblnak time-stamps samplied with CLOCK_MONOTONIC so that their buffer-swap control is OML_sync compliant and that Wayland will no longer stall for a few frames when the real-time clock changes.

These changes are covered in additional detail on the blog of Daniel Vetter's, one of the Intel Open-Source Technology Center developers working full-time on the Intel Linux graphics driver stack.