Intel Releases Support For New, Unreleased IGP

Last year Intel had launched the GMA X4500HD integrated graphics processor as a nice upgrade to their G3x series. Our Linux results found these chipsets with Intel integrated graphics to perform better than past Intel IGPs, but still was limited in what games and tests could run on the G43/45 hardware with the open-source Intel Linux driver stack. Now, however, Intel is preparing to refresh their IGP line-up.

In a late night push, Intel's Zhenyu Wang has added support for a new, unnamed Intel graphics processor to their xf86-video-intel driver. The message for the main Git commit was just "Desktop and mobile version of new chipsets are added. Also do memory config like Intel 4 series chipset." In this commit there is a new PCI ID for an unnamed desktop graphics processor (0x0042) and for a mobile chipset (0x0046).

There were also other commits to the driver code-base in order to support register dumps on these new Intel chipsets, the removal of a fixed MMIO size since the MMIO range has increased on the new parts, the disabling of Composite support for the new Intel hardware, and lastly were some new register definitions (this is the largest commit). At least these are the patches Intel is pushing out now for the unreleased hardware, but we would suspect more work will arrive soon.

Besides the PCI IDs, the new Intel GMA chipsets are just being called "IGDNG" within the code, which we suspect means "Intel Graphics Device Next Generation." Beyond this the details are scarce, but it's good to see support for new, unreleased Intel graphics hardware actually arriving in the Linux driver prior to its launch. It should be safe to assume that this may be the next-generation G55 IGP for use with Core i7 processors, but we will have more information shortly.