Expensive "Free/Libre Software Laptop" Uses A NVIDIA GPU

[malkavian]

Apart from said about nvidia not endorsing free drivers, the cost is 30% higher that hardware equivalents.

[riklaunim]

Still Clevo barebones seems way better as you can pick every component when you buy one - like WiFi, or in some gaming models GPU card or cards... or you can pick Intel-only model. I'm curious about the SkyLake models

[dungeon]

Except... they didn't use a Kepler. They used a Maxwell chip. According to the lspci results, it's 10de:1341, which pci ids lists as a GM108 (http://pci-ids.ucw.cz/read/PC/10de/1341). This is not at all supported by nouveau (because we haven't been able to get our hands on one), but with a tiny hack it should be easy to get it to GM107 support levels. However that still requires blob context switching firmware, so I'm a bit confused as to how they achieved their blob-free 'certification'. Perhaps the pci ids site is wrong and it really is some Kepler chip?

It is "Purism", not FSF's "Respects Your Freedom" certification

[Adarion]

I wish Phoronix-Michael would not always link back to his own articles. Some external links would be nice. Yes, there is one at the very end.

In other news: Wow, way to contradict things. I know it isn't actually easy in the GPU world to find something that is completely free but why nvidia? And wouldn't that intel integrated have been enough? Why are they adding an nvidia if people here keep telling me it's freedom not performance? And i7? Who needs that in a laptop? (Yes, some people will find use cases) And makes the price quite hefty. And intel was never coreboot friendly.
This device seem so wrong in many ways to me.

[xeekei]

I know AMD gets a lot of flack from us with releasing source code, but... If AMD just released the source to the firmware or reformed the driver to not need it, they would've been the choice here. I think there's value in being seen as free, by FSF definitions.

[Adarion]

... but... If AMD just released the source to the firmware or reformed the driver to not need it, they would've been the choice here. I think there's value in being seen as free, by FSF definitions.

So... what firmware did nvidia release exactly?
Nv did nothing to support nouveau. Okay, well, they didn't sue them. So why do people call it a choice?
You could even use an ImgTec chip an run it with some kind of VESA driver and call that free. That also does not contain blobs.

[nanonyme]

nouveau doesn't use firmwares, as Intel/AMD drivers do.

For now anyway. nVidia already announced they are going to have chips that require their own (iirc signed then) firmware to do anything interesting. AMD has announced no similar plans so far and you can use open firmware with it assuming you write it. Open firmware for GPU's just is not seen as worth the effort by many OSS developers

[nanonyme]

So... what firmware did nvidia release exactly?
Nv did nothing to support nouveau. Okay, well, they didn't sue them. So why do people call it a choice?
You could even use an ImgTec chip an run it with some kind of VESA driver and call that free. That also does not contain blobs.

The funny thing is out of Intel, nVidia and AMD only Intel pushes proprietary firmware down your throat atm. It's hard to avoid when it's burned on the chip's memory.

[curaga]

Fully agree with Michael. Too high a price, and using a Nvidia card makes zero sense.

[vitalif]

Fully agree with Michael. Too high a price, and using a Nvidia card makes zero sense.

+1. It's totally idiotic to consider nouveau more free than r600/radeonsi. I'd never buy such a laptop.