Linux Continues Playing Catch Up To Windows For Desktop Hardware Monitoring Support

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux Continues Playing Catch Up To Windows For Desktop Hardware Monitoring Support

In recent kernel versions there has been an uptick in new driver activity around improving hardware sensor monitoring support for AMD/Intel desktop motherboards, but still it's generally behind that of the support found under Microsoft Windows. With Linux 5.19 there is more hardware monitoring "HWMON" subsystem work with improving sensor coverage on various motherboards and other components...

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-5.19-HWMON

[ezst036]

The lack of motherboard vendor support for Linux produces predictable results.(MSI, Asus, etc)

[NotMine999]

When I read this headline I figured it must be a slow news day at Phoronix.

HWMON support in Linux has never been "cutting edge" or even "0-day"...even when the new chip might be little more than adding a dozen or so lines of code to an existing driver that check for new variable values.

And if the chip in question does not have adequate "open specs" to satisfy the HWMON developer(s?) then any HWMON support will not exist for that chip.

All you have to do to back up these statements is go research the HWMON mailing list, assuming you can find it. Stuff really changed after Grunter took control of HWMON.

[DanL]

When I read this headline I figured it must be a slow news day at Phoronix

Wait for the birdie rant in 3... 2... 1...

[tildearrow]

Wait for the birdie rant in 3... 2... 1...

0!

HWiNFO64....... 200 sensors...
lm-sensors..... 2 sensors...

[CommunityMember]

As long as the Linux desktop share is in the few percent(*) vendors will mostly continue to prioritize investments elsewhere. And as company purchasing decisions are based on their desktop standard (typically Windows or macOS) the vendors mostly do not see any revenue stream threat to continuing lack of support. Follow the money (and if you can change your multi-nationals RFP to require Linux support, you can make the money work for you).

(*) And this is not, and there likely never will be, a year of the Linux desktop.

[DanielG]

> but still it's generally behind that of the support found under Microsoft Windows

How can it be behind the support found under Microsoft Windows, when Windows doesn't support hardware monitoring at all?

All there is on Windows are (usually crappy) tools from vendors and reverse engineered third-party tools like HWiNFO or HW Monitor. Out of the box it can't even tell you the CPU temperature!
Windows itself neither ships any drivers to talk to those chips, and (as far as I know) doesn't have some unified interface to talk to them, that vendors could provide drivers for, either. TBH this is pretty embarrassing for Microsoft..

The Linux kernel shipping several drivers for monitoring chips *and* providing them in a useful way via the hwmon interface (and the sensors tool) is better than that, at least in some ways.

[rogerx]

Anything boasting "Linux is slowly migrating towards being usable on a desktop PC" seems to be hype from the pro-Microsoft crowd.

I've been using Linux since 1997 or sooner. Linux works just fine here on my PC computers.

Although hardware sensor data is nice to look at within Windows, seems primarily useless unless a daemon is constantly monitoring the sensors. And most sensor data is only utilized by BIOS/motherboard firmware for monitoring abnormal temperatures and adjusting fans, as such, no need for Linux users wasting more time tinkering with fan speeds. Watchdogs also being obviously necessary.

I usually only monitor for lock-ups, such as high CPU/GPU temperatures, and is nice to look at the CPU/GPU temperatures if X/Xorg locks-up, and then nice to see if the temperatures were outside norms. However for the past many years, most system lock-ups with X/Xorg have been primarily been with using the proprietary nVidia drivers... so guess this blows the need for seeing such data!

On the flip, I usually spend money on Linux supported hardware, so maybe people complaining are those buying non-supported Linux hardware?

[DanL]

Anything boasting "Linux is slowly migrating towards being usable on a desktop PC" seems to be hype from the pro-Microsoft crowd.

I've been using Linux since 1997 or sooner. Linux works just fine here on my PC computers.

Although hardware sensor data is nice to look at within Windows, seems primarily useless unless a daemon is constantly monitoring the sensors. And most sensor data is only utilized by BIOS/motherboard firmware for monitoring abnormal temperatures and adjusting fans, as such, no need for Linux users wasting more time tinkering with fan speeds. Watchdogs also being obviously necessary.

Yes, exactly. I think the whole thing with lack of Linux sensors is just a bunch of noise from those obsessed with overclocking and such.

[Melcar]

Being able to monitor and change fan speeds on the fly is both nice and useful. Being able to read various voltages and temperatures is also a nice to have. Different people will have different priorities, so whatever.