Intel Sends In The First Set Of Changes For Linux 4.16 i915 DRM

[MuPuF]

No problem I have heard GVT support is lacking in newer Intel models? 8th gen Kabylake-R for example? At least, iirc some users have tried to use it on such hardware over at r/vfio and found it doesn't work? If that's the case do you know if there are any plans to add support to these new models?

Sorry, I am not at all involved in anything related to virtualisation. Please have them file bugs. We are actively looking at them.

[MuPuF]

So you don't test/care about anything prior to 2004?
To my knowledge, i810/i815 are broken and have been for years. i830/i845/i865 are wonky.

Also are there still improvements planned for Intel chips with 3rd party GPUs? Recent reports about Clear Linux support for Radeon (possibly Kaby Lake G / Vega M related) seem to indicate that Intel at least has marginal interest. But what about Atom x3 (SoFIA), will it get similar treatment when mesa-lima progresses? And the PowerVR Atoms?

You seem to be very well informed!

From the kernel PoV, i810 is currently unmaintained:

DRM DRIVER FOR INTEL I810 VIDEO CARDS
S: Orphan / Obsolete

i830+ (gen 2) is supported by the i915 driver, and we have been looking at bug reports with a low priority. Do you have bug reports at hand?

I think it is safe to say that PowerVR atoms are not supported upstream and will not magically get a driver now, years down the road. SoFIA Atoms have never had upstream support also as far as I know (they were limited to tablets, which are not user-flashable). As for KBL-G, we are interested in it, but the extent of our support is not yet disclosed. Sorry!

[chithanh]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

i830+ (gen 2) is supported by the i915 driver, and we have been looking at bug reports with a low priority. Do you have bug reports at hand?

Not at hand. I saw bug reports and forum posts coming in from our users (I am a Gentoo developer), but not recently. So either it works now, or people have moved to other hardware.

I think it is safe to say that PowerVR atoms are not supported upstream and will not magically get a driver now, years down the road.

Right. I remember reading that Intel had contracted driver development to Tungsten Graphics as a one-off effort with no plans to keep maintaining/updating it.
Also, when Alan Cox started the reverse engineered driver for GMA500/Poulsbo, proposals to develop it as part of i915 (to avoid code duplication) were shut down early by Intel.

SoFIA Atoms have never had upstream support also as far as I know (they were limited to tablets, which are not user-flashable).

SoFIA Atoms were used mostly in tablets, but not exclusively.
There was at least one smartwatch (Trekstor Smartagent) and a couple of smartphones released. Intel themselves made a demo at MWC 2016 of a dual-OS (Android+Debian) Atom x3 smartphone.
More recently, SoFIA was repurposed to IoT and has been seen on a couple of IoT dev boards (such as Telit WE922-3GR/HE922-3GR). Yocto makes an attempt to support those.