It Looks Like AMD Is About To Post The Open-Source Radeon "Navi" Driver Code

[shmerl]

If you install the dkms kernel driver package, it builds the kernel driver modules at install time using dkms against the current kernel in the distro. The package (rpm, deb) has everything you need. Note that we only validate the dkms build against the kernels in supported distros. For other random kernels, YMMV.

I see, thanks. I'll give it a try (I didn't realize the build there creates a deb package).

[shmerl]

I assume it also will be possible to just use the WIP kernel branch and avoid the need for dkms, to have access to Navi before upstream catches up.

[theriddick]

NAVI 10 and 15 getting closer, personally I'm waiting for NAVI 20 which should beat the 1080TI... finally.

Companies should start with the TOP end card for publicity reasons (generates more press / more exposure).
I doubt NAVI 10 or 15 to produce shockwaves, they are basically going to be more efficient Vega56/64 cards (performance wise).

Hope I'm wrong but so far, haven't been.

[skeevy420]

I assume it also will be possible to just use the WIP kernel branch and avoid the need for dkms, to have access to Navi before upstream catches up.

Yeah. That's what most of us have been doing for a while now because it's the lazy, easy way...you know, tweak any other kernel's PKGBUILD or PPA it versus figuring the DKMS method out...

Since I had them on hand for the vulkan part and general curiousity, I opened up the latest AMDGPU-Pro for Ubuntu and SLED, just like agd5f said, everything to build it via DKMS is in the amdgpu-dkms deb or rpm. The makefile might need some OS_VERSION patches for people using non-AMD supported distributions, but other than that it looks pretty straight forward and wrapable in a PKGBUILD or ebuild.

[xcom]

Who said we don't have the source? From what I've gathered, the source is public. I don't remember where it is though, so someone may be can point it out.

You just need these:

https://github.com/M-Bab/linux-kernel-amdgpu-binaries

[shmerl]

You just need these:

https://github.com/M-Bab/linux-kernel-amdgpu-binaries

That's not for dkms and it's not source either. The source was linked above.

[user5555]

To the experts: when can we expect the open source driver to support OpenCl? To me that is the only reason to still bother with amdgpu-pro, and if you're not using Ubuntu that is an issue.

[L_A_G]

Assuming Navi rumors pan out and we see the Navi launch this summer

Not sure where the hell you've read that Navi is coming as early as this summer, but nobody with any clout that I've seen speculate about when Navi is coming has put the launch outside of the late autumn to winter time frame.

[wizard69]

NAVI 10 and 15 getting closer, personally I'm waiting for NAVI 20 which should beat the 1080TI... finally.

Companies should start with the TOP end card for publicity reasons (generates more press / more exposure).
I doubt NAVI 10 or 15 to produce shockwaves, they are basically going to be more efficient Vega56/64 cards (performance wise).

Hope I'm wrong but so far, haven't been.

IF AMD gets the same performance advantages other users of TSMC's 7nm process do then we should be able to get either a big booost in performance or a much cooler card. Frankly I'd prefer cooler in a card designed for reliability. I'm not a big fan of hardware that runs right at the thermal limits of the process.

[wizard69]

Interesting report Micheal. It looks like Navi and kernel support should arrive late 2019, hopefully I will have a number of expensive projects done by then. I'm itching to build a decent workstation machine and Navi would be a good GPU target.