AMDGPU DRM Driver Updates To Work With Production Polaris GPUs

[phoronix]

Phoronix: AMDGPU DRM Driver Updates To Work With Production Polaris GPUs

It looks like some last-minute changes to the Linux kernel are needed for prepping the AMDGPU DRM driver to handle the production Radeon RX 400 "Polaris" graphics cards that will soon be shipping...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMDGPU-Polaris-Updates

[pyrignis]

I'm not sure how to understand this news. What does this means for a end-used that would be buying a R 480 latter this month:
* Both driver would require patching the kernel ?
* The open source driver would require patching the kernel but the closed source one would work on day one ?
* Only some side feature would be missing without a patch ?
* Updates to major distributions are expected in time for launch and everything will work with minimal input from user?

[SpyroRyder]

I'm not sure how to understand this news. What does this means for a end-used that would be buying a R 480 latter this month:
* Both driver would require patching the kernel ?
* The open source driver would require patching the kernel but the closed source one would work on day one ?
* Only some side feature would be missing without a patch ?
* Updates to major distributions are expected in time for launch and everything will work with minimal input from user?

A user who picks up one of the new cards simply needs kernel 4.7. If your distro of choice provides speedy updates for kernels then this wont be a problem, if you have a distro that doesn't update their kernel OR uses one of the LTS kernels then you may have more of a problem as there isn't word as to whether these changes will be ported back to the older LTS's. I'm pretty sure that the 4.7 kernel is the next LTS so that may also change things for some distros.

[ConvexEd]

You have a typo on the article on PowerPlay.

[Veerappan]

A user who picks up one of the new cards simply needs kernel 4.7. If your distro of choice provides speedy updates for kernels then this wont be a problem, if you have a distro that doesn't update their kernel OR uses one of the LTS kernels then you may have more of a problem as there isn't word as to whether these changes will be ported back to the older LTS's. I'm pretty sure that the 4.7 kernel is the next LTS so that may also change things for some distros.

Also, if your kernel is <4.7 or if 4.7 ends up not including the patches, you could still download the AMDGPU Pro driver and use the updated kernel driver that I'm sure AMD will package there (probably with a DKMS build).

[pete910]

Also, if your kernel is <4.7 or if 4.7 ends up not including the patches, you could still download the AMDGPU Pro driver and use the updated kernel driver that I'm sure AMD will package there (probably with a DKMS build).

That would be great if they actually decide to do a generic package/installer, you know , for linux and not just a .deb

[Mystro256]

That would be great if they actually decide to do a generic package/installer, you know , for linux and not just a .deb

If you use Arch or a derivative, you can always use the AUR:

https://aur.archlinux.org/pkgbase/amdgpu-pro-installer/

But as a Fedora/Centos user... this is annoying for me. I'll probably just re-adapt the AUR package.
I've heavily considering getting the new Polaris card if I can get it working easily on my Fedora machine.

[nhaehnle]

A user who picks up one of the new cards simply needs kernel 4.7. If your distro of choice provides speedy updates for kernels then this wont be a problem, if you have a distro that doesn't update their kernel OR uses one of the LTS kernels then you may have more of a problem as there isn't word as to whether these changes will be ported back to the older LTS's. I'm pretty sure that the 4.7 kernel is the next LTS so that may also change things for some distros.

Some minor changes in Mesa and the amdgpu DDX driver are also needed - mostly adding new PCI IDs. Those changes have also been upstream for a while now. For example, Ubuntu 16.04 + oibaf PPA + Linux 4.7-rc + firmware runs an engineering sample Polaris just fine. For the production boards you'll probably want those latest kernel patches as well of course.

[eydee]

I'm not sure how to understand this news. What does this means for a end-used that would be buying a R 480 latter this month:
* Both driver would require patching the kernel ?
* The open source driver would require patching the kernel but the closed source one would work on day one ?
* Only some side feature would be missing without a patch ?
* Updates to major distributions are expected in time for launch and everything will work with minimal input from user?

For a regular end-user it means they have to use the amdgpu-pro driver, as regular users usually have a distro installed, which they usually don't modify with alien packages. Even the latest Fedora and Arch only have 4.5, 4.7 reaching mainstream usage is in a galaxy, far, far away. Still, it'll get there eventually, of course.

[shmerl]

Is there DKMS package for amdgpu alone? How can one install it in Debian testing on any kernel (or it's not possible)? I'd rather update it as soon as new version will come out, instead of waiting for not so frequent kernel updates.