Is It Worth Releasing X.Org Server Updates For Old Branches To Help Vintage Hardware?

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Is It Worth Releasing X.Org Server Updates For Old Branches To Help Vintage Hardware?

Is there enough interest in seeing new point releases for older X.Org Server release branches to ship fixes almost exclusively aimed at improving decades old graphics/display hardware? We'll see, but at least one person wants to work on such releases...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Xorg-Old-Updates-Old-Hardware

[LinuxID10T]

I think this would be amazing. First, with Windows XP no longer being supported by Steam Linux would be a good place to go for retro gamers. Second, Linux has always in my memory run well on older hardware. Recently though I think that way has been lost in search of the new and shiney. Anyway, I have quite a few cards I need to use old builds of X.org for to run.

[Charlie68]

... it seems to me only lost time, focus on today!

[RussianNeuroMancer]

I would vote for old Intel GPUs, Radeon HD 2xxx-4xxx, GeForce 6xxx-7xxx, but I have nothing to say about older GPUs.

[torsionbar28]

Believe it or not, I still have a machine with a Pentium 200 MMX, Matrox Millenium II and a pair of 3dfx Voodoo 2 cards in SLI. I bought all this stuff brand new and it's been running Linux for 20 years. Playing the Linux version of GLquake was *amazing* back in the day. I say keep the old stuff alive!

[George99]

I would vote for old Intel GPUs, Radeon HD 2xxx-4xxx, GeForce 6xxx-7xxx, but I have nothing to say about older GPUs.

No problems with old Radeon HD3200 here:

Graphics:  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RS780 [Radeon HD 3200] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: radeon v: kernel
           bus ID: 01:05.0
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.3 driver: ati,vesa unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon resolution: 1280x1024~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD RS780 (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.19.0-1-amd64 LLVM 7.0.1) v: 3.3 Mesa 18.2.8 direct render: Yes

[rene]

Believe it or not, I still have a machine with a Pentium 200 MMX, Matrox Millenium II and a pair of 3dfx Voodoo 2 cards in SLI. I bought all this stuff brand new and it's been running Linux for 20 years. Playing the Linux version of GLquake was *amazing* back in the day. I say keep the old stuff alive!

Yeah, also still have quite some vintage gear we always kept in the basement, various Matrox, S3, ATi, even f*cking NVidia (Riva TNT2 and such) you name it. Even recently god a couple new more retro vintage things from ebay, for the fun of it, including a S3/Virge for educational Bare metal hardware 3d texturing in 23kb of code w/ S3/Virge! With my original IDT WinChip 2 no less ;-)

[mattst88]

Believe it or not, I still have a machine with a Pentium 200 MMX, Matrox Millenium II and a pair of 3dfx Voodoo 2 cards in SLI. I bought all this stuff brand new and it's been running Linux for 20 years. Playing the Linux version of GLquake was *amazing* back in the day. I say keep the old stuff alive!

SLI doesn't work in Linux, does it?

[Adarion]

Still got plenty of elderly hardware. VIA stuff, Geode, some NV Geforce Riva, 2 + 3 models and older stuff (even near-ancient ISA cards), some onboard HD3xxx, 1250 and the likes, even some old intel stuff (Atom and predecessor). Some work fairly okay, some don't. Support would always be nice, especially since some aren't power wasters but useful if you just need some "head" for a system to test something. Or it's onboard anyway and possibly even the only means to get something out (Thin Clients).


OMG, I just saw he even released something for a Chips n Technologies chip. He's my hero!

[Vistaus]

I think this would be amazing. First, with Windows XP no longer being supported by Steam Linux would be a good place to go for retro gamers. Second, Linux has always in my memory run well on older hardware. Recently though I think that way has been lost in search of the new and shiney. Anyway, I have quite a few cards I need to use old builds of X.org for to run.

Linux still runs well on older hardware. You just have to use a lightweight distro.