On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 11:02 AM, Nikos Chantziaras <rea...@arcor.de> wrote:
> On 06/17/2009 08:35 PM, Mark Knecht wrote: > >> Good stuff. >> >> So guessing about the path: >> >> 1) Kernel get KMS. >> 2) Xorg-X11 develops and tests for awhile. (probably on-going now?) >> > > Yup, it's working already because Intel graphics chips already had KMS for > a while now. It's already in Ubuntu and Fedora (though not enabled by > default, I think.) Just as a note - the Radeon KMS uses a different implementation path than the Intel KMS - Intel, in the kernel, uses GEM for gfx memory management, while Radeon (and Nouveau, and other upcoming) use the new TTM (which is also new for .31) - I don't *think* this will affect how X interfaces with the kernel driver, but, since TTM is newer than GEM (GEM/Intel KMS happened in .29), it might still be a little bit before the wrinkles are worked out. As far as the X server interfacing with the new kernel driver, I *believe* that pretty much all the action behind the scenes happens in the X driver itself, with the X server being pretty much unaware of the change (please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), so, just because the Intel driver has already been utilizing the KMS kernel interface for a little while, doesn't necessarily mean that it will make the Radeon X driver transition any smoother/better/shorter. > > > > 3) Gentoo devs and bleeding edge users play with it for awhile. >> 4) Shows up in portage under ~amd64 (Is that the same as ~arch for AMD64?) >> > > ~arch means the same regardless of architecture ;) It's "~x86" for > IBM/Intel 32-bit systems, ~amd64 for AMD64, ~ppc for PowerPCs, etc. > > > 5) More bleeding edge users play with it >> 6) Becomes stable >> 7) I get it. >> >> What's that? About 1-2 years or something? >> > > Probably sooner. New X.Org releases will hit stable portage much sooner > then it took for 1.5 to arrive since the jump from 1.3 to 1.5 was much > harder than the future jump from 1.5 to 1.6. Dunno - X server 1.6 has been out for quite a while (several months - X server 1.7 is due out in just about 1.5 months at this point), and it just very recently hit the portage ~ tree (not that I'm complaining Devs - I understand that there were issues that would've bit lots of users), so it might be a while before you see Radeon KMS support in the fully stable portage tree - don't hold your breath quite yet. ;) Of course, if your system isn't mission-critical, you could always install the -9999 versions, or at least the ~ versions when they hit, and help move along the debugging/stabilization process, so that they hit the stable tree faster... ;) > > > > None the less, sounds like quite a nice improvement. I've had LOTS of >> times where going back and forth between console and X hasn't been >> perfect, and I certainly don't like the annoying blinks, etc. >> > > Switching to a VT instantly (and it's really *instant*; it's like switching > to another virtual desktop) is the most important feature for me. Running X > as user comes next. The boot thingy isn't important at all to me. > Unfortunately, it will be a whole while for me to get it since I'm on a > Radeon HD4870 which is not supported by any open source drivers at all right > now. Having run the Intel KMS kernel/fbcon/X driver for a little while now, I can say that 2 things *really* stand out to me (at least from my usage model): 1. Native framebuffer console resolution on my 1680x1050 widescreen LCD - no more 1280x1024 stretched! (Actually not sure if this is directly due to the kernel updates for Intel/KMS, or just happened to happen at the same time, but still - Yay!) 2. Perfectly fast X/virtual console switching - I mean - Wow! I still, from time to time, just sit there switching between the two a couple times just to watch the speed and smoothness - it's amazing... -James
