Linux drivers for ATI Radeon X1K on their way

[Steve]

Our Fanny's just got us some interesting news on the ATI Linux driver front:

The current release of the ATI driver for Linux does not include support for any of the X1K series of cards, something which has left a number of ATI card owners wanting to try (or already using) Linux disgruntled. However, HEXUS has learned that the next release will have both 2D and 3D support for the X1K lineup.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5296

[directhex]

so, judging by that link..... 6 months' work means "supports a couple of new cards"

ati's attutude to linux has been "about to change" for about 2 years

[Kumagoro]

it is just pure lazyness or is it harder to make drivers for linux? seems to me like
lazyness.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Kumagoro

it is just pure lazyness or is it harder to make drivers for linux? seems to me like
lazyness.

There are a lot of things that might deter a company from putting a lot of time into linux driver development, I don't really think laziness coudl be classed as one of them.

Ultimately, there has to be an incentive. Is there an incentive to write good Linux drivers? Yes, but is it big enough for companies to pay the necessary attention?

[Stoo]

Probably because Linux doesn't sell video cards..

[mike_w]

I can say quite confidently that by far the biggest reason my last purchase was a nVidia card was because I wanted decent Linux drivers.

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by mike_w

I can say quite confidently that by far the biggest reason my last purchase was a nVidia card was because I wanted decent Linux drivers.

Which still puts you in a small minority, look at how long it's taken for Logitech to provide a dedicated left hand mouse, and there's a lot more left handed computer users out there than hardcore Linux based gamers..

[directhex]

Originally Posted by Stoo

Which still puts you in a small minority, look at how long it's taken for Logitech to provide a dedicated left hand mouse, and there's a lot more left handed computer users out there than hardcore Linux based gamers..

linux doesn't *directly* lead to sales - but that's not the only way to sell hardware. there are client versions of id software and epic megagames titles for linux, not because it's a big seller, but because gaining favour from the nebulous "linux massiv" is worthwhile to them - a client is seen as a good way to convince server admins to support a given game. similarly, whilst a single desktop might not matter to nvidia or ati, it's a question of whose desktop - if the guy in question happens to have a six or seven figure hardware budget at work, then all of a sudden he becomes a more interesting target to please. slashdot's readership control of a staggering combined budget.

linux gamers are worthless. linux gamers once they put on a suit are suddenly invaluable

[Stoo]

I wasn't saying it was a good or bad thing, I was merely demonstrating the apparent current business logic behind the lack of funding for the linux development projects at ATi.

nVidia obviously favour a different logic.

[yamangman]

It's all very well looking at why they may do it, but that's tatamount to just resigning yourself and accepting their half-arsed efforts. My 7800GT was running Quake 4 right from a clean 10.2 install. In the same camp as Mike too. It was the primary reason I plumped for an nVidia - closely followed by ATi's awful CCC software.

[directhex]

well it's the one reason i went for nvidia last time i was buying - chances are if i'd bought a radeon instead of a 4200 a fea years back i wouldn't have switched to linux

infact, maybe that's it - ati are paid by MS to suck hard enoguh to turn people away from linux

[badass]

Originally Posted by directhex

linux gamers are worthless. linux gamers once they put on a suit are suddenly invaluable

Not really.
Windows is far more popular in an enterprise environment aswell.
Plus not that many businesses use discreet graphics anyway.
I can see why ATI cant be bothered to support a small percentage of gamers that have influence in an even smaller percentage of businesses.

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by yamangman

It's all very well looking at why they may do it, but that's tatamount to just resigning yourself and accepting their half-arsed efforts.

No, it just means that I'm not a linux desktop user and can see the business case of why up to this point ATi haven't invested in boosting their Linux development team.

As I mentioned before, look at all the campaigning it has taken before one of the major peripheral manufacturers finally decided to release a dedicated left-handed mouse, it's going to take a lot more than moaning in the odd forum for them to change their minds, a proper campaign needs to be organised and a clear business case needs to be put forward.

Simply saying "because nVidia does" isn't enough for the suits holding the purse strings - they know the hardcore gamers are still locked into Windows, and Linux doesn't have the market penetration yet for them to be particularly worried about the mid-low end market either.

If you can put clear numbers on the argument then they might just start to listen.

[yamangman]

i.e. a company is driven by profits, you don't say

As a company, and as an organisation that employs a great number of people who would claim to have a professional disposition, i'd like to see them obligated to take the action necessary. Of course what's necessary is a rather "adjustable goal-post" situation.

[TheAnimus]

Linux drivers are much harder to make than windows ones, at least I've found it so, but graphics drivers are actually surprisingly portable once you've wrapped up the simple stuff, where most spend ages of optermisation tends not to be on the often chipset specefic tricks (certain chipsets take longer to do certain operations on the PCIe bus).

But what amuses me greatly is the total lack of unix support as a whole, what the heck are they playing at? ATi are big enough to not notice the few k it would cost to develope. My guess, they don't want to do it half-assed.

A half-assed driver from them could cost them a lot of reputation, if people bench them against Nvida, and it turns out, because their driver isn't that clever, they loose 30% of the performance ground, compared to on NT, they'll have all kinds of egg on their face from the 99% who don't use linux for gaming, rather than the minority who do.

[Agent]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

A half-assed driver from them could cost them a lot of reputation, if people bench them against Nvida, and it turns out, because their driver isn't that clever, they loose 30% of the performance ground, compared to on NT, they'll have all kinds of egg on their face from the 99% who don't use linux for gaming, rather than the minority who do.

Thats whats happening anyway on all the cards that are currently supported.
And its a lot worse than 30% in some cases, in my experience.