Intel has started laying the groundwork for Linux support of its upcoming dedicated GPUs, and given the timing, Intel is sending a subtle message that Linux won't be a second-class citizen when it comes to drivers.
Phoronix spotted Intel delivering 42 patches and 4000 lines of codes to its existing Linux graphics drivers. The exact content of the patches isn't going to get the average consumer excited, but it does center around preparing "upcoming devices with device local memory." And as Intel makes clear in the below tweet, this is specifically for its future discrete graphics cards.
Our journey toward a new visual computing experience is underway, and that includes a commitment to the #OpenSource community. Local memory implementation is the first of many steps toward robust Linux support for our future discrete graphics solutions. https://t.co/AUFTA1zo1V pic.twitter.com/G3POZXYW6H
— Intel Graphics (@IntelGraphics) February 15, 2019
As Phoronix' Michael Larabel points out: "With past generations of Intel graphics, we generally see the first Linux kernel patches roughly a year or so out from the actual hardware debut." The author has been entrenched in the Linux hardware world for at least 15 years, so if history is anything to go by, perhaps we'll see Intel's dedicated GPU debut as early as February 2020?
This may be common practice for Intel, but the company is starting to get very vocal about it, primarily through its new Intel Graphics account on Twitter.
The Dedicated Graphics Battle: What Intel Must Do On The Road To 2020
I wrote earlier about Intel internally acknowledging that there's a mountain to climb when it comes to engaging and understanding the enthusiast gaming community. To that end, Intel has ramped up its efforts to gather constructive feedback, and it's constructing bridges into the future by establishing a more confident understanding of what gamers really want. Not the gamer who buys a cheap desktop or laptop and happily plays undemanding titles like League of Legends with integrated graphics. The kind of gamer who's on the bleeding edge with 144Hz displays and high-end GPUs, and understands the importance behind TFLOPS and memory bandwidth.
Intel's also increased its cadence of driver releases for integrated graphics products, reminding would-be consumers of its upcoming dedicated cards that it can go toe-to-toe with AMD and Nvidia in that space.
A patch with 4000 lines of code may be boring on the surface, but it paints an appealing picture of gaming and professional graphics support on Linux, and that's something I won't turn down.
