Half the notebook computers and a growing number of desktops shipped in 2011 will run on graphics-enabled microprocessors as designers Intel and AMD increase competition for the units that raise multimedia speeds without add-ons. Processors with built-in graphics capabilities will be installed this year on 115 million notebooks, half of total shipments, and 63 million desktop PCs, or 45 percent of the total, according to analysts.
Will drivers be needed to benefit from any of these features?
Hi,
Yes.
– Brendan
Open source drivers for AMD fusion APUs were announced at almost the same time that the chips were:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODc5Mw
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_ontario_open…
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_fusion_e350&…
AMD is starting a significant effort to boost its Linux driver capabilities:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=OTIwNA
This effort is probably centred around Fusion, and probably Android.
So Linux will get support for APUs, but the majority of open source operating systems will not have it for some time.
Linux != All Open Source
Linux is the new Windows.
Could this be the true meaning of the long-predicted “day of the Linux desktop” ?
Neither xorg nor DRI is specific to Linux. This driver probably wont work on the BSD:s due to lack of kernel mode setting, but still.
Believing that GPU manufacturers have enough common sense to realize how much of a stupid idea nonstandard hardware interfaces are ?
If only…