@Hans

Great

- Do you have a list of graphic cards you would like to see supported (or planned) by your driver ???

(Just for users to buy one for testing your driver or for buying one for you as a gift).

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@Mrodfr

Quote:

Mrodfr wrote: @Hans Great - Do you have a list of graphic cards you would like to see supported (or planned) by your driver ??? (Just for users to buy one for testing your driver or for buying one for you as a gift).

I have tested it with a Radeon X1300 and Radeon HD 2400 pro so far. I'm aiming to support all R5xx/R6xx (and one day the R7xx too, if a PCI version is made, or we get PCI-Express motherboards). There are Radeon X1550 PCI cards too, but I haven't tested that one yet because I don't have one of those (and I hate swapping cards all the time).

I would advise people to hold off with buying RadeonHD cards, because I have no ETA on a beta, and, 3D support will take even longer. However, for the eager, hardware acceleration will be implemented initially for R5xx cards, so Radeon X1300/X1550 cards will be better in the short-term. I do plan to work on R6xx hardware acceleration too, though, when AMD opens up the documentation.

Hans

_________________
http://hdrlab.org.nz/ - Amiga OS 4 projects, programming articles and more. Home of the RadeonHD driver for Amiga OS 4.x project.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@Hans

Have you asked AMD about getting an NDA and have access to non-open documentation? That is possible. I'd advise against saying the word "Amiga" though if you do ask.


@all
Should we consider a bounty to get Hans a PCI->PCI-Express bridge for trying R700 stuff? Such as one of PLX Technologies' PCI to PCI-Express bridfe RDK development/evaluation boards? I have one of these, cost about US$500 a couple years ago when I got it, may be cheaper now, and looks like they have a new chip as well to consider. Even without a PCI R700 board from graphics companies, we could potentially have the driver supporting it for when we do ever get PCI-Express slots. I can't remember for absolute certain but I think he'd need the reverse bridge board
http://www.semiconductorstore.com/cart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=5927
Might be the forward board, I'll check on that if anyone's interested. No, he can't have mine. I think Olegil had one or similar too.

Last edited by billt on 14-Oct-2008 at 04:41 PM.

_________________
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@billt
It's a good idea - but IMO R700 will be oboslete in a few months. R800 will be made in a 40nm tech process (and that's a huge step from 65/55) and should be used for a longer period of time. So lets stay with R400/R500 development for now ...

PS. ...would really like to see a new ITX Amiga with R800 mobile GPU...

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I'd like to see anything.

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@billt

Quote:

billt wrote: @Hans Have you asked AMD about getting an NDA and have access to non-open documentation? That is possible. I'd advise against saying the word "Amiga" though if you do ask.

Not yet. The full 3D documentation for R6xx/R7xx cards will be opened (I sent them an email and they replied pretty quickly). The non-open documentation will be harder to get. AFAIK it covers things such as HDCP and video decoding. My top priority is 2D acceleration and then 3D so not having these right now is no big loss.

Quote:

@all Should we consider a bounty to get Hans a PCI->PCI-Express bridge for trying R700 stuff? Such as one of PLX Technologies' PCI to PCI-Express bridfe RDK development/evaluation boards? I have one of these, cost about US$500 a couple years ago when I got it, may be cheaper now, and looks like they have a new chip as well to consider. Even without a PCI R700 board from graphics companies, we could potentially have the driver supporting it for when we do ever get PCI-Express slots. I can't remember for absolute certain but I think he'd need the reverse bridge board http://www.semiconductorstore.com/cart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=5927 Might be the forward board, I'll check on that if anyone's interested. No, he can't have mine. I think Olegil had one or similar too.

There is a chance that Diamond or Viewtek will come out with an R7xx PCI card. These cards are effectively the PCI-Express version with a PCI to PCI-Express bridge-chip on-board (and that's how they appear to the system).

While I'd certainly be interested in getting an R7xx card, my focus is on the R5xx now (because I have complete documentation for HW acceleration). I think that I should get what I have up and running properly first. Getting a DVI monitor is a higher priority.

Hans

_________________
http://hdrlab.org.nz/ - Amiga OS 4 projects, programming articles and more. Home of the RadeonHD driver for Amiga OS 4.x project.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@Hans

What license is the code you're doing under? Is it gpl? Or is it different so proprietary stuff can be added to it as well?

Last edited by billt on 14-Oct-2008 at 06:21 PM.

_________________
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@billt

Quote:

billt wrote: @Hans What license is the code you're doing under? Is it gpl? Or is it different so proprietary stuff can be added to it as well?

I have used the Linux driver as a reference, but AMD released their code (for the Linux driver) under a BSD style license. Otherwise I couldn't have used it, since the Picasso96 API is closed. Thus, my driver is closed-source.

Hans

Last edited by Hans on 14-Oct-2008 at 06:48 PM.

_________________
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https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@Hans

YES, YES, YES!

a HUGUE: CONGRATULATIONS !!! and THANK YOU, Hans

I am very happy to know how this is going somewhere, and to a very important and significant place. Having the opportunity to use the latest gen cards it is a crucial stepforward that opens a new perception about the kind of software and possibilities the users and developers aim for the platform.

Your work will be even more appreciated in the near future, when the people realize it , as we owe it to you

Last edited by vision on 14-Oct-2008 at 08:25 PM.

@Hans

Great work!

Some questions though.. Are you working alone on this? If so.. Will it stay that way
forever?
Is it possible this will turn into a standard OS4.x driver? Maybe even some other
in the OS4 team will help with further development in that case?

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@Samwel

Quote:

Samwel wrote: @Hans Great work! Some questions though.. Are you working alone on this? If so.. Will it stay that way forever? Is it possible this will turn into a standard OS4.x driver? Maybe even some other in the OS4 team will help with further development in that case?

Right now it's a solo project, but that may change at some point. Most likely getting drivers with full OpenGL support (via MESA) will require multiple people. It makes sense for the driver to eventually appear on Amiga OS 4.x install CDs since otherwise people would still need older graphics cards in order to install the OS.

Hans

_________________
http://hdrlab.org.nz/ - Amiga OS 4 projects, programming articles and more. Home of the RadeonHD driver for Amiga OS 4.x project.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@Hans

It is a bit unbelieveable that no one at hyperion or involved in os4 has contected you or offered you help in any way.

I know they have a lot of work, but just giving a little hand or a bit of support to an achievement as CRUCIAL as this one, seems to me more right, than completely ignoring it (this thread has been opened already for 6 months!).

I hope you get some help more sooner than later

Last edited by vision on 15-Oct-2008 at 12:15 PM.

@vision

Hans is in contact with the OS4 devs. In fact he just got a whole lot closer to them, in a way.

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@vision

Like Xeron said, I am talking to the OS4 devs. In fact, I wouldn't have been able to make a Picasso96 driver at all without them giving me the developer files. Right now it's still a personal project and I haven't asked for help. As things progress the situation may change.

Hans

_________________
http://hdrlab.org.nz/ - Amiga OS 4 projects, programming articles and more. Home of the RadeonHD driver for Amiga OS 4.x project.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@Hans

I am happy to hear that , but I would be happier if I was sure that all the work (or at least support) to make possible to have modern graphic cards on Amiga has been done. And I have my doubts on that

I will not say anything more for respect to devs, but I hope we will not repeat this situation in the future

@vision

Rest assured that things are happening. More needs to be done than just the RadeonHD driver in order to get full OpenGL support, etc.

Hans

_________________
http://hdrlab.org.nz/ - Amiga OS 4 projects, programming articles and more. Home of the RadeonHD driver for Amiga OS 4.x project.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@Hans

AMD Releases Open-Source R600/700 3D Code !!!

Since earlier this year we have been waiting for AMD to release documentation and/or code on the ATI R600 series concerning 3D acceleration so that the open-source Linux drivers can begin to support the newer ATI graphics processors. It has taken longer than expected for AMD to complete and release this information, but it's now available. AMD has released the fundamental Linux code needed to begin fostering the development of an open-source R600 3D driver. Furthermore, this code also concerns the latest R700 series of graphics processors! The microcode for the newest GPUs has also been released.

Just hours before the start of FOSDEM 2008 in late February, AMD had released their R500 3D programming documentation. This documentation paved the way for open-source developers to begin working on a Mesa driver that would extend the earlier R300/400 series support to enable OpenGL acceleration on the Radeon X1000 series. This was also the first public documentation drop concerning 3D support since AMD's open-source strategy announcement last September. Following the 3D documentation release, two revisions were made to add in more technical details. The first revision added in just four pages while the second had detailed their command processor.

Up to that point all of the work was going into enabling mode-setting support and other basic functionality across the R500 and R600 series in the xf86-video-radeonhd driver (and then xf86-video-ati through AtomBIOS). Right after they announced their open-source initiative they had released 900 pages of specifications and then in the months that followed they released a lot more documentation.

Two weeks after the initial R500 3D documentation release, AMD had released an R300 3D register guide. This programming guide concerning their older graphics hardware was previously only available through Non-Disclosure Agreements to select developers. AMD had also released microcode for all their GPUs from their proprietary Catalyst driver.

Less than a month after the R500 3D documentation drop, the first milestone was reached: hardware-accelerated R500 glxgears. This was quite a milestone and signaled that OpenGL acceleration for the R500 series in Mesa would soon be coming. In late May there was then open-source R500 3D success with Compiz beginning to work on this relatively modern hardware along with some other OpenGL programs. As we shared in an article a day later, it was possible to game with the open-source driver using some select titles that don't stress Mesa too much. Since the point of reaching parity in the open-source support to that of earlier ATI generations, the rest of the year has not been too exciting.

Novell, AMD, and Red Hat developers have been doing a majority of the work taking advantage of the documentation, while internally at AMD they have been working to prepare the R600 documentation for release. John Bridgman and Alex Deucher have been working on deciding what code or documentation is needed for programming, sanitize it of any information not relevant to bringing up the 3D engine, remove any details concerning future ATI hardware, and then getting all of this work cleared by AMD's lead software and hardware architects so that it can be publicly released without any NDAs or other string attached. To say the least, this has taken longer than anticipated. There were a few times when it looked like the documentation and code would be coming soon, only to then be pushed back by additional hurdles, but this time around they got code to deliver too. Part of the good news out of this though is that they are continuing to refine their documentation writing process so that with future generations there may be a quicker turn-around time.

The other good news is that with the R600 series they made sure there was sufficient documentation coverage by first writing the software support to find out what was needed, instead of finding out later they hadn't released enough documentation to enable the 3D engine or they ended up releasing too much documentation than what most open-source developers would actually use. The code they are releasing is in a working state, but is currently meant for developer usage.


source: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_r600_oss_3d

Sure this is a big help. Maybe something to celebrate?

Last edited by vision on 30-Dec-2008 at 07:18 PM.
Last edited by vision on 30-Dec-2008 at 02:12 PM.

@vision

Quote:

Sure this is a big help. Maybe something to celebrate?

yes this is something to celebrate !

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"The system no longer works " -- Young Anakin Skywalker

@vision

They haven't actually released the documentation yet, but it's good to know that it's almost there. Now the question is, should I do 2D acceleration for the R5xx series first? Or the R6xx series? I still have no documentation for vblank interrupts for the R6xx series.

BTW, are there any R7xx based PCI cards?

Hans

_________________
http://hdrlab.org.nz/ - Amiga OS 4 projects, programming articles and more. Home of the RadeonHD driver for Amiga OS 4.x project.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - More of my work.

@vision

What software would make use of such a good graphics card? I Guess.
Or is it hardware passion exclusively?
Hardware is nothing without software.

BTW, AmigaOS 4.1 is maybe founding the base of a new era,
nice web browser (OWB), unix applications through Cygnix,
tools than anyone liking to come to the amigaworld need in
everyday's use.

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