Nvidia Open GPU Linux Kernel Driver Soon Be the Default for Turing, Newer GPUs (opens in new tab)

(phoronix.com)

45 pointsprofwalkstr1y ago10 comments

10 comments

Iirc a ton of the driver code than really matters (can someone add detail?) is still (and likely forever will be) closed source.

emersion1y ago

The userspace components (GL/Vulkan driver, NVENC, etc) and the firmware remain closed source.

adamzegelin1y ago

Anything important and proprietary is now in firmware.

1 more reply

kentonv1y ago

I wonder if these open drivers will be permitted to implement HDMI 2.1 (e.g. 8k resolution)? Apparently the HDMI Forum has told AMD they cannot support HDMI 2.1 in their own open source drivers, which infuriatingly means the only way to get 8k over HDMI on Linux right now is to use Nvidia's closed drivers... Are we about to lose HDMI 2.1 entirely on Linux?

(I know, this is ridiculous and we should use DisplayPort instead. I'm just curious.)

michaellarabel1y ago

NVIDIA can handle HDMI 2.1 with open-source driver as they punt it off to firmware - https://www.phoronix.com/news/NVIDIA-Firmware-Blobs-HDMI-2.1

kentonv1y ago

Thanks!

Now I wonder why AMD can't do the same.

1 more reply

dindresto1y ago

Isn't CUDA still incompatible with the open kernel driver?

aseipp1y ago

CUDA has been compatible with the open kernel modules for a while, in fact now that I looked it up, there's at least a handful of features that requires the open kernel drivers, including 1 CUDA specific one (DMABUF support):

https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/550.78/READ...

2019841y ago

From TFA:

> ...so far there's no indications of major shifts around going open-source on the user-space driver side, especially around their walled CUDA compute garden.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

10 comments

elromulous1y ago

Iirc a ton of the driver code than really matters (can someone add detail?) is still (and likely forever will be) closed source.

emersion1y ago

The userspace components (GL/Vulkan driver, NVENC, etc) and the firmware remain closed source.

adamzegelin1y ago

Anything important and proprietary is now in firmware.

1 more reply

kentonv1y ago

(I know, this is ridiculous and we should use DisplayPort instead. I'm just curious.)

michaellarabel1y ago

NVIDIA can handle HDMI 2.1 with open-source driver as they punt it off to firmware - https://www.phoronix.com/news/NVIDIA-Firmware-Blobs-HDMI-2.1

kentonv1y ago

Thanks!

Now I wonder why AMD can't do the same.

1 more reply

dindresto1y ago

Isn't CUDA still incompatible with the open kernel driver?

aseipp1y ago

https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/550.78/READ...

2019841y ago

From TFA:

> ...so far there's no indications of major shifts around going open-source on the user-space driver side, especially around their walled CUDA compute garden.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse