While the new feature code is not normally allowed in the past, at the end of the merge window for a particular Linux kernel release cycle, Linus Torvalds decided to merge the recently released open source driver code for graphics cards. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 “Ampere” for the Linux 5.11 kernel that will debut as stable in February.
Prior to the release of Linux 5.11-rc4 this weekend, Linus Torvalds merged the new open source code for NVIDIA RTX 30 / Ampere GPUs via the Nouveau driver. It was fine when it allowed this late addition to Linux 5.11, because the new hardware support is standalone and does not risk regressing the existing NVIDIA GPU support in the Nouveau driver. Thus, it is one of the rare cases in which it is possible to add a new code after a merge window, because there is a minimal risk that it will regress the status quo of the hardware support.
But, as pointed out yesterday in the previous related article, this initial open-source hardware support from the GeForce 3000 series is limited only to setting the kernel mode without any hardware acceleration. The initialization of the various GPU engines is conditioned by the signed firmware blobs that have not yet been published by NVIDIA. Even then, there is the situation of re-clocking / performance as a major obstacle that remains for all GPUs beyond the GeForce GTX 950 series …
So, at least for the upcoming Linux 5.11 kernel, the Nouveau open-source driver should be in good enough shape to ensure that your display lights up properly with an NVIDIA RTX 30 series GPU, so you can have a pleasing display experience while downloading the NVIDIA Kernel Graphics Driver owner to enjoy a complete high-performance experience. Until the 3D acceleration and all other limitations (including no open-source Vulkan drivers), the only reasonable way with the RTX 30 series is to use the high-quality, cross-platform, but proprietary NVIDIA driver.
The initial Ampere mode setting code came to Linux 5.11 through this combination.
Also notable in this week’s Linux Git tree are DRM fixes that include some new AMD Renoir PCI IDs, a graphics engine fix for Sienna Cichlid, and other random fixes. On the Intel side is also the Intel Haswell GT1 solution after half a year of support. Meanwhile, with the next cycle (Linux 5.12) is then the ability to optionally disable Intel graphics security attenuations that led to the problem in the first place and that can also have a negative impact on Intel graphics performance.