F
or all but the most dedicated Linux
geeks, graphics-intensive gaming
remains a painfully elusive fantasy. The
few games that can run on Linux (using a
Windows API emulator) typically demand
that you throttle down the graphics to
embarrassingly low settings, even if you’ve
got a pixel-shredding new GPU in your rig.
Why? It’s the drivers.
Of the two leading GPU vendors, ATI
has taken the worst beating from Linux
users—and for good reason. For years, the
company has basically ignored Linux, with
sporadic development leaving its propri-
etary driver stagnant and underpowered
and no open-source driver for the com-
munity to improve upon. “All of the things
people take for granted in the consumer
Linux world? We weren’t doing any of
that,” says ATI principal technical staffer
John Bridgman. Meanwhile, Nvidia has at
least managed to put out decent closed-
source, proprietary drivers for Linux, mak-
ing it the fi rst choice for 3D graphics in the
open-source world.
Now ATI is fighting back with a plan to
overclock its reputation with Linux users.
ATI’s new Linux initiative is two-
fold. First, the company is bringing its
Linux Radeon driver development cycle
in sync with its Windows development
cycle, making it easier for the company
to port the latest code to Linux. Second,
ATI is releasing an open-source version
of its drivers—stripped of DRM-related
IP—to the public, allowing open-source
Linux distributions such as Ubuntu and
OpenSUSE to update drivers as part of
their own development cycles.
“The open-source library will reduce
the turnaround time for the support of
newer GPUs. This bodes well for the long-
term growth of its surrounding commu-nity,” says Alex Fletcher, principal analyst
at Entiva Group. But, says Fletcher, “there
is a fair amount of skepticism about ATI’s
plans based on a lackluster record of
Linux support.”
At the heart of ATI’s new interest in
Linux is a little bit of prodding from AMD,
which acquired the company in 2006. The
decision to release open-source graphics
drivers is a refl ection of AMD’s own policy
of supporting the open-source community.
Analyst Alex Fletcher credits the
demand for 3D performance improvements
to Linux’s gathering momentum among
desktop users but says the issue extends
beyond gaming. “There are far more
potential benefi ciaries for 3D performance
acceleration on Linux than just games,” he
says. But it does seem that gaming graph-
ics are a key component of ATI’s decision.
John Bridgman of ATI explains, “We don’t
know exactly where gaming on Linux is
going to go. But if it doesn’t happen, we’d
rather it not be our fault.”
The open source ATI Radeon HD driver
is available now at http://tinyurl.com/2ccdk3.quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
ATI Opens Up
(Its Drivers)
08 MAXIMUMPC HOLIDAY 2007
Is Linux finally getting decent
3D graphics support?
Linux users have been clamoring for a decent driver for
their Radeon cards. Now they’ll be able to pick between an
open-source version and ATI’s updated proprietary driver.With the new open-source driver, every Linux
distribution will be able to bundle custom-
tailored ATI Radeon support that’s free from
licensing restrictions.