[NCLUG] Intel open source drivers

[Sean Reifschneider]

On Thu, Jan 25, 2007 at 04:08:11PM -0700, Chad Perrin wrote:
>for open source OSes.  I still mostly only see discussions of free unix
>users discussing Radeon and GeForce graphics adapters, and the

That's because the Radeon and GeForce users need more help than the Intel
users.  ;-/

>Is there anyone out there that actively seeks out Intel chipsets for 3D
>accelerated graphics adapters and wireless networking adapters, for

I haven't really purchased hardware since Intel started the talk of having
good 3D hardware.  I definitely in the past have gone out of my way to seek
out Intel ethernet cards or motherboards with them, and over the last year
or two have been recommending the Intel wireless.  While I have also
recommended the Prism54 cards in the past, I've definitely recommended away
from Atheros, I've had lots of problems with them.  Though with the recent
changes in the project, they'll probably be much better supported now.

My main machine now is using a "Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML",
and it works well.  However, 3D is not it's strong point.  I can just
barely run the KDE compositing quickly enough to not be annoying, but Beryl
isn't even close.

My previous laptop was using an ATI chipset and for a long time I was using
the unaccelerated 3D driver because the ATI binary driver wouldn't suspend
properly.  On a "mobile" chipset.  What a crock.  More recently, the r300
driver has come a long way (baby), and is acceptably speedy, but the ATI
driver is faster by quite a bit and has more features.

I'm hoping for good things from Intel related to 3D, but I expect it to be
a while.  I'd definitely consider it if I have the choice, even if just to
try it out, but mostly I have to use what the vendor of the rest of the
system pushes on me.  Almost none of my systems let me choose the video
board, and the ones that do I rarely care about.  A recent system I built I
put a PCI video card in -- it just doesn't matter when it sits in the
basement being a backup or asterisk server, right?  With laptops, where I
actually use the display, I have almost no choice except in the wireless.

Thanks,
Sean
-- 
 This mountain is PURE SNOW!  Do you know what the street value of this
 mountain is!?!                -- Better Off Dead
Sean Reifschneider, Member of Technical Staff <jafo at tummy.com>
tummy.com, ltd. - Linux Consulting since 1995: Ask me about High Availability