Maybe we now can get Linux/ATI/Blender to all get along now!
Interesting. From the R500 onwards. So I guess that means within a year there should be good compatible drivers for linux for their modern cards.
Here’s the slashdot thread: http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/05/1328225
AMD is pretty col about linux drivers… ATI is currently total Crap in linux, and with blender in general.
I really hope to see a change in the future, this will really help out the linux community.
New ATI drivers coming out soon, Mmph!
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070904006432&newsLang=en
Actually, this article is not about the new Linux drivers (as in that /. article), but about the fact that AMD is releasing the specs for the R500 so anyone can write a full 3d driver for any os they want. This is what the Linux community has been asking for for awhile. If you can’t create working drivers for Linux, fine, but at least give us the info so that we can do it.
This is great news! I did believe, that AMD would follow through with their promise of better Linux commitment, and this still surprises me. It’s definitely a leap from ATI support and driver quality. The previews on Phoronix are looking good, with 50% - 90% speed increases! Supplying the specs, and supporting open source developers, is very commendable indeed!
The other side of the coin, is that maybe it’s too late? I know that the company I work for has been burnt by ATI. They were promised excellent Linux support by FireGL, but shortly after ATI bought FireGL. Since then, there have been a lot of disappointment and frustration, because of the not optimal performance and flaky stability. Now we only buy, test and recomment Nvidia GPUs to customers (in health care).
I have used Nvidia since GeForce256, and have been very happy with them, because of their great OpenGL performance. My 7600GS w. 512MB RAM will last me a long time, but by then, maybe my next GPU will be a highend card from AMD, with sweet, open source drivers! 