AMD haven’t proven indicators of Navi in Linux drivers simply but, I’m afraid. At least not in any significant method. It can be good to see some affirmation of AMD’s 7nm course of reaching the stringent testing section of GPU growth, however sadly rumours of Linux drivers bringing Navi into the fold – which surfaced on-line just lately and unfold like wildfire – are nothing greater than demo code.
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We’re no masters of Linux driver code, however Phoronix are, and it seems we had been proper to doubt what appeared like pretend code. Not solely is the code from a demo file, it’s not even for Linux drivers – it’s for AMD’s UMR, or somewhat, their open-source GPU debugger software program.
The code supposedly outlines Navi help as a result of gfx10 nomenclature, which is prone to be the codename for Navi in growth:
new_chip.gfx10.mmSUPER_SECRET => 0x12345670
new_chip.gfx10.mmSUPER_SECRET.allow[0:0]
This instance code lies inside a demo file for testing the UMR, not inside the UMR itself. The true objective of this code wasn’t uncovered on account of some mystic divination or entrail studying, it’s all proper there within the code itself. The SUPER_SECRET nomenclature is a little bit deterring, however the tackle code of 0x12345670 is way extra abhorrent.
The article additionally factors to the AMD APU Carrizo structure, which is referred to within the code as ‘Fakerizo’. This is filed below: git a/demo/npi/fakerizo. While the GPU reference was below: git a/demo/npi/new_chip.
Unfortunately, the 7nm course of will take a while. It can be shocking to see AMD handle to determine this new lithography /and/ next-gen reminiscence by the top of 2018 – even when that was GDDR6. I’m not ruling out all hope, solely remaining sceptical. Rumours are inclined to recommend a 2018 launch for the professional chips, in spite of everything.
We are certain to see increasingly rumours of Navi within the coming 12 months, with a few of them, in fact, ringing true as AMD engineers undoubtedly work tirelessly on their subsequent GPU tech. However, we doubtless have many attention-grabbing releases awaiting us in 2018, and hopefully AMD usually are not dashing Navi to launch earlier than the next-gen structure has reached its potential. We haven’t even seen the complete potential of Vega but, so there’s a option to go.
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