Ati/Matthew Tippett

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Could you tell us who you are and what you do at ATI??

Matthew Tippett. I am the Engineering Manager for ATI’s Linux Software Engineering unit.

Why are there so many reports of problems with the ATI drivers and X.org and Xfree86 when enabling certain features or when a certain chipset is used (VIA) (bear in mind I have never used a ATI product besides the ATi Rage 2 c we have here and I do know that this may be a mute point being that you now have x.org drivers now but some still use Xfree86.)

ATI recognizes and acknowledges the problems we have had, both past and ongoing, with regard to our Linux driver support and we are committed to taking the steps to improve and eliminate many of these issues altogether.

ATI has a longstanding history with our Linux drivers.

We have taken a significant step forward with the implementation of driver releases every two months in our concerted effort to improve ATI’s Linux driver stability under the Catalyst banner.

What can an end user do to get the best or better results under Linux and windows???

This is a broad question with several variables as there are numerous ways to get better results under Linux and Windows.

Obviously, the type and age of the graphics hardware being used plays a large role.

Additionally, ensuring you are running the latest version of your operating system as well a installing the most current graphics drivers can also improve performance.

Something as simple as checking the settings to ensure the correct settings for the equipment and applications you are running can also positively affect performance.

Will ATI enable sli under Linux???

It is important to point out SLI is the brand name of a competing solution.

ATI’s multi-graphics processor solution is CrossFire. My mistake and I'm sorry I tried to use it to group the tech

Unfortunately, ATI cannot comment on products before they are announced.

What we can say is that we are focused on listening to our customers, identifying what we see as the overriding future needs of the market, and responding to these needs accordingly.

How long is Linux driver testing done before release???

ATI currently provides a generally-available release of our proprietary Linux driver every two months.

Each release is extensively tested with an automated and manual test suite before being released to a beta testing community for further feedback.

Upon successful conclusion of these test phases, the driver is posted as generally-available on ATI.com.

ATI’s Linux driver releases are in beta for at least one month prior to release and the test and release cycle matches that of ATI’s Catalyst driver for Windows-based systems.

What distro's do you use to cover the whole range???

ATI supports Novell/SUSE, SUSE LINUX Professional, SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server, Novell Linux Desktop, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation, Enterprise Server and Advanced Server.

However, as typically, if a driver works for one distribution, it almost always works for others.

Our developers use a variety of distributions on their development hosts to ensure issues are found as far upstream in the development process as possible.

As part of our packaging and release strategy, we encourage distribution vendors to repackage and redistribute in accordance with ATI’s end-user license.

Our recently released installer provides capacity to generation native packages.

If distribution packagers would like to contact me we would gladly accept package creation scripts for those distributions.

I can be contacted via email at:mtippett@ati.com.

When will Red Hat/Fedora Core users be able to enable transparency and 3d acceleration???

For transparency, the composite extension is currently marked as experimental by X.org maintainers.

When the extension moves to production, we will add support to our planned feature list.

What feature set makes ATI video cards a match with Linux???

ATI has a solid engineering team with an established track record and we are highly engaged with the Linux community including distribution vendors, software developers and the end users.

We are seeing a great deal of support from the distribution vendors and developers and the momentum is there, we are moving forward rapidly.

An example of our commitment and momentum on this front can be seen with ATI’s 8.16 driver release, which now provides the capability to drive all displays simultaneously including LCD, CRT and TV monitors.

What features should we look for when buying an ATI card compared to others???

In terms of ATI’s Linux drivers, stability has increased substantially in the last year.

We have also significantly improved display management and installation.

On the desktop side, ATI’s high-end graphics processors include many features such as SmartShader HD, ATI's highly advanced pixel shader engine. There’s also the SmoothVision HD feature which combines advanced texture filtering with ATI's 3Dc image enhancement technology to deliver brilliant image quality without compromising performance.

Hyper HD is ATI's intelligent data compression technology which optimizes available memory bandwidth for ultra-high resolution 3D gaming and performance.

On the notebook side, ATI’s mobile graphics processor features also include SmartShader HD and 3Dc as well mobile features such as PowerPlay power management technology and ATI’s LCD Enhancement Engine, LCD-EE, to name a few.

Additionally, ATI’s Mobility Radeon X800 XT is the first mobile graphics processor with 16 pixel pipelines.

How can an end user get the best performance in both windows and Linux???

There is no simple answer to this question because graphics performance is dependent upon a number of variables including your hardware and system configuration and the applications you are using.
Please also refer to our earlier response to the third question on how to get the best results under Linux and Windows.

What games do you and your co-workers play ???

In our off-time and in no particular order we play: Armagetron, BZ Flag, Doom 3, Enemy Territory, Flight Gear, Mame, Never_ball, Neverwinter Nights, PP Racer, Quake, Torcs, Tux Racer, Unreal Tournament 2004, Vega Strike, etc.

What card do you have in your windows box or Linux box???

I have a Radeon X300 in my desktop and a Mobility Radeon 9800 in my laptop.
On our development machines we have anything from Radeon 8500 to Radeon X850 XT PE on the consumer side, and FireGL T2 to FireGL v7100 and various unreleased products.

What new features should we be on the look out for from ATI???

We cannot discuss features before they are announced, however be on the look out for driver support for new mobile and multimedia features.
Of course, we are also concentrating on support for the next generation of ATI graphics processors.

Will ATI support Linux based pvr systems???

In order to maintain our position as an industry leader we must constantly be assessing our customer’s needs and evaluating the broader market to identify future trends, standards and requirements.
If ATI assess there is a clear market need for a particular feature or functionality, such as Linux-based PVR systems, we respond rapidly and accordingly.
With our workstation customers making up the bulk of our Linux users, they are our main “gauging” factor for Linux driver support.
As of yet we still do not see a strong enough need for this type of support within the workstation market.

Will ATI make a media center bundle for Linux???

The best way to answer this question is to refer to our previous response.
Again, if ATI assess a clear market need, we will respond accordingly.
As of yet, we do not see this as being a high-priority need for our workstation customers.

Does or will ATI aid Linux projects like MythTV???

ATI does not currently support MythTV.
However, qualified developers can contact ATI’s Developer Relations department (devrel@ati.com) if they wish to request ATI hardware or programming information for certain hardware.
Unfortunately I am unable to comment on Developer Relations policies and procedures.

What should we look for in a card from ATI point of view for a HDTV supporting pvr system???

ATI does not currently offer Linux support for personal video recording on HDTV systems.
However, this support is available on Windows-based systems through our HDTV Wonder products.
Again, ATI has made this decision based on its customers and the needs of the broader market.
In the workstation market that makes up the majority of our customers who use Linux, this is not currently a high-priority requirement.

Created by themoddingden
Last modified 2006-09-05 08:56 PM

Ati/Matthew Tippett

Document Actions

Could you tell us who you are and what you do at ATI??

What can an end user do to get the best or better results under Linux and windows???

Will ATI enable sli under Linux???

How long is Linux driver testing done before release???

What distro's do you use to cover the whole range???

When will Red Hat/Fedora Core users be able to enable transparency and 3d acceleration???

What feature set makes ATI video cards a match with Linux???

What features should we look for when buying an ATI card compared to others???

How can an end user get the best performance in both windows and Linux???

What games do you and your co-workers play ???

What card do you have in your windows box or Linux box???

What new features should we be on the look out for from ATI???

Will ATI support Linux based pvr systems???

Will ATI make a media center bundle for Linux???

Does or will ATI aid Linux projects like MythTV???

What should we look for in a card from ATI point of view for a HDTV supporting pvr system???

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