Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2016 19:04:43 +0000 From: Manish Jain <bourne.identity@hotmail.com> To: "freebsd-x11@freebsd.org" <freebsd-x11@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Any chance for ATI Radeon 8470 HD graphics ? Message-ID: <VI1PR02MB097446935B86D0E0A2DEE429F6100@VI1PR02MB0974.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com> In-Reply-To: <mailman.57.1471089601.58418.freebsd-x11@freebsd.org> References: <mailman.57.1471089601.58418.freebsd-x11@freebsd.org>
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On 13-Aug-16 17:30, freebsd-x11-request@freebsd.org wrote: > On 08/12/16 08:18, Manish Jain wrote: Hi, I have a system with onboard ATI Radeon 8470 HD graphics adapter. I am currently having to use the vesa driver because radeon does not work correctly with the chipset. (On Linux, it does, but not on FreeBSD). Is there any chance we could see support for my chipset in an upcoming release ? In case it is needed, my system is FreeBSD 10.3 amd64 with AMD A6-6400K (Richland) processor paired with Asus A68HM (FM2 socket) motherboard. > Preach it*LOUD*, brother !!!! There are a whole family of AMD APU's > (Jaguar, Richland, Kabini, Kaveri etc.) which are apparently rather > widely used in laptops & some tablets & other low power machines, & > (*VERY*) sadly unsupported in FreeBSD :-( .... > > -- William A. Mahaffey III This is most unfortunate. I had purchased the motherboard and processor=20 hoping to move to FreeBSD as the only OS. It turns out that FreeBSD is=20 the only OS which does not work with Radeon HD 8470D graphics. Windows=20 does, Linux does, but FreeBSD does not. Between running FreeBSD with the=20 vesa driver (which does not let me play videos smoothly) and the=20 alternatives, I find it much better to run my hardware on Windows XP for=20 the time being, despite the fact that 1) MS does not support XP; 2) this=20 beats the purpose of my hardware upgrade. One thing that baffles about FreeBSD is not that FreeBSD is picky about=20 the hardware supported, but there is no way to determine in advance=20 whether certain hardware will work on not. It should not be difficult to=20 put up a web page which lists hardware compatibility ratings for the=20 most popular hardware available online. Since things like CPU, disk=20 drives, memory modules, monitor, keyboard and mouse always work, as a=20 desktop user, I only need hardware compatibility scores for graphics=20 adapter, sound card, ethernet adapter, printer/scanner. If I could=20 easily see which currently available adapter/card/printer is supported,=20 it makes life easier for everyone - for me buying the hardware, for=20 FreeBSD users looking to support the OS and the hardware it runs on.=20 This also becomes a strong incentive to hardware manufacturers to ensure=20 that their hardware works on FreeBSD; because it would be flashing news=20 if their competitor's hardware works while theirs doesn't. When purchasing hardware, I have a couple of times tried to enquire from=20 freebsd mailing lists whether certain hardware will work or not. Nobody=20 replies. It seems a mantra in the freebsd community - "We do not comment=20 on hardware compatibility upfront". It would, in my humble opinion, be=20 better to go in the opposite direction - if an online portal and a=20 dedicated mailing list could actually discuss hardware compatibility, it=20 makes things better for hardware buyers as well as FreeBSD itself. In the current situation, I have written many, many messages to various=20 mailing lists and freebsd experts detailing the problem with Radeon HD=20 8470D graphics. The only comment I have so far is the William A.=20 Mahaffey III message, which clearly says that Richland graphics don't=20 work. I am even willing to buy a new nvidia graphics card if that could=20 make my FreeBSD system workable, but there is not even a single nvidia=20 card available at Amazon/Flipkart which I can see mentioned as supported=20 on the FreeBSD Graphics web page. The only cards listed there are ages=20 old and possibly very expensive cards. Not even a single card with the=20 current bunch of 210/610/710/730 chipsets is referred on that page.=20 Isn't that strange ? --=20 Regards, Manish Jain
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