Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 10:17:53 GMT From: "Bruce R. Montague" <brucem@cruzio.com> To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Cc: sten.daniel.sorsdal@wan.no Subject: Re: NS Geode GX1- 300MHz compatible? Message-ID: <200302261017.h1QAHrNg000186@cruzio.com>
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Hi, re:
> Anyone know if this cpu is supported by FreeBSD?
>
> NS Geode GX1- 300MHz CPU.
Yes, but some additional information may be useful.
This CPU is basically a descendent of low-end Cyrix
CPUs. It uses an "invisible" software layer (VSA
hypervisor) that can trap, using an extended SMI,
things such as I/O space references. The hypervisor
uses this to emulate some hardware (such as,
originally, a soundblaster). The video is also "in
the CPU" (steals buffer memory from the cache).
There can be troublesome interactions between some
versions of the hypervisor and various BIOSes. The
current trend seems to be to write OS drivers that
go directly to the "raw real hardware" and avoid
the simulated hardware. I think National is trying
to avoid the VSA/BIOS version compatibility issue
by trying to require use of their own BIOS
(XpressROM) with their most recent systems.
I know people that have had no problem running
FreeBSD (stable and current) on Advantech GX1
systems. I believe Advantech assured a decent
VSA/BIOS match.
Within the last few months National's full-featured
native GX1 video driver ("nsc") was included in
the XFree86 CVS tree. The older "cyrix" driver
still works, and the "vesa" driver, of course, can
be used.
I have run both FreeBSD stable and current on
National's own reference platforms. On these
platforms, I have always had to use the two patches
posted in the following:
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002
Subject: FreeBSD on Nat Semi Geode (GX1) SBC.
http://docs.freebsd.org/cgi/getmsg.cgi?fetch=2304+0+archive/2002/freebsd-small/20020203.freebsd-small
These patches can also be found at:
http://alumni.cse.ucsc.edu/~brucem/diskless_aries.htm#geode_patches
(Buried in a web-page aimed at a ugrad lab).
I have written a "newpcm" FreeBSD native audio
driver for the audio hardware included in the 5530
southbridge (often used with the GX1 and present
in some of the follow-on "integrated CPU/Southbridge"
chips). See:
http://alumni.cse.ucsc.edu/~brucem/gx_audio/
Yoy may want to inquire as to whether someone is
running FreeBSD on the exact hardware you are
looking at...
- bruce
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