Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2016 02:12:41 +0200 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Manish Jain <bourne.identity@hotmail.com> Cc: freebsd-questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Facing a strange problem Message-ID: <20160818021241.6f6fcaae.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <VI1PR02MB0974A718EF30FD57B3B1B0CFF6140@VI1PR02MB0974.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com> References: <VI1PR02MB09746A446A84576ABBF8F157C2140@VI1PR02MB0974.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com> <20160817230026.c620e095.freebsd@edvax.de> <VI1PR02MB0974A718EF30FD57B3B1B0CFF6140@VI1PR02MB0974.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com>
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On Wed, 17 Aug 2016 23:38:17 +0000, Manish Jain wrote: > On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 2:30 AM, Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> wrote: > > That depends on the graphics card. You should choose wisely which > > brand and model you obtain. Compatibility is as much an issue as > > acceptable driver support, but luckily there are several good GPUs > > which are known to work with FreeBSD. > > Hello Poly, > > A long time since I heard from you. I feel better when I see a message > from you in my inbox : - ) I see too many messages in my inbox, that's why answering may take some time, but I don't forget anything. ;-) > (this time though, I am replying from Geary, not alpine; and you may > see the formatting not as per your mandate). I have "adjusted" the quotation to make reading the message easier, especially for the archives. > W.r.t. your suggestion, I am inclined to complain that you did not > respond to my request for nvidia GPU counsel. Was my request not > humble enough ? The problem with GPUs usually is that you have to _try_ several drivers. I had the same problem with my nVidia GeForce: VESA, nv, nouveau, and finally the (proprietary) nvidia driver with the kernel module - which worked as expected. Maybe people owning newer hardware can add suggestions on which GPU is currently well supported and runs with the available drivers. As I do not change systems much, my experience is quite limited. In the past, the "ati" driver included in X (when it was called XFree86) could achieve excellent results, even the 3D parts were working flawlessly. I have the same experience with built-in Intel GPUs in older laptops (IBM and Dell). Regarding the testing: Install the drivers via ports/packages, create a basic xorg.conf, trim it to the minimum, and force X to use the driver you want to test. Usually X without a configuration file should work fine, but if it doesn't, try this forced approach. > I anyway learnt from Matthew Macy that amdgpu/radeon driver should > be available by September end. Let's see if I can get my Radeon HD8470D > working smoothly with the new radeon driver. It shouldn't matter if it's an integrated GPU if the chipset is then supported. If you can't get it working, maybe installing an expansion card (with more choice of brand and model) is a solution. The on-board GPU should be deactivated automatically, especially when there is no corresponding BIOS/UEFI setting for this task. Booting the system, checking "pciconf -lv" and finally "startx" should reveal if there are suddenly two GPUs in the system (which is possible). > I suppose that the new driver should be available under > x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati port. Would it be sufficient to do a > 'make config deinstall fetch install clean' in that port ? For ports, the order usually is # make deinstall # make clean # make # make reinstall A "make fetch" is not needed in a port's directory as it will be performed automatically. If you are using pkg, a "pkg install" for the package will usually do the trick. Keep in mind that it _might_ be possible that a certain driver will require you to recompile X. If I remember correctly, that was a problem with the nvidia driver, and you needed to recompile X if you wanted to use the radeon driver... not sure if this still applies, hopefully this complicatedness has gone. > If you can, please also lend me your views on my fledgling attempt > to set up a forum for hardware compatibility. I am trying to set up > a mailing list and a website which lists the graphics chipsets and > printers which a) work best with FreeBSD; b) are economical; c) are > currently available at premier online retail sites like Amazon. Hmmm... aspect c) might rule out lots of well supported devices because Amazon usually doesn't sell used office-class laser printers. Short answer for printers: has a network interface and speaks at least one of PS, PCL and PDF -> works. ;-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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