Patches Ready For Linux 7.0 To Enable Intel GPU Firmware Updates On Non-x86 Systems
Patches are now positioned to go into the upcoming Linux 6.20~7.0 kernel cycle for supporting Intel discrete GPU firmware updating on non-x86 systems.
The Intel Xe kernel graphics driver was designed from the start to carry less x86'isms compared to the aging i915 driver designed for the era of just integrated Intel graphics paired with x86/x86_64 CPUs. With the Intel Xe driver it's possible to run Intel Arc Graphics discrete GPUs on the likes of ARM64 and RISC-V though there are caveats and some feature limitations. One of those missing features was the inability to update the Intel dGPU firmware on non-x86 systems but that limitation is being overcome.
As I reported on earlier this month, there are patches to enable Intel GPU firmware updating on non-x86 systems. As of this past weekend, those patches have made it into the "char/misc" char-misc-next Git branch maintained by Greg Kroah-Hartman.
With those patches now in char-misc-next, they should be submitted for the Linux 6.20~7.0 merge window happening in mid-February. So assuming no last minute issues creep up, that functionality for Intel discrete GPU firmware updating on Linux will no longer be tied to x86/x86_64 hardware.
The Intel Xe kernel graphics driver was designed from the start to carry less x86'isms compared to the aging i915 driver designed for the era of just integrated Intel graphics paired with x86/x86_64 CPUs. With the Intel Xe driver it's possible to run Intel Arc Graphics discrete GPUs on the likes of ARM64 and RISC-V though there are caveats and some feature limitations. One of those missing features was the inability to update the Intel dGPU firmware on non-x86 systems but that limitation is being overcome.
As I reported on earlier this month, there are patches to enable Intel GPU firmware updating on non-x86 systems. As of this past weekend, those patches have made it into the "char/misc" char-misc-next Git branch maintained by Greg Kroah-Hartman.
With those patches now in char-misc-next, they should be submitted for the Linux 6.20~7.0 merge window happening in mid-February. So assuming no last minute issues creep up, that functionality for Intel discrete GPU firmware updating on Linux will no longer be tied to x86/x86_64 hardware.