Although new feature code is not normally allowed after the end of the merge window for a given Linux kernel release cycle, Linus Torvalds decided to merge the newly published open source driver code for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 “graphics cards Ampere “for the Linux 5.11 kernel which will debut stable in February.
Prior to the release of Linux 5.11-rc4 this weekend, Linus Torvalds merged the new open source code for NVIDIA RTX 30 / Ampere GPUs via the Nouveau driver. He agreed to allow this late addition to Linux 5.11, as the new hardware support is completely independent and does not run the risk of regressing existing support for the NVIDIA GPU within the Nouveau driver. Therefore, it is one of the rare times when it allows new code to be added after a merge window, as there is minimal risk of regressing the hardware support status quo.
But, as described yesterday in the related article above, this initial hardware support for the open source GeForce 3000 series is limited only to the kernel mode configuration without any hardware acceleration. The initialization of various GPU engines depends on signed firmware blobs that have not yet been published by NVIDIA. Even so, there is a situation of re-clocking / performance as the biggest obstacle that remains for all GPUs besides the GeForce GTX 950 series …
So, at least for the next Linux 5.11 kernel, the Nouveau open source driver must be in good shape to ensure that your screen lights up correctly with an NVIDIA RTX 30 series GPU so that you can have a pleasant viewing experience while downloading from the owner NVIDIA kernel graphics driver to enjoy a full-featured performance experience. Until 3D acceleration and all other limitations are resolved (including no open source Vulkan drivers), the only reasonable way with the RTX 30 series is to use NVIDIA’s proprietary cross-platform driver.
The initial code for setting up Ampere mode came to Linux 5.11 through this merger.
Also notable in the Linux Git tree are this week’s DRM fixes that include some new AMD Renoir PCI IDs, a graphics engine fix for Sienna Cichlid and other random fixes. On the Intel side is also the Intel Haswell GT1 fix after half a year of support borked there. Meanwhile, with the next cycle (Linux 5.12), it is then the ability to optionally disable Intel graphics security mitigations that led to the problem in the first place and can also adversely impact Intel graphics performance.