Group: Hardware/Components/GPUs/nvidia
From LibrePlanet
< Group:Hardware | Components | GPUs
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! Existing projects that could be leveraged to fix the problem | ! Existing projects that could be leveraged to fix the problem | ||
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| − | | GPU | + | | GPU peripheral software |
| − | | colspan=5 | Free | + | | colspan=5 | Free peripheral software is generated in the Linux driver for many GPUs. However: |
| − | * Some GPUs are probably still missing free | + | * Some GPUs are probably still missing free peripheral software like for the Tegra K1 |
| − | * The NV110 family (Maxwell) and more recent require signed | + | * The NV110 family (Maxwell) and more recent require signed peripheral software for the GPU power management processor. |
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| Bytecode: This bytecode is part of the Video BIOS and is parsed and executed by the Linux driver | | Bytecode: This bytecode is part of the Video BIOS and is parsed and executed by the Linux driver | ||
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| Implement a free Video BIOS replacement either as standalone replacement or in Coreboot and Libreboot. | | Implement a free Video BIOS replacement either as standalone replacement or in Coreboot and Libreboot. | ||
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| − | * There is a free Video BIOS replacement in Coreboot for many Intel GPUs. While its meant to support Intel GPUs, it may be a good idea to leverage some of the code and architecture. It may also be a good idea to instead implement it as a standalone Video BIOS replacement, as standalone Radeon GPUs do exist, whereas standalone Intel | + | * There is a free Video BIOS replacement in Coreboot for many Intel GPUs. While its meant to support Intel GPUs, it may be a good idea to leverage some of the code and architecture. It may also be a good idea to instead implement it as a standalone Video BIOS replacement, as standalone Radeon GPUs do exist, whereas the few standalone Intel GPUs cannot be freed at the time of writing. |
* TODO: List Radeon Video BIOS Replacement projects and their freedom issues (check if the compiler is free) | * TODO: List Radeon Video BIOS Replacement projects and their freedom issues (check if the compiler is free) | ||
* TODO: Look if there are some projects for Nvidia GPUs. | * TODO: Look if there are some projects for Nvidia GPUs. | ||
Latest revision as of 06:53, 14 June 2024
Introduction
Nvidia GPUs have several freedom issues that are referenced on the table below.
| Nonfree software | Effects without the nonfree software or workarounds | Workaround | Workaround consequences | Fix | Existing projects that could be leveraged to fix the problem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU peripheral software | Free peripheral software is generated in the Linux driver for many GPUs. However:
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| Bytecode: This bytecode is part of the Video BIOS and is parsed and executed by the Linux driver |
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| The Video BIOS | Use Libreboot or Coreboot with SeaBIOS, put the Video BIOS in memory but don't execute it | The display is initialized very late, when the nouveau driver loads, if the bytecode tables are in the right memory area. | Implement a free Video BIOS replacement either as standalone replacement or in Coreboot and Libreboot. |
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References
- ↑ See the FOSDEM_2015.pdf presentation for more details. The Tegra K1 has no bytecode (as it has no video BIOS).
How to help
Documenting all the freedom issues in depth is a lot of work for one person.
Hopefully it can be broken in many small tasks, so it's easy to help by making a tiny part of the work.
Here are some relatively small tasks that could help:
- Migrate the information in ReverseEngineering#Desktops_and_laptops_GPUs here and make that section point to this article for Nvidia GPUs
- Help completing the table in the introduction section
