On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 09:44:02AM -0600, Marc Jones wrote: > Hi Xavi, > > Thanks for your interest in coreboot. This is a long email! :) >
I'm bad at summarizing. Sorry. > > VGA BIOS is not required. You could have a headless system. Or a > system with a framebuffer driver like Geode. > Headless would be last resort. If possible I would like to have a monitor connected to the system (either mainboard or graphics card) and have a desktop there. I don't need video while booting (but I would appreciate it, of course). I understand this is possible depending on the GPU. When you say a system with a framebuffer you mean any system with linux User Mode Setting should work without propietary VGA BIOS ? > > > > Double graphics is a problem ? > > > > As far as I know the only modern desktop class chipsets supported by > > the manufacturer, are AMD RS780/SB700 , am I wrong ? (thanks, AMD!). I > > think all come with an ATI IGP , which requires blobs in the linux/X > > driver (AtomBIOS). I may be misinformed on AtomBIOS, but I think I > > don't want to use it. I've heard nouveau has just deblobed its > > driver, so I might add an Nvidia graphics card to it (at least while > > Open Graphics Project isn't ready for consumers). I'll try to buy one > > second hand, as lesser evil, since I dislike buying directly from > > vendors not supporting free software. Does having both the ATI IGP and > > the Nvidia card give any additional complication ? (besides it's going > > to be less tested than more usual setups). I wish Intel supported > > coreboot or radeonhd didn't use AtomBIOS (like it once was). > > > > This is a continued area of development, but yes, many drivers use the > vbios too hold proprietary information. Again, not an issue if you are > running a headless machine. > Do you mean deblobing linux/X graphics drivers is a continued area of development or supporting IGP + graphics card in coreboot (if it needs some speacial support by corebbot) is a continued area of development ? > > There is no specific roadmap. This is usually driven by board > availability. I think some boards will be ported during GSoC. If you > have a preferred board, send an email to the list. Someone might be > working on it. > I don't have a prefered board (yet). I was thinking of picking one of the few that people has shown some interest in here in the list. That might be best for me as a newbie as I wouldn't be alone even if it is not currently supported yet. I'm not sure if it would be best for the project (having more that one test instance for the same board ) or it would be best to have as many different boards to test as possible. > > I think that DDR3 support will be critical for coreboot this year. I > am optimistic that we will get some help from AMD this summer. > Ok, I can wait, I guess. I can start by the OS, test flashrom with the propietary bios, etc. and handle coreboot proper later. > > > > How to choose socketed boards ? > > > > How can one know whether a card has socketed or soldered BIOS ROMs besides > > looking at it or some photos ? Should it be in the specs or manual ? > > (I don't trust myself with a soldering iron). > > > > This will usually be in the manual. Many boards are SPI flash now and > you need an external programmer with a test clip to program them. This > is an area we need to improve on the wiki. > I had read something (either in coreboot wiki or from some link there) but I no longer find it. I thought SPI could be socketed or soldered. > > These are great goals. It sounds like you have a lot in common with > the folks at the FSF. :) > In goals, we have a lot in common, I'm just less active pursuing them. > There are a couple AMD and Intel platforms that might meet your needs. Are there ? I've been looking at the supported mainboards and found few that I could buy currently in a shop and are relatively powerful. I'll look again. > I expect more boards (like the 780/710) to be supported this summer if > you are willing to wait. I am also hopeful that we see coreboot on > systems available from vendors in the future. > I've already wited quite a lot, and my current laptop is falling apart. So I may buy soon, but I may install coreboot later (I understand buying before getting support may be risky). I'd like to buy something with coreboot preinstalled, but that may be the next system I buy after whatever I get now. In your products page I've seen a couple of servers with coreboot I might get, but they're a bit expensive for what I was thinking. Thanks for your help. -- coreboot mailing list: [email protected] http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
