27 March 2016

Linux drivers: AMD reveals details about the Polaris graphics chips

AMD has the source code of the video driver for Polaris-called architecture published , based on the two upcoming GPUs. The AMDGPU video driver includes kernel patches for the shader units, the Unified Video Decoder (UVD), the Video Codec Engine (VCE), power management, and display control. In addition, he reveals a few details of the structure of the chip, specifically the number of channels of the memory interface.

The has the Semi-Accurate forum a user discovered and broken. AMD has announced two GPUs with Polaris Technology: The smaller chip is Polaris 11 alias Baffin, the larger model called Polaris 10 and is referred to internally as Ellesmere. Both codenames based on islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago-the Arctic Islands - that was until a few months, the internal code name for the graphics card family. In January 2016 AMD announced that they are now in Polaris was renamed.

GDDR5 (X) with 128-bit and 256-bit encryption for Polaris

In Baffin (Polaris 11) are four 32-bit memory channels are blocked, resulting in a 128-bit interface and would be typical of a chip of the lower class. With current GDDR5 (X) - video memory 8 Gbit per block is likely to be equipped with up to 4 GB Baffin. Since AMD apparently sets in Ellesmere (Polaris 10) on eight channels and thus 256 bits, here up to 8 GB of video memory to be adopted. For a low-end and midrange graphics card in 2016 seems likely that us.

It remains unclear whether or GDDR5 GDDR5X is used - the entry 8.1 instead of 8.0 the GMC (Graphics Memory Controller) says little . AMD is expected to use ordinary GDDR5 video memory with 6 to 8 Gb per second, larger L2 cache and improve the lossless color compression for an effective higher transfer rate. That would be 96-128 GB per second and 192-256 GB per second. This corresponds roughly to a Geforce GTX 960 and a GTX 980 and could thus serve as a rough estimate of what Baffin and Ellesmere afford any.

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Alternatively reach GDDR5X with clock speeds of 3 GHz and a voltage of 1.35 volts instead of 1.5, a data rate of 12 Gbit per second AMD. That would be constructed 192 GB per second and with a twice as wide 256-bit interface, it would ergo 384 GByte per second with a 128-bit interface. However GDDR5X series production is only in the summer 2016 launch, which argues against this video memory.

Since AMD can obstruct both Polaris chip as fully assembled and trimmed as GPUs, the portfolio with four or more variations would be largely covered. The new Vega - top models that Fiji XT aka Fury X to inherit, do not appear until 2017 and use High Bandwidth Memory.

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