Initial AMDGPU Driver Changes Submitted For Linux 4.19

Less than one week after the close of the Linux 4.18 kernel merge window, AMD developers working on the AMDGPU Direct Rendering Manager driver have already submitted their first batch of changes to DRM-Next to begin queuing for the Linux 4.19 kernel cycle. There are a few new features with this latest batch of code.

Feature work for this initial pull includes support for the JPEG VCN engine on "Video Core Next" with Raven Ridge hardware, Sea Islands now using PowerPlay by default for dynamic clocking / power management, EDC support for Carrizo, and various PowerPlay improvements. This pull also has a variety of DC display code fixes and GPU scheduler fixes.

The PowerPlay support by default for Sea Islands should put the AMD GCN 1.1 graphics processors a step closer to seeing the support for these older GPUs potentially enabled by default in AMDGPU DRM. Right now GCN 1.1 (and GCN 1.0) still default to the older Radeon DRM driver and only optional AMDGPU support by booting the hardware with radeon.si_support=0 radeon.cik_support=0 amdgpu.si_support=1 amdgpu.cik_support=1.

Of help to newcomers wishing to get involved with development, there is also finally the start of more AMDGPU driver documentation as well as GPU scheduler documentation.

The complete list of changes for the few thousand lines of code changed in this pull request can be found on amd-gfx. Expect more AMDGPU feature updates targeting the Linux 4.19 kernel cycle over the next few weeks.