On Fri, Jan 31, 2020 at 11:03:24AM +0000, R. G. Sidler wrote:
>
> Hi Tim, Ludovic and Andreas.
>
> I installed only the amdgpu-driver. Since I always start with a naked
> base install, I never care about blacklisting any drivers, because I
> just don't install them 😉

Well, the drm (nvidia/amd/..) kernel modules are all installed with
a single kernel package so you can only decide which to install by
building your own kernel package. Blacklisting is the only way to force
them not to load. But I assume you know that, since you're using
Debian/Devuan already :)

Maybe another thing: Since the W4100 seems to use the Cap Verde /
Souther Island GPU kind (Can you confirm this, using lspci -l e.g.?) you
have the option of using two different kernel drivers with a recent
linux kernel:

- radeon: this is the older/mature one (the default one)
- amdgpu: this is the newer one which might have flaws with SI chipset

You can choose them by setting some kernel module parameters (I did this,
through /etc/default/grub recently to try something)

And maybe a clarification: The graphics driver is divided into two parts:
the kernel module and the xorg driver. The xorg driver in beowulf should
be able to play with both kernel drivers, I think the amd proprietary xorg
driver only works with the amdgpu kernel module.

> @Andreas I decided to install a dedicated AMD workstation graphics card,
> since I only do workstation stuff on my Thinkstation 😉
>
> I prefer a very stable signal over high performance.

Did you observe any difference? I mean, the transmission of data between
graphics card and display should be digital nowadays. (I owned a FireGL2
a long while ago but remind only the negative aspects of it)

cheers
Andreas