Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom\u2019s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-24/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Aaron Klotz Social Links Navigation Contributing Writer Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.
bit_user This probably doesn't qualify as vibe coding. The author of the changes is an experienced Mesa developer and the mere use of AI in some part of the work doesn't tell us what the level of involvement was. Vibe coding is a typically used to describe where someone is programming without a detailed understanding of the code they're either writing or modifying, and merely giving AI general guidance about what it is they want to accomplish. Through an iterative process, it's usually possible to get a result that basically works, but the resulting code usually isn't pretty and certainly not up to Mesa's standards. You can see for yourself that all of the commits have the same boilerplate tags, so I'm not even sure if Copilot was involved in each one. https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/merge_requests/41945 It's also worth noting that this didn't involve Linux kernel code being modified. It's part of the Mesa stack, which resides in userspace and has a codebase that's distinct from the Linux kernel. This seems like sensationalizing, to me. Phoronix did not characterize this as vibe coding and he doesn't shy away from the term, when it's appropriate. I think the article's author should stick to covering areas he's more familiar with, or at least do more digging in cases where he ventures outside his realm of expertise. Reply
LordVile What’s the point exactly? If you’re using hardware that old you’ll likely want be using an older OS, offline of course. Reply
bit_user LordVile said: What’s the point exactly? If you’re using hardware that old you’ll likely want be using an older OS, offline of course. Eh, sometimes you just want to throw a graphics card in a machine for local console access, but you don't need it to be terribly fast or fancy. For a long time, I had used a Radeon HD 5450 in a server that was mostly headless. The only reason I stopped using it is because I upgraded the monitor and its DVI/HDMI ports couldn't support more than 1080p. Even then, I could've kept using it, but I decided to swap in a RX 550 that I also had lying around. The newer card burns a little more power, but that machine doesn't stay on most of the time, so it's okay. Reply
mitch074 LordVile said: What’s the point exactly? If you’re using hardware that old you’ll likely want be using an older OS, offline of course. This driver also covers integrated GPUs – while Linux can do with a simple VESA driver, any form of hardware accelerated rendering can be useful for a desktop machine. If your old living room PC has no slot for a discrete GPU and your AMD A10-6800K is still convenient enough, this is the driver you're using. It's from 2013, thus not THAT old. Of course, anything using GCN or more recent would be better, but then it's a different driver still under active development where R600 is merely under maintenance – finding a way to keep it usable and not impeding Mesa development on the cheap is welcome. Reply
mitch074 bit_user said: Eh, sometimes you just want to throw a graphics card in a machine for local console access, but you don't need it to be terribly fast or fancy. For a long time, I had used a Radeon HD 5450 in a server that was mostly headless. The only reason I stopped using it is because I upgraded the monitor and its DVI/HDMI ports couldn't support more than 1080p. Even then, I could've kept using it, but I decided to swap in a RX 550 that I also had lying around. The newer card burns a little more power, but that machine doesn't stay on most of the time, so it's okay. This – I have an old, old test PC that has discrete GCN1 graphics, but when I need to debug it, its integrated GPU is Terascale-based. Having a working driver for it is useful for debugging. The fact that Terascale doesn't have any Vulkan support (and seemingly, can't have any) does doom it eventually, but as long as its driver is maintained, we still get OpenGL 3.3-4.5 (4.6 soonish, according to mesamatrix.net) on it. Yeah, the latter ones can actually run Doom 2016. Reply
ezst036 LordVile said: What’s the point exactly? If you’re using hardware that old you’ll likely want be using an older OS, offline of course. No. You should not be relegated to an older OS just because of using aging hardware. These cards are plenty capable for routine desktop usage. That kind of thinking was born of the corporatists such as Apple and Microsoft with their forced absolescences. That kind of thinking is entirely outmoded and its a zombie husk making an appearance here. Reply
LordVile ezst036 said: No. You should not be relegated to an older OS just because of using aging hardware. These cards are plenty capable for routine desktop usage. That kind of thinking was born of the corporatists such as Apple and Microsoft with their forced absolescences. That kind of thinking is entirely outmoded and its a zombie husk making an appearance here. Not really. For the performance they have noe a default driver isn’t really going to make that much difference either Reply
ezst036 LordVile said: Not really. For the performance they have noe a default driver isn’t really going to make that much difference either That's some steep corporate-think there. This driver isn't some default driver to achieve "the basics" in terms of what drivers may do. It's the fully featured driver that AMD put massive amounts of developer hours into creating something relatively great for that particular generation/s during the time when these cards were current gen. Reply
FoxtrotMichael-1 LordVile said: What’s the point exactly? If you’re using hardware that old you’ll likely want be using an older OS, offline of course. Yes, let's make sure that all of our old computers live in a landfill, as is right and just, so that we can continue to give our hard-earned dollars to corporations every year for the bleeding edge. I still use an iMac G3, by the way. I also have a Dell Optiplex with Windows XP connected to the internet. I am a software developer, understand security very well, and still find it fun to play with these old machines. Use your imagination for once and imagine that other people actually do interesting things. Reply
LordVile FoxtrotMichael-1 said: Yes, let's make sure that all of our old computers live in a landfill, as is right and just, so that we can continue to give our hard-earned dollars to corporations every year for the bleeding edge. I mean you don’t have to use 16 year old hardware or a 5090. There are other options. FoxtrotMichael-1 said: I still use an iMac G3, by the way. I also have a Dell Optiplex with Windows XP connected to the internet. I am a software developer, understand security very well, and still find it fun to play with these old machines. Use your imagination for once and imagine that other people actually do interesting things. Play around with not use as a main machine for actual work Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/linux-developers-are-using-ai-vibe-coding-to-keep-vintage-amd-gpus-alive-r600-driver-cleaned-up-with-github-copilot-gives-hd-2000-to-hd-6000-series-a-new-lease-of-life#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/subscription
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