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authorFrancis Rowe <info@gluglug.org.uk>2015-10-06 21:11:15 (EDT)
committer Francis Rowe <info@gluglug.org.uk>2015-10-06 21:11:15 (EDT)
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FAQ: note about external graphics cards
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@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@
</ul>
<h2>Freedom questions</h2>
<ul class="c">
+ <li><a href="#external-gpu">Are external GPUs (e.g. PCI-E) OK?</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#otherfirmware">What other firmware exists outside of libreboot?</a>
<ul>
@@ -538,6 +539,28 @@
<h1>Freedom questions</h1>
+ <h2 id="external-gpu">Are external GPUs (e.g. PCI-E) OK? <span class="r"><a href="#external-gpu">#external-gpu</a></span></h2>
+
+ <p>
+ The Video BIOS is present on most video hardware. On all current libreboot systems, this is implemented using free software.
+ The Video BIOS is responsible for initializing any sort of visual display; without it, you'd have what's called a
+ <i>headless</i> system.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ For integrated graphics, the VBIOS is usually embedded as an <i>option ROM</i> in the main boot firmware. For external
+ graphics, the VBIOS is usually on the graphics card itself. This is usually proprietary; the only difference is that
+ SeaBIOS executes it (alternatively, you embed it in a coreboot ROM image and have coreboot executes it, if you use
+ a different payload, such as GRUB).
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ We're going to tentatively say no, they're not OK. Unless you're actively working to replace the VBIOS, or find out how
+ to get a visual display without it (possible in some cases, if the kernel driver can be modified to work without it,
+ possibly only needing certain non-executable data).
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ <a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page</a>
+ </p>
+
<h2 id="otherfirmware">What other firmware exists outside of libreboot? <span class="r"><a href="#otherfirmware">#otherfirmware</a></span></h2>
<p>