When, oh when, will better GMA 3600 drivers be released?

[KHans13]

I recently bought a refurbished Atom N2600 netbook for playing retro games on the go. I was disappointed to find that the GMA 3600 graphics couldn't give me playable framerates in Motocross Madness 2 and Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3D. Furthermore, AssaultCube, one of my favorite shooters, crashes evey time I try to play it. (AssaultCube Reloaded does the same thing, unsurprisingly) I've heard somewhere in the Intel community that drivers are coming, but I have to ask: when?

[idata]

GMA3600 METRO APPS WORKING PARTIALLY FIXED

Hi,

I partially solved the problem of METRO apps win 8 on GMA 3600

if you install stardock modernmix

http://www.stardock.com/products/modernmix/ http://www.stardock.com/products/modernmix/

and pokki start menu,

http://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu http://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

it is possible use metro apps in desktop environment, this make possible use metro apps.

I do not know why ??? but is metro apps running in window desktop are useful, instead runned in metro start you experienced BSOD,

METRO WIN 8 APPS do work very well in desktop windows GMA3600 system

it is probably the only way to enjoy metro exp in win 8, unfortunately modernmix is not freeware

I am using my modded driver , but you can try also the intel latest 1091 driver

cheers

[agree11]

Hi all,

I've just got myself an Acer D270, I thought I had made an exceptionally smart move my uncovering a N2800 (yes not a N2600 variant). But it seems like everyone else I am crippled by what looks like a graphics driver designed by an accountant rather than a software engineer. One added problem is that I cannot update to the latest 1091 driver, because apparently my hardware 'does not meet the minimum standards', sorry Intel my netbook can't fit an external graphics solution, I wish it could... So does anyone have a solution to firstly the 1091 driver issue I have and Intel when will you actually give me a graphics card, rather than a dot matrix display?

[KHans13]

Whoa, a D270 with an N2800? You lucky dog!

Have you tried manually installing the driver, i.e. go into Device Manager, right-click on the GMA 3600 item, click "Update Driver Software...", "Browse my Computer for Driver Software", "Let me pick from a list...", click Have Disk, go find the folder driver, etc? You'll need a folder with all of the driver data in it for that last step. If you can't find the place where Intel's installer normally dumps its files, you can download a zipped-up driver from

http://www.motioncomputing.com/drivers/CL910/CL910_Graphics_v8.14.8.1091_RN.htm Release Notes

Hope that helps!

[agree11]

Hi Kory,

Huge thanks for replying, I was worried people might have given up on this situation, Intel certainly have.

Your suggestion worked perfectly, thanks for that. I had previously deassembled the Intel exe, using universal extractor but somehow I failed to install it correctly. At least I know I can use that route in future should Intel only provide the exe.

Getting the N2800 was a story in itself! I had some eagle eyes when looking at the display models in the local supermarket, the Intel promotional video was showing some unusual numbers! The staff said that all the models were the same, I bought a boxed version, it wasn't so I demanded the display one, which I got

Now some good news, I've now tried the graphics card with two games which I often play, one is in 3D, Kerbal Space program, and this works pretty quickly, apart from the left hand craziness, given most of the action is in the centre this is not an issue for game play. In fact in the assembly building the movement is very smooth, and significantly better than I see with my previous N270 Atom.

The other game I have tried is simutrans, which is a 2D transport simulator, this works quickly and with no problems at all.

Thanks again for your help.

[agree11]

One idea I have come up with today is why don't we just move to Android? I realise that some legacy games will not work, but I would suggest that most of the latest games will be available for Android. If nothing else this idea would give Microsoft an incentive to do something, which would in turn force Intel to do something.

[agree11]

I have now also asked a question to PowerVR, in the hope that they are made aware of this situation and might bring some leverage on Intel etc. We live in hope...

[KHans13]

alasdair555 wrote:

Hi Kory,

Huge thanks for replying, I was worried people might have given up on this situation, Intel certainly have.

Anytime! I've been bothered too about the lack of noise being made lately on the subject, I guess some users have just accepted that even with 5 years' time, Intel just can't make PowerVR work in Windows. All we can really do now is report all the bugs we can and hope Intel takes action, however slowly.

alasdair555 wrote:

Now some good news, I've now tried the graphics card with two games which I often play, one is in 3D, Kerbal Space program, and this works pretty quickly, apart from the left hand craziness, given most of the action is in the centre this is not an issue for game play. In fact in the assembly building the movement is very smooth, and significantly better than I see with my previous N270 Atom.

The other game I have tried is simutrans, which is a 2D transport simulator, this works quickly and with no problems at all.

Simutrans looks pretty interesting, I'll check it out if I find the time. I'm a little surprised that Kerbal Space Program works as well as it does, since the minimum CPU spec is a Core 2 Duo, and your N2800 is only 3.5% faster than the slowest Core 2 Duo made, according to PassMark. That, and KSP requires 2 GB of system RAM plus 512 MB for the graphics. Do you have a 4 GB stick of RAM in your D270?

alasdair555 wrote:

One idea I have come up with today is why don't we just move to Android? I realize that some legacy games will not work, but I would suggest that most of the latest games will be available for Android. If nothing else this idea would give Microsoft an incentive to do something, which would in turn force Intel to do something.

I see two problems with that. One, the percentage of Microsoft's customers that use Cedar Trail products is puny, so switching to Android will have little to no effect, other than the politically correct equivalent of "Oh, that's cute". Secondly, some GMA 36x0 users, myself included, rely on Windows and the huge number of applications that are compatible with it. If I were to switch to any other OS, I would lose out on a lot of essential functionality. I hate to rely on Microsoft so much, but that's the way it is for me.

alasdair555 wrote:

I have now also asked a question to PowerVR, in the hope that they are made aware of this situation and might bring some leverage on Intel etc. We live in hope...

A member of this community already tried that, and the reply was "it's Intel's responsibility to make drivers for Windows" (that's not a direct quote). Perhaps we'll get a better response if more of us contact them.

[agree11]

You actually take notice of these minimum requirements? I was playing Kerbal on the D270, with 1GB RAM, now I'm not saying it is fast or the FPS is high, but the rocket goes up and I can update frequently enough to do any action required. On the N2800 the launch is now pretty smooth, the launch centre is flawless, I mean pan and tilt is instanteous and smooth. Bear in mind I'm still currently on 1GB of RAM, hopefully 4GB of RAM tomorrow will improve things further, particularly load time.

From what I have seen these Atom's are severely underrated, even my dad was like 'why don't you get an ultrabook? They're a different world, netbooks are too small and too slow' I would suggest seeing Kerbal running would change his opinion ever so slightly...

I agree with your point about Windows applications, but equally that is a force for good, Windows will be pushing Intel to do something, anything to do a better job generally. (Microsoft a force for good, I did not just say that did I?!?)

I think the more contact and noise in general that is made, the bigger the impact. In particular invoking the impact on a company's reputation is about as powerful as you can get, if I see another PowerVR processor, am I going to trust that they will actually support people using it, or just create the design and tell people to get lost? But of course who knows, all we can do is try.

[agree11]

Sorry I meant playing Kerbal on my Samsung NC10, with a N270 basic Atom.

[KHans13]

alasdair555 wrote:

You actually take notice of these minimum requirements?

Yep, I run a blog on netbook gaming and that's my main way of determining whether older netbooks can play newer/obscure games.

alasdair555 wrote:

From what I have seen these Atom's are severely underrated, even my dad was like 'why don't you get an ultrabook? They're a different world, netbooks are too small and too slow' I would suggest seeing Kerbal running would change his opinion ever so slightly...

Yeah, I catch tons of flak from my friends for having a netbook, but the theoretical performance is fairly respectable. My netbook is capable of playing The Sims 3, TES: Oblivion, GTA San Andreas, etc, if the GMA 3600 performed up to its full potential. You could play Halo 2 on yours comfortably (supposedly).

Too small? The primary reason I bought a netbook in the first place was its size. I love how light and portable this thing is, not to mention the awesome battery life.

alasdair555 wrote:

I agree with your point about Windows applications, but equally that is a force for good, Windows will be pushing Intel to do something, anything to do a better job generally. (Microsoft a force for good, I did not just say that did I?!?)

Haha You're right, one would think Microsoft would be urging Intel for better drivers so Cedar Trail users will spend $$$ to upgrade to Win8, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

alasdair555 wrote:

I think the more contact and noise in general that is made, the bigger the impact. In particular invoking the impact on a company's reputation is about as powerful as you can get, if I see another PowerVR processor, am I going to trust that they will actually support people using it, or just create the design and tell people to get lost? But of course who knows, all we can do is try.

Amen to that!

[agree11]

Do you have a link to this blog? Can we post this on here? I've looked at the Ipad and when you look at what it can do, you really wonder what shouldn't be possible, I mean barring the latest games this year at full graphics settings etc.

In terms of size I'm the same, I used my NC10 for 2 years continuously pulling it out of my rucksac many times each day, it's had a cracked screen, but only because I stepped on the lid. The reason I replaced was due to the known screen cable issue becoming overwhelming. Previous to that I've had a EEEPC 900 and before that the grandfather of all netbooks, the Psion netbook.

I hope I'll have some sort of reply on the PowerVR by this week, but as always who knows...

Finally any ideas on how we could create more noise? Facebook and Twitter is a good start, as would be posting on all computer manufacturer forums using this setup to try and get a few more contributers and to make people aware of the gap between reality and what we get now.

[agree11]

Maybe also getting in contact with all Intel staff who have posted in connection with this previously so that they are aware that people are still interested, I guess we could also check Linkedin and email directly along with phoning up the appropriate location they are based at to try and show how important that is. You would think posting here would be sufficient but it clearly is not sadly.

[KHans13]

alasdair555 wrote:

Do you have a link to this blog? Can we post this on here?

I sure do! It's at gamingwithnetbooks.blogspot.com. I also have a YouTube channel @ https://www.youtube.com/user/gamingwithnetbooks Gaming with Netbooks - YouTube with a video of all the graphical glitches FRAPS could capture at the time I made it. Its link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm7JKG-h17k Gaming with Netbooks Presents: The Many Bugs of the GMA 3600 - YouTube . It's by far my most popular video (although at a mere 209 views, 'popular' is a relative term), and I've had conversations with two people in the comments about the crappy drivers, so I know there are others out there who aren't speaking up.

alasdair555 wrote:

In terms of size I'm the same, I used my NC10 for 2 years continuously pulling it out of my rucksac many times each day, it's had a cracked screen, but only because I stepped on the lid. The reason I replaced was due to the known screen cable issue becoming overwhelming. Previous to that I've had a EEEPC 900 and before that the grandfather of all netbooks, the Psion netbook.

I remember using the earliest Eee PC's (the ones with Linux), and I hated them. The size was great, but I couldn't stand the poor Wi-Fi connectivity and unimpressive hardware and software. A simple Linux game like Tux Racer was unplayable, and there was very little in the way of third-party apps. Then I was assigned an N550 netbook a few years later for my math class, and that's when my netbook infatuation began. Now I have a Gateway LT4004u, and except for the graphics, it's terrific.

alasdair555 wrote:

I hope I'll have some sort of reply on the PowerVR by this week, but as always who knows...

Those guys are usually good about timely replies.

alasdair555 wrote:

Finally any ideas on how we could create more noise? Facebook and Twitter is a good start, as would be posting on all computer manufacturer forums using this setup to try and get a few more contributers and to make people aware of the gap between reality and what we get now.

I don't have any, other than leveraging my blog and YouTube channel to raise awareness.

[agree11]

Just a suggestion here on how we can get more support from the companies involved in this catastrophe:

Post on facebook and Linkedin with Imagination technologies, Intel and your actual netbook producer asking someone for support for your graphics driver, bad publicity always seems to get a rather more rapid response than politely asking for help...

When I have some more ideas and solutions to the lack of progress here I'll post, assuming that Intel decides that censoring my posts is easier than fixing the problem, but if so, there's very little they can do about Facebook and the rest of social media, so Intel don't try my patience more, it will hurt....

[agree11]

This posted on IT Facebook page under the article about their latest products, is anyone else able to repost something similar?

I'm looking for programmers who could support poor graphics drivers for Imagination Technologies last series of PowerVR solutions in particular the SGX545 used on Intel's N2600 chip. So far no response from official channels so here's to hope that something will happen if I complain publicly. Sorry for ruining you PR..

[ABors1]

Dear Intel,

Please tell us what we (end-users) can do to get the drivers for the Intel GMA3600/GMA3650 in the major Linux distributions like Ubuntu.

With kind regards,

[agree11]

I've come across a potential third party solution, not sure if we have the connector for this, but I've read somewhere that the wireless card may have one.

http://www.amazon.com/computers-accessories/dp/B0050QJUP0 Amazon.com: BCM970015 Broadcom Video/Audio Hardware Decoder Accelerator Crystal HD PCI Express mini card Hardware Decoder for Apple TV 1080p: Computers & Accessories

[ABors1]

Thanks for thinking with me in term of solutions.

Although I believe the adapter might fit in my small Acer Aspire One D270 (AOD270) and be a possible workaround, the PCI-e slot is taken by the Wifi adapter, which I prefer above a second 'video adapter' (kind of). Next to this slot, there are no other slots available for expansion. In other words, I have to deal with the hardware as is.

I believe the release of descent Linux drivers for the major Linux distributions would help me and many other GMA users (or better: customers!) a lot. In this thread http://askubuntu.com/questions/290515/how-to-install-intel-cedarview-drivers-on-ubuntu-12-10-or-13-04 graphics - How to install Intel CedarView drivers on Ubuntu 12.10 or 13.04? - Ask Ubuntu Rafal states some reasonable options.

1. Convince Intel to open-source the driver

2. Convince Intel to update the driver to a newer kernel

3. Use Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin, 32bit

So, back to my original question... Dear Intel: what can we (end-users) do to get these drivers (option 1 or 2) and make many Intel customers happy?

[agree11]

Hi Arthur,

As far as I can see with my relatively short involvement in this fiasco, Intel produced a product that was actually quite good, in fact too good. The hardware department was clearly not on the same track as the accounting department. The result we see today is a response to that.

When they released the original N270 the processor could do all the typing and other general stuff you need to do and some basic games, this fitted with the market segment. Then for some reason the hardware department decided that customers would really like something that would be faster, but with the same form factor and battery life. They began promoting this product, only to realise that they were selling people 98% of a full laptop for a third of the price, now clearly the accounting department got very agitated at this point and told everyone to go to sleep.

We therefore have some above average hardware with below average drivers. Oh and they definitely wouldn't want anyone to have any chance of creating any decent drivers, otherwise that would circumvent what they are trying to do now. So no, you're never going to get any support for Linux, well not at least until people have forgotten about this product and form factor.

Please go and buy an Ultrabook, they're the latest and greatest, that little bit of extra space and oh so much extra cash makes a huge difference, even if the processor and hardware are almost the same.

This is why we either need to force Intel, Imagination Technology and your OEM to do what is not in there financial interests, and the only way to achieve that is to cause significant reputational damage to them.

[ABors1]

I too believe that there is more behind it than just 'regular' disappointing customer support. Not only might is be, as you described above, a stategic decision, but also a financial component blocking this issue. I have the feeling that the contract between Intel and Imagination Technologies have some issues, resulting in the customer being the 'victim'. Whatever the reason, I am not willing to give up (yet).

Although I have just some programming experience, what is needed to write your own Linux device drivers? The original source code? Datasheets? Are there legal issues? Or am I way of my league with ideas like this?

[agree11]

Hi Arthur,

Glad to see we have a few more fighters here I too have been thinking of what we need to have to create a driver, please see my post on Imagination Technologies forum,http://forum.imgtec.com/discussion/2673/sgx545-driver-issues# latest SGX545 driver issues - Imagination Developer Forums I would imagine we need some idea of how the GPU communicates with the CPU, then the different ways in which the GPU processes different graphical components, and then finally what the GPU does with it's solutions. I have no experience with GPUs' or anything else driverwise, so this is my basic level thinking. Now from what Imagination technology has already told me, my guess is that we do need source code for this, and that Imagination technology are not desperately keen to give anyone this. So yes there are definitely IP problems, if that's what you meant about legal problems.

After reading my post and Imagination Technologies reply, some feedback would be excellent on what you think the situation is, otherwise this could easily descend into conspiracy theories