Intel arc A770 - testing out Xe drivers but cannot get them to load

[wolly]

Hi intel forum,

I was just rebuilding my kernel (6.9.4-gentoo) to enable some features I needed when I looked and saw that there where options for the Xe drivers. I did some digging and apparently they are new drivers that support the a770 (my GPU) but where still somewhat experimental.

I added them to my kernel and (to force their loading) temporarily blacklisted the i915 drivers. However they would not load and X would not launch, so I reverted. I am interested in trying out these new drivers, so would appreciate some assistance getting them up and running. I can give whatever  log / dotfile needed on request and my system info is on an open issue related to star-field.

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Wolly,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities.

We know how dispiriting it is to try new drivers but unable to install them. We will work with you to find a resolution to your issue.

Please allow us to get the following information that we will use to find suggestions for your concern:

1.  It would really help us if we can get more information about your system. Please download and run our Intel® System Support Utility from this page, https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18895/intel-system-support-utility-for-the-linux-operating-system.html.

You can view the instructions on how to run this application on the readme file included on the download.

The steps below are from the readme file:

How to run ssu.sh from the terminal

==========================

i. Open Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal

ii. From the current director, navigate to the current folder where the ssu.sh file resides. For example if you saved the ssu.sh to a folder called "SSU File" the command would be: cd "SSU File"

iii. Run the ssu.sh file using this command: ./ssu.sh <parameter=0|1>  where 0 = off and 1 = enabled

iv. Use the parameter definitions included in the readme to determine which parameter to use.

v. If no parameter is specified and only ./ssu.sh is run, it will capture all system information with the exception of 3rd party logs which must be specified. If no output file is specified, the SSU will write the output to file <sytemname>.txt.

2. Where did you learn about the new XE drivers? Kindly provide a link.

3. How did you load or installed the XE drivers?

We will wait for your response.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[wolly]

Hi thanks for the response.

1. Attached is the ssu log. Please note that I could not find the whodim and x11-xserver-utils packages on portage (my package manager), so if you require details provided from those utils let me know and I can use other utilities to acquire them / tell you. Please also not that your ssu report is erroneous, as it gives the driver info for my igpu for *both* the igpu and my a770. Please see my lspic report for actual installed drivers for my a770.

2. I saw the news on various websites when I was doing some graphics driver / game troubleshooting / general browsing whilst tweaking my configs. I will need to trawl through my browser history so I will find the links in a supplementary reply later, I just wanted to get my logfiles replied to you asap.

3. Drivers built as kernel modules. Attached is my kernel .config files as config.txt. I can successfully modprobe the i915 divers but not the xe drivers.

Best Wishes!

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Wolly,

Thank you providing the information that is currently available.

Please allow us some time to check on this. While we are checking, we will still monitor the thread for your response regarding the websites where you found out that you can load XE drivers.

We will get back to you as soon as we have updates.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician

[wolly]

Thanks again.

I did some digging and whilst I cant find all the sites I looked at - I at least looked into the following:

1. https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/the-day-ive-been-waiting-for-in-intel-news-updated-xe-driver-information/49090

2. https://www.phoronix.com/review/intel-xe-benchmark

best wishes!

[wolly · Accepted solution]

Oh Golly I'm so silly.

I just had a thought that I may had forgotten to make modules_install when I built my kernel. I just did that now and I can now successfully mod-probe the drivers.

Complete user error on my part!

Thanks for all your help anyhow!

[AlfredoS_Intel]

Hi Wolly, 

Thank you for your update.

We are glad to know that your issue is already resolved.

If you would like to give us an update or if you have further questions, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored.

Thank you for contacting Intel® and have a great year.

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel Customer Support Technician