Open GPU Documentation by AMD
Chip manufacturer AMD has released documentation for its ATI graphics chips on the "Open GPU Documentation" website.
The website, which was set up just recently, is part of the AMD homepage. AMD uses it to provide comprehensive documentation at register level for AMD graphics chips. Thus far, documentation for the AMD R5xx, AMD R6xx and AMD RS6xx series chips has been published. According to AMD this includes both information on chips for both desktops and mobile devices. As the website says: "Documents for mobile chips are a superset of the desktop chip documentation; they contain all the desktop chip information as well as any relevant mobile additions." On top of this, AMD has set up a separate email address for queries from developers.
The published documents, titled M56, M76, RV630 and RS690, have been publically available since September 2007 via the X.Org website. Documentation for the 3D and R600 2D is likely to follow in the near future.
The "Open GPU Documentation" label implies that the documentation does not bind developers to any further commitments, however, this has not always been the case. In the period leading up to the release, there were contradictory reports stating that the documentation would only be made available to developers after signing a confidentiality agreement (see the Linux Magazine report here).
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.