Watch out for newest Intel Atom processors

[xenopeek]

Last generation of Intel Atoms: CedarView (D2300, D2500, D2550, D2600, D2700) and Cedar Trail (N2600, N2700, N2800) SoCs integrate a PowerVR GPU from Imagination instead of the usual Intel GPU. [...] An unsupported graphic card on Linux distributions, and which can't properly support a basic desktop environnment like Unity or Gnome 3.

Read more: https://gist.github.com/2925633. The GPU on these processors is the GMA 500, GMA 600, GMA 3600 or GMA 3650.

This may impact users wanting to run Cinnamon (though the upcoming version of Cinnamon has a "Cinnamon 2D" session, that will allow it to work), or Compiz. Before you buy a new system with an Intel Atom, check if it has one of these. (See also the comments from AlbertP on viewtopic.php?f=60&t=104919&start=20 for more background about the problems with this.)

To be very clear, this is just about these specific Intel Atom models, for which there is currently a problem on using them with Linux + hardware accelerated graphics.

Intel processors generally work very well with Linux, as Intel actively contributes to the Linux kernel and is an important sponsor and driver of Linux on multiple fronts. Just avoid these models for now when buying new hardware.

Edit: Also Intel Atom processors from the upcoming Clover Trail series again use Imagination's PowerVR GPU, and even Intel itself has now declared these processors will not work properly with Linux. Read more here viewtopic.php?f=58&t=112507. It won't be until 2013 that Intel will offer a new Atom processor series that will be fully supported on Linux.

[intok]

eh, rather get an low end AMD APU if you need sometihng in that class they are the Z-01, C-50, C-60, E-350, E-450, and apparently an updated version supposed to be out soon is the E2-1800.

[AlbertP]

If you want to read people's complaints about the integrated graphics of these Atoms, you can take a look here: http://communities.intel.com/thread/291 ... 0&tstart=0

[markosjal]

According to thos page
https://launchpad.net/~sarvatt/+archive/cedarview/

These drivers are now in ubuntu multiverse repos. Has anyone tested?

[AlbertP]

The page already says that OpenGL is very sketchy. I still think the older Atoms like D525 will be working much better. Also, I'm afraid that those drivers are Cedarview only and not supporting Poulsbo (Atom Z5xx) and Lincroft (Atom Z6xx), while especially Z5xx is often found in older netbooks.

(Edit) Anyway, Valley View will come in 2013 and then we'll again be able to use the latest Atoms with Linux.

[Oyabunbaba]

Overall choose Intel GPU or Nvidia any others can be problematic.

[altscribe]

Many of the new devices coming out are "ARM" compliant (http://www.softwarefreedom.org/blog/201 ... -down-ARM/) and will only work with Microsoft products. The entire line of Atom processors is supposed to be afflicted by this decision. More info available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture

[AlbertP]

ARM is certainly becoming popular but Intel Atom is not using ARM. Intel is trying to compete with ARM, with the Atom CPUs they are introducing the next few years.

Also ARM devices run Windows RT instead of normal Windows 8; any computer with the desktop function included in Windows 8, has an x86 compatible CPU on which it is also possible to run Linux.