AMDs Linux tweaks pave the way for USB 4 in Ryzen 6000 laptops

Date:
Mon, 14 Feb 2022 14:37:30 +0000

Description:
So Linux users with a Ryzen 6000 notebook will get the full benefit of an external GPU, and more besides.

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AMD has made tweaks to USB 4 handling in Linux , which come on top of recent patches to ensure that USB 4 works with laptops powered by Ryzen 6000 mobile silicon.

As you may recall, laptops with Ryzen 6000 APUs inside otherwise known as Rembrandt chips are the first to support USB 4 ( and therefore Thunderbolt
3, optionally ) on the AMD front, with Team Red now pushing to get the software side ready for when these devices launch, and they should arrive imminently (the company has previously said Ryzen 6000 notebooks will be out at some point in February, or the first models should be, anyway).

Hence the Linux patches which work on USB 4 handling improvements, as spotted by Phoronix.com .

As you may be aware, USB 4 is based on Intels Thunderbolt 3 tech, with the main difference being that it offers blazing-fast 40Gbps speeds without
having to work directly with Intel to implement it (and pay royalties, of course). While USB 4 is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3, device
makers must make an active decision to support the latter (its optional as to whether they do, or not).

Specifically, the latest patches for Linux witness changes to the is_thunderbolt check to alter what happens for a device thats connected by Thunderbolt, rather than directly via PCIe, and to determine if said device
is external (and removable).

This comes on top of AMDs previous work on DisplayPort Tunneling and more
(the fresh patching, by the way, was documented by Mario Limonciello, Principal Member of Technical Staff and a Linux expert at AMD). Analysis: Powering up Linux laptops, including with external GPUs

You dont really need to know all the technical ins-and-outs here, as its pretty complex stuff, but the gist of it is that AMD is pushing forward to prepare the ground for USB 4 to work correctly in Linux, just as the Ryzen 6000 laptops we mentioned at the outset are set to be sprung on the world. (These Ryzen 6000-powered notebooks also introduce PCIe 4.0 and DDR5 support, among other fresh tech advances).

A USB 4 connection allows for data transfer, monitor signals, power delivery (100W), and its fast enough to use for hooking up an external GPU to your laptop, to really beef up graphics power when at your desk. Its worth noting that the aforementioned Linux patches also clean up AMD driver code for working with external GPUs (and also for Nouveau, the open source driver for Nvidia graphics cards under Linux). Check out this week's best PC game deals



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/amds-linux-tweaks-pave-the-way-for-usb-4-in-ryz en-6000-laptops/


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