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MrChromebox
32 MB UMA_FRAME_BUFFER allocated to Vega 8 iGPU by default and can't change it.
Hi @MrChromebox , First of all, thank you very much for your great contribution to the Chromebook community. A few days ago, I flashed the firmware by using your scripts and installed Windows 11 and tested it out. During my tests, I found out that the memory allocated to the internal GPU, which is Vega 8 in my case, is only 32 MB, and there is no option to change it from the core boot's advance configuration (the advance configuration is always empty). This amount of GPU memory is not enough to even play HD or FHD videos on YouTube; however, in Linux (OpenSuse), the amount of GPU memory shown is around 256MB.
My Chromebook config:
Chromebook: Lenovo Yoga C13 Gen1 Board: morpheus hfan CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3500C GPU: AMD VEGA 8 iGPU Memory: 16GB Storage: 256GB m.2 ssd
modern integrated GPUs which use shared system memory don't need a large fixed amount, the drivers can dynamically allocate it any time it's needed. 32MB is more than enough for FHD or even UHD video, if you do the pixel math.
I'm not sure if it is actually dynamically allocating any memory to iGPU, in my case i was never able to play any yt videos above 360p. In paper math 32MB video memory might be enough but in reality with all these bg tasks, i dont think 32MB of video memory can play UHD videos. From my experience i have seen AMD iGPUs reserves some portion of RAM to use as video memory it never changes during runtime of OS, only way to change this memory allocation is to change uma buffer size in bios settings.
if you're having issues playing videos above 360p, then you have other issues, not a UMA size issue.
Is it possible this might be related to some incompatibility with windows ?
In linux the video memory size was 256mb same as chromeos and video play issue occurred only once, after restart video playback started normally.
coolstar / the chrultrabook project handles Windows compatibility, I just build the firmware
Hi @MrChromebox, I just saw this commit in your coreboot repo https://github.com/MrChromebox/coreboot/commit/89de0a92d1f2c4d52e590db7b3df00c7ea780f8a , will this commit impact the UMA size for Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga C13 (Morphius) ?
Hi @MrChromebox, I just saw this commit in your coreboot repo MrChromebox/coreboot@89de0a9 , will this commit impact the UMA size for Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga C13 (Morphius) ?
not at all, Kahlee is the StoneyRidge baseboard, completely separate from Picasso boards like Morphius. Those are at 128MB for now.
Thanks for the clarification, just wanted to know if it is possible to increase the UMA size for morphius broad and build the rom/frimware locally ?
Thanks for the clarification, just wanted to know if it is possible to increase the UMA size for morphius broad and build the rom/frimware locally ?
no, if it were I would have provided instructions to do so.
On PCO, the UMA size (and mode) is set as an option inside the compiled APCB binary. The source and tools to compile that binary are not available outside of AMD (and NDA partners).
Hi @MrChromebox today I've tested linux (opensuse) using RW legacy bios/alternate bootloader and it seems the uma buffer size or the video memory is still 64MB only.
Hi @MrChromebox today I've tested linux (opensuse) using RW legacy bios/alternate bootloader and it seems the uma buffer size or the video memory is still 64MB only.
I'd expect so, the RW_LEGACY firmware is just that -- a bootloader -- and cannot change anything set by the stock firmware. You need to use the UEFI Full ROM firmware to get that.
Hi @MrChromebox, I'm curious to know if it is possible to access coreboot advance settings using nvramtool of coreboot.
I encountered a git repo which does the same but its for a specific hardware, but if it is possible to access advance settings using nvramtool then I would like to build a similar tool for chromebook users so that they can have full access to their bios/firmware.
Git repo - https://github.com/JaGoLi/corevantage
@Tu2l these options have to be set up for each individual board, and the nvram options have to be enabled. Neither is done for any of the ChromeOS devices I support. So in short, there are no options to configure.
Hi @MrChromebox, One request from my side is to increase the UMA size for Zork boards to 256MB or 512MB, as these boards are quite capable of handling intermediate-level development work.
what benefit would that actually provide? 512MB UMA on a 4GB device is a big chunk
I do actually have 16 GB of memory, and I want to test out some graphic intensive tools like godot game engine and other similar tools and some light gaming.
there's no way for me to set it based on the system memory size, and I don't want to be offering multiple builds for the same device. I wasn't even aware of any 16GB zork devices being released
Yeah, I can understand you; bumping up the UMA size might negatively impact devices with low system memory, but isn't it possible to go with the standard 256 MB of UMA for all the devices?
Hi @MrChromebox, Just for your information, yesterday I flashed the full rom using your script, and it bricked my device. I'm not sure what went wrong here; in the past I flashed it using the same script, and it was successful because of 64MB of VRAM I reverted, but now the same script bricked it. Maybe the recent Rom update caused this.
OpenSuse Tumbleweed was used to flash the full rom (note: I already had RW_legacy installed).
Right now I'm trying to build a SuzyQ cable or Debugging cable to flash the stock firmware.
this is on MORPHIUS? Did you try a hard reset (Refresh+Power simultaneously)? I tested the ROM here on mine and no issues, am puzzled that others are running into problems
Yes, it's on morphious and I tried EC reset except blinking led there is no sign of life.