For Linux users, Intel is working on implementing Display-Port Multi-Stream Transport with Display Stream Compression for the first time in Linux with Arc GPUs. Reported by Phoronix. This feature will allow users to daisy chain not just two, but three 4k 60Hz monitors together with DisplayPort 1.4 from Arc Graphics. This feature will be available soon, and if development goes smoothly, it could be available in Linux kernel 6.1 in October.
FYI, this is a Linux specific update. I’m not sure if the Windows Arc GPU driver already supports DP MST with his DSC — at least for triple display output.
According to Phoronix, this is the first time the feature has been implemented in Intel graphics. Previously, Intel’s Linux drivers, including Intel’s integrated graphics solutions, only supported display stream compression without Daisy Chaining (MST).
For now, it looks like Intel will only push this feature to the open source driver stack for Arc GPUs. Support for integrated graphics remains a mystery at this point. It’s a shame because notebooks with integrated graphics benefit a lot from this feature.
Nonetheless, discrete Arc GPUs in desktops and laptops will soon be able to take advantage of this feature in Linux. His current AIB partner card’s Arc Alchemist GPU features his four display outputs, so it’s probably not a very useful feature on the desktop. However, Arc-powered laptops have much more limited display output connections, so this feature is very useful for power users running Linux.
According to Phoronix, this feature is just one of many improvements coming to Intel’s open-source discrete GPU driver stack in the coming months. The current Intel drivers that support Arc are still experimental and should work with the latest Mesa versions and Linux distributions.
But Intel has worked hard to bring many products. improvement Moving to Linux kernel 6.1 will likely move the driver out of the experimental stage and into a more stable package that more people can use on different Linux versions.
DP MST with DSC in particular could come as early as October with the introduction of the Linux 6.1 kernel cycle, but whether this feature will come in October or will be delayed in a later kernel update remains to be seen. , time will tell.
