Gigabyte is the leader
AMD has released source code for BIOS of a Gigabyte Technology
motherboard. The move will allow Open Source developers to reprogram BIOS
according to their needs. It will help Linux users to get better overclocking
functionality or unlock some of the features.
The BIOS has been released under the GPL and relates to
the Gigabyte M57SLI-S4 motherboard's BIOS. Gigabyte M57SLI-S4 motherboard is based
on Nvidia Nforce 570 SLI core-logic, and supports various AMD processors in socket
AM2 form. The board also supports four slots for DDR2 memory, two PCI Express x16 slots for two graphics cards in multi-GPU SLI
mode, three PCI Express x1 ports for add-in cards, six Serial ATA-300
connectors for hard disk drives with RAID support, ten USB 2.0 connectors and
three Firewire ports.
The Free Software Foundation has been campaigning for some
time for a Free BIOS because it is a key component in the software stack of
personal computers. We don’t know if this is an isolated case of more
manufactures will release their bioses for public use. It is an outdated
motherboard but it is a step forward.
