Imagination PowerVR Rogue GPU DRM driver
Kernel-mode graphics support for Imagination Technologies' PowerVR Rogue-class and newer IMG GPUs, the integrated graphics blocks found in current embedded systems-on-chip such as Texas Instruments' AM62 (AXE-1-16M) and AM68/J721S2 (BXS-4-64) families, as well as the Alibaba/T-Head TH1520 RISC-V SoC.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because it is a modern, actively developed driver for GPUs shipping today in TI's AM62x and AM68 SoC families and in T-Head TH1520 RISC-V boards. Upstream work is ongoing through 2025 and beyond, including patches to enable the driver on RISC-V, and there is no replacement or deprecation discussion in sight.
repository signals
sources
- docs.kernel.org
Upstream kernel docs describe this as the drm/imagination PowerVR driver and list supported cores including AXE-1-16M in TI AM62 and BXS-4-64 MC1 in TI J721S2/AM68.
- ti.com
TI lists AM625 as ACTIVE and orderable; the AM62x family is a current Linux-focused SoC line using the GPU served by this driver family.
- ti.com
TI lists AM68 as ACTIVE and orderable, and explicitly names an IMG BXS-4-64 GPU in the product details.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows CONFIG_DRM_POWERVR present from Linux 6.8 through current HEAD and lists device matches including img,img-axe, img,img-rogue, and thead,th1520-gpu.
- spinics.net
A June 16, 2025 kernel thread references the lore patch '[PATCH v4 8/8] drm/imagination: Enable PowerVR driver for RISC-V', showing ongoing upstream feature work rather than removal.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real DRM driver: local exec_command inspection of Kconfig, module firmware entries, and MAINTAINERS shows the powervr module under drivers/gpu/drm/imagination. Local exec_command git log shows active substantive fixes through 2026-03-10. Web search found current kernel docs, LKDDb, TI product pages, and a lore-linked mailing-list thread for 2025 RISC-V enablement; web searches for removal/deprecation discussion produced no relevant hits. Hardware is still shipping in active TI embedded SoCs and newer TH1520-class deployments, so there is no natural replacement and no obsolescence case beyond normal maintenance.