Timur Kristóf from Valve's Linux graphics team has submitted patches to make the AMDGPU driver the default for GCN 1.1 GPUs on Linux. This shift affects older cards like the Radeon R9 290 and 390. The change aims to improve performance and feature support for these graphics processors.
Recent proposals to the Linux kernel aim to transition GCN 1.1 GPUs, known as Sea Islands, from the legacy Radeon driver to the more modern AMDGPU driver by default. Timur Kristóf, part of Valve's Linux graphics driver team, submitted these patches, as reported by Phoronix. The affected GPUs include the Radeon R9 290, R9 390, HD 7790, and HD 8870.
Historically, AMDGPU has served as the default driver for newer architectures starting from GCN 1.2, while GCN 1.0 and 1.1 remained on the Radeon driver. The new patches introduce a "-1" option that allows the kernel to select the default driver automatically. This move is significant because AMDGPU is actively maintained, offering better performance, newer features, and support for Vulkan 1.3 through the RADV implementation, along with enhanced display capabilities via the Display Core (DC) subsystem.
A key obstacle to this transition was support for analog connectors, which older displays often require. This functionality has now been integrated into AMDGPU's Display Core, achieving feature parity with the Radeon driver and ensuring full compatibility with legacy video outputs. As a result, users of these older AMD GPUs can benefit from easier integration with modern APIs like Vulkan, where the Radeon driver falls short.
Looking ahead, the patches suggest that GCN 1.0 GPUs, such as the Southern Islands series including HD 7950, HD 7970, R9 270, and R9 280, may soon follow suit in adopting AMDGPU as the default. This development underscores Linux's commitment to supporting aging hardware without the delays seen on other platforms like Windows.