AMD has enabled further support for its next-gen RDNA 4 “GFX12” GPUs in Linux, as Team Red adds new patches for their AMDGPU LLVM shader compiler.
AMD’s Early Support For RDNA 4 “GFX12” GPUs Will Put The Company’s Next-Gen Hardware In A Much Better Position Compared to Alternatives
It looks like AMD has seen a sudden change in approach for Linux, as when it comes to next-gen support, the company was quite slow compared to its competitors. Sometimes, initial support dropped in only months away from an official launch, however with the upcoming RDNA 4 GPU lineup which is marked as GFX12, AMD plans on catching things up.
We saw a first glimpse of official enablement back in August, and the company still looks dedicated. Phoronix has disclosed that a new set of patches for “GFX12”, a codename that is now quite commonly defined for the RDNA 4 GPU architecture, has dropped by on the AMDGPU LLVM compiler.
The new patches don’t include any exciting, but rather the traditional instructions support, updating existing hardware registers, and a bunch of pull requests for “GFX12”. Unfortunately, the new additions don’t tell us anything about the new lineup, but you shouldn’t be disappointed yet, as the RDNA 4 launch may still be a year away, giving us time to see the periodic changes being made to the AMDGPU driver on Linux, which may reveal decisive information on the way.
The more intriguing part about today’s update is how AMD is shaping up their graphics driver on Linux since early next-gen support hints towards the fact that the firm might give tough competition to open-source alternatives such as the MESA’s Vulkan driver moving down the road. This is where AMD could take the lead since bringing on support for future architectures is a move only the manufacturer can do. AMD’s Linux graphics driver might be in great shape once RDNA 4 GPUs are officially released, which is still quite some time away.
| Graphics Architecture | GPU Codename | Alternative Name | Architecture | Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GFX900 | VEGA 10 | GCN 5.0 | RX VEGA / Radeon Pro | |
| GFX902 | RAVEN | Raven Ridge / Picasso | GCN 5.0 | Ryzen 2000/3000(G/GE) |
| GFX904 | VEGA 12 | GCN 5.0 | Vega Pro 20 (MAC) | |
| GFX906 | VEGA 20 | GCN 5.0 | Radeon VII / Radeon Pro VII | |
| GFX908 | ARCTURUS | CDNA 1 | Instinct MI100 | |
| GFX90A | Aldebaran | CDNA 2 | Instinct MI200 | |
| GFX909 | RAVEN2 | GCN 5.0 | TBC | |
| GFX909 | RENOIR | GCN 5.0 | Ryzen 4000(H/U/G) | |
| GFX1010 | NAVI 10 | RDNA 1 | RX 5700/5600(M/XT) | |
| GFX1011 | NAVI 12 | RDNA 1 | PRO 5600M (MAC) | |
| GFX1012 | NAVI 14 | RDNA 1 | RX 5500 (M/XT) | |
| GFX1030 | NAVI 21 | Big Navi / Sienna Cichlid | RDNA 2 | RX 6900/6800 Series |
| GFX1031 | NAVI 22 | Navy Flounder | RDNA 2 | RX 6700 Series |
| GFX1032 | NAVI 23 | Dimgrey Cavefish | RDNA 2 | RX 6600 Series |
| GFX1033 | NAVI 24 | Beige Goby | RDNA 2 | RX 6500/6400 Series |
| GFX1033 | Van Gogh | Aerith | RDNA 2 | Steam Deck |
| GFX1036 | Navi 2X | Raphael | RDNA 2 | Ryzen 7000 |
| GFX1040 | VAN GOGH LITE / Mendocino | Green Sardine | RDNA 2 | Ryzen 7000 |
| GFX1100 | Navi 31 | Plum Bonito | RDNA 3 | Radeon RX 7900 |
| GFX1101 | Navi 32 | Wheat Nas | RDNA 3 | Radeon RX 7800 |
| GFX1102 | Navi 33 | Hotpink Bonefish | RDNA 3 | Radeon RX 7600 |
| GFX1103 | Navi 3X | Phoenix Point | RDNA 3 | Ryzen 7040 APU Ryzen 8040 APU |
| GFX1150 | Navi 3.5 | Strix Point | RDNA 3.5 | Ryzen 8050 APU |
| GFX1200 | Navi 4X | RDNA 4 | Radeon 8000? | |
| GFX1201 | Navi 4X | RDNA 4 | Radeon 8000? |
News Source: Phoronix