AMD Limits Driver Support for Some Older GPUs
With the launch of new midrange GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD, 2023 has looked like a sensible time to purchase a new graphics card. However, for those with older AMD Radeon GPUs, there is some bad news. AMD has started to scale back on driver support for its late-2010s-era GPUs, particularly the Polaris and Vega GPU architectures.
According to AnandTech, support for these GPUs has been removed from AMD’s Linux drivers, and the company plans to limit Windows drivers for these GPUs to “critical updates.” An official statement from AMD explains that the Polaris and Vega graphics architectures are mature and stable and do not benefit as much from regular software updates. As a result, AMD will be providing critical updates for these products separately, including important security and functionality updates as available.
The Polaris architecture powered popular graphics cards such as the RX 480 and RX 580, which were well-liked for their low prices and performance. The RX 580, launched in 2017, remains the most-used dedicated AMD graphics card in the Steam Hardware Survey as of 2023.
The Vega architecture, on the other hand, was utilized in dedicated GPUs as well as in AMD’s Ryzen lineup’s integrated GPUs. While newer Ryzen processors use GPUs based on still-supported architectures, many current-generation Ryzen 7000 laptop processors and desktop APUs still use Vega.
This move by AMD has put the company in an awkward position of offering limited ongoing driver support for products it is currently selling. While older GPUs may not benefit as much from new drivers, they could miss out on fixes and optimizations for new games.
The news is sure to disappoint users of the popular RX 480, RX 580, and other GPUs from that era. AMD’s decision reflects a growing tendency among GPU makers to prioritize support for new products, potentially leaving some older users in the lurch.