AMD RDNA 3rd Nov 2022

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Reviewers and some people have always been harsh on AMD's drivers, and though it has since improved, the last broad driver release was back on December 8th. Odd move.

AMD Radeon Software updates have been exclusive to the Radeon RX 7000 series

For the third time in a row, AMD's Radeon drivers are exclusive to the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX, with new game optimizations limited to these cards.

www.tweaktown.com

AMD Radeon Software updates have been exclusive to the Radeon RX 7000 series

For the third time in a row, AMD's Radeon drivers are exclusive to the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX, with new game optimizations limited to these cards.

AMD has released Adrenalin 23.1.2 drivers for its Radeon GPUs, except that the update is exclusive to the Radeon RX 7900 Series of graphics cards that launched late last year. Alongside support for the new game Forspoken it expands Vulkan API support, though what's missing is support for older AMD GPUs - specifically the Radeon RX 6000 Series. And with Forspoken being an AMD-sponsored title on PC, having no day-one support for the RX 6000 Series is baffling.

This means no optimized support for those playing Forspoken on a Radeon RX 6950 XT, and it's been 48 days since AMD released a driver covering its full line-up of GPU offerings. That driver update arrived on December 8, 2022, so this is the third Radeon RX 7000 Series exclusive driver from AMD in a row.

I have had the idea that AMD will maintain a smaller stable. Usually, a GPU remains driver supported up to 8 years or so it is in Nvidia's case (and they still support the Maxwell mobile series which is soon to be 9 years old), but I think AMD may remove the entire GCN line-up sooner than later, which would make it supported up to 6 years, and I think Navi 10/14 may also be removed sooner than later.

At least in AMD’s case, there are still third-party NimeZ drivers, and it is pretty cool too. Sadly, no third-party is willing to risk their hard work with Nvidia, publicly.

This all being said, I think there is a large shake up concerning EOL as a whole. Basically, consumers could be pushed into upgrading by tightening up the support cycle.

 

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OT, but related to my above post. I guess AMD's Polaris is now reaching EOL,

AMD Polaris GPUs Can't Run Forspoken Due To Lack DirectX 12_1 Feature Level Support, NVIDIA Maxwell GPUs Run Fine

AMD Polaris GPUs are unable to run Forspoken on their PCs due to a lack of DirectX 12_1 support while NVIDIA Maxwell GPUs can run just fine.

wccftech.com

AMD Polaris GPUs Can’t Run Forspoken Due To Lack DirectX 12_1 Feature Level Support, NVIDIA Maxwell GPUs Run Fine

AMD Polaris GPU users, which constitute a majority of Radeon gamers, are unable to run Forspoken on their PCs due to a lack of DirectX 12_1 support.

AMD's 2017 "Polaris" GPU Lineup Can't Run Forspoken While NVIDIA's 2014 "Maxwell" GPUs Can, Game Requires At Least DirectX 12_1 Support

AMD launched its Polaris GPUs back in 2017 and it was followed by two refreshed later in the lineup. Powering the Radeon RX 400 and Radeon RX 500 series, these were the first GPUs that aimed to move away from the older GCN architecture and targeted the mainstream segment, promising unquestionably good value and performance.

Back then, AMD was touted to have the better drivers and DirectX 12 readiness for its GPUs but a few years later, we have the same Polaris GPUs unable to run Forspoken, a title that requires at the very least, DirectX 12_1 feature level support. Unfortunately, AMD's Polaris GPUs don't have DirectX 12_1 feature level support which is a bummer considering NVIDIA's Maxwell GPUs that date back to 2014 (GeForce 900 Series) have that.

Though the GPU is still very much usuable, newly released DX12.1 titles won't be supported. I guess driver support might be ending soon. Not long until Vega, and possibly the RX 5000 series are also on the chopping block concerning DX: Ultimate. It all depends on the game publishers and developers, and technologies pushed on them or promoted by the vendors.

As it stands, AMD's top charting GPUs on the Steam charts are the RX 500 series. AMD best hope that these users upgrade with AMD graphics.