AMD Delivers Many Fixes For Polaris GPUs On Linux - Finally Enables ZeroRPM Fan Mode

[phoronix]

Phoronix: AMD Delivers Many Fixes For Polaris GPUs On Linux - Finally Enables ZeroRPM Fan Mode

It seems AMD's Linux graphics driver team is firing with precision on all cylinders these days. Not only have they been working on timely support for the Radeon RX 6000 "RDNA 2" / "Big Navi" Linux driver support ahead of the official launch and have the initial code already upstreamed in Linux 5.9, but they've even been going back with a number of fixes for older graphics processors...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMD-Fixes-Up-Polaris-2020

[Solid State Brain]

ZeroRPM mode-at last. I ended up making my own script in Python to make it behave more like it does on Windows, with the fan smoothly changing with a time-averaged GPU temperature, but also turning off below a certain threshold. Other scripts use instant GPU temperature readings, which at least on my RX480, respond too quickly to sudden load.

[khnazile]

Those hundreds of kilowatts, wasted over the years by Polaris GPUs... That change is too late, polaris is dead

[boxie]

Those hundreds of kilowatts, wasted over the years by Polaris GPUs... That change is too late, polaris is dead

polaris will be around for years to come. someone getting a cheap machine together could quite easily get a polaris GPU and have a fantastic experience under Linux!

[Danny3]

Finally !!!
I have been complaining for months about this feature.
A bit late, as I have found a few weeks ago that CoreCtrl can mimmick this feature with it's fan control curve.
Anyway, nice to see that AMD listens to users' complaints and fixes annoying stuff and I hope the ZeroRPM feature will just work by default, like on Windows.
Especially since we don't have a control panel like on Windows to enable or disable it.
Having these features in place in the driver, hopefully that will not be too distant in the future.

[M@GOid]

Those hundreds of kilowatts, wasted over the years by Polaris GPUs... That change is too late, polaris is dead

Not so fast. I bought a new RX550 just 2 months ago.

The thing is, some people use hardware until they cannot anymore. Not everybody has the urge to upgrade to the new shiny thing as soon as they are released.

[skeevy420]

polaris will be around for years to come. someone getting a cheap machine together could quite easily get a polaris GPU and have a fantastic experience under Linux!

Yeah. For quality 1080p gaming an RX 580 is still a really good choice. I don't really see much of a point in upgrading my RX 580 to one of the RX 5000s. I lose ram on their 1080p card and the better cards are overkill compared to the rest of my components.

Until 4K FreeSync monitors and TVs become commonplace and the AMD driver supports HDMI FreeSync, more people will be targeting 1080p60 than any other resolution and that's where the Polaris cards shine for gaming...470/570+.

[M@GOid]

Yeah. For quality 1080p gaming an RX 580 is still a really good choice. I don't really see much of a point in upgrading my RX 580 to one of the RX 5000s. I lose ram on their 1080p card and the better cards are overkill compared to the rest of my components.

Until 4K FreeSync monitors and TVs become commonplace and the AMD driver supports HDMI FreeSync, more people will be targeting 1080p60 than any other resolution and that's where the Polaris cards shine for gaming...470/570+.

A bit of reality shock for some people:

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-...zgbs/pc/284822

Polaris still sold strongly. Number two most sold card om Amazon right now. The goddamned Nvidia Gt710 is number one in sales, LOL.

[Chugworth]

I'm guessing that probably won't work well on my card. I still have an RX 480 that must have some problem. On its default fan settings, games have horrible stuttering unless I manually crank the fan up to 100% so it sounds like a leaf blower. Initially I thought the stuttering was some Linux gaming bug until I realized the problem was in Windows also, and then I discovered the fan issue. It's probably time for me to upgrade the card. But given that there aren't really any new games that interest me these days, I just haven't wanted to.

ZeroRPM sounds like a great idea though. Any graphics chip that requires a spinning fan for just regular desktop apps and video playing is clearly designed poorly.

[El_Presidente]

phoronix
do you know on which Kernel the patches are based upon?
I would like to build a Kernel myself with it, so I can test it with my RX480.
I tested with 5.8.x, but most of the patches did not work.