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

[dwagner]

I should have known better than to waste my time applying the patch-set to amd-staging-drm-next and testing a kernel compiled from it.
The resulting kernel crashed in the amdgpu driver when running my "standard" 3-fps-video-playback test-script after about 20 seconds.
I really should have known better, given that for about 4 years now I have seen nothing but a decline in stability of amdgpu driving my Polaris based XFX RX 460 GPU.
Still waiting for Intel to release its first "Xe" discrete GPU to get out of this tragedy.

[boxie]

Linux Torvalds has a polaris card in his threadripper beast.

Only because the TR doesn't have an IGP

I have a RX570 in my 3900X. If you only game a bit or not at all, Polaris cards are fine. Perhaps there is a payback on energy savings of a more modern card, I'm not sure, but the other advantage is that the drivers seem to give no problems. It was my first AMD card on a machine that only has Linux so I wanted to minimise risks. So for low cost and low risk, these cards were still pretty viable only a few months ago, I think.

I doubt you would get several hundred $ back in any power savings.

The only time it is a drag is if it is not playing your games at whatever hz your monitor can do and you are unhappy about that

[M@GOid]

Since we're talking about Polaris; is there anything known about potential HDMI issues? I've had a RX 560, and 4 different RX 580s, and all of them had intermittent instability at 4K@60Hz over HDMI across 6 different HDMI 2.0-certified cables.

The RX 560 and 2 RX 580s were from XFX, and the last 2 RX 580s from SAPPHIRE. This happens in Windows 10, macOS (Mojave and Catalina), and Linux. Tried about 5 different motherboard with both PCI-E 2.0 and 3.0, at least 2 power supplies, and in the case of macOS, I was using a TB2 enclosure. On all operating systems, the instability went away when I created a CVT-RB resolution.

I was thinking it was my display, but I used a GTX 1060 that worked without issue.

Some reports from others leads me to believe Polaris has some flawed HDMI implementation, but I don't hear a lot about this I'm assuming because it's not a popular set-up (I imagine most people use DisplayPort or resolutions that aren't 4K).

Since I don't have a 4K TV, my test with a RX570 ITX from Sapphire was done in a friend's one. Worked fine, no problems.

HDMI have a history of cable and equipment shenanigans. The same friend above had some incompatibility issues between his TVs and his Playstations, mostly cable related. Here in my house, it was not uncommon for a cable to refuse to work on 1080p TVs. Quality varies a lot. Adapters from mini-DP to VGA or HDMI (on a Intel Thinkpad T430) were also a source of pain.

[M@GOid]

good psus from seasonic have warranty longer than 10 years, why do you keep buying them?

Because I bought just one :-) And it still works fine, BTW.

I have more than one PC too.

[skeevy420]

Some reports from others leads me to believe Polaris has some flawed HDMI implementation, but I don't hear a lot about this I'm assuming because it's not a popular set-up (I imagine most people use DisplayPort or resolutions that aren't 4K).

I run 1080p HDMI to my TV and have had the same issue on Windows with my RX 580 since the day I bought it. Oddly enough, the exact same setup works flawlessly on Linux.

With all the posts I've seen around HDMI issues, there does seem to be something up with AMD's HDMI implementation. My guess is something to do with HDCP handshakes due to how my TV behaves with my RX 580 on Windows but not Linux.

[grung]

Since we're talking about Polaris; is there anything known about potential HDMI issues? I've had a RX 560, and 4 different RX 580s, and all of them had intermittent instability at 4K@60Hz over HDMI across 6 different HDMI 2.0-certified cables.

...

Some reports from others leads me to believe Polaris has some flawed HDMI implementation, but I don't hear a lot about this I'm assuming because it's not a popular set-up (I imagine most people use DisplayPort or resolutions that aren't 4K).

I used to have overclocked XFX RX480 8GB and I was not able to use it for Windows Mixed Reality with default HDMI cable. To mitigate this I bought DP-to-HDMI converter and my WMR started working like a charm. So I think you are right there is some problem with HDMI on Polaris.
Last year I upgraded my GPU to Vega 56 and now I don't have to use the converted which clearly means that there is something wrong with the hardware.

[timrichardson]

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!

Linux Torvalds has a polaris card in his threadripper beast. I have a RX570 in my 3900X. If you only game a bit or not at all, Polaris cards are fine. Perhaps there is a payback on energy savings of a more modern card, I'm not sure, but the other advantage is that the drivers seem to give no problems. It was my first AMD card on a machine that only has Linux so I wanted to minimise risks. So for low cost and low risk, these cards were still pretty viable only a few months ago, I think.

[theriddick]

Very good, maybe one day soon they can use this driver on Windows also and just have the whole directx components as a add-on.

Since we're talking about Polaris; is there anything known about potential HDMI issues? I've had a RX 560, and 4 different RX 580s, and all of them had intermittent instability at 4K@60Hz over HDMI across 6 different HDMI 2.0-certified cables.

The RX 560 and 2 RX 580s were from XFX, and the last 2 RX 580s from SAPPHIRE. This happens in Windows 10, macOS (Mojave and Catalina), and Linux. Tried about 5 different motherboard with both PCI-E 2.0 and 3.0, at least 2 power supplies, and in the case of macOS, I was using a TB2 enclosure. On all operating systems, the instability went away when I created a CVT-RB resolution.

I was thinking it was my display, but I used a GTX 1060 that worked without issue.

Some reports from others leads me to believe Polaris has some flawed HDMI implementation, but I don't hear a lot about this I'm assuming because it's not a popular set-up (I imagine most people use DisplayPort or resolutions that aren't 4K).

[fenixex]

... the 580 was super popular among crypto miners. So the reality is a bit skewed.
Seems to me the GTX 1060 and 1660 (and their Ti/Super variants) were otherwise the most popular among gamers.

I assume you're referencing the Steam charts. The one which list 5 different models of the 1060 (1 which in only available in China) as one card.
It's also the card which is purchased in bulk for internet cafes throughout Asia.
Lets talk skewed.