AMDVLK 2021.Q2.4 Released With Two More Extensions Added

[phoronix]

Phoronix: AMDVLK 2021.Q2.4 Released With Two More Extensions Added

Just one week after AMDVLK 2021.Q2.3 is now another update to this open-source AMD Vulkan driver for Linux systems...

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMDVLK-2021.Q2.4

[Danny3]

Cool, but let's hope they add the Ray-tracing extensions too, sooner than later !

[skeevy420]

I understand Ubuntu. I don't understand why AMD makes RHEL and CentOS packages. Contractual reasons? The overlap of RHEL/CentOS users and people using AMDVLK has to be next to none.

I mean, who TF plays games on RHEL/CentOS?

And this is coming from somebody who seriously, seriously considered installing RHEL yesterday and would have been using it for the occasional game. I went with Fedora.

[aufkrawall]

The only difference between the packages probably is the path of the ICD loader, you can use the compiled driver on whatever distribution you like.

[Azrael5]

how does Amd support its own GPUs via drivers? I would like to apply an AMD GPu into my system. Is it better MESA or AMD driver?

[skeevy420]

how does Amd support its own GPUs via drivers? I would like to apply an AMD GPu into my system. Is it better MESA or AMD driver?

Both???

There's an AMD driver in the kernel that AMD does (and numerous other volunteers) and a MESA driver on the software side that AMD doesn't. That driver, MESA's RADV, competes with AMD's AMDVLK. RADV has usually been the better performing one in my experiences though AMDVLK does do better with certain games. I always had better results with AMDVLK on Hitman 2.

There's also AMDGPU-Pro which, IIRC, has a different OpenGL driver than what MESA uses and slightly different AMDVLK and, overall, AMDGPU-Pro is mainly for commercial and computing users; not for gaming and graphics though AMDVLK-Pro can be used outside of AMDGPU-Pro and is worth trying after RADV for Vulkan games. AMDGPU-Pro is also good for SLES and RHEL for newer hardware support. I have a 4650G APU and none of the SLES or OpenSUSE 15.X releases work with it until Pro is installed. It isn't as necessary on Ubuntu due to them having the option of HWE.

Basically, if you go with AMD you'll be good to go with the default, open source options. It's when you have specialized needs that you should start looking into the different software and drivers that AMD offers.

You're also better off on rolling distributions like Fedora and Arch or Ubuntu with HWE. AMD GPU's really benefit from up-to-date kernels and software since that's where your updates will come from.

[aufkrawall]

There's also AMDGPU-Pro which, IIRC, has a different OpenGL driver than what MESA uses and slightly different AMDVLK and it's mainly for commercial and computing users; not for gaming and graphics.

amdvlk-pro is actually exactly for gaming, as it's the ~same driver as on Windows. It's pretty much always faster and more stable than amdvlk-open, even though some FOSS zealots might not want to hear that.

[CochainComplex]

amdvlk-pro is actually exactly for gaming, as it's the ~same driver as on Windows. It's pretty much always faster and more stable than amdvlk-open, even though some FOSS zealots might not want to hear that.

blasphemy - you shall be sentenced to burn on the stake.

[CochainComplex]

I mean, who TF plays games on RHEL/CentOS?

Nerdy systemadmins at work

[skeevy420]

amdvlk-pro is actually exactly for gaming, as it's the ~same driver as on Windows. It's pretty much always faster and more stable than amdvlk-open, even though some FOSS zealots might not want to hear that.

I meant AMDGPU-Pro overall and not specifically AMDVLK-Pro though I can very easily see how it could be read that way and I'll fix that. Usually for me it has been RADV>AMDVLK-Pro>AMDVLK with Pro and RADV swapping places for the occasional game.