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AMD Ceases Graphics Driver Development for 32-bit Operating Systems
With the recent October releases of Adrenalin Edition, AMD has finally discontinued support for 32-bit operating systems. The latest 32-bit packages can still be manually downloaded through older driver release notes, of which Adrenalin Edition 18.9.3 is the last release with 32-bit drivers.
The change doesn't come as a surprise. Earlier this year, NVIDIA ceased driver development for 32-bit OSes, and early last year AMD dropped graphics driver support for 32-bit Windows 8.1. Pre-GCN hardware was moved to legacy status back in 2015. Ultimately, the idea is to concentrate development and engineering resources, particularly if those resources are limited. Over the past few years, AMD has put in a renewed effort in graphics driver development, retiring Catalyst for "Radeon Software" and embarking on major annual updates, both for gaming and professional products. In that sense, prolonging 32-bit support diffuses focus for very specific edge cases for little benefit, and that goes for both NVIDIA and AMD.
Previously: Nvidia to Stop Writing Drivers for 32-Bit Systems (Eventually)
Nvidia Ends Mainstream Support for Fermi GPUs and 32-Bit Operating Systems
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 30 2018, @02:10AM (8 children)
This is just further proof that professional programmers are actually dumbasses who don't employ even the most basic abstractions.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 30 2018, @02:35AM (5 children)
Are you seriously trying to put the latest and greatest video card into a 32 bit computer? Come on dude - there is "backward compatibility", but FFS, you simply cannot make use of a GTX 1080 in a TRS-80.
As for 32 bit operating systems on 64 bit capable systems - you've already foregone using the CPU's built in capabilities. Do you really think you can put that GTX 1080 to it's best use by constraining how it communicates with the CPU?
Need an auto analogy? You can't take the turbo charger out of an F1 formula car, and pop it into a 1963 Ford Falcon. It's unsupported, it won't work, and you will have wasted a lot of money. Doesn't matter how much you want a turbocharged Falcon, it isn't going to work. You probably CAN hire an engineer to build a turbocharger specifically designed to enhance that old six-cylinder engine - but it's going to cost you.
In the case of these graphic drivers, AMD is simply announcing that they won't bear the cost of supporting old, obsolete equipment any longer.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 30 2018, @03:00AM (2 children)
AMD is saying they are dropping support for a product that has hitherto been supported on 32-bit machines.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday October 30 2018, @04:36AM (1 child)
Does it mean that the currently available drivers will cease to exist, will be no longer available to download or otherwise the installed drivers will become unusable?
To my mind it mean no more and no less than: "no new versions or bug updates for the 32 bits versions in the future".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 30 2018, @03:41PM
SIGH
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 30 2018, @10:14AM
Don't get me wrong, as someone who's been 64-bit since the 90s (DEC Alpha fanboi at your service), I can't say I'm sorry to see the 32-bit world fall off the desktop.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Tuesday October 30 2018, @11:10AM
Why so far fetched?
'nuff said
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 30 2018, @12:04PM
Unless written direectly in ASSEM and code per CPU model, there is NO, repeat NO, reason to need one over the other,, they code is equal.
This is purely a money grab. DESTORY the old so they buy a new. ANYONE who is believes other wise is foul who deserve the cash being SUCKED from their pockets.
WRITTEN on a 16yr old machine and surrounded by 7 other equally old, if it not older machines... ALL RUNNING the LATEST 2018 software. Planned obsolescence my eye!.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Wednesday October 31 2018, @03:01AM
Don't insult people when you have no idea what you're talking about. Compilers turn non-cpu specific code into a cpu specific executable. Programmers write in a generic language that is abstracted away from hardware targets. You can compile the same C program for 8bit Atmel microcontrollers, or 32bit ARM cpus, or 64bit x86-64.
A company probably won't run that hardware, legacy OS, and test all the executables when it affects like 0.1% of the customer base. 64bit x86 CPUs have been available for ~15 years. Linux support was there for a long time. Windows went grudgingly but it's there now. If you're using 10 year old hardware, then you should really be glad they supported it for so long. Surely that old hardware has damn good drivers by now?
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