Today a number of AMD GPUs entered end of life, including the * series (8400 and below), 7 series (7600 and below) and all of the 6000 and 5000 series.
As a last gift to these card owners AMD has also released a beta of the new Crimson software that supports these cards and of course the previous release will continue to work for these cards now that they have been moved to legacy status.
We covered Radeon Software Crimson just a short while ago.
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Many sites are reporting on the release of AMD's Crimson driver, which replaces Catalyst, features a redesigned interface and gives DirectX 9 applications access to variable framerates:
AMD’s first tease of Crimson was a run-through of the slick new Radeon Settings hub designed to replace Catalyst Control Center. (R.I.P.) At the time, AMD revealed some of the overt new features in Radeon Settings, such as per-game OverDrive overclocking settings and one-click Eyefinity multi-monitor configuration. On Tuesday, AMD’s unwrapping the deeper-level goodies in Radeon Software Crimson—with handy features for new and old graphics cards alike—and pushing the drivers live so you can try them out for yourself.
Crimson officially supports Windows 7—10. Linux users can expect a new, partially-open-source driver (AMDGPU) sometime in the future, but only for the latest, shiniest of graphics cards. The current driver's performance has been improved somewhat.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by stormreaver on Thursday November 26 2015, @01:18PM
This is one of the reasons Open Source drivers are important. Many of us have older hardware that works just fine for its purpose, and have no need to upgrade. Without Open Source drivers, that hardware would be forced into needless obsolescence.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @01:50PM
Ironically enough, I believe that these are the last GPUs AMD made that can be used without a blob for the driver.
(Score: 4, Disagree) by Hairyfeet on Thursday November 26 2015, @02:56PM
Lulwut? Windows doesn't have those issues because unlike Linux where kernel updates can quite easily (and often do) crap all over drivers with Windows the older drivers continue to work with newer versions of the OS as well as updates to the OS. I have used Win2K drivers in Vista, WinXP drivers in Windows 7, and Vista drivers in Windows 8.1 and not had a single issue.
Also if you read TFA I linked to the last beta which gives all of these older cards a driver that works from Win 7- Windows 10 and since MSFT has announced Windows 10 is the last version and instead of new versions they will just release updates ala OSX? that means these cards will have NO issue wrt running the latest version of Windows. And considering we are talking about cards going back nearly a decade? Sorry friend but Linux support does not come even close, unless you can show me a citation of Linux using GPU drivers released years ago without issue. Because with Windows even though the AMD driver is currently on 15.10 I can whip out the original ATI driver 8.8 that came with my netbook and install it on a fully updated Windows 7, in fact I seriously doubt I'd have any issues installing it on Windows 10 if I wanted to but with the new Crimson beta running so well I wouldn't bother, but I could if I wanted with ease.
This of course is ignoring the rotting elephant in the room which is that Linux GPU drivers stink on ice, sorry but they do, even with Gaben throwing money behind Linux gaming as you can see in these benchmarks [tweaktown.com] despite Windows 10 being only a few months old and Valve attempting to optimize their games for Linux you are losing 20%+ performance simply by using Linux over Windows. This isn't surprising as the vast majority (last I looked over 95%) of money spent on Linux development is invested in the server space, a space where ATI Rage Pro II GPUs are still considered acceptable, but when it comes to GPUs using Linux just kills performance, as you can plainly see in the benches you need to buy a card nearly twice as powerful to get the same frames per second that you would on Windows. Wish it wasn't so but the numbers don't lie.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @03:01PM
Bwahahahaha.... Another Linux basher that has never used anything but Windows.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @03:54PM
Those games have similar performance on both platforms when OpenGL is used. The problem isn't Linux drivers or a changing driver API; it's that most games are written for DirectX, and then sloppily ported to OpenGL once the game becomes successful and multiple platforms become feasible.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Hairyfeet on Thursday November 26 2015, @04:54PM
Afraid not, the Valve Source 2 games were written with OpenGL support in mind (they have supported OpenGL since the Orange Box more than 6 years ago) and then they have sunk a ton into optimization for SteamOS and the results suck just as bad...care to try again? I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find games that are OpenGL only and find benches, wanna bet that the Windows version will get a better score? Lets see.....well I found A Phoronix benchmark [pcper.com] and look at the scores, Windows first, followed by OSX, and Linux is last.
You simply cannot have your cake and eat it too and when the majority of the money on your platform is spent on a function (servers) where graphics is meaningless? Well you can't be surprised when your graphics performance sucks, especially when you have cruft like X-Server clogging the works.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @05:31PM
Windows the older drivers continue to work with newer versions of the OS
Only if you're lucky. I have an old WinXP desktop that is saved exclusively to use some hardware for which the last driver update was for Win2K. That driver "works" under XP with a little kludge (not supported by anyone).
IFF MS decides to take over the driver, then _maybe_ it will continue to work. If you are dependent on the hardware maker, then good luck.
Personally, I think that there should be a law similar to what exists for automobiles - the company is required to support maintenance (with parts) for up to 7 years after the last car of the model is manufactured. That would guarantee the minimum life of a product. If computer part manufacturers don't want to provide support for manufacture+7, then they should be forced to put the drivers into open source. Ditto for bankruptcy - all drivers' source code put in escrow so it can be released in the event of the company disappearing.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Thursday November 26 2015, @07:23PM
Give me the name of this hardware, I bet I can find a driver for it using only the power of teh Google. Every time I see one of these (almost always ACs BTW) claiming this and I ask for the hardware? Suddenly you get nothing, aka they were using the classic imaginary problems kill windows (TM) [tmrepository.com] and if its old enough that its on TM repo? Its on the same level as "year of the Linux desktop".
You have ANY idea how many systems I've upgraded to Windows 7 at the shop? Easily hundreds if not more...how many times did I run into this problem? Exactly TWICE, only 2 times in aaaallll those systems. In fact its so rare I can actually remember exactly what hardware it was, the first one was a Chinese no name capture card which didn't want to run on anything newer than XP SP2, this company was so dodgy that in 2006, less than a year after the customer bought the card? The website returned a 404. The second one was an AIO printer that the customer had been using since 1998 and had been filling his own carts as nobody even sold carts for the ancient thing anymore. For everything else, all those thousands of pieces of hardware? I was easily able to get it running just fine on windows 7 either by finding a newer driver or simply using a previous one for 2K/XP.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @10:24PM
Sorry - been there, done that. There was an extensive discussion on the hardware company's support web site. They won't provide further support and they can't open source it because some of the code belongs to another company (licensed to them). Lots of others tried to get it to run under newer versions of Windows without success. The best they could do is a kludge to get it running under XP.
Google might work for products that are widely used. This isn't the case here.
(Score: 2) by stormreaver on Friday November 27 2015, @03:34AM
Wish it wasn't so but the numbers don't lie.
Actually, numbers do lie. A lot. But that's a red herring for a different time.
Second, what on Earth are you rambling on about? You're rigging up a bunch of strawmen that have absolutely nothing to do with my post. I must have hit a nerve of some sort.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday November 27 2015, @06:45AM
What are you babbling about now? I provided citations, so far all you have done is provide bullshit, FUD, and ad hominem attacks. How about backing up your BS with actual facts, or are you so obsessed with your choice of OS that its impossible to do anything but throw FUD and think anecdotes equal facts? And just FYI but Phoronix? Is a website dedicated to all things Linux and even THEIR data shows Linux OpenGL sucks compared to windows. Or are you gonna actually say "who you gonna believe, the numbers or my bullshit"?
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1, Troll) by stormreaver on Friday November 27 2015, @12:39PM
I provided citations....
You created a number of strawmen, which are totally unrelated (in some cases, you came tangentially close) to my post, and then railed against them.
You seem to consider pointing that out as an ad-hominem attack, which makes sense after reading the rest of your posting. You are projecting onto me the very behavior you exhibit. There is a whole discipline of Psychology dedicated to that.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Hairyfeet on Friday November 27 2015, @10:35PM
Fucking BENCHMARKS are now strawmen? Suck that koolaid sparky, and its obvious that providing actual evidence means nothing if it doesn't support your religion so here you go. [goo.gl]
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 28 2015, @09:46AM
You made a claim:
Without Open Source drivers, that hardware would be forced into needless obsolescence.
Hairyfeet gave a decent rebuttal which you seemed to have ignored:
Windows doesn't have those issues because unlike Linux where kernel updates can quite easily (and often do) crap all over drivers with Windows the older drivers continue to work with newer versions of the OS as well as updates to the OS
The fact is Microsoft's past commitment to API stability for drivers actually created fewer opportunities for support for old hardware to be dropped in Windows - NO ADDITIONAL WORK required by anyone - just keep using the same driver you've been using. Even if the company that made the hardware is long dead.
Whereas with Linux they regularly break the kernel APIs that drivers use. That creates more chances for old hardware to be dropped because even if the driver is open source, someone somewhere actually has to DO SOME WORK when stuff is changed, or say someday systemd support is required for some stupid reason.
The same old driver may be buggy, but they're the same old bugs you learned to live with (or you wouldn't still be using that hardware).
Whether Microsoft is as committed for future versions of Windows is a different matter. But I'm not switching to Desktop Linux because past history has shown when Microsoft releases crap, the Desktop Linux bunch respond by making Desktop Linux even worse or sabotaging it in other ways. Remember Vista vs Unity or GNOME 3 or other crap- PulseAudio? Systemd?
p.s. in case you're wondering, I'm not Hairyfeet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 29 2015, @06:10PM
"p.s. in case you're wondering, I'm not Hairyfeet."
Clearly not, you responded courteously.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @08:28PM
java multicore drivers could do this, you need java. java in multicore.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Thursday November 26 2015, @09:01PM
7600 and below? That means my Radeon 7500 is no longer supported? How will I watch the Farbrausch Candytron demo now?
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Friday November 27 2015, @01:54AM
Literally just a few months ago I brought a HP laptop with an A4-5000 APU (which has an integrated Radeon HD 8330), which I mainly just use for sysadmin duties and emergencies when away from the office, so I got something cheap, small and lightweight. The BIOS release date (according to dmidecode) says 07/30/2015. The laptop was a new model at the time of purchase, which AFAICT from the model number is specific to the Australian market.
According to this report, 8400 and below is end of life, which would include this new machine. Amazing!
Yes, I use GNU/Linux and radeonsi/Mesa free software drivers exclusively, so no this isn't technically a problem... but geez that's way to fast. Especially when Nvidia just updated its driver for legacy hardware [phoronix.com] recently, this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday November 27 2015, @03:34AM
Read TFA, they just posted a beta Crimson driver designed specifically for your hardware which supports Windows 7-10 and IIRC they also released the same driver for Linux. Since MSFT has already said that Win 10 will be "the last version" of Windows and that Win 10 will be upgraded/dated ala OSX? That means with this one driver they have you covered for the present and future of Windows so all you have to do is download it and you are good on the Windows side, on the Linux side? Tell Torvalds and company that crapping on drivers is retarded and that "let the kernel devs handle it" is so classic of a mythical man month solution I'm shocked "see Linux kernel driver devs" isn't listed under examples of MMM in wikipedia!
As for why? Let me make this clear and every.card.EOLed. is made with VLIW arch whereas ALL cards from the HD77xx up are made with the GCN arch. For them to continue to support it would mean they keep an entire dev team tied up with ONLY support for these EOLed chips, as the GCN and VLIW designs are completely incompatible with each other. Nvidia doesn't have this issue simply because they have more resources and their older still in support chips use the same arch as the new ones thus costing them very little to support. With Zen and Arctic Islands coming up they have to focus their limited resources on where it'll do the most good and lets face facts, neither Nvidia nor AMD is gonna squeeze another drop of performance out of cards this old, its just not happening.
As a final note that laptop you bought came with Windows, yes? Then it was your choice to take the Windows tax break and then load up an OS that isn't supported, so you can't blame HP for your bad decisions. If you knew you wanted a system for Linux there are several Linux vendors like System76 that would have been more than happy to sell you a Linux laptop...ahh but then you wouldn't have gotten the windows tax break, huh? When you buy hardware to run an OS that isn't supported you are taking a risk and frankly hurting the Linux ecosystem by refusing to support vendors that try to cater to your needs. And folks wonder why hardware vendors don't care about supporting Linux? Just think if it weren't for guys like you buying Windows systems when you want to run Linux a vendor like system76 would probably be in the top 10 and vendors might take Linux support seriously...but you just had to save that $50 that comes from a system running Windows didn't ya.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Friday November 27 2015, @04:00AM
I don't care about Windows. The machine came with Windows because there was literally no solution I could purchase off the shelf that didn't have it in my city, and probably not in the country within my price range. Must be nice living in the US, huh? Saying I had a choice is a bit of a stretch.
AMD didn't EOL all clips without AMDGPU support. Why not just go ahead and drop support for half the chips in the 300 series too? They still need to maintain two driver architectures after all. What a load of crap.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday November 27 2015, @06:40AM
Unless you are living in Abu Dhabi there is Linux vendors that support shipping a system to you that is 100% supported by Linux and many have 24-48 hour shipping options. Again YOU CHOSE to buy a system that was 1.- Not designed for your OS, 2.- Was not tested to even work with your OS, and 3.- Has ZERO support for your OS.
I'm sorry but you can make excuses all you want, the only one to blame if you have issues is the one staring back from your mirror, next time actually buy hardware that was designed and certified for the OS you want to run.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Friday November 27 2015, @10:18AM
Okay then. Show me a supplier that will ship to me a GNU/Linux-based laptop that's 13" or less (so will fit in my bike pannier), has AMD-V or Intel-VT CPU extensions (required for the VirtualBox VMs I need to run for testing work builds), upgradable RAM and HDD (because I want something that will last), costs under AU$500, and... let's be generous - will guarantee delivery within *5* working days (because 48 hours... mate you'd have no hope).
My laptop was stolen and I'm always on call, so I needed a replacement fast. If I get a laptop that takes 2 weeks to arrive and then could be DOA, it's not going to work out. That IMO is the biggest risk of purchasing online, so I wanted something I could pick up in store.
There's also the concern that the NSA would bug something if I ordered it from the USA online. We know they do this, and we know they target sysadmins. Screw that. Buy local and off the shelf instead if you don't want the risk.
And besides, why do you keep saying it doesn't work with my OS? I went with AMD specifically so I *could* use the free software drivers and get support from the community for a long time. That doesn't mean I expect AMD to EoL the card shortly after purchase. AMD's decision doesn't impact me in the slightest in any practical sense, but I do find it disappointing.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday November 27 2015, @10:39PM
Here ya go [dell.com] using 5 seconds of Google, in fact typing "Linux 13 inch laptop" brings back over 6 million hits and dozens of websites bragging they'll ship worldwide.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Saturday November 28 2015, @06:13AM
So clearly you didn't look at my requirements then. I said international shipping was out, and the one you linked was more than twice what I could afford at the time The Dell laptop doesn't say anything about being able to later upgrade the RAM or HDD (and given the 9-15mm thickness, that's probably the red flag I need to watch out for), whereas I was able to inspect the HP in person to confirm it was upgradable.
Thanks for proving my point.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Saturday November 28 2015, @07:19AM
Then use Windows or stop whining when your unsupported OS doesn't work worth a shit. And folks wonder why nobody wants to support Linux on their hardware? Because cheapskates like you mean that its ALWAYS better to simply support Windows as the Linux cheapskates will just buy Winboxes anyway. BTW I'm sure Nadella thanks you for the sale and increasing the Windows usage numbers, its guys like you that make sure Windows stays #1, congrats.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Saturday November 28 2015, @08:09AM
I think you have reading comprehension problems. I never said my unsupported OS doesn't work. On the contrary, it works perfectly, and I don't see why you are suggesting otherwise. I simply am disappointed that AMD dropped support for a laptop that's only a few months from the time of manufacturer.
As far as Windows licensing goes, I do avoid Windows purchases when it's reasonable to do so. It is not reasonable to purchase a computer online - particularly where you can't even inspect it or look for dead/stuck pixels or anything. I brought an Intel Compute Stick with GNU/Linux pre-installed earlier this year for example. But there was no such option that met the requirements for my most recent laptop purchase. Had there been the option, I would have gladly chosen it. To be honest, I don't even like HP as a brand... but I had to compromise. I just covered the HP logos over with stickers.
But I could go further. I didn't even need to buy a HDD with a laptop, because as soon as I got it home, I swapped the HDD out for a spare SSD I already had, and threw the original in a draw as a spare. But yet I still purchased the machine with a HDD - because again, I couldn't buy a laptop without one. If I could, I would have almost certainly ended up paying more for the option to customise it. I suppose given your logic, next you are going to argue that cheapskates like me the reason why nobody can buy a laptop these days without a HDD...
BTW there's a difference between a cheapskate, and someone who simply doesn't have 1K to drop without warning when they had their laptop stolen.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!