Exciting developments are on the horizon for users of older AMD GPUs, as recent benchmarks highlight the substantial performance enhancements brought about by migrating from the Radeon to the AMDGPU driver. These improvements are particularly noteworthy for aging graphics cards, promising better gaming and application experiences.
Radeon HD 7950 Gains a New Lease of Life
Recently, patches were submitted to transition ancient AMD GPUs to the AMDGPU driver module, which is typically reserved for newer models. This change affects both GCN 1.1 (Sea Islands) and GCN 1.0 (Southern Islands) GPUs. The Linux kernel 6.19, set for release in February 2026, will incorporate these updates, resulting in impressive performance gains in practical applications.
Benchmark tests conducted on the Radeon HD 7950, an early 2010s GPU, reveal that the AMDGPU driver significantly outperforms the older Radeon driver. In various games and applications, including Xonotic 0.8.6, YQuake2 8.10, Unigine, and GravityMark 1.87, users reported a dramatic performance increase. Tests in Vulkan titles like Batman: Arkham Knight, Dirt Rally 2.0, and Strange Brigade showed an impressive ~30% performance boost.
The Future of GCN 1.0 and 1.1 GPUs
The switch to the AMDGPU driver also facilitates better Vulkan API usage for GCN 1.0 and GCN 1.1 GPUs. However, despite these advancements, limitations such as outdated hardware and lack of certain modern features persist, meaning these GPUs are not equipped to handle the latest AAA games seamlessly. Despite these challenges, older games with Vulkan support can be expected to run more smoothly, with higher frame rates and reduced CPU limitations.