Technology

Legacy AMD GPUs receive 30% performance boost in Linux with new drivers — latest kernel update finally drops obsolete Radeon graphics driver after more than two decades

Source

Tom's Hardware

Published

Dec 23, 2025

TL;DR

AI Generated

Legacy AMD GPUs, like the Southern Islands and Sea Islands models, have seen a significant 30% performance boost in Linux due to a new driver update in the latest 6.1.9 kernel. These older GPUs, utilizing AMD’s GCN 1.0 and GCN 1.1 architectures, have long been overshadowed by newer models. The upgrade replaces the outdated Radeon DRM driver with the more advanced AMDGPU driver, thanks to contributions from Timur Kristóf and Valve's Linux Open-Source Graphics Driver Group. While this enhancement won't make these GPUs capable of running the latest games, it marks a substantial improvement for aging hardware, showcasing Linux's commitment to supporting older tech.

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Legacy AMD GPUs receive 30% performance boost in Linux with new drivers — latest kernel update finally drops obsolete Radeon graphics driver after more than two decades

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Legacy AMD GPUs receive 30% performance boost in Linux with new drivers — latest kernel update finally drops obsolete Radeon graphics driver after more than two decades

TL;DR

Similar Articles

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Github Copilot customers report up to 100-fold price hikes — AI sticker shock bites as Microsoft switches to usage-based pricing

Linux prepares to axe legacy x32 hybrid mode — hybrid 32-bit/64-bit mode faces complete removal by 2027 due to low adoption

Millions of AI agents imperiled by critical vulnerability in open source package