AMD drivers for macOS Big Sur namedrop third-gen RDNA hardware

[mongeese]

In context: Apple’s first macOS Big Sur beta includes reference to numerous AMD GPUs still under development. Nothing is more reliable than a leaked driver, but don’t forget: this is AMD’s leaked driver, not Apple’s, so not all of these devices will be used in upcoming Apple products.

Kindly, Apple’s provided the first confirmation of the Navi 31 GPU. Given the third-gen moniker, it will probably use RDNA3. It’s still two generations away but this is a good indicator that AMD is on track for the steady slew of yearly releases they promised.

Meanwhile, there are three different RDNA2 devices to ponder: Navi 21, Navi 22, and Navi 23. They’ve all been namedropped countless times but haven’t been explicitly detailed. It's likely that Navi 21 will replace the 5700 series and Navi 23 will be more budget-oriented. There’s only speculation about Navi 22.

macOS Big Sur’s driver refers to six Navi 22 devices that are Apple-specific, according to Rogame (who found the reference). He previously found four Navi 21 devices that were also exclusive to Apple. It’s hard to say which is which, but one series will probably head towards MacBooks and other devices like the iMac or Mac Pro. AMD provides Apple with some exclusive Vega GPUs currently.

This is macOS Big Sur.

Intriguingly, there are mentions of two data center GPU accelerators, the MI100 and MI200. They’ll be the first devices to use AMD’s new compute architecture called CDNA. Those are set to fight Nvidia’s recently announced Ampere A100 GPUs. There’s evidence that suggests the MI100 will have a similar core count as the A100.

Lastly, there’s a reference to Cezanne APUs which will succeed current Renoir APUs (Ryzen 4000). These are included in the graphics driver because of the GPU component of the chip, which could be the first integrated RDNA device. They might also use Zen 3 on the CPU side.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/85793-amd-drivers-macos-big-sur-namedrop-third-gen.html

 

[Shadowboxer]

I wonder if Radeon software and drivers for Mac is as bad as the absolute ****-show that they are for Windows.

 

[yRaz]

I wonder if Radeon software and drivers for Mac is as bad as the absolute ****-show that they are for Windows.

What's so bad about them? Im only familiar with the dumpster fire that is Nvidia's Linux drivers and was considering switching to AMD for my next build

 

[Shadowboxer]

What's so bad about them? Im only familiar with the dumpster fire that is Nvidia's Linux drivers and was considering switching to AMD for my next build

I’m assuming you must have never used them before nor been in the industry very long if you aren’t aware of how bad Radeons windows drivers are. They crash a lot, you get strange glitches and bugs, the latest being the black screen bug, often only fixed by a hard reset. Not to mention issues installing drivers crop up. The software changes layout every 6 months which means there is barely any forum support for it and finding out how to make basic changes is a mission. It’s pretty though, so apparently that’s more important than consistency to this company.

I very recently dumped a Radeon RX580 for Geforce RTX 2080 and the difference in software is vast. Streaming in particular is so much easier on GeForce. Not to mention driver updates and looking up fixes and settings on the app. AMD have a lot of catching up to do.

As for Linux, well many of my games don’t run on Linux so I don’t bother with it. And until my games library is supported I won’t be switching. So I don’t really care if the Nvidia drivers are had for it. They are good in Windows!

My suggestion would be avoid Radeon like the plague if you’re switching to windows for your next build and you don’t want a **** experience.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Apple using decent GPUs in their Mac ? I don’t believe it...

 

[Irata]

I very recently dumped a Radeon RX580 for Geforce RTX 2080 and the difference in software is vast. Streaming in particular is so much easier on GeForce. Not to mention driver updates and looking up fixes and settings on the app.

I am really curious how streaming and looking for updates could be even easier with nVidia drivers. Have no idea since it‘s been a while since I had a Geforce GPU (have nothing against nVidia).

Updates: Radeon control center tells you if there is an update, you just have to click once to install it.
Streaming: You specify the account you want to use and you are set to go. You can change bitrate, resolution, fps plus sound options but that is all pretty straight forward.
The scene editor is admittedly irritating.

If there is an easier way, I am really interested.

 

[MaxSmarties]

What's so bad about them? Im only familiar with the dumpster fire that is Nvidia's Linux drivers and was considering switching to AMD for my next build

They are a mess... never seen something so bad. My 5700XT is a nightmare. Black screens are an unsolved issue.

 

[Shadowboxer]

I am really curious how streaming and looking for updates could be even easier with nVidia drivers. Have no idea since it‘s been a while since I had a Geforce GPU (have nothing against nVidia).

Updates: Radeon control center tells you if there is an update, you just have to click once to install it.
Streaming: You specify the account you want to use and you are set to go. You can change bitrate, resolution, fps plus sound options but that is all pretty straight forward.
The scene editor is admittedly irritating.

If there is an easier way, I am really interested.

If you’ve never had a system crash during an AMD driver upgrade, or a number of other errors that occur when you update drivers in AMD then you’re a lucky bastard and I hate you! I have needed to reinstall Windows on at least 4 occasions In my life because something went awry during a Radeon driver update.

As for streaming, the Nvidia 20xx cards have a dedicated NVENC decoder on the board, giving far better image quality with a lower performance hit than either Radeon or older Geforce cards. Also you can just sign into twitch from the GeForce experience overlap, there’s no messing around with obs or any crap like that.

I returned to Nvidia this year after 8 years of Radeon. Things have changed vastly since I purchased a 7970 to replace my GTX 480. Radeon has fallen hard. Nvidia are so much better in 2020.

 

[grumblguts]

I have nothing but good things to say about AMD drivers.
been perfect with my vega 64.
I look at peoples comments with a baffled look on my face.

 

[Shadowboxer]

I have nothing but good things to say about AMD drivers.
been perfect with my vega 64.
I look at peoples comments with a baffled look on my face.

You’re lucky then. There’s definitely something going on.

Everyone loses if AMD doesn’t fix its driver issues before Big Navi’s release date

It's not only AMD fans who should want Navi's driver bugs squished...

www.google.co.uk

AMD is Investigating Black Screen Driver Issues on Radeon Cards

AMD is aware of problems with black screens and Radeon GPU driver crashes and is currently investigating the problem.

www.extremetech.com

I know a guy who is now on his 3rd 5700XT. And that’s only because the retailer won’t refund him.

 

[mosu]

There's a lot of "stupid" tech guys at Sony, Microsoft, and Apple, all of them preferring AMD over Nvidia and here, at Techspot, we are lucky to have very savvy tech guys, first to respond at every Techspot article about AMD, bashing AMD products and their supporters. We are much obliged, thank you!

 

[Evernessince]

What's so bad about them? Im only familiar with the dumpster fire that is Nvidia's Linux drivers and was considering switching to AMD for my next build

That guy just likes to bash on AMD. Go look at any previous AMD related article for proof. It's a running joke as mosu pointed out.

As for streaming, the Nvidia 20xx cards have a dedicated NVENC decoder on the board, giving far better image quality with a lower performance hit than either Radeon or older Geforce cards. Also you can just sign into twitch from the GeForce experience overlap, there’s no messing around with obs or any crap like that.

AMD has a built in decoder chip as well. If you actually owned an AMD card and tried to use it for streaming, you would have known that.

 

[Irata]

If you’ve never had a system crash during an AMD driver upgrade, or a number of other errors that occur when you update drivers in AMD then you’re a lucky bastard and I hate you! I have needed to reinstall Windows on at least 4 occasions In my life because something went awry during a Radeon driver update.

As for streaming, the Nvidia 20xx cards have a dedicated NVENC decoder on the board, giving far better image quality with a lower performance hit than either Radeon or older Geforce cards. Also you can just sign into twitch from the GeForce experience overlap, there’s no messing around with obs or any crap like that.

I returned to Nvidia this year after 8 years of Radeon. Things have changed vastly since I purchased a 7970 to replace my GTX 480. Radeon has fallen hard. Nvidia are so much better in 2020.

You specifically said „easier“, so I was wondering what was easier.

As for „NVENC“ - that stands for nVidia‘s hardware video encoding engine. AMD has their own. The quality when using hevc on Radeon is pretty good (using a 5500XT) but I can‘t say how this compares to nVidia‘s hw encoding quality. Even the lowly Intel iGPU have a good hw video encoding engine, so this is nothing nVidia specific.

Also, I you do not need to use any third party software like OBS to stream. Radeon software works fine on its own.

I am a bit surprised you do not know this...

 

[Shadowboxer]

You specifically said „easier“, so I was wondering what was easier.

As for „NVENC“ - that stands for nVidia‘s hardware video encoding engine. AMD has their own. The quality when using hevc on Radeon is pretty good (using a 5500XT) but I can‘t say how this compares to nVidia‘s hw encoding quality. Even the lowly Intel iGPU have a good hw video encoding engine, so this is nothing nVidia specific.

Also, I you do not need to use any third party software like OBS to stream. Radeon software works fine on its own.

I am a bit surprised you do not know this...

Of course I knew this. I can see what’s going on here. You don’t like hearing criticism of AMD or Radeon.

Well tough mate, you’re going to be fighting a losing battle. Radeon is currently garbage, I pity anyone deluded enough to think otherwise.

 

[Nobina]

I have nothing but good things to say about AMD drivers.
been perfect with my vega 64.
I look at peoples comments with a baffled look on my face.

What do you know? You only currently use an AMD card. People that used Nvidia for years know better that AMD drivers are bad.

I currently own an AMD card and a year before I had an Nvidia one. AMD drivers had some minor issues but since a few months ago I have no issues at all after multiple updates. It is as stable as it gets. Nvidia on the other hand never had any driver issues that I can remember but their NVIDIA Control Panel looks outdated af compared to current AMDs one.

 

[Shadowboxer]

What do you know? You only currently use an AMD card. People that used Nvidia for years know better that AMD drivers are bad.

I currently own an AMD card and a year before I had an Nvidia one. AMD drivers had some minor issues but since a few months ago I have no issues at all after multiple updates. It is as stable as it gets. Nvidia on the other hand never had any driver issues that I can remember but their NVIDIA Control Panel looks outdated af compared to current AMDs one.

You’re an exception. Polls conducted by tech publishers say that people have less issues with Nvidia. Also the fact that Radeons market share is diminishing says a lot.

I’ve just ditched Radeon after 8 years. I thought it was bad but after going to Nvidia I realised just how bad Radeon is.

Oh and who cares what the control panel looks like. At least all the menu options are in the same place so an assistive forum post from say 2 years ago will still be relevant. Unlike AMD have made their user interface very pretty. Because apparently how pretty the UI is is more important than fixing the black screen bug, or keeping menus the same.

Just stop pretending. We all know a Radeon is garbage. It’s just sometimes you get Radeon cards for a lot less money. It’s bargain basement crap.

 

[Shadowboxer]

AMD vs. Nvidia — Which Is the Better Graphics Card Option?

Are you searching for graphics cards and wonder whether you should go with AMD vs. Nvidia? Find out the pros and cons of each to decide what's best for you.

www.streamerbuilds.com

*warning* This is going to trigger the AMD fanboys on here who just wont accept the fact that Nvidia is better for streaming.

 

[yRaz]

I’m assuming you must have never used them before nor been in the industry very long if you aren’t aware of how bad Radeons windows drivers are. They crash a lot, you get strange glitches and bugs, the latest being the black screen bug, often only fixed by a hard reset. Not to mention issues installing drivers crop up. The software changes layout every 6 months which means there is barely any forum support for it and finding out how to make basic changes is a mission. It’s pretty though, so apparently that’s more important than consistency to this company.

I very recently dumped a Radeon RX580 for Geforce RTX 2080 and the difference in software is vast. Streaming in particular is so much easier on GeForce. Not to mention driver updates and looking up fixes and settings on the app. AMD have a lot of catching up to do.

As for Linux, well many of my games don’t run on Linux so I don’t bother with it. And until my games library is supported I won’t be switching. So I don’t really care if the Nvidia drivers are had for it. They are good in Windows!

My suggestion would be avoid Radeon like the plague if you’re switching to windows for your next build and you don’t want a **** experience.

I don't work in the industry, just an enthusiast. I got fed up with windows and switched to Linux 3 years ago

 

[Evernessince]

Of course I knew this. I can see what’s going on here. You don’t like hearing criticism of AMD or Radeon.

Well tough mate, you’re going to be fighting a losing battle. Radeon is currently garbage, I pity anyone deluded enough to think otherwise.

He's going to be fighting a tough battle because you spam refresh page on techspot to post a negative comment on every AMD article before anyone else has a chance to read it...

 

[Nobina]

You’re an exception. Polls conducted by tech publishers say that people have less issues with Nvidia. Also the fact that Radeons market share is diminishing says a lot.

I’ve just ditched Radeon after 8 years. I thought it was bad but after going to Nvidia I realised just how bad Radeon is.

Oh and who cares what the control panel looks like. At least all the menu options are in the same place so an assistive forum post from say 2 years ago will still be relevant. Unlike AMD have made their user interface very pretty. Because apparently how pretty the UI is is more important than fixing the black screen bug, or keeping menus the same.

Just stop pretending. We all know a Radeon is garbage. It’s just sometimes you get Radeon cards for a lot less money. It’s bargain basement crap.

What am I pretending about? I have experience with both AMD and Nvidia which I told about, take that as you will. I have no bias unlike you.

 

[Lew Zealand]

AMD vs. Nvidia — Which Is the Better Graphics Card Option?

Are you searching for graphics cards and wonder whether you should go with AMD vs. Nvidia? Find out the pros and cons of each to decide what's best for you.

www.streamerbuilds.com

*warning* This is going to trigger the AMD fanboys on here who just wont accept the fact that Nvidia is better for streaming.

How could that link trigger anyone, it was devoid of any data. No analysis, no detail, he simply likes Nvidia a little better but offered no more than the shallowest of generalizations. Going there from this site is quite a letdown.

 

[Irata]

Of course I knew this. I can see what’s going on here. You don’t like hearing criticism of AMD or Radeon.

Well tough mate, you’re going to be fighting a losing battle. Radeon is currently garbage, I pity anyone deluded enough to think otherwise.

Have no issue with criticism of Radeon products. There certainly is room for improvement with the drivers.

But what I have an issue with are baseless claims and then whining when they are proven wrong. Also, it is a bit dubious to claim to have owned a product when you come across as never having used it at all.

To recap:
- all modern GPU have hardware decoders, NVEC is just nVidia‘s name for theirs
- no, you do not need a third party tool to stream with a Radeon card
- streaming settings are easily accessible and not witchcraft (I admit that the scene editor could do with some improvements).
- Driver updates are easy with Radeon as the software notifies you and updates it.

 

[grumblguts]

I used Nvidia from the 1990s up to 2013 and I found them to be pretty buggy full of crashes and bsod. the worst was when they bricked my 8800 gtx with a driver update.
I coudnt rma it due to a modded cooler.
Only time I found AMD to be crappy was around 2010, their crossfire slave and master to be a real pain with very loud fans and buggy drivers. But honestly for the last few years they have been flawless.
Only problem I have experienced was some green screen on installing the drivers. Other than that its been perfect. I see people complaining but I honestly think its all nonsense. wht did Nvidia promise the people to make up fake complaints more computer monitors ?

 

[grumblguts]

One thing AMD has never done and thats brick 20,000 cards like Nvidia did and yet no one ever speaks of that.

 

[krizby]

50% of AMD driver woes could be avoided if people weren't being penny-pinching with their PC purchase. The people who cheap out on quality GPU would also likely cheap out on CPU cooler, Motherboard, PSU, RAM, SSD, Monitor.
When you have so many dodgy components in your PC, finding out where the problem lie is nigh impossible.
So in this regard Apple products are more reliable, since a lot more money are spent on quality assurance.