AMD Graphics
AMD based GPUs are supported using the graphics/drm-kmod port or package. Unlike the i915 Intel graphics driver there are two separate modules available for AMD devices based on their generation. The modules are named:
- amdgpu
- radeonkms
The tables included are not an exhaustive list of supported hardware. Hardware is only listed if and when it has been explicitly tested/confirmed by developers and/or users. Graphics hardware missing from these tables may or may not work. If you have tested hardware that is not on the list, please report the results.
About GPU codenames vs. marketing names
The entries below are misleading because they use the marketing names as the "key". This table needs to be rewritten using GPU codenames as the key.
Hardware Support
You may wish to consult the AMD graphics support matrix view page. The Xorg project also has a great resource on decoding AMD marketing names to engineering friendly names here.
It is important to note that there is currently a conflict with both AMD drivers and the EFI frambuffer. The current workaround, when booting via UEFI on these systems, is to disable the framebuffer via /boot/loader.conf:
hw.syscons.disable=1
This will have the side effect of there being no console output until either the amdgpu or radeonkms kernel driver is loaded. Please see this Github issue for more context.
One final note - there is a patch available here that will allow you to use Vulkan, OpenCL, Xwayland and OpenMW when using Wayland.
AMD GPU
AMD GPU is the kernel module that can be used to support post-HD7000 or Tahiti GPUs. To enable graphics on these systems you would do the following:
Install the drm-kmod package
$ sudo pkg install drm-kmod
- Take note of the post-install package message as it contains important information - specifically add this to your /etc/rc.conf or /etc/rc.conf.d/amd file:
kld_list="/boot/modules/amdgpu.ko"
Ensure that your UID is a member of the video group:
pw groupmod wheel -m <youruser>
- Restart your system; you should see the amdgpu.ko get loaded and a flash on your console as we switch over to the new display driver.
- Start Xorg via your usual method (i.e. startx, GDM, etc.)
Radeon KMS
Radeon KMS is a distinct driver intended for older AMD based GPUs that are available in pre-HD7000 or Tahiti GPUs. To enable graphics on systems with these GPUs you would do the following:
Install the drm-kmod package
$ sudo pkg install drm-kmod
- Take note of the post-install package message as it contains important information - specifically add this to your /etc/rc.conf or /etc/rc.conf.d/radeon file:
kld_list="/boot/modules/radeonkms.ko"
Ensure that your UID is a member of the video group:
pw groupmod wheel -m <youruser>
- Restart your system; you should see the radeonkms.ko get loaded and a flash on your console as we switch over to the new display driver.
- Start Xorg via your usual method (i.e. startx, GDM, etc.)