Ten Years in, AMD to End Support for Radeon HD 7000, R200, R300 and Fury GCN Graphics Cards

[btarunr]

AMD is ending support for the Radeon HD 7000 series, R200 series, R300 series, and R9 Fury series graphics cards, based on the oldest versions of the Graphics CoreNext architecture. The HD 7000 series debuted in 2011, R9 200 series in 2013, with the R9 300 series essentially being rebadged. The R9 Fury series joined the ranks in 2015. This would make the Radeon 21.5.2 the final drivers from these graphics cards, giving AMD the opportunity to clean-break its drivers from the RX 400 series "Polaris" and forward. A conclusion of driver support would mean that upcoming driver releases, including the 21.6.1 drivers released today, lack support for GPUs older than the RX 400 series. Should AMD encounter glaring security flaws with its drivers, it can, in the future, release special driver updates.



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[p-o-db-o-q]

End of support, but at least I have a graphics card.

 

[Dammeron]

I still have HD 7950. This thing OC's like a beast - 1200/1700 (from standard 800/1200), which raises performance by ~38-40% (tested in games & benchmarks).

As for the drivers, it's been a few years since I installed them - the card is 9yo, there's no benefit from having the freshest drivers anymore, but I'd run a risk of dropping OC capabilities (freq. cap etc.).

 

[ZoneDymo]

I still have HD 7950. This thing OC's like a beast - 1200/1700 (from standard 800/1200), which raises performance by ~38-40% (tested in games & benchmarks).

As for the drivers, it's been a few years since I installed them - the card is 9yo, there's no benefit from having the freshest drivers anymore, but I'd run a risk of dropping OC capabilities (freq. cap etc.).

my friend JUST replaced her's with an RTX3060ti (managed to get one for 530 euro, not a great price but it was time), still though, what insane value for money she got out of it, truely a trooper of a card.

I myself had an HD6950 for the longest time, but had to replace it due to it also no longer being supported and giving graphical errors in The Division.

 

[Aretak]

It certainly isn't ten years since the Fury cards were released. It isn't even quite six yet. This is a pretty disgraceful level of driver support from AMD. Nvidia have only just dropped Kepler, yet AMD are now dropping cards that were direct competitors to Maxwell. And Nvidia isn't even fully dropping Kepler, just stopping regular Game Ready updates for it, with more infrequent driver releases promised for another couple of years at least. It's hardly the first time for AMD either. They've dropped cards even quicker in the past. People who bought a HD 6990 only got four years of driver support before AMD pulled the plug and dropped TeraScale entirely.

So much for "FineWine" eh, guys? Another reason to add the growing pile of why you should buy Nvidia (or maybe Intel) instead.

 

[ZoneDymo]

It certainly isn't ten years since the Fury cards were released. It isn't even quite six yet. This is a pretty disgraceful level of driver support from AMD. Nvidia have only just dropped Kepler, yet AMD are now dropping cards that were direct competitors to Maxwell. And Nvidia isn't even fully dropping Kepler, just stopping regular Game Ready updates for it, with more infrequent driver releases promised for another couple of years at least. It's hardly the first time for AMD either. They've dropped cards even quicker in the past. People who bought a HD 6990 only got four years of driver support before AMD pulled the plug and dropped TeraScale entirely.

So much for "FineWine" eh, guys? Another reason to add the growing pile of why you should buy Nvidia (or maybe Intel) instead.

idk, personally I find "not supporting Nvidia's selfish practices" enough reason to not buy Nvidia, but you go ahead and create that monopoly you so seem to desire.

 

[jesdals]

It certainly isn't ten years since the Fury cards were released. It isn't even quite six yet. This is a pretty disgraceful level of driver support from AMD. Nvidia have only just dropped Kepler, yet AMD are now dropping cards that were direct competitors to Maxwell. And Nvidia isn't even fully dropping Kepler, just stopping regular Game Ready updates for it, with more infrequent driver releases promised for another couple of years at least. It's hardly the first time for AMD either. They've dropped cards even quicker in the past. People who bought a HD 6990 only got four years of driver support before AMD pulled the plug and dropped TeraScale entirely.

So much for "FineWine" eh, guys? Another reason to add the growing pile of why you should buy Nvidia (or maybe Intel) instead.

Ahm SLI support...

 

[Aquinus]

It certainly isn't ten years since the Fury cards were released. It isn't even quite six yet. This is a pretty disgraceful level of driver support from AMD. Nvidia have only just dropped Kepler, yet AMD are now dropping cards that were direct competitors to Maxwell. And Nvidia isn't even fully dropping Kepler, just stopping regular Game Ready updates for it, with more infrequent driver releases promised for another couple of years at least. It's hardly the first time for AMD either. They've dropped cards even quicker in the past. People who bought a HD 6990 only got four years of driver support before AMD pulled the plug and dropped TeraScale entirely.

So much for "FineWine" eh, guys? Another reason to add the growing pile of why you should buy Nvidia (or maybe Intel) instead.

I replaced my 390 several years ago so I don't really care. Also, I'd rather give up some support than to:

idk, personally I find "not supporting Nvidia's selfish practices" enough reason to not buy Nvidia, but you go ahead and create that monopoly you so seem to desire.

Also, my Vega 64 still works fine as does the Radeon Pro 5600m in my laptop. I vote with my wallet and I don't want to support what nVidia has been doing.

 

[windwhirl]

One more thing. Windows 7 support has been dropped too.
Another thing: a bunch of Athlon and A-series APUs IGPs are also dropped

 

[nguyen]

Also, my Vega 64 still works fine as does the Radeon Pro 5600m in my laptop. I vote with my wallet and I don't want to support what nVidia has been doing.

I guess Nvidia has been raiding villages and doing horible deeds this past decade instead of innovating and pioneering new technologies that are getting adopted across the industry .

 

[Kovoet]

I still have a 5870 in my spares cupboard.

 

[owen10578]

So much for "FineWine" eh, guys? Another reason to add the growing pile of why you should buy Nvidia (or maybe Intel) instead.

Lol what? Nvidia isn't free of this. Nvidia GPUs for example might be supported for apparently longer but its just being included in the latest driver without actually getting optimizations. Its a known fact from GPU benchmark revisits that often they over time start to underperform compared to their AMD counterpart released at the same time. Just look at GTX 1060 vs RX 480/580 and how the Polaris cards are better in newer games. Or what about the Kepler cards and how they aged way more horribly than GCN did even though they were still "supported"?

Dropping driver support is inevitable either because keeping ongoing development costs on old products makes no financial sense or there just isn't anything much else to optimize for.

 

[Mesatla]

Still crossfire on 7850, too bad

 

[Aquinus]

I guess Nvidia has been raiding villages and doing horible deeds this past decade instead of innovating and pioneering new technologies that are getting adopted across the industry .

You know what I mean. I don't have an issue with their technology. They make a good product. I have bigger issues with their business practices. nVidia is great if the only thing you care about is the product you're getting and not how it got there. This discussion has been had many times.

 

[napata]

idk, personally I find "not supporting Nvidia's selfish practices" enough reason to not buy Nvidia, but you go ahead and create that monopoly you so seem to desire.

This is silly. Both companies will try to screw you over as much as they can if they get richer from it. This move from AMD is basically an example of "selfish practices".

 

[xkm1948]

Dropping Fury already? Cant say I am surprised. Worst $650 i ever spent on a GPU for the FuryX. Tons of software bugs, lackluster performance, pump died out of warranty. And now early forced retirement by AMD. I dont feel like giving them money for GPUs any time soon.

 

[ZoneDymo]

Dropping Fury already? Cant say I am surprised. Worst $650 i ever spent on a GPU for the FuryX. Tons of software bugs, lackluster performance, pump died out of warranty. And now early forced retirement by AMD. I dont feel like giving them money for GPUs any time soon.

too bad, I always thought it was one the coolest gpu's ever made

 

[5 o'clock Charlie]

my friend JUST replaced her's with an RTX3060ti (managed to get one for 530 euro, not a great price but it was time), still though, what insane value for money she got out of it, truely a trooper of a card.

I myself had an HD6950 for the longest time, but had to replace it due to it also no longer being supported and giving graphical errors in The Division.

I too had graphical issues such as the notorious strobe lighting effects in The Division with my 6870. Even the beta drivers released the February prior to the game released in March did not help. I borrowed a friend's gtx 560ti until I could buy a new card. I ended up with a gtx 1070 shortly after the crash of the first mining boom.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

They had a good run.

They've dropped cards even quicker in the past. People who bought a HD 6990 only got four years of driver support before AMD pulled the plug and dropped TeraScale entirely.

Can't blame them tbh, pre-GCN they didn't have hardware scheduler, so assigning instructions to execution units was done in a compiler. It was a serious human workload to keep development going, especially iffy for an architecture that was EOL from that point.

Still crossfire on 7850, too bad

Pretty sure CF was dead in general already.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

Dropping Fury already? Cant say I am surprised. Worst $650 i ever spent on a GPU for the FuryX. Tons of software bugs, lackluster performance, pump died out of warranty. And now early forced retirement by AMD. I dont feel like giving them money for GPUs any time soon.

I have Fury Sapphire Nitro I didn't pay much for that card but I totally get you man....Dropping driver support for cards that are 5+ years old and been top of the line seems just ludicrous to me...I mean what's next AMD 3 years of driver support???

 

[xkm1948]

I have Fury Sapphire Nitro I didn't pay much for that card but I totally get you man....Dropping driver support for cards that are 5+ years old and been top of the line seems just ludicrous to me...I mean what's next AMD 3 years of driver support???

vega as last gen GCN might be on the chopping block soon

 

[qubit]

10 years already... wow.

I like the cooler design of those cards, too.

I've also got the legendary GTX 8800 and GTX 8800 Ultra. Epic cards.

 

[Colddecked]

I have Fury Sapphire Nitro I didn't pay much for that card but I totally get you man....Dropping driver support for cards that are 5+ years old and been top of the line seems just ludicrous to me...I mean what's next AMD 3 years of driver support???

TBF they should have kept support for Fury's and 290/390s..

 

[Zareek]

This is silly. Both companies will try to screw you over as much as they can if they get richer from it. This move from AMD is basically an example of "selfish practices".

While I don't disagree with you in whole, Nvidia is MUCH more shrewd. Jensen Huang would probably sell his own offspring if it was profitable enough. Let's not get started with the multiple ways Nvidia has tried to push around the press. Just to top that off, they even bully the very companies that produce the final products that go into consumer's hands. I'm not going to site individual examples of each because well, I'd be writing a darn novel.

 

[ratirt]

I think some of you miss the point by dropping support. Support drops means no further development for an older GCN cards and no optimizations but the driver (and the card) will still work though.
At least that's how I take it.