AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series Works Best with UEFI-Only Systems

[AleksandarK]

AMD has announced that beginning with its RDNA 4 architecture, only Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Mode will be officially supported for the Radeon RX 9000 Series graphics cards and later models. This decision is intended to harness the full capabilities of the advanced UEFI, ensuring improved performance, enhanced security, and a smoother user experience. UEFI, a modern replacement for the traditional BIOS, functions as a compact operating system residing on the motherboard. It plays a vital role in initializing processors, configuring memory, and managing essential hardware components. Its features include faster boot times, support for storage devices larger than 2.2 TB, and robust protection mechanisms such as Windows Secure Boot. These capabilities represent a significant leap forward compared to legacy BIOS systems.

To accommodate modern hardware innovations like AMD's next-generation graphics, motherboards typically offer UEFI Mode and Compatibility Support Module (CSM) Mode. CSM emulates older BIOS functions but restricts access to many of UEFI's advanced features, such as AMD Smart Access Memory. By mandating UEFI Mode, AMD ensures that users of its latest graphics cards enjoy optimal compatibility, performance, and security benefits. This requirement is a natural evolution in PC technology, encouraging users to upgrade their system configurations to meet modern standards. As consumers prepare for the next wave of AMD GPUs, verifying that both hardware and operating systems are properly set up for UEFI Mode is a necessary step to fully leverage the advantages offered by the RDNA 4 graphics cards.



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[Caring1]

Good to see them overtly announcing this prior to release so there are no complaints about compatibility after purchase.

 

[AusWolf]

Good to see them overtly announcing this prior to release so there are no complaints about compatibility after purchase.

While I don't think anyone would want to put a 9070 XT into an old, BIOS/CSM-only system, I agree. It's always good to know these things beforehand. If the product description includes this info, even better.

 

[freeagent]

Did you know that UEFI has a safe mode?

I found out when I tried to boot a GTX580 in a B550 system.

 

[HD64G]

Since Vega that is. But many AIBs had alternative BIOS switches to allow legacy BIOS. Doesn't matter nowadays though since many Linux distros work well with UEFI and wondows are past that point for years.

 

[Assimilator]

Good. CSM needs to go away and people need to stop putting new hardware in ancient systems.

 

[AusWolf]

Good. CSM needs to go away and people need to stop putting new hardware in ancient systems.

I'd say, if you want to pair a 9070 XT with an Athlon X2, then you deserve what you're getting.

 

[Sabotaged_Enigma]

Hasn't UEFI-only already been common? I remember one of the requirements to turn on resizable bar feature is turning off CSM which is UEFI only.

 

[Ed_1]

Problem I see is many users don't even know what GPT/MBR are so this is going to be a problem.

I ran into this issue on my Z690/12600k when I used windows Media creation tool, some how I ended up with MBR with Windows 10. I only noticed weeks after, so when I moved to win11 I used rufus to make sure GPT was enabled.
I guess the question is will it boot and run with legacy mode enabled, IMO it still should run and just have some kind of pop-up window when drivers are installed telling users to switch to non CSM mode and features they will get.

 

[Vya Domus]

Good to see them overtly announcing this prior to release so there are no complaints about compatibility after purchase.

Nah, people will still complain even though many cards prior to this had issues on non UEFI boards.

 

[hsew]

But muh Q6600 with 2GB 1066Mhz DDR2!

 

[Chrispy_]

This comes as a surprise to no one, hopefully.

UEFI has been mainstream for twenty-one f*cking years. CSM is about as welcome as a sinus infection at this point and it would be a whole lot better if the standard was just dropped entirely.

 

[medi01]

Exactly what sort of interactions happen between GPU and UEFI/BIOS, after OS have booted, for "improved performance" claim to stand?

 

[eidairaman1]

While I don't think anyone would want to put a 9070 XT into an old, BIOS/CSM-only system, I agree. It's always good to know these things beforehand. If the product description includes this info, even better.

Yeah the r7 250x i put in the 5800 rig 3 years ago i bought originally to put in a 754 rig i got off a curb, well it only had uefi on it, so no go, put a hd 3450 or 3500 in it.

While I don't think anyone would want to put a 9070 XT into an old, BIOS/CSM-only system, I agree. It's always good to know these things beforehand. If the product description includes this info, even better.

Yeah the r7 250x i put in the 5800 rig 3 years ago i bought originally to put in a 754 rig i got off a curb, well it only had uefi on it, so no go, put a hd 3450 or 3500 in it.

 

[ncrs]

Exactly what sort of interactions happen between GPU and UEFI/BIOS, after OS have booted, for "improved performance" claim to stand?

Two things come to mind: Above 4G decode and Resizable BAR. Both are not compatible with BIOS/CSM tho some motherboards can enable the former with CSM at the potential cost of instability.
The OS' view of hardware depends on what the BIOS/UEFI presents, mostly in the form of ACPI tables. It's not like the OS can force-enable ReBAR without the UEFI parts being present first.
As for exact performance numbers it's hard to tell, but Intel Arc is crippled on systems without ReBAR for example. Maybe AMD modified their architecture enough to warrant the same requirement, but don't want to face the support costs of lower performance BIOS/CSM systems. Without a technical explanation from them we can only speculate.

 

[eidairaman1]

Two things come to mind: Above 4G decode and Resizable BAR. Both are not compatible with BIOS/CSM tho some motherboards can enable the former with CSM at the potential cost of instability.
The OS's view of hardware depends on what the BIOS/UEFI presents, mostly in the form of ACPI tables. It's not like the OS can force-enable ReBAR without the UEFI parts being present first.
As for exact performance numbers it's hard to tell, but Intel Arc is crippled on systems without ReBAR for example. Maybe AMD modified their architecture enough to warrant the same requirement, but don't want to face the support costs of lower performance BIOS/CSM systems. Without a technical explanation from them we can only speculate.

Well we aren't going back to traditional bios and there are plenty of cards that do support it, aibs tend to keep low end models around for that reason

 

[Assimilator]

Exactly what sort of interactions happen between GPU and UEFI/BIOS, after OS have booted, for "improved performance" claim to stand?

It doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is that AMD, rightly, is no longer willing to support a legacy standard. This means that no GPU vendors support CSM anymore (NVIDIA dropped this support with 4000-series AFAIK, and Intel has never supported CSM) and hopefully we'll start to see motherboard vendors able to dump this ancient standard going forward.

 

[Readlight]

The only thing what Windows secure boot does is lock town OS from computer owner.
Then asks a key from internet to unlock it.
It's a virus.

I haw motherboard what I haw, that's it, with old socket, DDR2 and 3, but fastest socket procesors is not dropping price, because rare.

 

[holyprof]

As much as I love to have CSM/BIOS option on my motherboard, I must admit it's time for it to go.
No person in their right mind would use CSM/BIOS on a spanking new Ryzen 9XXX/Intel Core Ultra 2XX with Radeon RX9070 GPU.
My last 3 motherboards all died, but the respective Radeon HD7700 / GTX960 / GTX1080 still work fine so if I ever need BIOS compatible GPU there are plenty around. Also have a small form factor GT720 2GB lying around just in case.

 

[Ed_1]

It doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is that AMD, rightly, is no longer willing to support a legacy standard. This means that no GPU vendors support CSM anymore (NVIDIA dropped this support with 4000-series AFAIK, and Intel has never supported CSM) and hopefully we'll start to see motherboard vendors able to dump this ancient standard going forward.

Thats not true, Nvidia 970/3060ti work fine with MBR, just no rBAR support able.

Edit: ok I glanced over your 4000 an up mention.my bad.

 

[Makaveli]

While I don't think anyone would want to put a 9070 XT into an old, BIOS/CSM-only system, I agree. It's always good to know these things beforehand. If the product description includes this info, even better.

lol trust me someone will try it they need to do this.

There were people pairing 4090 with 4790k cpu's....

 

[eidairaman1]

As much as I love to have CSM/BIOS option on my motherboard, I must admit it's time for it to go.
No person in their right mind would use CSM/BIOS on a spanking new Ryzen 9XXX/Intel Core Ultra 2XX with Radeon RX9070 GPU.
My last 3 motherboards all died, but the respective Radeon HD7700 / GTX960 / GTX1080 still work fine so if I ever need BIOS compatible GPU there are plenty around. Also have a small form factor GT720 2GB lying around just in case.

I agree CSM was significant a decade ago, its time legacy be let go.

lol trust me someone will try it they need to do this.

There were people pairing 4090 with 4790k cpu's....

Z87 supported UEFI though. I have a R7 250X which is uefi only in a Ry 5800 rig

 

[user556]

I'm happily running a Sapphire Radeon 6800 and booting via CSM + MBR. Never knew there was supposedly any limitations. And to be honest I dunno why the boot method could ever matter. The OS takes over and controls everything from then on.

 

[R-T-B]

Exactly what sort of interactions happen between GPU and UEFI/BIOS, after OS have booted, for "improved performance" claim to stand?

It probably won't boot on old bios, so technically thats "worse performance."