February saw community mods bring resizable BAR support to several older platforms; and now we come across a mod that brings it to some older GPUs. The NVStrapsReBAR mod by terminatorul, which is forked out of the ReBarUEFI mod by xCurio, brings resizable BAR support to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series and GTX 16-series GPUs based on the "Turing" graphics architecture. This mod is intended for power users, and can potentially brick your motherboard. NVIDIA officially implemented resizable BAR support since its RTX 30-series "Ampere" GPUs in response to AMD's Radeon RX 6000 RDNA 2 GPUs implementing the tech under the marketing name Smart Access Memory. While AMD would go on to retroactively enable the tech for even the older RX 5000 series RDNA GPUs, NVIDIA didn't do so for "Turing."

NVStrapsReBAR is a motherboard UEFI firmware mod. It modifies the way your system firmware negotiates BAR size with the GPU on boot. There are only two ways to go about modding a platform to enable resizable BAR on an unsupported platform—by modding the motherboard firmware, or the video BIOS. Signature checks by security processors in NVIDIA GPUs make the video BIOS modding route impossible for most users; thankfully motherboard firmware modding isn't as difficult. There is an extensive documentation by the author to go about using this mod. The author has tested the mod to work with "Turing" GPUs, however, it doesn't work with older NVIDIA GPUs, including "Pascal." Resizable BAR enables the CPU (software) to see video memory as a single contiguously addressable block, rather than through 256 MB apertures.

Microsoft has implemented two new features into its DirectX 12 API - GPU Upload Heaps and Non-Normalized sampling have been added via the latest Agility SDK 1.710.0 preview, and the former looks to be the more intriguing of the pair. The SDK preview is only accessible to developers at the present time, since its official introduction on Friday 31 March. Support has also been initiated via the latest graphics drivers issued by NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD. The Microsoft team has this to say about the preview version of GPU upload heaps feature in DirectX 12: "Historically a GPU's VRAM was inaccessible to the CPU, forcing programs to have to copy large amounts of data to the GPU via the PCI bus. Most modern GPUs have introduced VRAM resizable base address register (BAR) enabling Windows to manage the GPU VRAM in WDDM 2.0 or later."

They continue to describe how the update allows the CPU to gain access to the pool of VRAM on the connected graphics card: "With the VRAM being managed by Windows, D3D now exposes the heap memory access directly to the CPU! This allows both the CPU and GPU to directly access the memory simultaneously, removing the need to copy data from the CPU to the GPU increasing performance in certain scenarios." This GPU optimization could offer many benefits in the context of computer games, since memory requirements continue to grow in line with an increase in visual sophistication and complexity.

Support for AMD's Smart Access Memory and the overarching Resizable BAR technologies has been removed from the RadeonSI Gallium3D OpenGL driver as of today's Mesa 22.3.7 release. The comment in the announcement simply reads, "Disable Smart Access Memory because CPU access has large overhead." The nail in the coffin seems to have been this bug ticket submitted last month for the game Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1, in which the user reported the game running oddly slow on their RX 6600 while previously they had no issues on the much older R9 380. The solution provided was to simply disable ReBAR/SAM either with radeonsi_disable_sam=true or via UEFI. In the comments of the ticket lead RadeonSI developer Marek Olšák states, "We've never tested SAM with radeonsi, and it's not necessary there."

Apparently the performance advantages weren't panning out for RadeonSI, and since direct optimizations of these features was not a primary goal the decision was made to cut them out. Attempts to optimize SAM with RadeonSI date as far back as December 2020 and Mesa 21.0, but support for SAM under Linux goes further back. None of the changes to RadeonSI will affect other drivers such as RADV, the open-source Radeon Vulkan driver, and this code change is limited to only the RadeonSI OpenGL driver.

ASUS today announced the all-new TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition, an all-AMD gaming laptop with a redesigned chassis and an incredibly immersive 16-inch display. The TUF Gaming A15, A17, F15 and F17 laptops also make a triumphant return, sporting the latest silicon from AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA to power players into the next generation of gaming performance.

TUF A16 Advantage Edition announced
Built for serious gaming with subtle styling, the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a sleek gaming laptop built to demolish the competition. Powered completely by AMD, the TUF Gaming A16 features up to an AMD Ryzen 9 Zen 4 processor and AMD Radeon RDNA 3 mobile graphics. "AMD and ASUS have partnered to deliver our latest 'Zen 4' and RDNA 3 technologies into the most innovative form factors," said Jason Banta, CVP and GM OEM PC. "The TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition delivers blistering gaming performance and outstanding power efficiency in a sleek portable chassis."

Intel has recently published a document outlining the requirements for Arc GPU support on desktop including the supported platforms. The guide states that supported processors are limited to 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake", 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake", and 10th Gen Core "Comet Lake" with Resizable BAR support enabled on the motherboard. The document also notes that other platforms supporting Resizable BAR / Smart Access Memory may work with Intel Arc graphics cards indicating potential unofficial support for AMD platforms also. Intel has also specified that only Windows 10/11 is supported and installations must be using the GPT partition type. The page contains instructions to enable Resizable BAR support and switch to a GPT partition but no information is provided as to whether the cards will work without this functionality.

CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gear and systems for gamers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts, today unveiled its innovative first gaming and streaming laptop, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 AMD Advantage Edition. Combining a powerful AMD Ryzen 6000 Series processor, AMD Radeon RX 6800M mobile graphics with CORSAIR and Elgato's vast ecosystem of exclusive software and technologies, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 is a laptop like no other. Whether you're an aspiring content creator, avid gamer, or a full-time streamer, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 AMD Advantage Edition laptop can do everything you need and more.

Packing a wide array of state-of-the-art tech into an impressively thin 19.8 mm form-factor, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 boasts up to an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and AMD Radeon RX 6800M mobile graphics to game at maximum settings and cruise through resource-heavy applications like Adobe After Effects or OBS Studio. Moreover, this combination of cutting-edge AMD components unlocks the suite of exclusive AMD smart technologies, such as AMD Smart Access Memory, which helps unlock high performance by providing select AMD Ryzen processors with address to the entire high-speed GDDR6 graphics memory, further enhancing the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600's high-end performance. The CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 stays cool thanks to an advanced compact vapor chamber cooling system that evenly spreads heat, achieving lower temperatures with a thinner profile than traditional cooling methods.

MSI, a leading brand in True Gaming hardware, is proud to announce the new MSI AMD Radeon RX 6400 AERO ITX graphics card. The new graphics card is designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and esports titles accessible to more gamers than ever.

Built on the high-performance, energy efficient AMD RDNA gaming architecture, AMD Radeon RX 6400 graphics cards feature high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache memory technology and high-speed GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and AMD Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) upscaling technologies, AMD Smart Access Memory technology, as well as other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today announced the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6400 EAGLE 4G and Radeon RX 6400 D6 Low Profile 4G graphics cards, equipped with the excellent GIGABYTE cooling system and engineered to deliver great 1080p gaming performance with remarkable efficiency. Blaze a trail into tomorrow and enjoy vivid virtual worlds and elevated experiences with the power of next-generation graphics.

Built on the high-performance, energy efficient AMD RDNA gaming architecture, the new graphics cards feature high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache memory technology and high-speed GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and AMD Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) upscaling technologies, AMD Smart Access Memory technology, as well as other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

If you are planning to buy a new PC for gaming, MSI MAG META 5 5E is a budget-friendly choice. The MAG META 5 5E is MSI's first full AMD solution gaming desktop. It comes with a Ryzen 7 5800X CPU based on the Zen 3 architecture and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT that ensures gaming performance thanks to AMD Smart Access Memory Technology. Up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM can be installed so you will be able to handle gaming and productivity tasks. It comes with up to one M.2 SSD, two 2.5" and two 3.5" slots allowing for utilizing mass storage and faster data access.

As for the thermal solution, the MAG META 5 5E can be configured with an air cooler or liquid cooler. It draws air in from the side and allows plenty of air through the rear and top of the case. There's also additional space for installing fans to bring air through the system. The MAG META 5 5E has RGB strips running along with the front panel and has an interchangeable tempered glass side panel. Users can showcase their style and configuration with an unlimited spectrum of color and dynamic RGB lighting through MSI Mystic Light.

AMD today released the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin. Bearing the fancy number 22.2.2, these drivers add optimization for "Total War: Warhammer III." The drivers also add major optimization for AMD Smart Access Memory (Resizable BAR) when you pair AMD "Cezanne" based processors with compatible Radeon RX 6000 and RX 5000 series GPUs, with game-specific performance improving by as much as 23%. Details of individual use-cases in the change-log below. With this release, the company didn't fix any new bugs, but identified several of them. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 22.2.2 beta

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today introduced the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card. The new BIOSTAR Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card is built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA2 gaming architecture, engineered to deliver incredible gaming performance with remarkable efficiency.

The BIOSTAR Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card is designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and esports titles accessible to more gamers. It offers high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache and high-speed 4 GB GDDR6 memory, as well as support for AMD Smart Access Memory technology, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology, Variable Rate Shading (VRS) and other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and storage devices, today announced the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card. Built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache and support for high-bandwidth PCI Express 4.0 technology. Optimized for performance, power efficiency and durability, the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card enables high-framerate 1080p gaming in the latest AAA titles.

The BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card offers 28 compute units with a Game Clock frequency of 2,044 MHz and a Boost Clock frequency of up to 2,491 MHz, enabling incredible 1080p gaming experiences without breaking a sweat. In addition, support for DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC and HDMI 2.1 VRR enables crisp, vivid video output.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched new Challenger series products based on AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPUs. Built on the 7 nm manufacturing process, the new ASRock graphics cards offer support for the DirectX 12 Ultimate API, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, HDMI 2.1, PCI Express 4.0, and the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system. With a wealth of exclusive features, the new graphics cards are designed to provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate 1080p gaming experiences to the midrange market.

The new graphics cards are built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, designed to deliver the optimal balance of performance and power efficiency. Offering 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, AMD Smart Access Memory and other advanced features, the new graphics cards are designed to bring next-generation desktop gaming experiences to the midrange market. They also support the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution open-source spatial upscaling solution, which is designed to increase framerates while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today announced a new AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card - the Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G. The Eagle graphics card is the best choice for those who desire a unique design optimized for power efficiency and durability, and the ability to experience incredible high-framerate 1080p gaming.

AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics cards are based on the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, designed to deliver the optimal balance of performance and power efficiency. Offering 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, AMD Smart Access Memory technology and other advanced features, the new graphics cards are designed to bring next-generation desktop gaming experiences to the midrange market. They also support AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, an open-source spatial upscaling solution designed to increase framerates in select titles while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.

ASUS today announced the Dual Radeon RX 6600 graphics card, combining the latest ASUS technology with the new AMD GPU to deliver 1080p gaming experiences to the midrange market.

AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics cards bring the power of AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture to the market. With support for cutting-edge DirectX 12 Ultimate technology including accelerated ray tracing, 32 MB of high-performance, AMD Infinity Cache, AMD Smart Access Memory technology and other advanced features, AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics cards includes the latest technology in image quality and performance. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 supports the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution open-source spatial upscaling solution, designed to increase framerates in select titles while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.

As a leading brand in True Gaming hardware, MSI is proud to announce the MSI Radeon RX 6600 MECH 2X graphics card, designed to deliver incredible 1080p gaming experiences for a wide range of enthusiast gamers. The new graphics cards are built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, designed to deliver the optimal balance of performance and power efficiency. Offering 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, AMD Smart Access Memory 1 and other advanced features, the new graphics cards are designed to bring next-generation desktop gaming experiences to the midrange market. They also support the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution open-source spatial upscaling solution, which is designed to increase framerates while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.

AMD today launched the AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card, designed to provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate 1080p gaming experiences to the midrange market. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card leverages breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 architecture, the only gaming architecture that spans from desktop PCs, laptops and consoles to mobile devices and automotive infotainment systems. Offering 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, AMD Smart Access Memory technology and support for the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card is designed to bring next-generation desktop-level experiences to PC gamers. It also supports the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution open-source spatial upscaling solution, which is designed to increase framerates in select titles while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card is designed with the needs of future-ready, high-performance 1080p gamers in mind. Capable of driving 100+ FPS in top AAA titles, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 graphics card also offers up to 1.3X better performance-per-watt than the competition in select titles in 1080p at max settings.

AMD today announced the new Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card, its latest entrant to the RX 6000 series, based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture, with full DirectX 12 Ultimate support, including raytracing. The RX 6600 XT is suitable for AAA gaming at 1080p, or e-sports gaming at 1440p. The card debuts the new 7 nm Navi 23 silicon to the desktop, and maxes it out. It is endowed with 2,048 stream processors across 32 RDNA2 compute units, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 128-bit wide memory interface, holding 8 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 16 Gbps (256 GB/s bandwidth). The chip also has 32 MB of Infinity Cache memory. With a board power of 160 W, the card can make do with a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. The game clocks are up to 2359 MHz.

As for performance, AMD claims that the RX 6600 XT offers a 2.2-2.5 times performance gain over the GeForce GTX 1060, providing a viable upgrade. It also offers a 40% performance uplift over the previous-generation RX 5600 XT, and runs consistently faster than the RX 5700, perhaps even trading blows with the RX 5700 XT. In the current generation, AMD claims a 15% performance lead over the GeForce RTX 3060 on average, with both cards having Resizable BAR / Smart Access Memory enabled, at 1080p. Available from August 10, the card starts at USD $379, and is a partner-exclusive, meaning that only custom-design cards will be available, the company will not sell reference design ones.

MSI, a world-leading gaming brand, announces the all-new AMD-powered gaming laptop, Delta 15 and the revamped Alpha 15/17, equipped with the AMD Ryzen 5000 H Series Mobile Processors and the up to latest AMD Radeon RX6700M Series Mobile Graphics. MSI continues to fulfill the diverse demand of gaming and leverage the strength in the AMD product line.

Delta 15 and Alpha 15/17 all come with the latest Radeon RX6000M Series Mobile Graphics, 1.5x faster performance compared to previous generations AMD graphics. * Powered by the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, Delta 15 provides ultra-high frame rates, while the Alpha 15/17, equipped with the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, delivers 1080p gaming at max settings.

AMD today released the Radeon RX 6000M series mobile graphics lineup, based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. These GPUs offer full DirectX 12 Ultimate readiness, including real-time raytracing capability. The lineup is led by the Radeon RX 6800M, followed by the RX 6700M, and the RX 6600M. The RX 6800M and RX 6700M are based on the 7 nm "Navi 22" silicon, while the RX 6600M debuts the "Navi 23" silicon. The RX 6800M appears to be maxing out the "Navi 22" silicon, much like the desktop RX 6700 XT. It features 40 RDNA2 compute units, amounting to 2,560 stream processors; game clocks of up to 2.30 GHz, 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface, and 96 MB of Infinity Cache. The RX 6700M is slightly cut down, with 36 compute units (2,304 stream processors), the same 2.30 GHz game clocks, 10 GB of video memory possibly across a 160-bit wide memory bus, and 80 MB of Infinity Cache.

The new RX 6600M debuts the 7 nm "Navi 23" silicon, with 28 RDNA2 compute units, game clocks of 2177 MHz, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 128-bit wide memory bus, and 32 MB of Infinity Cache. All three chips feature Smart Access Memory (resizable BAR), and support for AMD SmartShift, a feature that load-balances the discrete GPU with an AMD iGPU. AMD claims that the RX 6800M and RX 6700M are fit for 1440p gaming, with the RX 6800M beating the RTX 2070 Notebook by anywhere between 40-70%, and 120 FPS in a large selection of e-sports titles. The company also claims that the RX 6800M beats the GeForce RTX 3080 8 GB by 14-39%. The RX 6600M, meanwhile is shown matching the RTX 3060 6 GB, in AMD's tests. Notebooks powered by AMD Radeon RX 6000M discrete graphics are shipping now.The graphics press-deck follows.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the popular graphics subsystem information and monitoring utility. With the latest version 2.38.0, we are introducing the ability to detect Resizable BAR support. GPU-Z can now tell whether Resizable BAR is supported, and if so, whether it is enabled. AMD refers to Resizable BAR as AMD Smart Access Memory, but it is a feature developed by the PCI-SIG, which lets your CPU see the entire video memory of your discrete graphics card as a single addressable block, rather than through 256 MB apertures. This feature has been found to improve performance in games that can take advantage of it. Resizable BAR status can now be viewed from the main tab, right next to the multi-GPU status.

The latest TechPowerUp GPU-Z also adds support for new and upcoming GPUs, including AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, RX 6700, RX 6600 XT, RX 6600, and Ryzen "Lucienne" mobile processor iGPUs. Support is also added for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. Other new features include the ability to monitor negative temperatures on NVIDIA GPUs. We fixed video BIOS extraction on AMD RDNA2 GPUs (Radeon RX 6000 series). Grab GPU-Z from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.38.0The change-log follows.

TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD graphics cards since 1997, today announced the new PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card. Powered by the groundbreaking AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture and featuring AMD Infinity Cache, AMD Smart Access Memory and other advanced technologies, the new graphics card delivers the ultimate in 1440p gaming performance.

The PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card is built upon 7 nm process technology and AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, designed to deliver the optimal combination of performance and power efficiency. AMD RDNA 2 based graphics cards are optimized to deliver real-time lighting, shadow and reflection realism with DirectX Raytracing (DXR). When paired with AMD FidelityFX, developers can combine rasterized and ray-traced effects to provide the ideal balance of image quality and gaming performance.

AMD in its "Where Gaming Begins Episode 3" online event, announced that it is introducing Smart Access Memory (resizable base address register) support to Ryzen 3000 series "Matisse" processors, based on the "Zen 2" microarchitecture. These exclude the Ryzen 3 3200G and Ryzen 5 3400G. The PCI-SIG innovated feature was, until now, restricted to the Ryzen 5000 series on the AMD platform, although is heavily proliferated across the Intel platform. Resizable BAR enables the CPU to see the graphics card's entire dedicated memory as one addressable block, rather than through 256-megabyte apertures. For game engines that are able to take advantage of the feature, this could translate to a performance boost of up to 16 percent. Be on the lookout for BIOS updates from your motherboard manufacturer.

NVIDIA on Tuesday announced a roll-out of its implementation of the PCI-SIG resizable base-address register (BAR) feature to select GeForce products. The feature enables your CPU to see the entire video memory of your graphics card as one addressable block, rather than through 256 MB apertures. This should improve certain kinds of 3D rendering workloads, and game engines that are optimized to use it should see a tangible performance boost. AMD earlier introduced the exact same feature under its marketing name "Smart Access Memory," with its Radeon RX 6000 series.

NVIDIA announced that resizable-BAR support will be made available to GeForce RTX 30-series "Ampere" desktop graphics cards, notebooks that have RTX 30-series "Ampere" mobile GPUs, and future products. The support requires not just a compatible graphics card, but also a motherboard that supports the feature. Most leading motherboard- and OEM desktop manufacturers began rolling out resizable-BAR support through UEFI firmware updates. Using the feature requires you to run your machine in native UEFI mode (with CSM disabled).

When AMD introduced its Smart Access Memory (SAM) technology, it was used as one of the key advertising points for its 5000 series of Ryzen processors based on Zen 3 architecture. At the time of launch, it was believed that only the latest generation of Ryzen processors can support it and only AMD GPUs can see a benefit in performance. However, later on, many of the motherboard makers have been playing with BIOS updates and have found a way to enable resizable BAR, the technology used for SAM, on non-AMD platforms. Today, thanks to the Reddit user Merich98 we have found out that ASUS has enabled resizable BAR support via BIOS update.

The user has used BIOS version 2409, released just a few days ago, on ASUS B450-PLUS motherboard. The feat is no extraordinary because it works on a B450 motherboard, it has been supported for a long time, but rather the feat is impressive because it works with the first generation AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor. This contradicts the theory that SAM only needs 5000 series AMD Ryzen processors to run. However, the gains were not that great. On average, the average frame rate number has increased by a small +0.839%. This could be attributed to some margin of error, so it seems like SAM is not giving much performance uplift in this case.