After days of unclear messaging, AMD has confirmed that it will continue to support older Radeon GPUs through optimized driver paths.
AMD confirmed that it is not ending the support for RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 (RX 5000 and RX 6000) in a new blog post, noting that it is introducing two optimised driver paths to keep your graphics cards up to date.
As reported by PCWorld, the clarification came after a confusing week of release notes that didn’t mention older cards and a brief use of the term “maintenance mode,” which set off alarms.
Now, AMD has confirmed that one path for RNDA 1 and 2 will support your RX 5000 and 6000 series GPU up date with new releases, stability and optimisations, and security and bug fixes. The second track, built for RDNA 3 and 4, will also do the same for RX 7000 and 9000 series GPUS.
The company has also backtracked on suggestions that it would also remove USB Type-C functionality on its RX 7900 cards and confirmed it will continue to provide driver updates for Windows 10.
“We’ve supported Radeon gamers for generations and that commitment isn’t changing,” AMD says. “Whether you’re gaming on an RX 5000, RX 6000, or the latest RX 9000, you’ll continue to get the reliability, performance, and care you expect from AMD. Because we’re all part of the same gaming community and every Radeon gamer matters.”
So if you’ve got an older graphics card, you can rest easy that AMD is still supporting it – and there’s no nasty surprises in store.
