AMD Outs New Vega 10 & 20 IDs With Linux Driver Patch
AMD may have accidentally revealed some new products containing its Radeon RX Vega 10 and Radeon RX Vega 20 graphics technologies. The company patched its RadeonSI Mesa and AMDKFD/AMDGPU kernel drivers with new PCI IDs; no other changes were made with the patch.
Phoronix reported that the patch added six new IDs released to Vega 10: 0x6869, 0x686A, 0x686B, 0x686D, 0x686E, and 0x686F. These are new IDs that were previously only referenced in an update to macOS Mojave and GPUOpen's lists of GFX9 parts. That could mean AMD plans to introduce new Vega 10 products sooner than later, but the company might also be internally testing new products that are a ways from release.
There was less news on the Vega 20 front--Phoronix found one new ID (0x66A4) in addition to the five added with previous patches. That isn't particularly surprising, since Vega 10 is currently used in the company's integrated graphics for notebook computers, while Vega 20 debuted with the Radeon Instinct MI60 and MI50 revealed at the Next Horizon Event in November. It's also an optional upgrade in the new MacBook Pro.
It's clear that AMD's working on something graphics-related. The company also recently filed to trademark a logo that appears to be for Vega 2 graphics, and in October, chief executive Lisa Su assured Barrons that AMD would remain competitive in the graphics market. She didn't say how the company planned to do that--such as whether or not it'd be through the next-gen Navi architecture--so perhaps Vega 2 is the answer for now.
For now, the addition of these IDs to AMD's Linux drivers could indicate that new products are imminent, or simply mean the company has moved on to internal testing for whatever it has planned next. Maybe we'll hear more from the company in the new year as much of the industry flocks to conventions like CES or simply latches on to whatever news it can to make sure people stay hyped after the holiday season.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.