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linux kernel for 64bit (amd64) with latest amdgpu drivers.

GitHub all releases
This is "Ready For Use" linux kernel also helps to run the latest AMD GPUs with the open source amdgpu kernel driver.

What for?

This is my attempt to get an outdated video card to work well with good results.
Kernel work checked on:

  • AMD Radeon HD 77XX (Cape Verde PRO, GCN 1.0)
  • AMD Radeon R7 360 (Tobago PRO, GCN 2.0)
  • APU / iGPU Vega 3 (Dali/Picasso, GCN 5.0)
    ...but will probably work on others.

This Linux kernel is compiled on Linux Ubuntu 22.04 (jammy), but will likely run on Linux Mint 21.3+ and other Ubuntu-based distributions.

Features

Currently preferred for AMD platforms, also good Nvidia/Intel compatible.
Used custom experimental config with support for different hardware.
Includes a large count of drivers (big kernel).
Enabled ntfs (read/write support).
Enabled Android modules (binder).
Enabled some security settings.
And other useful (probably) settings.

What works?

  • Vulkan - ok
  • Steam Proton/Wine:
    • DXVK performance - ok
    • VKD3D performance - ok
  • Hardware Decode video - ok
  • Hardware Encode (vaapi) video - ok
  • SteamVR/ALVR - ok
  • Most hardware - ok

What is it based on?

The corresponding kernel source code tree can be found here:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/agd5f/linux/-/tree/amd-staging-drm-next
and here:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/agd5f/linux/-/branches/active

Useful PPAs:

To get the best Vulkan / OpenGL performance recommended for use with *ubuntu PPA repo:

*ubuntu noble 24.04+:

*ubuntu jammy 22.04+:

*ubuntu focal 20.04+:

(for kernel 6.11.0-rc6 and below)

Vulkan Libs & SDK repo:

Useful repository with Vulkan Libs & SDK for *ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04.
Contains latest libraries, headers, verify tools, glslang and SDK for develop apps.
Actual add/instal instructions here (Ubuntu Packages):
vulkan.lunarg.com/sdk/home#linux
Vulkan 1.3.283.0 latest for old LTS *ubuntu 20.04:
vulkan.lunarg.com/doc/sdk/1.3.283.0/linux/getting_started_ubuntu.html

Maximum FPS: Disabling CPU Mitigations:

By default, the kernel includes security mitigations for CPU hardware vulnerabilities (Spectre, Meltdown, Retbleed, etc.). These patches introduce CPU overhead, increase input lag, and can cause micro-stuttering in heavy games and VR due to constant kernel-space context switching and buffer flushing.

If you use your system primarily for gaming, VR, and home entertainment, you can completely disable these mitigations to unlock the raw physical speed of your processor.

Cons & Risks:

  • Theoretical Vulnerability: Your system becomes vulnerable to speculative side-channel attacks. This means malicious code executed locally on your PC could theoretically read data from the memory of other processes or the kernel.
  • Web Browsing: The risk is minimal if you avoid running untrusted binary files and keep your web browser up to date (modern browsers have their own built-in sandbox tab isolation).

How to Disable Mitigations via GRUB:

  1. Open a terminal and edit the GRUB configuration file with root privileges:
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
  1. Find the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line and add mitigations=off inside the quotes. For example:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash mitigations=off"

  1. Save the file (Ctrl+O, then Enter) and exit the editor (Ctrl+X).

  2. Update your GRUB configuration to apply the changes:

sudo update-grub
  1. Reboot.

Linux firmware images:

Install latest upstream firmwares for Linux kernel drivers to support new hardware
https://gitlab.com/kernel-firmware/linux-firmware
You can download the prepared .deb package here releases/firmware
Required 1.5 gigabyte of free disk space and additional space in /boot.

Warnings:

This is an very experimental kernel, use at your own risk.
If something goes wrong, delete/downgrade them.
Don't forget to remove old kernels, but keep at least 2 latest working ones just in case.

How to install:

  1. Create a folder in a place convenient for you (for example: ~/kernel)
  2. Download .deb only packages from latest release: linux-libc-dev, linux-headers and linux-image
  3. Also recommended to install non-free linux-firmware containing firmwares for amd video cards, etc...
  4. Run sudo dpkg -i *.deb in this directory.
  5. Reboot. Ok.