Arch Linux

kev-5

Member

Registered: 2025-08-27

Posts: 4

Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

Hello!

I've recently switched to Arch from Windows on my main PC after tinkering with my laptop. One major issue that I'm still dealing with is unusually high CPU temperatures (~50-60°C when idle) and my constantly spinning fan is starting to really bother me.

I have had this same problem on Windows. However, after I downloaded the drivers for my graphics card, the fans slowed down significantly. So I think there is a clear correlation that installing GPU Drivers lowers CPU temperatures considerably.

Jumping to arch, I cannot install the proprietary drivers of my GPU on the manufacturers website since their X version specification is way outdated, so I opted in installing the open source AMD drivers. Following these instructions, I am supposed to replace my kernel driver in use from Radeon to AMDGPU. However, changing the si/cik_support parameters and early loading AMDGPU still refuse to use AMDGPU instead of Radeon:

$ lspci -k -d ::03xx                          
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Juniper XT [FirePro V5800]
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 2306
	Kernel driver in use: radeon
	Kernel modules: radeon, amdgpu

dmesg:
https://termbin.com/mx4g

journalctl -b:
https://termbin.com/n2ay

pacman -Q:
https://termbin.com/pxkd

mkinitcpio.conf:

MODULES=(amdgpu)
BINARIES=()
FILES=()
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap numlock consolefont block filesystems fsck)

bootloader:

title	arch-zen
linux	/vmlinuz-linux-zen
initrd	/amd-ucode.img
initrd	/initramfs-linux-zen.img
sort-keys 02
options root=PARTUUID=c341a580-9526-44fc-ad99-e447740ff396 rw iommu=pt radeon.si_support=0 amdgpu.si_support=1 radeon.cik_support=0 amdgpu.cik_support=1

How can I switch to AMDGPU? Did I do something wrong?

LuxFerre

Member

Registered: 2010-03-01

Posts: 121

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

I don't think AMDGPU supports your card, the wiki says it's for 2012 and newer... However that seems fine given that it's using the radeon driver instead? Can you run glxgears?
As for the temperatures, you might need to clean and add new thermal paste to the cpu, it's always a good idea on older systems.

Last edited by LuxFerre (2025-08-27 09:50:38)

kev-5

Member

Registered: 2025-08-27

Posts: 4

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

$ glxgears
Running synchronized to the vertical refresh.  The framerate should be
approximately the same as the monitor refresh rate.
384 frames in 5.0 seconds = 76.602 FPS
380 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.807 FPS
379 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.609 FPS
379 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.608 FPS
380 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.806 FPS
380 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.809 FPS
379 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.609 FPS
380 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.808 FPS
379 frames in 5.0 seconds = 75.608 FPS

I will later add some thermal paste. However, it did run just fine on windows before I swiched to arch and I still think its associated with my GPU since I had a similar scenario on Windows.
Also this system is my PC, not the laptop

LuxFerre

Member

Registered: 2010-03-01

Posts: 121

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

I guess 75Hz is your monitor refresh rate? If that's the case it seems fine with the radeon driver.

Maybe try to see what's using your cpu to cause increased temps too (with some system resource monitor).

kev-5

Member

Registered: 2025-08-27

Posts: 4

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

I forgot how old my GPU was until now. That makes sense why it didnt load.

75Hz or something odd is its native refresh rate, this should be fine

https://imgur.com/a/RPhH6A9
btop shows relatively high temps with barely any CPU load

Lone_Wolf

Administrator

From: Netherlands, Europe

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 14,944

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

Your card uses the TeraScale 2 architecture which is not supported by the amdgpu kernel module, the radeon module is the correct one.
(There's no vulkan support with that driver, so every application using vulkan will run graphics on the cpu).

I've had a card from the same family until 2018 and it did need some tweaking wrt power options.

Look at https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/ATI#Powersaving and experiment a bit with dpm settings (that is best option but doesn't work on all cards)

---

Disliking systemd intensely, but not satisfied with alternatives so focusing on taming systemd.

clean chroot building not flexible enough ?
Try clean chroot manager by graysky

kev-5

Member

Registered: 2025-08-27

Posts: 4

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

I tried tweaking the dpm power state and performance level parameters, though I didnt notice a change on cpu temperatures (I let it simmer for a minute or two). I did hear the fan spinning more or less though, so it certainly did something.

I did some additional tests through tty (without having run wayland in that session), while opening firefox and finally after waiting 5 minutes with firefox and btop open:

• tty only: 51°C

• opening firefox in wayland: max 57°C

• idle in wayland: 52°C

Also, I dont know if its normal, but my CPU fan constantly spins just as fast in BIOS, so I assume it reaches similar temperatures there.

Thanks for mentioning TeraScale 2 and it not using vulkan, this is something I certainly wouldnt have figured out any time soon. This did leave me with some pretty good leads for research. Importantly: I suspect that the primary power-saving grace is AMD-Catalyst, though now it is way outdated (I could try temporarily downgrading my system to see if this is working). Also, vulkan-radeon did not work as expected (since my card isnt officially supported), so I found two alternatives: vulkan-swrast (runs on CPU) and vulkan-terakan (AUR) (unofficial fork for terascale support). I will attempt installing the terakan driver (I did run into some issues while installing) to see if this somehow makes any difference in terms of temperature, but I dont have high hopes since temps are high even in tty.

Lone_Wolf

Administrator

From: Netherlands, Europe

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 14,944

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

Terakan could indeed bring vulkan support for such cards, but it's still very experimental for now.

---

Disliking systemd intensely, but not satisfied with alternatives so focusing on taming systemd.

clean chroot building not flexible enough ?
Try clean chroot manager by graysky

LuxFerre

Member

Registered: 2010-03-01

Posts: 121

Re: Kernel refuses to use AMDGPU driver

It still sounds like your temperature issue could be related to the cooler/thermal paste. Although 50s celsius is fine, and you could probably tune the fans in BIOS to reduce the speed, but it seems like it's not cooling properly, as you say it's over 50 even without a graphics interface.