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Drivers & Software

Temporary GUI Solution to monitor your AMD GPU's for AMDGPU & AMDGPUPRO Drivers on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. When can we expect a GUI for AMD Linux Drivers?

Hi,

AMD still provide no GUI to monitor or control my GPU's on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (or 18.04LTS or other Linux as far as I know. I can't get an answer).

Is there a plan to provide this basic functionality GUI in AMD Linux Drivers?
Nvidia have a very good GUI Control Panel already, which is a similar look and feel to their Windows Control Panel.

Meantime, thanks to tuxine , I have found a Temporary GUI Control and Monitoring Solution workaround using a Github Project called Radeon Profile.

Here is a quick video showing it running:

Temporary GUI Control and Monitoring solution on AMDGPU and AMDGPUPRO Ubuntu 16.04. - YouTube

The start of the above video shows me running a Steam on Linux game called Verdun, just to see how the GPU clocks and temperature monitoring works.
The latter part of the video demonstrates the GUI menus available.

See: GitHub - marazmista/radeon-profile: Application to read current clocks of ATi Radeon cards (xf86-vid...

You may be an expert on Linux in which case you may be able to install this and get it running quickly.

It took me a reasonable amount of time to get it working.

I hit problems generating a clean compile.

I had to use a number of changes to the installation instructions provided.

The Radeon Profile GUI seems to be reasonably stable so far.

There are some problems I need to investigate and debug in the code before I recompile.

I am unable to report GPU utilization for example.

At least now, I almost have all of the basics required to run and monitor my AMD GPU's on Ubuntu. 16.04 LTS.

Please let me know the schedule for providing a proper GUI in Linux so I can at least decide if it is worth working on Radeon Profile with the original developers to help improve / modify it.

In fact, even better, why don't AMD work with the Radeon Profile developers and Ubuntu to provide this as a temporary GUI if an AMD GUI for Linux  is not going to be released soon.

It would be much better  than nothing, which is the current situation.

Thank you.

13 Replies

For more details on the background to the above post see: AMDGPU Pro Control Panel ?
In there I detail various non-gui ways I tried to monitor/control my GPU's.

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System information related to this post and the above video.

CPU i7-4790K.

MB: ASUS Z97 Deluxe.

GPU1 R9 Fury X.

GPU2 R9 Nano.
SSHD 1TB Seagate.
OS: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Drivers used: AMDGPUPRO with ROCM and Vulkan SDK installed.

Bye.
 

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mphuz
Adept II

Hi!

The Radeon Software interface should be expected at least in December / January, when a new large driver will be released.

Now it's too early for Linux.

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Hi,

Thanks for replying.

RE:  "should be expected at least

Is this comment based on on a roadmap somewhere or some other information?

It would be good to know the exact situation based on some information from AMD.

RE: Now it's too early for Linux.
I am not sure I understand that point.

There was a Catalyst Control Center GUI in Ubuntu 15.04/10.

From user perspective, Nvidia seem to manage to provide a very good Linux GUI on Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04.

I do not understand why AMD do not either work with the Radeon Profile developers and Ubuntu and QT to provide an automatic install for that GUI package. Even if it does not work 100% perfectly and is provided as an optional install package with a warning, it would be much better than nothing or having to hunt around and find Radeon Profile independently and work out what additional packages to install and how to modify the installation and  compile it.

I do understand that some Linux users prefer using console and command line only and are perfectly happy to edit driver install directory files to change their GPU fan speed or clocks.

However I think many other Linux users, especially those migrating from Windows 10 to Ubuntu, are looking for a more user friendly GUI interface.
I think a GUI for GPU drivers monitor and control is a basic requirement these days..

I can't believe I have to go on this forum to ask about lack of  GUI  this long after AMDGPU/-PRO drivers were initially released.

Bye.

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Is this comment based on on a roadmap somewhere or some other information?

AMD releases all major driver updates only at the end of each year. At other times it is useless to wait.

Remember December 2017-AMDVLK was announced at that time, not earlier. Hell, even the fix for the Overwatch they only released with this release, not before, so that gamers do not suffer. Marketing is harsh and ruthless.

I am not sure I understand that point.

Just ask yourself a simple question: why do you need this Panel now if 90% of functions do not work or work disgusting?

Why do we need this Panel, if WattMan on Linux is not yet supported, about ReLive, Chill, Sync, VR is also not heard, FreeSync is not clear with what video cards?

Still need to lay the Foundation. AMDVLK already there, but left as something to put Mesa in the Radeon Software, and to develop ROCm for all cards.

As you can see, there is still a lot of work before the full release of Radeon Software on Linux. But this is all coming. I will even note that from December 2017 on the page of the Linux driver package the name is not "AMD GPU-PRO", but "Radeon Software for Linux".

That is, small steps AMD developers are going to the unification and cross-platform.

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(1). RE: AMD releases all major driver updates only at the end of each year. At other times it is useless to wait.

OK I thought that I had seen a presentation just before Vega launch about the 17.7.2 driver that there was going to be two feature releases a year.
I do not remember if Linux support was mentioned in that presentation, dropping Windows 8.1 64bit support certainly wasn't.

So I might see a "Radeon Software for Linux" release which includes a GUI in 0.5-1.5 years then?


This seems to be taking a very long time: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMD-CCC-Linux-Doing-The-Pre-Req

(2). RE: Just ask yourself a simple question: why do you need this Panel now if 90% of functions do not work or work disgusting?

Most of the functions in Radeon Profile are there that I need in terms of monitoring the GPU, apart from GPU utilisation. 
I will try to get that working. I have contacted the developer to see if they can give me some advice on that before I start to debug it and recompile the GUI myself.

Overclocking does seem to work, it just has a problem where it sets the same overclock when multiple GPUs on on the system, I can't apply OC separately.

I can set my fan speed in the GUI. I am not sure that matters too much as I have R9 FuryX/Fury/Nanos so they can all run with close overclock settings anyhow.

(3). One good thing about Radeon Profile is it looks like I can overclock HBM memory clock again, so I should be able to get fair comparison between an RX Vega 64 and an R9 FuryX/Fury/Nano performance on Linux. HBM overclocking on Windows with FuryX/Fury/Nano was disabled around the the time RX Vega was supposed to launch with changes to Radeon Crimson ReLive Settings on Windows. Such a fair comparison is not possible using the Latest Adrenalin Drivers on Windows. Even a small HBM overclock on an R9 Fury X can help improve performance and also improves the effect of an overclock applied to the GPU CLK. RX Vega 64's behave in similar way, not surprising since they are very similar to Fiji architecture, but they have ability to overclock HBM2 clocks in Adrenalin driver.

(4). I need a GUI now, I am not going to be "Waiting for Radeon Software on Linux" I already did that for RX Vega cards, they were late so I ended up having to go to the "GPU Thrift Shop" - Ebay to stay with AMD and buy used FuryX/Fury/Nanos. I also managed to get a few discounted "unsold but new" cards from Online retailers. I am happy enough though. R9 FuryX/Nano combo costs ~ same as an RX Vega 64,performs better in OpenCL benchmarks, and ~ same or better in Crossfire DX11/ DX12 Multigpu gaming.

I have not purchased an RX Vega yet. I am still waiting to see if I can get a 2 slot high card with a decent AIB cooler, and for a price that reflects their value versus Nvidia performance/power.

Radeon Profile seems to be working pretty well after my first compile now. It exists in reality and it seems to work.

(5). RE: WattMan on Linux is not yet supported, about ReLive, Chill, Sync, VR is also not heard, FreeSync

Sure ReLive on AMDGPU/PRO drivers would be nice, but I can use external capture card for Steam Linux Games that actually run on these drivers if I really want to.

I don't see ReLive on Linux as a major priority right now.

Why would I want a gaming recorder on Linux, if the games do not work with AMD Linux drivers in the first place?

I can use existing Linux desktop recorders to record the games crashing and report them to AMD.

Actually I am not sure how I report Linux Games crashing on AMD Linux drivers. There is no AMD Reporting Form option for Linux. I think that needs to change.

I guess email support is the only way to report Steam Linux games crashing to AMD?


A number of Steam Games are simply not supported or working properly with these drivers.

Not to worry, I am only having problems with games you may not have heard of.
Hitman, Rise of Tomb Raider. Dota2 Vulkan, Talos Princliple Vulkan just for starters.

Those games either do not function or simply crash.

I can use Linux desktop recorder for now to report the crashes.

(6). Why do I care about functionality that doesn't even work in Windows?

I would argue that some of those features are not even working properly on Windows yet.

For example:

A. Wattman- Application Profiles do not override global settings. Game profiles have been useless for a long time. I only use them to store my overclock settings, I actually have to change  Global Settings to match the stored Wattman settings in my game profiles, before launching a game on Windows.
Once AMD fix Wattman Game/Application  Profiles in Windows then I might be interested.

B. Radeon Chill - For me at least, Radeon Chill is not usable in practice. It severely limits keyboard only input FPS on all of the games I have tried to Chill_min + (15-25 FPS), depending on the value of Chill Max(60-300). I need to set Chill Min as low as possible to see maybe a 1-2'C drop in GPU temperature (2'C drop is being generous) when my in game character is standing still doing nothing.

I cannot easily tell how much GPU Power this equates to. R9 FuryX/Fury/Nano do not report GPU power in Adrenalin Overly, even if that option is available in Adrenalin Settings and turned on. I reported this using AMD Reporting form, no response, still not working.

If I turn on Radeon Chill, I need to set Chill Min as low a possible to to see power drop when my in game character is standing still. I do not mind if the Frame Rate in that situation is set to 30 FPS to achieve max possible (any) power saving.  However if I set Chill Min to a level where I see GPU Temperature drop versus Chill off in that condition, I then need to maximise Chill max value so I get as high keyboard only input FPS. So say I set Chill Max to 300 (with Chill min at 30 FPS). That will typically allow me to hit 55 FPS with keyboard only input applied in game and Chill min set to 30 FPS.

Yes, that is correct, 55 FPS in game when I use WASD keys to run my  character around in a game like BF1 or Overwatch or Fortnite, or Wolfenstein II: The New Collossus, or Team Fortress 2, or Crysis series or Titanfall series or Prey or ... the list seems "countless".


I have tested various graphics settings on those games.

Turning Radeon Chill on drops my keyboard only input FPS from 100-200 range down to 55 in many cases.
The standard monitor refresh rate is 60Hz.

It has been that for years.
Many gaming reviewers and gamers will tell you 60FPS is the bare minimum, and I can turn FreeSync on?

Yes, FreeSync with Radeon Chill - I will get to that in a moment.

You may tell me to set Chill Min to higher values than 30, say 45, or 60, or maybe even 75.
The same behavior still applies.
Chill Min + approx 25 FPS if Chill Max = 300.
Also increasing Chill Min reduces amount of power saved.

Radeon Chill behaviour is completely at odds with how you need to set "FRTC" to use FreeSync without getting screen tearing.
I have to set Chill Max to 300, to achieve 55 FPS, that Chill Max value is above the Freesync range of my monitor.
If the game FPS is greater than top end of the monitor Freesync range  I see screen tearing, which defeats the point of FreeSync in the first place.
In Radeon Chill, the Chill Max value is used to set the FPS limit for mouse input.
So if I move my mouse fast enough in game, (with Chill Max set to 300 to give me a massive Chill Min + 25 FPS with keyboard only input).
Fast mouse movement will allow the in game FPS to rise towards 300 FPS, exceeding the top end of the FreeSync range, resulting in screen tearing.
That fast mouse movement causing up to 300 FPS burns more GPU power ... which defeats the entire point of Radeon Chill.

No one in AMD seems to care about fixing this issue with Radeon Chill.

Radeon Chill is heavily advertised by AMD:  see here: https://gaming.radeon.com/en/radeonsoftware/adrenalin/chill/

AMD state this on that page "During peak gameplay, Radeon Chill works to deliver the full framerate potential of Radeon graphics."
I definitely do not see that as explained above. I see the same behaviour on GPU from R9 Fury X down. I have not tested Vega 56/64 cards yet. I have had reported to me that it behaves on a similar manner on those cards.

I have tested most of the list of 40 "Chill supported" games. They all pretty much behave the same way. I have been requesting a fix for this since Radeon Chill was launched. Chill does not honor Chill Max for keyboard only input. Chill Max is used as a scaling factor for keyboard only input, but the limit for FPS for mouse input.  I can point you to my post so far about that if you want?

If AMD are going to implement Radeon Chill in Linux, at least they might be able to fix it for Linux implementation so I could use it in the real world?
I do think Radeon Chill is a great idea. I used to use Hialgo Chill. With that the user could set the keyboard only input FPS limit and other parameters, in fact I have already given that feedback to AMD, and shown Hialgo Chill  working on Skyrim and Crysis1 with AMD Crimson ReLive and Radeon Chill turned off.

(7). I am not sure about VR, I do not care about that and do not know what features you talk about there. What ever happend to Liquid VR anyway? Is VR really a thing for the vast majority of AMD GPU Users?

(8). By sync I guess you mean Vsync / Tearfree settings etc? I can set those at Linux command line for now.

Anyhow,  I have given my feedback here.
I just wanted to point out that Radeon Profile is available and it basically works to Monitor and Control my GPU's now.
If people are OK to wait for another 0.5 - 1.5?  years for a GUI from AMD then great.

I will report any improvements I manage to make and I will ask the developer if they have abandoned the effort and let everyone know.

Bye.

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Update on GPU Utilization not working.

I filed a report for this issue at the Radeon Profile Github page last week.

No response yet.
I will make more effort to contact the developer again.

I have taken a first pass look at at the code for the Radeon Profile GUI.

It looks like the developers had to run the gpu utilization code on a different CPU thread to the main GUI, otherwise it cause the GUI to become slow / lag.

I am investigating what *might* have gone wrong during compile which may have prevented this separate GPU Utilization thread to start.

I will post further updates here if/when I make any more progress with this debug.

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One more point to note.

I double checked: radeon-smi does not currently report GPU Utilization.

I need to ask why this is on a separate post.

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Here is the summary of the situation w.r.t reporting GPU Utilization in AMD Cards using Radeon Profile.

It looks like a new Linux kernel patch will be released to expose GPU usage information in future: "A patch has been submitted to expose GPU usage via Sysfs: https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/amd-gfx/2018-June/023283.html It would likely appear in Linux 4.19.

See the following post for more details on Github: GPU Utilization not displayed on R9 FuryX/Nano. · Issue #92 · marazmista/radeon-profile · GitHub

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I have opened the following issue report on Github regarding radeon-smi not reporting GPU Utilization.

rocm-smi does not report GPU Utilization · Issue #37 · RadeonOpenCompute/ROC-smi · GitHub

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Update.

The developer of Radeon-Profile GUI is working on implementing GPU Utilization reporting based on fixes in the latest Linux Kernel.

See the following post for more details on Github: GPU Utilization not displayed on R9 FuryX/Nano. · Issue #92 · marazmista/radeon-profile · GitHub


Thanks.

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blueheadlizard
Journeyman III

I also need a Linux ( Debian / Ubuntu) GUI for my R9 280 to check and perhaps change frequency and voltage. The main  reason I chose an AMD graphic card is that I heard AMD drivers were open source so it was more supportive of linux users. But if there is not actually the functionality, i.e. a GUI, to support Linux users  my next GPU upgrade will be from the Green the team.

You may also want to try: 
CoreCtrl / CoreCtrl · GitLab

Realy though ... AMD should provide a working GUI with their driver.