Micro-Star International motherboard with AMD Phenom II 4-core processor.

Support AMD Ryzen with Radeon GPU on Mint and Ubuntu Linux

Mint and Ubuntu Linux support the AMD Ryzen APU

AMD's Ryzen processor line is referred to as APUs, Advanced Processing Units, as they combine a multi-core CPU and a multi-core CPU in the same chip. You can build a high-performance Linux system for a reasonably low price.

That is, if you're running a recent release, and you have updated to a recent enough kernel. I installed Mint Linux 19.2 on a new HP Pavilion laptop, which has an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U microprocessor. That has 4 CPU cores (supporting 8 threads), a 2.1 GHz base clock, and 2 MiB L2 and 4 MiB L3 cache. What an upgrade from my old Compaq-branded laptop with a single-core Intel Celeron!

The new laptop has a Radeon Vega 8 GPU, and it should have great graphics. However, I was stuck with 1024x768 graphics. Here's what it reported on the PCI bus: 

$ uname -r
4.15.0-72-generic
$ lspci | grep -v 'bridge:'
00:00.2 IOMMU: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15d1
00:14.0 SMBus: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SMBus Controller (rev 61)
01:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8822BE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi adapter
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Picasso (rev c2)
03:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Device 15de
03:00.2 Encryption controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15df
03:00.3 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e0
03:00.4 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e1
03:00.5 Multimedia controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e2
03:00.6 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e3
03:00.7 Non-VGA unclassified device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e6
04:00.0 SATA controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 61)

Update to a Newer Kernel

Start the Update Manager, the small shield icon toward the right end of the bottom task bar.

Select View ⇒ Linux Kernels. Then select at least a 5.0 kernel and install it.

Enabling kernel updates in Mint Linux update manager.
Installing a newer kernel in Mint Linux update manager.

Reboot once the newer kernel is installed.

Now the GPU is Supported!

Graphics should be much better now. This took me from 1024×768 to 1920×1080.

The newer kernel configuration file in /boot/config-* contains: 

CONFIG_DRM_RADEON=m
# CONFIG_DRM_RADEON_USERPTR is not set
CONFIG_DRM_AMDGPU=m
CONFIG_DRM_AMDGPU_SI=y
CONFIG_DRM_AMDGPU_CIK=y
CONFIG_DRM_AMDGPU_USERPTR=y
# CONFIG_DRM_AMDGPU_GART_DEBUGFS is not set

The kernel build configuration interface looks like this:

Configuring a Linux kernel to support AMD Radeon GPU.

If You're Building a System

HyperX RAM and AMD Ryzen Processors

Beware that some DDR4 RAM modules are not compatible with the Ryzen APU. I initially ordered OLOy DDR4 modules, but only realized after they arrived that they were not compatible with AMD Ryzen. I returned them and ordered HyperX Fury DDR4 units. Had I seen this article sooner, I would have ordered HyperX to start with.


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PCI Devices

The PCI bus information is now more complete. 

$ uname -r
5.3.0-24-generic

$ lspci | grep -v 'bridge:'
00:00.2 IOMMU: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15d1
00:14.0 SMBus: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SMBus Controller (rev 61)
01:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8822BE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi adapter
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Picasso (rev c2)
03:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Device 15de
03:00.2 Encryption controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15df
03:00.3 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e0
03:00.4 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e1
03:00.5 Multimedia controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e2
03:00.6 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e3
03:00.7 Non-VGA unclassified device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e6
04:00.0 SATA controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 61)

$ lspci -vt
-[0000:00]-+-00.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15d0
           +-00.2  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15d1
           +-01.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Family 17h (Models 00h-0fh) PCIe Dummy Host Bridge
           +-01.6-[01]----00.0  Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8822BE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi adapter
           +-01.7-[02]----00.0  Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           +-08.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Family 17h (Models 00h-0fh) PCIe Dummy Host Bridge
           +-08.1-[03]--+-00.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Picasso
           |            +-00.1  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Device 15de
           |            +-00.2  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15df
           |            +-00.3  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e0
           |            +-00.4  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e1
           |            +-00.5  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e2
           |            +-00.6  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e3
           |            \-00.7  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e6
           +-08.2-[04]----00.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
           +-14.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SMBus Controller
           +-14.3  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH LPC Bridge
           +-18.0  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e8
           +-18.1  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e9
           +-18.2  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15ea
           +-18.3  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15eb
           +-18.4  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15ec
           +-18.5  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15ed
           +-18.6  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15ee
           \-18.7  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15ef

$ lspci -v -s 03:00.0
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Picasso (rev c2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 52
	Memory at e0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
	Memory at f0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=2M]
	I/O ports at d000 [size=256]
	Memory at fe700000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: amdgpu
	Kernel modules: amdgpu

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.0
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Picasso (rev c2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 52
	Memory at e0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
	Memory at f0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=2M]
	I/O ports at d000 [size=256]
	Memory at fe700000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/4 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [c0] MSI-X: Enable- Count=3 Masked-
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Capabilities: [200] #15
	Capabilities: [270] #19
	Capabilities: [2a0] Access Control Services
	Capabilities: [2b0] Address Translation Service (ATS)
	Capabilities: [2c0] Page Request Interface (PRI)
	Capabilities: [2d0] Process Address Space ID (PASID)
	Capabilities: [320] Latency Tolerance Reporting
	Kernel driver in use: amdgpu
	Kernel modules: amdgpu

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.1
03:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Device 15de
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 56
	Memory at fe7c8000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.2
03:00.2 Encryption controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15df
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 255
	Memory at fe600000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=1M]
	Memory at fe7ce000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=8K]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/2 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [c0] MSI-X: Enable- Count=2 Masked-
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.3
03:00.3 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e0 (prog-if 30 [XHCI])
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 30
	Memory at fe500000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/8 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [c0] MSI-X: Enable+ Count=8 Masked-
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.4
03:00.4 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e1 (prog-if 30 [XHCI])
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 24
	Memory at fe400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/8 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [c0] MSI-X: Enable+ Count=8 Masked-
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.5
03:00.5 Multimedia controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e2
	Subsystem: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e2
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 53
	Memory at fe780000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Kernel modules: snd_pci_acp3x

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.6
03:00.6 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e3
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 8615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 57
	Memory at fe7c0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32K]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel

$ sudo lspci -v -s 03:00.7
03:00.7 Non-VGA unclassified device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e6
	Subsystem: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Device 15e4
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 30
	Memory at fe300000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
	Memory at fe7cc000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
	Capabilities: [48] Vendor Specific Information: Len=08 <?>
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
	Capabilities: [64] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/2 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [c0] MSI-X: Enable- Count=2 Masked-
	Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
	Kernel driver in use: i2c_amd_mp2
	Kernel modules: i2c_amd_mp2_pci

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