No UEFI, No Game: AMD Sets Strict Requirements for RX 9000 Owners
AMD has confirmed that Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, as well as future generations, will completely drop support for legacy boot standards. According to updated documentation, RDNA 4-based GPUs will function exclusively in a UEFI environment.
AMD's decision is driven not only by security concerns but also by a desire to unlock the full potential of modern technologies. Unlike traditional BIOS, UEFI offers:
- Protection against malware via Secure Boot;
- Support for drives larger than 2.2TB and fast boot times with NVMe SSDs;
- Faster startup, sleep, and resume processes;
- Automatic firmware updates over the internet.
Particular emphasis is placed on Smart Access Memory (SAM), which significantly boosts gaming performance by allowing the CPU direct access to video memory. However, this feature requires UEFI to function.
Experts warn that attempting to install an RX 9000 card on a motherboard without UEFI may lead to boot failures, reduced performance, or complete GPU incompatibility. This is especially critical for budget builds, where new models like the RX 9060 could otherwise serve as affordable upgrades. PC owners with older motherboards are advised to either upgrade their hardware or consider previous Radeon generations.
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