Installing AMD GPU Drivers On Fedora: A Setup Guide

The proprietary fglrx driver reached end-of-life in 2015 and is incompatible with current Fedora releases. For modern AMD GPUs, use AMDGPU—AMD’s actively maintained open-source driver that supports Wayland, current kernel versions, and both desktop and compute workloads.

GPU Compatibility

RDNA and newer (RX 5000 series and later): AMDGPU is required and fully supported.

GCN-era Radeons (R9 290X, Fury, RX 400/500): AMDGPU is recommended, but the open-source radeon driver is included by default and provides basic 3D acceleration.

Older Radeons (pre-GCN): Use the radeon driver; AMDGPU may have limited support.

Installing AMDGPU

Enable RPM Fusion Repositories

AMDGPU packages are available in RPM Fusion’s free and nonfree repositories:

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm
sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm
sudo dnf makecache

Install the Driver Stack

sudo dnf install amdgpu-dkms libdrm-amdgpu vulkan-amdgpu

The amdgpu-dkms package automatically compiles the kernel module for your running kernel. When you install kernel updates, DKMS rebuilds the module automatically.

For gaming and 3D graphics:

sudo dnf install vulkan-amdgpu-libs

For GPU compute workloads (HIP/ROCm):

sudo dnf install rocm-hip rocm-smi rocm-core

Then reboot:

sudo reboot

Verify Installation

Confirm hardware detection:

lspci | grep -i amd

Check that the kernel module loaded:

lsmod | grep amdgpu

Inspect GPU details:

rocm-smi

Verify Vulkan support:

vulkaninfo --summary

Check GPU memory and temperature:

rocm-smi --showmeminfo
rocm-smi --showtemp

GPU Monitoring and Power Management

Monitor real-time GPU status:

rocm-smi
watch -n 1 rocm-smi

Check temperature, clock speeds, and power draw:

rocm-smi --showtemp
rocm-smi --sclk
rocm-smi --mclk
rocm-smi --showpower

Check GPU utilization:

rocm-smi --showuse

Set performance level to control frequency scaling:

rocm-smi --setperflevel high    # Maximum clocks
rocm-smi --setperflevel auto    # Dynamic scaling (default)
rocm-smi --setperflevel low     # Minimum clocks

Monitor kernel messages for thermal or driver events:

dmesg | grep -i amdgpu | tail -20
journalctl -u amdgpu | tail -20
journalctl -b -p err..warn | grep -i amdgpu

Troubleshooting

GPU Not Detected or No 3D Acceleration

Verify the kernel module loaded:

lsmod | grep amdgpu

If the module is missing, check Xorg logs:

grep -i error /var/log/Xorg.0.log
grep -i amdgpu /var/log/Xorg.0.log

Check the systemd journal for driver errors:

journalctl -xe | grep -i amdgpu
journalctl -b -p err

If Xorg isn’t installed or you’re on Wayland, check the Wayland compositor logs (GNOME and KDE log to journalctl).

DKMS Kernel Module Build Failure

Install kernel headers matching your running kernel:

sudo dnf install kernel-devel-$(uname -r)

Rebuild the DKMS module manually:

sudo dkms autoinstall

Check DKMS logs:

sudo cat /var/lib/dkms/amdgpu/*/build/make.log

Or trigger a rebuild explicitly:

sudo dkms remove -m amdgpu -v $(dnf list installed amdgpu-dkms | tail -1 | awk '{print $2}') --all
sudo dkms install -m amdgpu -v $(dnf list installed amdgpu-dkms | tail -1 | awk '{print $2}')

Wayland Display Server Issues

AMDGPU fully supports Wayland on GNOME and KDE. Verify your session type:

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

Should return wayland. If it returns x11, switch to Wayland at the login screen (usually a dropdown menu in the bottom-left).

Screen Tearing on Wayland

GNOME compositing is enabled by default. For KDE Plasma, ensure compositing is enabled:

Open System Settings
Go to Workspace Behavior → Screen Locking
Ensure “Block compositing when windows are maximized” is disabled

Vulkan Not Detected

Verify Vulkan libraries are installed:

vulkaninfo --summary
vulkan-config

If Vulkan layers are missing, reinstall the drivers:

sudo dnf reinstall vulkan-amdgpu-libs amdgpu-dkms
sudo reboot

GPU Overheating or Thermal Throttling

Monitor GPU temperature:

watch -n 1 'rocm-smi --showtemp'

The GPU automatically throttles when approaching ~85°C. Ensure:

Case has adequate ventilation
Dust filters are clean
GPU fans spin freely
Thermal paste on the GPU heatsink isn’t degraded

If temperatures exceed 95°C consistently, check for dust buildup or insufficient airflow.

HIP/ROCm Compute Not Working

Verify the ROCm installation:

rocm-smi --showproductname
hipcc --version

Check that the user is in the render and video groups (required for GPU access without sudo):

groups
sudo usermod -a -G render,video $USER
# Log out and back in for group changes to take effect

Test GPU compute access:

rocm-smi --showmeminfo system

Legacy Radeon Driver (GCN 1-3 Era)

Older GCN-era GPUs can use the open-source radeon driver, which is installed by default:

lspci | grep -i radeon
lsmod | grep radeon

No additional installation is needed. The module loads automatically at boot. Basic 3D acceleration works out-of-the-box, though performance and feature support are limited. For better performance and modern features, install AMDGPU instead—it’s backward compatible with GCN-era cards.

Why Not fglrx?

The proprietary fglrx (Catalyst) driver is unsupported on modern Fedora:

No compatibility with Xorg 1.20+ or Xwayland
No Wayland support
Incompatible with kernel 5.10 and later
No GNOME/KDE support past 2015
No security updates since end-of-life in 2015

AMDGPU is the only supported path for AMD GPUs on modern Fedora systems.

Installing AMD GPU Drivers on Fedora: A Setup Guide