AMD has released a technology preview of its ROCm 7.9.0 release, marking the beginning of a new build and release infrastructure system called TheRock. This release introduces several foundational changes, including ManyLinux_2_28 compliance, architecture-specific Python packages, and a slimmed-down SDK, as well as an open release process and predictable 6-week release cadence. The supported hardware includes AMD Instinct MI350 Series GPUs, MI300 Series GPUs and APUs, Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 300 Series APUs, and Ryzen AI Max 300 Series APUs, with limited operating system support for now. 

ROCm 7.9.0 Preview Release released

AMD has rolled out a technology preview of its ROCm 7.9.0 release, marking the beginning of a new build and release infrastructure system dubbed TheRock. This innovative system is designed to streamline development processes for developers working on ROCm projects.

A crucial aspect of this release is that it represents a significant departure from previous ROCm versions (7.0-7.8) in terms of its versioning model. Versions 7.9 and beyond will be part of the technology preview stream, which aims to provide ample time for users to evaluate and adapt to the new build system and dependency changes.

TheRock infrastructure boasts several key features that enhance the overall development experience:

1. The ManyLinux_2_28 compliance feature allows single builds to support multiple Linux distributions, which improves portability and simplifies deployment.
2. Architecture-specific Python packages: These redesigned packages are optimized for individual GPU architectures, resulting in reduced disk usage and improved modularity.
3. Slimmed-down SDK: The new ROCm Core SDK is simpler because it focuses on the essential GPU compute features and includes only the necessary components, libraries, and tools.

Additionally, this release marks the beginning of a shift towards an open and predictable development process:

1. Open release process: ROCm has transitioned to a fully open model featuring public release candidates, nightly builds, and transparent pull request workflows.
2. Predictable release cadence: Major and minor versions will follow a fixed 6-week release cycle.

However, users should note that this technology preview diverges from existing production releases (7.0 and earlier) and upcoming stable releases in terms of package compatibility:

1. No upgrade path is available for existing production releases.
2. This release is not intended for production workloads; instead, users running production environments should continue to use the ROCm 7.0 stream.
3. It's a stepping stone towards fully open software development.

Hardware support is currently limited to AMD Instinct MI350 Series GPUs, MI300 Series GPUs and APUs, Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 300 Series APUs, and Ryzen AI Max 300 Series APUs. Future releases will expand this support coverage following the six-week release cadence.

The supported hardware and operating systems for ROCm 7.9.0 are outlined below:

• Supported devices: AMD Instinct MI350 Series GPUs, MI300 Series GPUs and APUs, Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 300 Series APUs, and Ryzen AI Max 300 Series APUs
• Operating Systems:
  • Ubuntu 24.04.3 (GA kernel: 6.8) for Instinct MI350 Series GPUs
  • Ubuntu 22.04.5 (GA kernel: 5.15), RHEL 10.0 (kernel: 6.12.0-55), and RHEL 9.6 (kernel: 5.14.0-570) for Instinct MI300 Series GPUs
  • Ubuntu 24.04.3 (HWE kernel: 6.14) for Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 300 Series APUs
  • Windows 11 24H2 for Ryzen AI Max 300 Series APUs

ROCm 7.9.0 relies on a coordinated stack of compatible firmware, driver, and user space components to ensure correct GPU operation and performance.

The supported kernel driver and firmware bundles include:

• Instinct MI355X: AMD GPU Driver (amdgpu) versions 30.10-30.10.2
• Instinct MI350X: PLDM bundle version 01.25.04.02
• Instinct MI325X: PLDM bundle version 01.25.03.03
• Instinct MI300X: PLDM bundle version 01.25.03.12
• Instinct MI300A: BKC 26 or BKC 25
• Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395, Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 390, Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 385, and Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 380: Inbox kernel driver in Ubuntu 24.04.3

ROCm 7.9.0 supports PyTorch 2.7.1 on Linux and PyTorch 2.9.0 on Windows.

The core components included in the ROCm 7.9.0 release are

• Runtime and compilers: HIP, HIPIFY, LLVM, and ROCr Runtime
• Control and monitoring: AMD SMI and rocminfo
• System utilities, profiling, and debugging: ROCm CMake, ROCprofiler-SDK
• Math and compute libraries: rocBLAS, hipBLAS, hipBLASLt, rocFFT, hipFFT, rocRAND, hipRAND, rocSOLVER, hipSOLVER, rocSPARSE, hipSPARSE, rocPRIM, rocThrust, hipCUB, and MIOpen

However, users should be aware of some known issues with this release:

• Incorrect GPU architecture detection by CMake
• clang build failure with -fgpu-rdc and -fuse-ld=lld-link options on Windows
• No GPU detected when building custom Redshift or Blender binaries against ROCm 7.9.0

Future preview releases will expand support for additional ROCm Core SDK components, domain-specific Expansion SDKs (data science, life science, etc.), extended AMD hardware coverage, and GPU virtualization support.

ROCm/ROCm Release ROCm 7.9.0 Preview Release

ROCm Core SDK 7.9.0 release notes ROCm Core SDK 7.9.0 introduces a technology preview release aimed at helping developers explore the new ROCm build and release infrastructure system called TheRock...

Release ROCm 7.9.0 Preview Release · ROCm/ROCm