Maintaining parallel release streams allows users ample time to evaluate and adopt the new build system and dependency changes. The technology preview stream is planned to continue through mid‑2026, after which it will replace the current production stream.

Release highlights

This technology preview of the ROCm Core SDK with TheRock introduces several key foundational changes:

• ManyLinux_2_28 compliance: Enables single builds to support multiple Linux distributions, improving portability and simplifying deployment.
• Architecture-specific Python packages: Redesigned to target individual GPU architectures, reducing disk usage and improving modularity.
• Slimmed-down SDK: Focuses on core GPU compute capabilities with a minimal set of runtime components, libraries, and tools.

In addition to these technical updates, this release also begins the transition to a more open and predictable development process:

• Open release process: Transition to a fully open model with public release candidates, nightly builds, and transparent pull request workflows.
• Predictable release cadence: Major and minor versions will follow a fixed 6-week release cycle.

7.9.0 compatibility notice

In terms of package compatibility, ROCm 7.9.0 diverges from the existing ROCm 7.0 stream and upcoming stable releases in that stream:

• No upgrade path from existing production releases -- including ROCm 7.0 and earlier -- as well as from upcoming stable releases. See the explanatory note.
• Not intended for production workloads -- users running production environments should continue using the ROCm 7.0 stream. See the explanatory note.
• Not fully featured -- this release is a stepping stone toward fully open software development.

7.9.0 support

• Hardware support: Builds are 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. See Supported hardware and operating systems.
• Packaging format: RPM and Debian packages are not available in this initial release. Instead, Python wheels and tarballs are provided. See the ROCm 7.9.0 installation instructions.
• Software components: Some components of the ROCm Core SDK are not yet available in this release. Additional components are planned to be introduced in future preview releases as part of the ROCm Core SDK. Components not included in the future Core SDK will either:
  • Be released as standalone project-specific packages, or
  • Be grouped into ROCm Expansion SDKs.

Looking ahead

Subsequent technology preview releases will follow a 6-week cadence, gradually filling gaps and introducing new ROCm expansions. AMD will continue to maintain traditional ROCm releases in parallel with the 7.9+ preview stream.

Supported hardware and operating systems

ROCm 7.9.0 supports the following AMD Instinct GPUs and Ryzen AI APUs. Each supported device is listed with its corresponding GPU architecture, LLVM target, and supported operating systems.

[!NOTE] If you're running ROCm on Linux, ensure your system is using a supported kernel version. Future preview releases will expand operating system support coverage.

[!NOTE] This release supports a limited number of GPU and APUs. Hardware support will be expanded with future releases -- following the six-week release cadence.

Supported kernel driver and firmware bundles

ROCm depends on a coordinated stack of compatible firmware, driver, and user space components. Maintaining version alignment between these layers ensures correct GPU operation and performance, especially for AMD data center products. While AMD publishes drivers and ROCm user space components, your server or infrastructure provider publishes the GPU and baseboard firmware by bundling AMD firmware releases through Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) bundles -- which include the Integrated Firmware Image (IFWI).

[!NOTE] Supported Ryzen AI APUs require the inbox kernel driver included with Ubuntu 24.04.3. GPU virtualization is not supported in ROCm 7.9.0.

Deep learning frameworks

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

ROCm Core SDK components

The following table lists core components included in the ROCm 7.9.0 release. Expect future releases in this stream to expand the list of components.

Known issues

Incorrect GPU architecture detection by CMake

On Windows, CMake does not automatically determine the correct GPU architecture when configuring ROCm projects using TheRock.

• Impact: Applications may crash at runtime due to an incorrect offload target being selected.

• Workaround: Manually specify the target GPU architecture by setting the CMake flag CMAKE_HIP_ARCHITECTURES.

clang build failure with -fgpu-rdc and -fuse-ld=lld-link

On Windows, builds may fail when using both the -fgpu-rdc and -fuse-ld=lld-link compiler options together.

• Impact: Users are unable to build applications that require relocatable device code (-fgpu-rdc).

No GPU detected when building Redshift or Blender with ROCm 7.9.0

When building custom Redshift or Blender binaries against ROCm 7.9.0, users may encounter a “No GPU detected” error message. This issue does not occur with the officially distributed Redshift and Blender binaries.

• Impact: Locally built versions of Redshift and Blender may fail to recognize available GPUs, preventing GPU-accelerated rendering.

Upcoming changes

Future preview releases will expand support for:

• Additional ROCm Core SDK components

• Domain-specific Expansion SDKs (data science, life science, and more)

• Extended AMD hardware coverage

• GPU virtualization support