AMD Releases complete MES documentation for RDNA 3 architecture GPU

Last month, AMD confirmed its commitment to advancing its open-source GPU stack, and it has now taken a significant step by publishing comprehensive documentation on the MES firmware concerning the RDNA 3 architecture on GPUOpen.com. MES stands for Micro Engine Scheduler, which coordinates the scheduling of graphics and computational tasks on the GPU. The document details the scheduling architecture of RDNA 3 by describing the critical scheduling firmware and hardware components involved.

In addition to the MES, AMD has previously announced plans to open-source other parts of its software stack and hardware documentation, with the remainder of the AMD Radeon software stack expected to be open-sourced within the year. Due to the open-source nature of the MES, the firmware is currently under legal review, with an official release anticipated in the coming weeks.

The community and various companies are advocating for AMD to expedite the open-sourcing of its software stack, which would simplify the diagnosis and repair of software issues, thereby enhancing operational efficiency. Although AMD GPUs boast commendable theoretical performance and are more affordable, software optimization issues have posed significant barriers to their practical application. Competitor Nvidia, with its robust ecosystem, holds a definitive edge in GPU computing, particularly in workloads involving artificial intelligence (AI) and similar tasks.

The document is intended to outline the entire scheduling architecture rather than serve as a programming guide. To view the complete documentation, you can visit here.