Why your AMD GPU Isn't Showing Up

Modified on Tue, 3 Jun at 3:32 PM - By Brandon Cohen

Why Your AMD GPU Isn't Showing Up in Medal

Quick Answer: Your AMD GPU likely doesn't have hardware video encoding support. Medal.tv requires GPUs with built-in video encoders to capture and save your gameplay clips efficiently.

What This Means

Medal.tv uses your GPU's hardware encoder to record gameplay without impacting your game's performance. If your GPU doesn't appear in Medal.tv's settings, it means your graphics card lacks this dedicated encoding hardware.

Which AMD GPUs Don't Have Encoders?

⚠️ Modern GPUs Without Encoders: Some recent AMD cards still lack encoding support:
- RX 6500 XT (2022) - Despite being a modern card, lacks hardware encoding
- RX 6400 (2022) - Budget card without encoder support  
- RX 6300 (2022) - Entry-level card without encoding

Complete List of AMD GPUs Without Hardware Encoders

Modern AMD GPUs (2022)

Radeon RX 6500 XT
Radeon RX 6400
Radeon RX 6300

R-Series Transition Period (2013-2015)

Radeon R5 230, R5 235, R5 235X
Radeon R7 240, R7 250 (some variants)
Various R5/R7 mobile variants

Radeon HD 7000 Series (2011-2012)

HD 7970, 7950, 7870, 7850
HD 7770, 7750, 7670, 7570
HD 7470, 7450

Radeon HD 6000 Series (2010-2011)

HD 6990, 6970, 6950, 6870, 6850
HD 6790, 6770, 6750, 6670, 6570
HD 6450, 6430, 6410, 6390, 6370
HD 6350, 6290, 6250, 6230, 6210
All mobile variants (6990M, 6970M, etc.)

Radeon HD 5000 Series (2009-2010)

HD 5970, 5870, 5850, 5830, 5770
HD 5750, 5670, 5570, 5550, 5490
HD 5470, 5450, 5430, 5350
All mobile variants (5870M, 5850M, etc.)

Radeon HD 4000 Series (2008-2009)

HD 4890, 4870 X2, 4870, 4860, 4850
HD 4830, 4770, 4750, 4730, 4670
HD 4650, 4550, 4520, 4350, 4290
HD 4250, 4200 and all mobile variants

Radeon HD 3000 Series and Earlier (2007 and older)

All HD 3000 series cards
All HD 2000 series cards
All Radeon X series cards
All Radeon 9000 series and earlier

Early APU Integrated Graphics (2012-2016)

A4/A6/A8/A10 5000 series APUs
A4/A6 1000 series APUs
E1/E2 2000-6000 series APUs

Solutions & Alternatives

✅ What You Can Do

Option 1: Use CPU Encoding
Medal.tv can fall back to CPU-based recording. This will use more CPU resources but still allows you to record gameplay.

Option 2: Check Medal.tv Settings
In Medal.tv settings, look for:
- Software encoding options
- CPU recording mode  
- Alternative recording methods

Option 3: Upgrade Your GPU
Modern AMD GPUs with encoding support include:
- RX 6600 and above (except RX 6500 XT, 6400, 6300)
- RX 5000 series and above
- R9 200/300 series (GCN 1.1+)

Why This Happens

AMD began adding hardware video encoders (called VCE - Video Coding Engine) to their GPUs starting in 2012-2013 with the GCN architecture. However:

Older GPUs: Cards released before 2012 never had encoding hardware
Budget Cards: Some modern budget cards (like RX 6500 XT) have encoding removed to reduce costs
Rebranded Cards: Some R5/R7 series cards were rebrands of older chips without encoders

Need More Help?

If you're still having issues with Medal.tv not detecting your GPU:

Update your AMD graphics drivers
Check Medal.tv's recording settings for software encoding options
Contact Medal.tv support with your specific GPU model

? Pro Tip: You can check your GPU model in Windows Device Manager under "Display adapters" or by running dxdiag in the Windows Run dialog.