AMD / Intel Graphics

Firmware, Mesa, VA-API, video decode, browser hardware acceleration, and diagnostics for AMD and Intel graphics on Debian.

AMD and Intel graphics usually rely on open kernel drivers, Mesa user-space drivers, and firmware packages. Most issues are not solved by a vendor driver installer; they are caused by missing firmware, Mesa components, VA-API components, or an older kernel.

Identify Graphics Devices

lspci -nnk | grep -A4 -E "VGA|3D|Display"
glxinfo -B 2>/dev/null || true
vainfo 2>/dev/null || true

If glxinfo or vainfo is missing:

sudo apt install mesa-utils vainfo

Common Packages

Use case	Packages
AMD GPU firmware	`firmware-amd-graphics`
General Mesa OpenGL / Vulkan	`libgl1-mesa-dri mesa-vulkan-drivers`
VA-API video decode	`mesa-va-drivers vainfo`
Intel media driver	`intel-media-va-driver`
Older Intel VA-API	`i965-va-driver`

Check availability and origin first:

apt policy firmware-amd-graphics mesa-va-drivers intel-media-va-driver i965-va-driver

AMD Graphics

AMD GPUs usually use the amdgpu kernel module:

lspci -nnk | grep -A4 -E "VGA|3D|Display"
dmesg | grep -iE "amdgpu|firmware"

If logs mention missing firmware:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install firmware-amd-graphics
sudo reboot

Very new AMD GPUs may need a newer kernel, Mesa, and firmware. Prefer Debian backports before mixing third-party Mesa repositories or manually installed packages.

Intel Graphics

Intel integrated graphics usually use i915 or newer Intel graphics plumbing:

lspci -nnk | grep -A4 -E "VGA|3D|Display"
dmesg | grep -iE "i915|xe|firmware"

If the desktop starts but video playback uses too much CPU, check VA-API first:

sudo apt install vainfo intel-media-va-driver mesa-va-drivers
vainfo

Browsers also have their own hardware acceleration toggles and codec support, so vainfo alone does not prove browser video decode is active.

Video Decode Diagnostics

Symptom	Check
`vainfo` fails	Render device permissions and installed driver packages
H.264 / HEVC playback burns CPU	`mesa-va-drivers`, `intel-media-va-driver`, browser settings
Software rendering only	Whether `glxinfo -B` reports llvmpipe
New GPU is partially detected	Whether kernel, Mesa, and firmware need backports

Rollback And Conservative Path

When Mesa and firmware come from Debian packages, rollback usually means returning to stable package versions or removing backports pinning. Do not remove core graphics packages blindly, because the desktop environment may be removed too.

apt policy mesa-va-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers firmware-amd-graphics
sudo apt install --reinstall libgl1-mesa-dri mesa-vulkan-drivers

If the graphical session is unusable, enter a TTY, collect logs, then decide whether to boot an older kernel or restore software rendering.