How To Check If Resizable BAR Is Enabled on AMD Radeon GPUs

Resizable BAR can sound like one of those obscure settings buried in your PC, but it’s actually a practical feature that can give your games a small performance boost when everything lines up correctly. If you’re using an AMD Radeon graphics card, there are a few reliable ways to check whether Resizable BAR is turned on.

This guide walks through what Resizable BAR is, how it works, and step‑by‑step methods to verify its status on a Radeon setup.

What Is Resizable BAR on Radeon, in Simple Terms?

Resizable BAR (Base Address Register) is a feature that changes how your CPU talks to your GPU’s video memory (VRAM).

Normally, the CPU can only access a small “window” of the GPU’s memory at a time (typically a few hundred megabytes), even if your graphics card has several gigabytes of VRAM. With Resizable BAR enabled, the CPU can access much larger chunks of VRAM at once, sometimes the full amount.

In practice, when the game and driver support it, this can:

• Reduce some memory bottlenecks
• Improve frame times in certain scenarios
• Slightly increase average FPS in some titles

On AMD’s side, Resizable BAR works together with:

• A compatible Radeon GPU
• A supported motherboard and CPU
• UEFI firmware (modern BIOS) settings
• The AMD Radeon Software / Adrenalin driver

If any of these pieces don’t support it or aren’t configured correctly, the feature may show as disabled or not available.

Quick Ways to Check if Resizable BAR Is Enabled (Radeon)

There are three main places to check:

1. AMD Radeon Software / Adrenalin (most direct for GPU)
2. Motherboard BIOS/UEFI (system-level toggle)
3. Windows tools or third-party utilities (optional confirmation)

1. Check Resizable BAR Status in AMD Radeon Software

On modern AMD drivers, Resizable BAR status is exposed directly in the software.

A. Open Radeon Software / Adrenalin

1. Right‑click on the Windows desktop.
2. Click AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition (or similar name).

If you don’t see it, make sure you’ve installed the official AMD driver package for your GPU.

B. Find the Resizable BAR Status

The exact naming and location can vary slightly with driver versions, but look in these areas:

• System / Settings section
• Performance → Tuning / Metrics
• An “About” or “System Information” page

Common labels you might see:

• Resizable BAR: Enabled
• Resizable BAR: Disabled
• Smart Access Memory: Enabled/Disabled (AMD’s marketing name for enabling Resizable BAR with certain CPU/GPU combos)

If you see any of the following, it generally means the feature is not active:

• “Disabled”
• “Unsupported”
• No mention of Resizable BAR or Smart Access Memory at all

2. Verify Resizable BAR in Your BIOS/UEFI

If Radeon Software shows Resizable BAR as disabled, the next place to look is your BIOS/UEFI firmware, because the feature must be enabled at the system level first.

The exact layout depends on your motherboard brand (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock, etc.), but the steps follow the same pattern.

A. Enter BIOS/UEFI Setup

1. Restart your PC.
2. As soon as it starts booting, tap the key that opens BIOS (often Del, F2, sometimes F10 or Esc).
3. Look for an Advanced or UEFI mode if you start in a simplified “EZ” mode.

B. Locate Resizable BAR Options

The setting can appear under various menus such as:

• Advanced → PCI Subsystem Settings
• Advanced → PCIe / PnP Configuration
• Boot → CSM (Compatibility Support Module)
• A dedicated “PCIe”, “Chipset”, or “Advanced” tab

You’re usually looking for these related entries:

For Resizable BAR to be available, most systems need:

• Above 4G Decoding: Enabled
• Resizable BAR Support: Enabled
• CSM: Disabled (booting in UEFI mode, not legacy)

After changing any values:

1. Press the key to Save & Exit (commonly F10).
2. Let Windows boot.
3. Re-open AMD Radeon Software and recheck the status.

3. Use Windows Tools or Third‑Party Utilities for Confirmation

If you want an extra confirmation layer, there are a couple of options inside Windows.

A. Use GPU‑Z (Third‑Party Utility)

GPU‑Z is a popular, lightweight tool that shows detailed GPU info.

1. Download and run GPU‑Z from its official site.
2. On the main Graphics Card tab, look in the “Advanced” or “PCIe Resizable BAR” section (depending on version).
3. It will typically show something like:
   • Resizable BAR: Enabled
   • Resizable BAR: Disabled
   • Or list requirements that are not met (e.g., BIOS, GPU, or driver)

This is especially handy if your Radeon driver UI is older or you want cross-checks.

B. Check System Information / Device Manager (Indirect)

Windows itself doesn’t have a big “Resizable BAR: On” label, but you can verify some prerequisites:

• In msinfo32 (System Information), ensure your BIOS mode is UEFI, not Legacy.
• In Device Manager → Display adapters, confirm that your Radeon GPU driver is correctly loaded and not showing errors.

These don’t confirm Resizable BAR directly, but they help rule out obvious misconfigurations.

Why Resizable BAR Might Be Disabled on Your Radeon System

Even if you follow all the steps, you might still see Resizable BAR marked as Disabled or Unsupported. That’s usually due to one (or more) of these factors.

1. Hardware Compatibility Limits

For Resizable BAR to work, you generally need:

• A Radeon GPU with Resizable BAR support
• A CPU with support in its platform (often newer desktop platforms)
• A motherboard whose BIOS includes the necessary options and firmware updates

If any of these is from an older generation without support, the BIOS may not even offer the setting, and AMD’s software may show the feature as unsupported.

2. BIOS Settings Not Fully Aligned

Even when the hardware supports it, the wrong combination of firmware settings can block Resizable BAR:

• CSM still enabled → system not running in full UEFI mode
• Above 4G Decoding disabled → breaks large BAR allocation
• A mix of older add‑in cards or configurations that force legacy behavior

On many boards, all three (UEFI boot, Above 4G Decoding, Resizable BAR) must be in sync.

3. Driver or OS Limitations

Resizable BAR also depends on software:

• Outdated AMD drivers may lack the feature or polish needed to expose it cleanly
• Very old Windows versions or installs upgraded from legacy modes may complicate UEFI and secure boot setups
• Some laptop or OEM systems may lock or hide the option even if the chipset technically supports it

In these cases, you may not find a clear on/off switch, and AMD’s software might only show a gray, unsupported status.

Different User Setups, Different Results

Even once you confirm “Yes, Resizable BAR is enabled”, the real‑world effect varies.

1. High‑End Gaming PCs

• Modern Radeon GPUs paired with recent CPUs, fast NVMe SSDs, and high refresh rate monitors can sometimes see small but noticeable gains in specific titles that are optimized for Resizable BAR/Smart Access Memory.
• Competitive gamers might care about slightly smoother frame times more than raw FPS.

2. Mid‑Range Systems

• On balanced builds where the GPU or CPU is more of a bottleneck, Resizable BAR might produce modest changes in certain games and nothing measurable in others.
• Some users focus more on stable performance and consistent frame delivery than on squeezing out every last percentage point.

3. Older or Mixed‑Hardware Builds

• Systems with partly modern, partly older components might technically support the feature but gain very little from it.
• In some edge cases, enabling it can even cause occasional stability or compatibility quirks in specific titles until drivers or game patches catch up.

4. Laptops and Pre‑Built PCs

• Many gaming laptops and OEM desktops manage Resizable BAR behind the scenes. You may not see BIOS controls, and the vendor’s firmware decides whether it’s on.
• In these systems, your only easy visibility might be AMD Radeon Software or a vendor utility that shows feature status without letting you toggle it.

The Last Piece: Your Own Setup and Priorities

You now know:

• What Resizable BAR is and how it works with AMD Radeon
• How to check its status in Radeon Software
• How to verify or enable the feature in BIOS/UEFI
• Why some systems support it fully while others don’t
• How different hardware and usage patterns influence the results

The remaining piece is your own situation: the exact Radeon card, CPU/motherboard combination, Windows setup, and the kinds of games or workloads you care about. That combination determines not just whether Resizable BAR shows as enabled, but also whether it makes a meaningful difference for how your PC feels in everyday use.