The new AMD Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 driver is here! It is a mouthful, to be sure! Find out what’s new in the Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 driver, and how it delivers enterprise-grade quality and reliability, and better performance, for professional applications!

Updated @ 2018-05-13 : Added more details and links.

Originally posted @ 2018-05-11

AMD Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2

AMD Radeon Pro Software is a professional-grade driver that lets you maximise the performance and capabilities of AMD Radeon Pro graphics solutions. The Enterprise Edition is a special version of the Radeon Pro Software that emphasises enterprise-grade quality and reliability.

The new Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 is now certified for over 100 workstation applications, including leading professional applications like Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systèmes CATIA, Siemens NX, Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Autodesk Maya.

In this technical report, we split the topic into easily-digested portions :

What’s New In Enterprise Edition 18.Q2

AMD releases the Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition in quarterly updates. Here are what’s new in the Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 driver :

Support for Windows 10 April 2018 Update

Microsoft released the Windows 10 April 2018 Update at the end of April with a slew of new and improved features. Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 adds enterprise-level support for Windows 10 April 2018, so you don’t have to worry about post-upgrade reliability issues.

Display Issues Fixed In Enterprise Edition 18Q2

Radeon Pro Overlay will now appear when you run two monitors in clone mode.
Fixed display issues for full-screen 3×2 AMD Eyefinity Pro display configurations.

VDI-Specific Known Issues With Enterprise Edition 18Q2

VM may disconnect after upgrading to this driver, and will be unable to connect until it is rebooted.
The energy subtest of SPECviewperf 12.1.1 may not complete in an MxGPU environment.

Feature Support Information

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Driver Options is available on Microsoft Windows 10. Always update to the latest gaming drivers to mitigate driver switching issues. This is not available with multi-GPU configurations nor with Radeon Pro Duo (Polaris). This is not available for mobile platforms.
Multi-GPU Eyefinity Pro on Microsoft Windows 10 is not currently supported on any hardware for Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2.

ISV Certification Notes

Due to Maya-MtoA software issue Trac #3142, some Viewport Draw modes for stand-ins draw an infinite line. Workaround is to toggle the Viewport Draw Mode of the stand-in in the Attribute Editor.
Autodesk Maya 2017/2018 may show gray patch in playback in certain models due Maya issue Maya 41945. Workaround is to click on a different frame on timeline or to click on first frame.

Apple Boot Camp

The AMD Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18Q2 is not intended for use on Radeon GPUs running in Apple Boot Camp.

Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 Compatibility

AMD Product Family	Model
Radeon Pro WX Series	Radeon Pro WX 9100 (16 GB \| 32 GB) Radeon Pro WX 7100 (Price Check) Radeon Pro WX 5100 (Price Check) Radeon Pro WX 4100 (Price Check) Radeon Pro WX 3100 (Price Check) Radeon Pro WX 2100 (Price Check)
Radeon Vega Frontier Edition	Radeon Vega Frontier Edition (Air \| Liquid)
Radeon Pro Series	Radeon Pro SSG Radeon Pro Duo (Polaris & Fiji)
FirePro W Series	FirePro W9100 (16 GB \| 32 GB) FirePro W9000 (Price Check) FirePro W8100 (Price Check) FirePro W8000 (Price Check) FirePro W7100 (Price Check) FirePro W7000 (Price Check) FirePro W5100 (Price Check) FirePro W5000 (Price Check) FirePro W4300 (Price Check) FirePro W4100 (Price Check) FirePro W2100 (Price Check) FirePro W600 (Price Check)
FirePro S Series	FirePro S7150x2 (Price Check) FirePro S7150 (Price Check) FirePro S7100X (Price Check) All other FirePro S series products
Dell Mobile	Radeon Pro WX7100 Radeon Pro WX4150 Radeon Pro WX4130 FirePro W7170M FirePro W5170M FirePro W5130M FirePro W4170M FirePro M6100 FirePro M6000 FirePro M5100 FirePro M4000
HP Mobile	Radeon Pro WX4170 Radeon Pro WX4150 Radeon Pro WX3100 FirePro W6150M FirePro W5170M FirePro W4190M

Download Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2

Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 is free to download and use for compatible AMD graphics solutions. It is available for the following operating systems :

Windows 10 (64-bit and 32-bit)
Windows 7 SP1 or better (64-bit and 32-bit)
Windows Server 2016 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
Linux

You can download the drivers here.

Next Page > Enterprise Edition Key Features – Better Quality + Security

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Key Features Of Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 Part 1

Enterprise-Grade Quality

To deliver enterprise-grade quality and reliability, every Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition driver undergoes a stringent stability testing process. This process consists of “waves” of testing by both AMD and their OEM partners. Such extensive pre-launch testing helps to minimize post-launch issues.

Thanks to OEM and ISV partner tests and a final wave of beta user tests, there were zero reported issues with the Enterprise Edition driver in 2017 for over 99.99% of AMD Radeon Pro users. These tests are not limited to only a few professional software vendors.

The Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition drivers are certified on over 80 of the leading professional applications. The last 18.Q1 Enterprise Edition driver even scored a 100% pass rate for all the certifications AMD submitted it to.

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Better Security

Data security is an oft-neglected aspect in the pursuit of better performance. That has led to major security flaws like Meltdown and Spectre. Look at the thousands of CPU models that were affected by just those two flaws.

Working with the AMD Secure Processor, Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18Q2 delivers advanced security features to help thwart malicious attacks, giving enterprises added protection for their valuable intellectual property.

The Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition also provides secure virtualization capabilities through the AMD MxGPU Technology. Because it is hardware virtualization technology, it offers users a dedicated and isolated share of the graphics memory for increased security.

AMD offers a predictable quarterly release schedule, that targets the 2nd Wednesday of the 2nd month of each quarter. This makes it easier for IT managers to plan for their next driver update, with the next Enterprise Edition release scheduled for August 8^th, 2018.

Next Page > Better Performance, New ProRender Plug-Ins

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Key Features Of Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 Part 2

Better Performance

Alexander Blake-Davies, Software Product Marketing Specialist for Professional Graphics at AMD’s Radeon Technology Group, shared these performance findings with us.

The continuous performance optimizations in every Radeon Pro Software driver update, thanks in part to the close technology partnerships we have with ISV application developers, means you can get new GPU-like performance improvements over the lifetime of your graphics investment, as shown in the chart below.

For the Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 driver we are delivering significant performance improvements in Dassault Systèmes CATIA. The 18Q2 driver is up to 38% faster when running AMD’s internal benchmark of complex customer models and up to two times faster with the AMD internal assembly model benchmark.

For design and manufacturing applications, the 18.Q2 Enterprise Edition driver when compared to the Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Driver 17Q2 is up to an estimated 47% faster in Siemens NX when tested with SPECviewperf 12.1 snx-02, up to an estimated 14% faster in PTC Creo when tested with SPECapc for PTC Creo 3.0, and up to an estimated 12% faster in SOLIDWORKS when tested with SPECapc for SOLIDWORKS 2015.

For media and entertainment applications, the 18.Q2 Enterprise Edition driver when compared to the Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Driver 17Q2 is up to an estimated 44% faster in Autodesk 3ds Max when tested with SPECapc for Autodesk 3ds Max 2015 and up to an estimated 22% faster in Autodesk Maya when tested with SPECapc for Autodesk Maya 2017.

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New Radeon ProRender Plug-Ins

While not technically part of the Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Edition 18.Q2 driver, AMD also introduced updated versions of the Radeon ProRender plug-ins for 3ds Max, Maya and Blender. Following the release of new macOS versions in April, AMD has just released :

updated Windows and Linux versions of the Radeon ProRender plug-in for Blender,

an updated Windows version of the Radeon ProRender plug-in for Maya, as well as,

an updated Radeon ProRender plug-in for 3ds Max.

These plug-ins introduce several new features and enhancements including updates to the Uber and Light Shaders, support for volumetrics and interactive denoising – accelerating artists’ workflows and ultimately making their lives easier.