AMD has been on a yearly update cycle of Radeon Software, ever since they introduced the first version – Crimson Edition on 2 November 2015. This was followed by the Crimson ReLive Edition on 9 December 2016. On 12 December 2017, they introduced the third iteration – Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition.
In addition to enhanced performance, there are over 30 new or improved features in Adrenalin Edition. So join us for a tour of what’s new and what’s improved in the new AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition!
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition
The AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition is named after the Adrenalin Rose, not the hormone adrenaline (also known as epinephrine). That’s Adrenalin without the e. The Adrenalin Rose is a rich velvet red rose with long thornless stems and deep green foliage.
Before we go into the details, here is a summary of the new features being introduced in Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition :
Radeon Overlay
Radeon Overlay allows gamers to fine-tune their game experience, and monitor, record and share their gameplay without ever leaving the game. It provides one-click access to Radeon ReLive, Performance Monitoring, Radeon Chill, Frame Rate Target Control (FRTC), Radeon FreeSync and Color settings.
AMD Link Mobile App
Available for Android and iOS platforms, the AMD Link is a mobile app that complements Radeon Software on the desktop, at home as a convenient second screen, or on the go. The AMD Link dashboard features streaming and replay with Radeon ReLive, GPU and PC performance monitoring, an AMD news feed, and notifications for new driver releases.
Improved Radeon Software Core Technologies
Radeon ReLive : Radeon ReLive now includes a chat integration feature that allows gamers to engage with their communities while streaming on Facebook, Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, Weibo and more.
Radeon Chill : With Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition, Radeon Chill now supports games based on the Vulkan API, along with DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Radeon WattMan : With Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition, custom GPU profiles can be saved, reloaded at a later point and shared with the Radeon user community
Enhanced Sync : With improved compatibility and an even wider field of view, Enhanced Sync extends its support to Vulkan API-based games, Radeon GCN architecture-based products, Multi-GPU and AMD Eyefinity Technology.
Operating System Support
The AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition will support Windows 10 and Windows 7. AMD no longer supports Windows 8, but says that the Windows 7 driver works perfectly fine in Windows 8.
The Adrenalin Edition In Detail
If you want more in-depth details on Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition, we split them up into separate sections :
[adrotate group=”2″]- The Adrenalin Edition Performance Boost
- Borderless Windowed Multi-GPU Support
- Frame Rate Target Control Now Supports Vulkan
- Compute Profiles
- Radeon Software For Linux
- Improved Core Technologies
- Radeon Overlay
- AMD Link
- Adrenalin Edition Summary
- The Complete Set Of Adrenalin Edition Slides
Next Page > Performance Boost, BWMG Support, FRTC Vulkan Support, Compute Profiles, Linux Support
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The Adrenalin Edition Performance Boost
The Adrenalin Edition is not meant to be a “performance driver update”. In fact, Terry Makedon was amused to read claims that AMD promised big performance update after the Adrenalin Edition name was revealed. That was probably because they mistakenly thought the name was based on the hormone adrenaline…
He clarified that performance optimisation is an on-going concern, with a focus on getting specific optimisations out in time for new game launches. There will be general performance optimisations that will be delivered over the year. But AMD won’t be holding back optimisations just to deliver a major driver update with large performance boost.
With that in mind, this chart does not show a sudden performance boost with Adrenalin Edition. Instead, it shows the cumulative performance gains since the last major release – Crimson ReLive Edition.
They also managed to reduce latency across the board in all DirectX 11 titles.
Borderless Windowed Multi-GPU Support
The Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition introduces a new Borderless Windows Multi-GPU Support, to complement the existing Fullscreen Multi-GPU Support.
Frame Rate Target Control Now Supports Vulkan
Frame Rate Target Control reduces GPU power draw by throttling it to maintain a 60 fps limit. It now supports Vulkan.
Compute Profiles
Compute Profiles was released in an optional update a few weeks ago, and is now part of Adrenalin Edition. The Compute Profile optimises workloads on the GPU to deliver better compute performance for cryptocurrency mining.
In this example, they quoted a 15% boost in Ethereum mining performance with the Compute Profile over the default Gaming Profile on a Radeon RX 570 graphics card.
Radeon Software For Linux
AMD will start offering a single suite containing both open- and closed-source software stacks for Radeon Software. You will be able to choose between the consumer (AMDGPU) or workstation (AMDGPU-PRO) drivers, with the flexibility to mix-and-match open- and closed-source components.
AMD is working to deliver an open-source AMD Vulkan driver for Linux.
Next Page > Improved Core Radeon Technologies
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Improved Core Radeon Technologies
Radeon WattMan
The Radeon WattMan is the power management tool that doubles as an overclocking / underclocking tool. In Adrenalin Edition, custom GPU profiles can be saved, reloaded at a later point and shared with the Radeon user community
Radeon Chill
Radeon Chill saves power by dynamically regulating the frame rate based on your in-game movements. With Adrenalin Edition, Radeon Chill now supports games based on the Vulkan API, along with DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12.
In addition, Radeon Chill now supports a lot more games. Radeon Chill used to work on a whitelist concept – it will only support games that have been profiled and tested. Thanks to improved algorithms and other changes, AMD is switching it to a blacklist concept.
With Adrenalin Edition, Radeon Chill will now work with all games. But if AMD discovers that Chill does not work properly with a certain game, it goes into the blacklist so Radeon Chill won’t run on it. Currently, there are no games in the blacklist.
[adrotate group=”1″]Enhanced Sync
Think of Enhanced Sync as pseudo-FreeSync, minimising screen tearing with non-FreeSync monitors. With Adrenalin Edition, Enhanced Sync is now enabled on all Radeon GCN-based graphics cards, and supports all Vulkan API-based games. They also added support for Multi-GPU and AMD Eyefinity Technology.
Radeon ReLive
Radeon ReLive now has a Connect section, which serves as a control center for your Radeon ReLive video library. In addition to browsing your recorded videos, you can queue and share them on social media.
Radeon ReLive will now allow you to integrate chats from Twitch, Facebook, Mixer, YouTube, Weibo and more, to your game play.
AMD has also reduced the performance impact of Radeon ReLive. Note that these examples are from an AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics card.
With Adrenalin Edition, Radeon ReLive will also supports games based on the Vulkan API.
Radeon ReLive will also come with support for :
- Borderless Region Capture – allowing you to capture only what you want to share, instead of the entire screen.
- Chroma Key – allowing you to remove your background in your webcam or video stream
- AMD Eyefinity Technology – allowing you to capture your game play across multiple monitors
- separate audio tracks – recording mic audio separately from the game audio, for easier mixing and editing later
Radeon FreeSync & Themes
With Adrenalin Edition, you can now enable or disable Radeon FreeSync on a per-game basis. And Radeon Settings will have three UI theme options – Yellow, Crimson and Blue.
Next Page > Radeon Overlay & AMD Link
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Radeon Overlay
Radeon Overlay allows you to access Radeon ReLive, Performance Monitoring, Radeon Chill, Frame Rate Target Control (FRTC), Radeon FreeSync and Color settings from within the game. Just press Alt+R to activate Radeon Overlay. This key combination, incidentally, can be changed.
Performance Monitoring and Recording
Radeon ReLive
Radeon Chill
Radeon FreeSync
Frame Rate Target Control
Color Settings
AMD Link
Available for Android and iOS platforms, the AMD Link is a mobile app that complements Radeon Software on the desktop, at home as a convenient second screen, or on the go.
You can link multiple PCs to AMD Link using a simple QR code, or you can do it manually. However, your mobile devices must (at least in this version) be on the same network as your computer.
The AMD Link dashboard features streaming and replay with Radeon ReLive, GPU and PC performance monitoring, an AMD news feed, and notifications for new driver releases.
AMD Link is now available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. It supports smartphones and tablets running on iOS 10 (or better), and Android 5.0 (or better).
Next Page > Adrenalin Edition Summary & Complete Set of Slides
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Adrenalin Edition Summary
In summary, the Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition is a checkpoint when it comes to performance. Performance improvements is a continuous process, with Adrenalin Edition delivering up to 15% better performance compared to Crimson ReLive Edition a year ago.
More important are the 30+ new or enhanced features being introduced in Adrenalin Edition.
The summary includes three infographics created by Sasa Marinkovic and his team.
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The Complete Set Of Adrenalin Edition Slides
Here is the complete set of Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition slides, minus the legal boilerplate.
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