Tag Archives: Radeon Software Crimson Edition

The AMD Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Revealed!

1 Reply

Last week, we were invited to a tech briefing by AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group on the latest evolution of the Radeon Software driver – the Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition. Today, we are finally allowed to reveal details of that major driver update. Check it out!

 

The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Tech Briefing

The tech briefing on the Radeon Software Crimson Edition ReLive Edition was conducted by Terry Makedon, Sasa Marinkovic and Glen Matthews from the RTG team, with Garrath Johnson (RTG Communications Lead for APJ) hosting.

We prepared a special presentation so you can enjoy the same briefing we received. It was a really long tech briefing, because the Radeon Technologies Group not only improved its performance and stability, they also added a ton of new features!

The tech briefing actually ran a whole hour, but we edited it to just under 47 minutes for brevity. The content remain unchanged, so you’re not missing out on anything important.

 

New Features In Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition

Radeon ReLive : Capture, stream and share your greatest moments and gaming wins on your computer system with Radeon ReLive. Modify settings quickly, conveniently, and play seamlessly with the easily accessible in-game toolbar. Express yourself in bold new ways with custom scene layouts. Upload your latest highlights and let them be a conversation piece. It’s never been easier to build and grow your online community at anytime, anywhere.

Radeon Chill : A power-saving feature that dynamically regulates frame rate based on your in-game movements. Radeon Chill can improve power efficiency and can lower temperatures for supported products and games when enabled through Radeon Settings.

Radeon WattMan : Added support for AMD Radeon R9 Fury series, R9 390 series, R9 380 series, R9 290 series, R9 285, R9 260 series, R7 360, and R7 260 desktop graphics products.

Radeon Software Installer : New user interface and intuitive Radeon Software Installer that includes options for express install, custom install and clean uninstall. The new installer will also show options for the latest available driver for your system configuration during the install process.

Display Connectivity : New advanced display settings and diagnostics page within Radeon Settings with better detection for HDMI cable issues and fallback for end users experiencing display issues.

AMD FreeSync Technology : Now supports Borderless Fullscreen Mode for applications and gaming with AMD FreeSync technology displays and supported products. Now supports Gradual Refresh Rate Ramp for mobile configurations with AMD FreeSync technology displays and supported products.

Upgrade Advisor : Provides a system requirement evaluation for Steam games in your Radeon Settings library.

[adrotate banner=”4″]

HDR Gaming Support : Experience the benefits of HDR gaming with Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition. Support for games with HDR 10 or Dolby Vision capabilities.

VP9 Decode Acceleration : 4K 60Hz GPU-Accelerated Video Streaming enabled on supported Google Chrome web browsers.

Skype Performance Enhancements : Lower CPU usage during Skype calls for select AMD APU Family products.

User Feedback Page : The User Feedback Page enables a direct link for end users to the Radeon Software Team and allows users to provide feedback and vote on upcoming features for Radeon Software.

 

Availability

The new Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition begins with version 16.12.1, and is available right now at this link.

 

The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Slides (Part 1 of 3)

For those who want to study the intricacies of the new Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition, here are the 75 slides for your perusal. Enjoy! 😀

Next Page > The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Slides (Part 2)

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Slides (Part 2 of 3)

Next Page > The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Slides (Part 3)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition Slides (Part 3 of 3)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

Vulkan Support For DOOM Now Available

Leave a reply

Today, id Software announced the availability for the Vulkan version of DOOM that relies on innovative features to deliver incredible performance.

As many of you already know, the Vulkan API is a descendant of AMD’s Mantle that supports close-to-metal control across Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Linux. Compared to OpenGL, Vulkan substantially reduces “API overhead” – the background work a CPU does to interpret what a game asks of the hardware – to deliver meaningful features, performance, and image quality and expose GPU hardware features that wouldn’t ordinarily be accessible through OpenGL

 

DOOM

DOOM benefits from Vulkan support by using several great features:

  • Asynchronous Shaders: Using multiple command processors — the Asynchronous Compute Engines in AMD’s Graphics Core Next and Polaris GPU architectures — each queue can submit commands without waiting for other tasks to complete.
  • Shader Intrinsics or Shader Intrinsic Functions, also called built-in functions, provide a way for game developers to directly access graphics hardware instructions in situations where those instructions would normally be abstracted by an API. This approach has been used successfully on gaming consoles to extract more performance from the GPU — and now AMD is enabling PCs with the same capability.
  • Frame Flip Optimizations which basically pass the frame directly to the display once it’s ready, i.e. skips the copy and save.

As Robert Duffy, Chief Technical Officer of id software pointed out at the AMD event at Computex 2016, “Vulkan is a modern API, with roots to AMD’s Mantle technology, and it provides real benefits to both us as developers and the large community of gamers using a wide range of hardware. When you factor in additional AMD features, like true Asynchronous Compute, custom intrinsic instructions, and combine those with a raw speed of idTech 6, we believe the experience on AMD will be hard to beat.”

 

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Faster Performance

Performance numbers produced by AMD internal testing show the performance benefits of Vulkan versus OpenGL implementation:

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

True Performance Of The Radeon RX 480 Examined

4 Replies

True Performance Of The Radeon RX 480 Examined

After the Radeon RX 480 was found to draw excessive power from the PCI Express bus, AMD released the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver. This is a non-WHQL driver that was promises to reduce the Radeon RX 480‘s power draw from the PCI Express bus. It also promises to improve the Radeon RX 480‘s performance to correct for the expected drop in performance.

The reduction in power consumption is not enabled by default though, because it reduces performance. Instead, AMD will add a Compatibility Mode option in Radeon Settings, which you must manually toggle. Check out what the new Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver offers :

  • The Radeon RX 480’s power distribution has been improved for AMD reference boards, lowering the current drawn from the PCIe bus.
  • A new “compatibility mode” UI toggle has been made available in the Global Settings menu of Radeon Settings. This option is designed to reduce total power with minimal performance impact if end users experience any further issues.  This toggle is “off” by default.
  • Performance improvements for the Polaris architecture that yield performance uplifts in popular game titles of up to 3%. These optimizations are designed to improve the performance of the Radeon RX 480, and should substantially offset the performance impact for users who choose to activate the “compatibility” toggle.

In this article, we will examine the drop in performance caused by the reduced power consumption. Then we will compare it to the boost in performance from the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver. Check it out!

 

3DMark (1920 x 1080)

We started testing the graphics cards using 3DMark at the most common gaming resolution – 1920 x 1080.

In the lower resolution of 1920 x 1080, the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] received a performance boost of 3% to 3.8%. That was sufficient to completely erase the 2.4% to 3% drop in performance due to the reduced power consumption.

 

3DMark (2560 x 1440)

Then we took 3DMark up a notch to the resolution of 2560 x 1440. According to AMD, this is the sweet spot for the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon]. Let’s take a look!

When we increased the resolution to 2560 x 1440 though, the performance boost from the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver dropped to just 2.3% to 2.9%. It just about erased the drop in performance from the reduced power consumption.

 

3DMark (3840 x 2160)

This is torture, even for the 8 GB version of the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon].

At the 4K resolution, the 2.3% to 2.85% boost in  from the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver was not enough to offset the 3.7% to 4% drop in performance from the lower TDP. The Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] ended up 1% to 1.8% slower.

[adrotate banner=”5″]

Next Page > Fallout 4, Witcher 3 & Warhammer Results, Conclusion

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

Fallout 4 (1920 x 1080)

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, FRAPS recorded in Fallout 4.

In Fallout 4, the new Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver boosted the average frame rate enough to make up for the drop in performance from the reduced power consumption.

 

The Witcher 3 (1920 x 1080)

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, FRAPS recorded in The Witcher 3.

In The Witcher 3, the performance boost was substantial enough to give the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] a small 1.3% boost in average frame rate, even with the Compatibility Mode triggered.

 

Total War : Warhammer (1920 x 1080)

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, recorded by the Total War : Warhammer benchmark.

Surprisingly, the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver did even better in Total War : Warhammer. Even with the reduced power consumption, the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] received a nice 2.2% boost in the average frame rate!

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Conclusion

The Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver does two things – reprogram the Radeon RX 480‘s power controller so it will pull more current from the 6-pin PCI Express power cable, and less from the PCI Express bus. This fix does not reduce performance. However, it still means that the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] will exceed its rated 150 W TDP.

The higher TDP should not cause any concerns normally. However, those want their Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] to adhere to the rated 150 W TDP can enable the new Compatibility Mode switch in Radeon Settings. This reduces the Radeon RX 480‘s TDP to 150 W.

The reduction in power consumption reduces performance, of course. But for all of the furore over the Radeon RX 480 power draw controversy, it looks like the performance boost that the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] received from the higher-than-rated TDP was less than 4%.

We will be correcting our AMD Radeon RX 480 Review to reflect this change. Yes, 4% may be small, but it is still a significant change, and we have to be accurate.

The good news though is that the small drop in performance is virtually offset by performance optimisations for the AMD Polaris architecture in the new Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver. So if you are a Radeon RX 480 user, go get it now!

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

Radeon Software 16.7.1 Performance Comparison

4 Replies

Radeon Software 16.7.1

Following the Radeon RX 480 power draw controversy, AMD released the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver. This is a non-WHQL driver that was pushed out quickly to fix the Radeon RX 480‘s excessive power draw from the PCI Express bus. However, it also comes with a 3% boost in performance for the Polaris architecture.

Finally, we’ve implemented a collection of performance improvements for the Polaris architecture that yield performance uplifts in popular game titles of up to 3%1. These optimizations are designed to improve the performance of the Radeon RX 480, and should substantially offset the performance impact for users who choose to activate the “compatibility” toggle.

So we decided to take a look at the performance improvements it delivers in the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon]. We also took a look at how it affects the AMD Radeon R9 380 graphics card, which is based on the previous-generation Fiji architecture. Check it out!

 

3DMark (1920 x 1080)

We started testing the graphics cards using 3DMark at the most common gaming resolution – 1920 x 1080.

The Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] received a 3.15% boost in the Overall Score, a 3.77% boost in the Graphics Score and a 3% boost in the Combined Score. Very nice! The Radeon R9 380, however, did not benefit from the newer Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver at all.

The frame rate breakdown shows the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] edging even further away from its predecessor, the Radeon R9 380. It is now 44-48% faster than the Radeon R9 380, thanks to the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver.

 

3DMark (2560 x 1440)

Then we took 3DMark up a notch to the resolution of 2560 x 1440. According to AMD, this is the sweet spot for the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon]. Let’s take a look!

At this higher resolution, the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] received a smaller performance boost of 2.6% in the Overall Score, 2.9% in the Graphics Score and 2.3% in the Combined Score. The Radeon R9 380‘s performance actually suffered slightly (by 1%) with the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver.

The small boost in performance from the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver only gave the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] a small 0.5-1 fps boost in frame rate. Coupled with the slight drop in the Radeon R9 380‘s performance, the Radeon RX 480 is now 40-50% faster than the Radeon R9 380.

 

3DMark (3840 x 2160)

This is torture, even for the 8 GB version of the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon]. The Radeon R9 380 would do even worse, with just 4 GB of GDDR5 memory.

For some reason, the Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver caused the benchmark to fail while running on the Radeon R9 380. However, we can see that it gives the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] is a small 2.4% boost in the Overall Score, a 2.3% boost in the Graphics Score and a 2.85% boost in the Combined Score.

Based on the Radeon R9 380 running on the earlier Radeon Software 16.6.2 driver, the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] is now 36-49% faster than the Radeon R9 380 at this resolution.

Next Page > Fallout 4, Witcher 3 & Warhammer, Conclusion & Downloads

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

Fallout 4 (1920 x 1080)

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, FRAPS recorded in Fallout 4.

The new Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver seems to greatly increase the frame rate range for the Radeon RX 480, and slightly in the Radeon R9 380. However, only the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] saw a small 1.9% boost in the average frame rate.

 

The Witcher 3 (1920 x 1080)

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, FRAPS recorded in The Witcher 3.

The Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver gave both the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] and the Radeon R9 380 a small boost in frame rate of 3% and 1% respectively.

 

Total War : Warhammer (1920 x 1080)

This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, recorded by the Total War : Warhammer benchmark.

Surprisingly, the Radeon R9 380 saw an appreciable boost in the frame rate range, although the average frame rate only creeped slightly higher. The Radeon RX 480 [Amazon], though, received a more substantial 2.8% boost in average frame rate.

[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

Conclusion & Downloads

If you are using the new AMD Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] graphics card, you should download and use the new Radeon Software 16.7.1, even if you don’t care about its excessive power draw from the PCI Express bus.

In the 3 games we tested, the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] enjoyed a small boost of 2-3% in frame rate. Not earth-shattering, to be sure, but still a nice boost. The performance boost alone is worth upgrading to Radeon Software 16.7.1, even though it’s not WHQL-certified. You can download them here :

However, if you are using a Fiji-based graphics card like the Radeon R9 380 we tested, you should not waste your time with the new Radeon Software 16.7.1. You will not see any improvement in performance. In fact, it may even deteriorate a little, or worse, fail to run properly when rendering in 4K.

We also investigated how much performance is lost when the Radeon RX 480 [Amazon] is set to its Compatibility Mode to comply with the PCI Express standard. Check it out in our article – True Performance of the Radeon RX 480 Examined!

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!

Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1 Released

Leave a reply

Radeon Software Crimson Edition is AMD’s revolutionary new graphics software that delivers redesigned functionality,
supercharged graphics performance, remarkable new features, and innovation that redefines the overall user experience. Every Radeon Software release strives to deliver new features, better performance and stability improvements.

 

 

Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1

Highlights

  • Performance increase by up to 35% on AMD Radeon R9 390 series products in Doom versus Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2(1)

Known Issues

  • A few game titles may fail to launch or crash if the AMD Gaming Evolved overlay is enabled. A temporary workaround is to disable the AMD Gaming Evolved “In Game Overlay”.
  • Users in Quad AMD Crossfire technology configurations may be unable to re-enable AMD Crossfire mode when using the global AMD Crossfire option in the “Gaming” tab and toggling it from on to off.
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt inventory and character pages may exhibit flickering in AMD Crossfire technology mode.
  • Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare may exhibit stuttering when using AMD FreeSync technology and AMD Crossfire technology in conjunction.
  • Installing Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1 multiple times on the same machine after rebooting may cause the installer to hang.
  • The AMD Crossfire mode options in Radeon Settings may not take effect on Origin or Uplay applications.
  • Radeon Settings Additional Settings page may not be available when upgrading to Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1 from the current windows update driver. As a work around please clean uninstall all current Radeon Software when upgrading if your system exhibits this issue.
  • Some textures may exhibit flickering in Fallout 4 when using AMD Crossfire technology.
  • Forza Motorsport 6: Apex may exhibit brightness flickering when using AMD FreeSync technology.
  • Frame Rate Target Control gaming profiles may fail to enable for some games.
[adrotate banner=”5″]

 

AMD Product Compatibility

The AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1 Driver is compatible with the following AMD products.

 

AMD Mobility Radeon Family Compatibility

AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1 Driver is a notebook reference graphics driver with limited support for system vendor specific features.

 

Compatible Operating Systems

AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.5.2.1 Driver is designed to support the following Microsoft Windows platforms:
Windows 10 (32 & 64-bit version)
Windows 8.1 (32 & 64-bit version)
Windows 7 (32 & 64-bit version with SP1 or higher)

 

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!