AMD Launches their Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition Driver
AMD Launches their Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition Driver
Radeon Software is now about a lot more than getting your GPU running on your chosen OS, adding support for Streaming, Video Recording, Performance Analysis and overclocking tools to their driver stack, alongside game-specific performance optimisations and tweaks that are designed to reduce input latency and otherwise improve the playability of modern games.Â
With the release of Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition, AMD took their Radeon Software stack outside of PCs and onto mobile devices through the Radeon Link app, leaving performance data at the fingertips of users while their Radeon Overlay allowed multiple settings to be adjusted in-game, a handy add-on for tweakers.Â
Today marks the launch of AMD’s Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition, otherwise known as Radeon Software version 18.12.2, boasting a highly advanced feature set which boasts 23 new or upgraded features, adding more reasons for PC gamers to select Radeon-powered graphics cards. Â
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Performance
Rumours regarding AMD’s big 2018 driver have been circulating for quite some time, some of which stated that AMD would deliver some major performance boosts, specifically on their RX Vega series graphics cards, using a hardware feature called “Primitive Shaders“, one of Vega’ most highly sought after upgrades.Â
We can say here that Adrenalin 2019 Edition/18.12.2 is not primarily about performance upgrades, though it is worth noting that driver optimisation has enabled some notable performance upgrades since the release of Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 17.12.1, a lot of which is due to day-1 driver optimisations for new titles.Â
Looking at the list of games in the above slide, we can see that Call of Duty: WWII receives a major performance boost thanks to this year’s driver optimisations on an RX 570. This is not due to da-1 drivers either, as AMD’s latest driver upon that game’s release was 17.11.1, which is older than Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided also gained a 6% performance uptick, a boost that is not from day-1 driver optimisations.Â
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Project ReSX
Project ReSX is perhaps one of the most exciting developments of Radeon’s driver team from early 2018, pledging to improve the performance of popular eSports titles by increasing average framerates, lowering 99th percentile frametimes and reducing the response times of popular games when using Radeon hardware.Â
The results of this project were the highlight of AMD’s Radeon Software 18.3.1 driver, though since then AMD has continued to improve the playability of titles like Fortnite, Overwatch and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. When combined with the performance and latency improvements of 18.3.1, Radeon has achieved a colossal performance uptick in these titles since the launch of Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition.Â
More information about Project ReSX is available here.
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Update – AMD 18.12.2 driver launches with the performance optimisations for Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, DOOM, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Strange Brigade.Â
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
– Up to 4% faster performance in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey using Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 on the Radeonâ„¢ RX Vega 64 graphics card than with Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin Edition 18.12.1 at 1920×1080 (1080p). RS-277
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
– Up to 3% faster performance in Shadow of the Tomb Raider using Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 on the Radeonâ„¢ RX Vega 64 graphics card than with Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin Edition 18.12.1 at 2560×1440 (1440p). RS-278
DOOM
– Up to 5% faster performance in DOOM using Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 on the Radeonâ„¢ RX Vega 64 graphics card than with Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin Edition 18.12.1 at 3840×2160 (4K). RS-279
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
– Up to 5% faster performance in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus using Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 on the Radeonâ„¢ RX Vega 64 graphics card than with Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin Edition 18.12.1 at 3840×2160 (4K). RS-280
Strange Brigade
– Up to 7% faster performance in Strange Brigade using Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 on the Radeonâ„¢ RX Vega 64 graphics card than with Radeonâ„¢ Software Adrenalin Edition 18.12.1 at 3840×2160 (4K). RS-281