AMD releases Radeon Software Crimson Relive 17.7.2

Towards the end of last year, AMD launched the driver package Radeon Software Crimson Relive as an incarnation of the previously introduced Radeon Software, where a major focus, as the name suggests, was placed on video recording. Now the next big version of the software is released where the focus is on functions, performance and stability.

For streaming, AMD wants to highlight the technical advances made between the previous version and 17.7.2. This is, for example, an optimized memory usage for recording, where AMD claims a up to 33 percent lower cost in performance when recording in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

They also emphasize improvements to recording quality where the highest possible bit rate should have been doubled compared to the previous version to 100 Mbps.

Radeon Chill was introduced with the first version of Crimson Relive and is a feature that lowers the graphics processor’s clock frequencies when the user does not interact with a game, to achieve a lower power consumption.

At launch, the feature supported 17 games, something that AMD now wants to highlight has grown to 39 games this year. They also want to point out that support for several graphics processors in Crossfire now exists, something that was missing at the launch.

One of the update’s parade numbers is the new Enhanced Sync feature, which is very similar to Nvidia’s Fast Sync. The technology aims to reduce the amount of tearing at a low cost in extra latency compared to, for example, Vsync, where an up to 34 percent lower response time should be achieved with Enhanced Sync.

Compared to AMD’s existing Freesync technology, AMD believes that Enhanced Sync is a complement. This is because it works regardless of the image refresh rate unlike Freesync, and because it is independent of the type of screen used.

In terms of performance, AMD explains that previous targets for 2016 have revolved around reduced backlogs in games and performance optimizations. Now AMD is shifting its focus to latency in games instead, where the goal is a more responsive gaming experience.

Compared to the first version of Crimson Relive, AMD claims great success in terms of performance. This in the form of performance optimizations for a trio of newly launched games of about 12-13 percent since the launch. They also choose to highlight the advances that have been made for the open drivers under Linux, where performance gains of up to 122 percent for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided have been achieved.

In the work with faster response times, AMD states that they have already managed to achieve lower levels for several games, with an up to 31 percent improvement in Tom Clancy’s The Division.

Finally, AMD introduces the new GPU Profiler tool, which will help game developers with detailed, low-level information for AMD’s graphics processors. Support for the tool is broad with functionality under both Windows 7 and Windows 10 from Microsoft, as well as under Linux. In addition, the tool can handle development for both DirectX 12 and Vulkan.

Radeon Software Crimson Relive Edition 17.7.2 is available for download from AMD’s website.

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