Some probably think that performance and quality of components such as chipsets are all about the hardware but this is not the case. AMD has just proven that graphics processing units (GPU) could also get amped up through its software or a software update.
The company released the Radeon Software Crimson ReLive, which refreshed the driver of its latest Polaris and Fury GPUs. As a result, these peripherals got significant boosts in power so that they are now able to cope with the more demanding requirements in gaming and new computing platforms such as virtual reality (VR).
Crimson ReLive Performance Boost
The most important feature in this update rests on the fact that AMD is combining the technologies of its professional Radeon Pro drivers and consumer drivers. This means that devices using different Radeon GPUs will now have the same software.
In terms of performance, AMD claims that the firmware can improve supported graphics cards by as much as 8 percent.
The company has pointed out that this has been proven when playing games such as Ashes of the Singularity, Batman Arkham Knight, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Shadow of Mordor, and Overwatch. Each of these titles yielded varying performance boosts ranging from 4 to 8 percent.
Radeon Chill And Other Features
Performance is also complemented by a new feature called Radeon Chill, which maintains the GPU's temperature by cutting down on the excessive frame rate in games. This new feature is capable of delivering up to 32 percent lower average frame-time delivery to the display in milliseconds.
In actual gaming, Radeon Chill leads to better response time due to the feature's ability to queue more frames. It is also considered a power-saving tool since it reduces the Radeon graphics chip power consumption by as much as 31 percent.
There is also the Affinity multi-GPU feature, which allows users the use of dual GPU configurations to optimize their cards for VR. To apply this in real-world, this option can be used to allocate GPU to the left and right portions of the VR screen.
Software Tweaks
The Crimson ReLive panel itself sports a new look and added functions. It now has advanced display settings and diagnostics that enable users to modify their GPU and perform actions. For example, there is now an improved tool for recording gameplays and desktop footages.
Users can also tweak new toggles such as the VP9 decode acceleration option in order to play 4K video.
Aside from the plethora of features, Crimson ReLive also fixed bugs and issues such as the flickering and performance issues experienced when playing certain games such as DOTA.
