AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.7.2: ReLive Edition Refined for Gamers and Developers

Closing Thoughts

Wrapping things up, fundamentally the Radeon Software featureset has not changed in the way it had for Crimson and Crimson ReLive. At the same time, given the significant number of updates and changes in 17.7.2, on some level it's a little surprising that this rendition is still dubbed ‘Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.7.2.’ But this goes back to how AMD has designed their software cadence around annual overhauls.

Nevertheless, 17.7.2 somewhat acts as AMD’s Crimson ReLive Edition 2.0, ironing out a lot of the ReLive Edition’s kinks and continuing to map out where RTG is heading. After all, AMD has offered 17.7.2 introductory videos for Radeon Chill, RGP, and Enhanced Sync, which is not something that accompanies a typical sequential driver update. After releasing feedback submission mechanisms and focusing on open source tools last year, 17.7.2 serves as evidence to the claim that AMD/RTG is indeed continuing to do these things, and at the same time, adding new things.

Like how AMD graphics fixes are now published as they are ready, 17.7.2 might show the same with features. That being said, a regular mid-year overhaul to specifically complement the yearly new edition would be very welcomed indeed, especially from a user experience standpoint, as it means new features can become available sooner and AMD can more frequently show users how they're responding to user feedback.

Of the new features in 17.7.2, Enhanced Sync and RGP are quite important and meaningful for gamers and developers, respectively. AMD now has a competing solution to NVIDIA's Fast Sync/Adaptive V-Sync features that improves game experience for both FreeSync and non-FreeSync users. With the Radeon Developer Driver now baked into Crimson, RGP offers developers a unique low-level debugging and tuning tool that complements pre-existing solutions like PIX for Windows and RenderDoc.

Last year, we discussed the state of DX12 at the time, namely the rate of adoption and the increased difficulty in programming for DX12. Today, RGP makes it that much easier for developers to work with these modern APIs and deliver the benefits of DX12 and Vulkan to gamers. As Ryan noted then, "Making effective use of DX12 requires a better understanding of the underlying hardware, and how to best treat it"; with RGP's console-like low-level access and visualization thereof, PC game developers can better understand – and see – how specific DX12 and Vulkan graphics workloads travel through the hardware.

However, 17.7.2 is not without its shortcomings. Feature support is a little inconsistent, and none of the new features explicitly included RX Vega support with the exception of Enhanced Sync, which was clarified later. For Enhanced Sync, this means that until RX Vega launches, only Polaris products are supported (and not the faster Fiji-based cards). For the time being, RGP does not have official support for Vega-based products, and thus features unique to Vega. AMD stated that 17.7.2 itself does not support any Vega-based products, and so a new rendition of Radeon Software will need to arrive when RX Vega enters AMD’s product mix.

With the Crimson and Crimson ReLive releases, we reiterated the statement that execution is critical. That remains the case here, perhaps even more so as the AMD prepares to launch their first high-end card since the Fury X two years ago. In order for RTG to succeed in their stability, performance, and release goals, the Radeon Software user (and developer) experience needs to be consistent across Fiji, Polaris, and Vega products. Obviously, differing hardware featuresets result in differing software compatibility, but as AMD/RTG adds and refines features both new and old, the user experience of their flagship consumer/professional solutions can and should be compared to the rest of their supported products.

The new Crimson ReLive Edition 17.7.2 drivers are available through the Radeon Settings tab or online at the AMD driver download page. More information on this update and further issues can be found in the Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.7.2 release notes.