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

WattMan Memory Underclocking and Power State Controls

In 17.7.2, WattMan now offers memory underclocking for the RX 500 series. However, this functionality does not seem to extend to the RX 580’s memory mid-power state; with the revised Polaris 10 in the RX 580, AMD introduced a new mid-power memory clock state that we tested out in our launch review. In 17.7.2, WattMan does show three states for the RX 580 but only the highest state can be adjusted.

The other enhancement to WattMan is “per state” control for RX 400 and 500 series cards. Each power state can be set as minimum or maximum by clicking it.

Despite the RX 580 Memory State 1 being unchangeable, setting that State 1 as maximum will still cap the RX 580 VRAM at 1000 MHz. However, it appears that while this works for a single monitor setup, in a mismatched multi-monitor setup the RX 580 ignores the State 1 ‘maximum’ setting and goes to max memory clocks. For the time being, this falls in line with our findings with mismatched multi-monitor setups in the RX 580 review.

Otherwise, 17.7.2 does not add further product support for WattMan.

Improvements to Shader Caching and FRTC

First introduced in Radeon Software Crimson Edition, the Shader Cache feature can reduce game/level load times, CPU overload induced stutter, and split second hanging/map hitching during gaming. Shader caching does this by storing compiled shaders after running and loading the game once, benefiting slower HDD-based systems. Before 17.7.2, Shader Cache optimizations were only available for DX11 games; 17.7.2 brings Shader Cache optimizations to the following DX9 titles: CrossFire, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, League of Legends, Monster Hunter Online, Rocket League, Starcraft 2, and World of Warcraft: Legion.

With DX9 game support, shader caching can provide tangible improvements to lower-end systems generally used for less demanding eSports titles. In any case, AMD comments that the Shader Cache feature is only practical for HDD-based systems, and as noted in 2015, some games do not show any discernable improvement with shader caching enabled.

17.7.2 also extends Frame Rate Target Control (FRTC) support to DX12 games and multi-GPU configurations. As with its earlier incarnations, the primary purpose of FRTC is to cut down on the work done by the GPU – and therefore cutting down on power consumption – by setting a hard limit on rendered frames. Multi-GPU support extends this capability to a situation where users are most likely to have an overpowered (in both senses) graphics solution for less demanding games.