Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Latest AMD Radeon Software beefs up ‘Dirt 4’ and ‘Prey’ performance

By

AMD Radeon RX 470
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The easiest way to get the most out of your PC is to make sure you are running the most current drivers for all of your components. This is doubly true with the GPU, where new drivers and software can dramatically improve performance and reliability and periodically add new features.

AMD’s Radeon Software Crimson Relive Edition software is no different, as it provides not only the core drivers for the company’s Radeon GPUs but also provides a host of added functionality. On Thursday, AMD updated the software to version 17.6.1, with the usual performance improvements for some popular titles along with a host of fixes.

Recommended Videos

First up is improved support for Dirt 4. Version 17.6.1 adds in multi-GPU support, along with up to 30 percent faster performance on the Radeon RX 580 8GB GPU when the game is configured with 8xMSAA turned on. That GPU’s performance in Prey is also a bit faster, with a four percent improvement.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!
Privacy Policy

AMD also listed a number of issues that have been resolved in Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.6.1. Here is the list, taken directly from AMD’s release notes:

  • Virtual Super Resolution may fail to enable on some Radeon RX 400 and Radeon RX 500 series graphics products.
  • HDR may fail to enable on some displays for QHD or higher resolutions.
  • Flickering may be observed on some Radeon RX 500 series products when using HDMI with QHD high refresh rate displays.
  • AMD XConnect: Systems with Modern Standby enabled may experience a system hang after resuming from hibernation.
  • Fast mouse movement may cause an FPS drop or stutter in Prey when running in Multi-GPU system configurations.
  • Adjusting memory clocks in some third party overclocking applications may cause a hang on Radeon R9 390 Series products.
  • Graphics memory clock may fluctuate causing inconsistent frame rates while gaming when using AMD FreeSync technology.
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda may experience stutter or hitching in Multi-GPU system configurations.
  • The GPU Scaling feature in Radeon Settings may fail to enable for some applications.
  • An error message “Radeon Additional Settings: Host application has stopped working” will sometimes appear when hot-plugging displays with Radeon Settings open.

As usual, you will want to keep in mind that most new software includes some known issues. Here is the list for version 17.6.1:

  • Graphical corruption may be experienced in Tom Clancy’s: Rainbow Six Siege when MSAA is enabled.
  • Adobe Lightroom may experience an application crash with GPU acceleration enabled on Windows 7 system configurations using Radeon RX 390 Series graphics products.
  • A few apps may experience issues with Borderless Fullscreen mode and AMD FreeSync technology if other applications or game launchers are running on the primary screen in the background.
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and World of Warcraft may experience flickering or performance issues the first time the game is launched on a system boot with AMD FreeSync technology enabled. Workarounds include exiting and restarting the application or task switching (alt+tab) in and out of the game to fix the issue.

As usual, you can head over to the AMD support site to download the new software.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
The HP Victus gaming PC with RTX 3060 has a $550 discount
The HP Victus 15L gaming PC in white.

Gamers don't need to spend more than $1,000 if they want to buy a new gaming PC because there are affordable options like the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop. From its original price of $1,400, you can get it for just $850 as HP has applied a $550 discount on this machine. However, you shouldn't delay your purchase because there's no assurance that the gaming PC will still be 39% off tomorrow. If you want to make sure that you get it for less than $1,000, you're going to have to complete the transaction for it within the day.

Why you should buy the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop
You shouldn't expect the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop to match the performance of the top-of-the-line models of the best gaming PCs, but it's surprisingly powerful for its cost. Inside it are the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, with 16GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the best place to start for gaming. It's enough to play today's best PC games without any issues, and it may even be capable of running the upcoming PC games of the next few years if you're willing to dial down the settings for the more demanding titles.

Read more
This 17-inch HP laptop is on sale for just $300 — but hurry!
The HP 17t-cn300 17.3-inch laptop against a white background.

If you want to buy a laptop with a relatively large screen, the good news is that you don't have to break the bank with your purchase because you can get the HP Laptop 17t for a very affordable $300. It's on sale from HP with a $200 discount on its original price of $500, but there's no telling how much time is remaining before this offer expires. We don't think it will stay available for long because laptop deals like this almost always get sold out quickly, so complete the transaction as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the HP Laptop 17t
With the 17.3-inch display of the HP Laptop 17t, you'll have a lot of screen real estate to work on your projects and watch streaming shows. It's pretty affordable for a laptop with this large screen, which offers HD+ resolution for sharp details and vibrant colors. However, despite its big display, the HP Laptop 17t maintains portability because it's only 0.78 of an inch thick, which makes it easy to slide into your bag when you're on the go, and it won't be too heavy to carry around because it only weighs about 4.6 pounds.

Read more
What to do if your Intel CPU keeps crashing
Pins on Core i9-12900K.

Despite being among the best processors you can buy, some high-end Intel CPUs have faced a wave of instability over the past few months. Intel is investigating the problem, but the company and its motherboard partners have already worked toward some temporary fixes to improve stability on high-end Intel CPUs -- even if it comes at a performance cost.

Before getting into the fixes, keep in mind that they are temporary. Intel will release a statement on the instability soon, likely with more direct guidance on what affected users should do. In addition, the scope of the problem isn't clear -- if you're not experiencing issues, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Who's affected

Read more