AMD have come in for a boat-load of flack over the past two months for the state of their Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition driver package. Roundly derided as a step backwards over the 2019 Edition, and blamed as the source of a new range of bugs while also not solving long-term problems experienced by end-users, the newest driver branch has been in dire need of an overhaul in both functionality and polish lest it permanently cast a pall over this generation of Radeon graphics. Their latest driver will hopefully take a big step towards that goal.
Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 is an optional update that focusses purely on bug-squashing and the identification of ongoing issues. Its scope is diverse, encompassing the gamut of in-game and in-driver problems as well as functional failures in the driver software/UI itself. Over 20 major issues have been identified as fixed, with a further dozen listed as on their radar for a future update.
Due to the nature of this release we recommend that users refrain from updating unless they are suffering from one or more of the issues listed as fixed in the patch notes. There are a lot of moving parts in this driver, seemingly more so than usual, and so it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for something critical to have fallen through the cracks. It is also not an update aimed at day-0 support for an upcoming game title, so there is no urgency to update for that specific reason.
RASE 20.2.2 is compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows 7 & 10, and supports all GPUs on their RDNA or GCN architectures, stretching as far back as the HD7000-series. Download it directly at amd.com/en/support by selecting your hardware and OS version.
Release Notes
Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 Highlights
Fixed Issues
- Performing a task switch with some Radeon Software features enabled or some third-party applications with hardware acceleration running in the background may cause a system hang or black screen.
- Improvements have been made that allow for more responsive fan ramp up or fan ramp down times on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan incorrectly report lower than expected clock speeds on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products during gaming workloads.
- When Instant Replay is enabled, a TDR or black screen may occur when launching games or applications.
- A black screen may occur when toggling HDR on in the game settings of Battlefield™ V.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt™ may experience an application hang or black screen during certain parts of the game or intermittently during gameplay.
- Some video content in Chrome™ may appear as a black screen or be unresponsive on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products when hardware acceleration is enabled.
- Metro Exodus™ may experience an application hang or TDR when choosing some specific dialogue prompts in the Sam’s Story DLC.
- Grand Theft Auto™ V may experience an application crash when invoking Radeon Software’s overlay with third party OSD applications running.
- Monster Hunter World™: Iceborne may experience intermittent crashes while idle or on the character creation screen.
- Some games colors may appear washed out when HDR mode has been enabled in game and Windows® on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products
- After a Factory Reset installation with the ‘Keep My Settings’ option chosen, Instant Replay could fail to function if it was enabled in the previous Radeon Software installation.
- When invoking Radeon Software’s overlay while a game is open users may observe flickering in the game or in the Radeon Software interface.
- Radeon Software may experience a crash and error message when locking Windows® or performing a sleep or hibernate with the Radeon Software Streaming tab open.
- A loss of display with working audio may be experienced on a limited number of displays when performing a mode change on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products.
- Radeon Software may fail to launch if Radeon Software’s overlay is disabled and a game is running in the background.
- Battlefield™ V may experience an application hang or TDR after extended periods of play.
- Some Origin™ games may fail to be detected or may detect the incorrect game title in Radeon Software.
- Some productivity applications are being detected and listed in the Radeon Software games tab.
- The Radeon Chill hotkey could sometimes continue to remain enabled once the user has removed or disabled the hotkey.
- Red Dead Redemption™ 2 may exhibit blocky textures on snow covered terrain.
- After resuming from sleep, Chrome™ may experience an application crash if video content was previously playing on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Radeon FreeSync status in Radeon Software may sometimes fail to update when enabling or disabling the feature through the display itself.
- Fortnite™ may experience an application crash on Radeon RX 500 series Hybrid Graphics system configurations.
Known Issues
- Enhanced Sync may cause a black screen to occur when enabled on some games and system configurations. Enhanced Sync has been temporarily disabled from the gaming profile and any users who may be experiencing issues with Enhanced Sync enabled should disable it as a temporary workaround.
- Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan incorrectly report higher than expected idle clock speeds on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products. Performance and power consumption are not impacted by this incorrect reporting.
- DOOM™ may experience an intermittent system hang or application crash during gameplay.
- Desktop cursor may intermittently remain visible after toggling Radeon Software’s overlay in some games. A workaround is to bring up the game menu or task switch to refresh the cursor.
- A system crash or hang may occur when running the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers™ benchmark.
- The Gaming tab in Radeon Software may display some folder locations appearing as games.
- Radeon Software may open with an inconsistent window size or may not keep its previously set size when opened.
- Modifying the HDMI Scaling slider may cause FPS to become locked to 30.
- Some games may exhibit stutter intermittently during gameplay on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products.
- Some games may experience stutter while using Instant Replay or third-party applications that stream or perform screen capture. A potential workaround is to disable these features or applications while gaming.
- Although Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 resolves many black screen issues, AMD is aware that some users may still experience black screen or system hang issues during extended periods of gameplay. AMD will continue to monitor and investigate reports of these issues closely.
Important Notes
- This optional release of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition is targeted towards resolving recent important issues identified by our community. We will be closely monitoring feedback on the release, and encourage users to submit issues they encounter at www.amd.com/report.
- AMD Ryzen™ Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Vega Graphics FAQ for Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition can be found here.
Package Contents
The Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 installation package contains the following:
- Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 Driver Version 19.50.19.15 (Windows Driver Store Version 26.20.15019.15018)
Fixed Issues
- Performing a task switch with some Radeon Software features enabled or some third-party applications with hardware acceleration running in the background may cause a system hang or black screen.
- Improvements have been made that allow for more responsive fan ramp up or fan ramp down times on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan incorrectly report lower than expected clock speeds on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products during gaming workloads.
- When Instant Replay is enabled, a TDR or black screen may occur when launching games or applications.
- A black screen may occur when toggling HDR on in the game settings of Battlefield™ V.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt™ may experience an application hang or black screen during certain parts of the game or intermittently during gameplay.
- Some video content in Chrome™ may appear as a black screen or be unresponsive on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products when hardware acceleration is enabled.
- Metro Exodus™ may experience an application hang or TDR when choosing some specific dialogue prompts in the Sam’s Story DLC.
- Grand Theft Auto™ V may experience an application crash when invoking Radeon Software’s overlay with third party OSD applications running.
- Monster Hunter World™: Iceborne may experience intermittent crashes while idle or on the character creation screen.
- Some games colors may appear washed out when HDR mode has been enabled in game and Windows® on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products
- After a Factory Reset installation with the ‘Keep My Settings’ option chosen, Instant Replay could fail to function if it was enabled in the previous Radeon Software installation.
- When invoking Radeon Software’s overlay while a game is open users may observe flickering in the game or in the Radeon Software interface.
- Radeon Software may experience a crash and error message when locking Windows® or performing a sleep or hibernate with the Radeon Software Streaming tab open.
- A loss of display with working audio may be experienced on a limited number of displays when performing a mode change on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products.
- Radeon Software may fail to launch if Radeon Software’s overlay is disabled and a game is running in the background.
- Battlefield™ V may experience an application hang or TDR after extended periods of play.
- Some Origin™ games may fail to be detected or may detect the incorrect game title in Radeon Software.
- Some productivity applications are being detected and listed in the Radeon Software games tab.
- The Radeon Chill hotkey could sometimes continue to remain enabled once the user has removed or disabled the hotkey.
- Red Dead Redemption™ 2 may exhibit blocky textures on snow covered terrain.
- After resuming from sleep, Chrome™ may experience an application crash if video content was previously playing on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Radeon FreeSync status in Radeon Software may sometimes fail to update when enabling or disabling the feature through the display itself.
- Fortnite™ may experience an application crash on Radeon RX 500 series Hybrid Graphics system configurations.
Known Issues
- Enhanced Sync may cause a black screen to occur when enabled on some games and system configurations. Enhanced Sync has been temporarily disabled from the gaming profile and any users who may be experiencing issues with Enhanced Sync enabled should disable it as a temporary workaround.
- Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan incorrectly report higher than expected idle clock speeds on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products. Performance and power consumption are not impacted by this incorrect reporting.
- DOOM™ may experience an intermittent system hang or application crash during gameplay.
- Desktop cursor may intermittently remain visible after toggling Radeon Software’s overlay in some games. A workaround is to bring up the game menu or task switch to refresh the cursor.
- A system crash or hang may occur when running the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers™ benchmark.
- The Gaming tab in Radeon Software may display some folder locations appearing as games.
- Radeon Software may open with an inconsistent window size or may not keep its previously set size when opened.
- Modifying the HDMI Scaling slider may cause FPS to become locked to 30.
- Some games may exhibit stutter intermittently during gameplay on Radeon RX 5000 series graphics products.
- Some games may experience stutter while using Instant Replay or third-party applications that stream or perform screen capture. A potential workaround is to disable these features or applications while gaming.
- Although Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 resolves many black screen issues, AMD is aware that some users may still experience black screen or system hang issues during extended periods of gameplay. AMD will continue to monitor and investigate reports of these issues closely.
Important Notes
- This optional release of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition is targeted towards resolving recent important issues identified by our community. We will be closely monitoring feedback on the release, and encourage users to submit issues they encounter at www.amd.com/report.
- AMD Ryzen™ Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Vega Graphics FAQ for Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition can be found here.
Package Contents
The Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 installation package contains the following:
- Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 Driver Version 19.50.19.15 (Windows Driver Store Version 26.20.15019.15018)
