On the launch of DOOM Eternal AMD have released a new driver package providing an optimal experience on Radeon graphics hardware. Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 is their first official driver release of the month, so alongside tweaks aimed at DOOM Eternal they also include a bit of housekeeping as well as forward-thinking additions ahead of Valve's Half Life: Alyx next week.
According to AMD's own driver release notes, this update will unlock around 5% improved performance in DOOM Eternal at 1080p with 'Ultra Nightmare' settings on the RX 5700XT, but that's an increase from ~133fps to ~140fps in testing. Stability improvements and frame rate increases realised more widely down the Radeon RX range will be more important during the launch window. Still, we won't turn our noses up at free performance.
The Vulkan API is very much a theme in this driver; DOOM Eternal makes extensive use of the API, and RSAE 20.3.1 also brings with it Vulkan rendering mode support for Ghost Recon Breakpoint. More fundamentally, the driver builds in support for four new Vulkan extensions that developers can now use to garner additional performance on AMD hardware.
Just as with last month's updates, this driver incorporates a host of fixed issues which will hopefully improve the stability and long-term reputation of AMD's Radeon graphics software. Included amongst them is relief for problems with using webcams in ReLive, RDR2 black screens, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne performance woes and over 15 other problems experienced and reported by end-users. Also outline in the release notes are ten newly identified issues next up for the chopping block.
The Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 20.3.1 driver update is available for 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and 10, and is compatible with Radeon GPU hardware as far back as the HD 7000-series (GCN 1.0 architecture). Download it at amd.com/en/support/ by selecting your hardware and software config. or through the Radeon Settings desktop app.
Release Notes
Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 Highlights
Support For
DOOM™ Eternal
- Achieve up to 5% better performance playing Doom Eternal (Ultra Nightmare settings) at 1920x1080p on the Radeon™ RX 5700XT with Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1, versus Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2. [RS-333]
Half-Life™: Alyx
Ghost Recon™ Breakpoint
- Vulkan® API
Added Vulkan® Support
VK_EXT_post_depth_coverage
- This extension indicates support for shader modules that use the SPV_KHR_post_depth_coverage extension. Fragment shaders using the SPV extension can control whether the SampleMask built-in input variable reflects the coverage after the depth and stencil tests are applied. This extension is only supported on AMD RDNA hardware.
VK_KHR_shader_non_semantic_info
- This extension indicates support for shader modules that use the SPV_KHR_non_semantic_info extension. Shader modules using the SPV extension can include non-semantic instructions that can be safely removed from the module.
VK_EXT_texel_buffer_alignment
- This extension provides a mechanism to query alignment requirements for uniform and storage texel buffers that cannot be well communicated via minTexelBufferOffsetAlignment.
VK_EXT_pipeline_creation_cache_control
- This extension provides flags that can be used by an application to inquire about potential high cost that could be incurred during pipeline creation. The information can be obtained prior to carrying out the create operation, which would allow the application to adjust its behavior accordingly.
Fixed Issues
- Frame skipping or choppy audio may be experienced in videos captured using Radeon ReLive.
- Some games may experience stutter while using Instant Replay or third-party applications that stream or perform screen capture.
- Hotkeys may fail to apply to scenes in ReLive scene editor when the scene has a custom name.
- Webcam elements may fail to appear on screen when a custom location is set during ReLive recording.
- AMD A-Series/E-Series APU Processors will reflect older Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition Settings user interface.
- Zero RPM toggle may fail to reset or appear when disabling advanced fan tuning options in Performance Tuning.
- Radeon Software may automatically close when a live stream is started or stopped.
- Desktop cursor may intermittently remain visible after toggling Radeon Software’s overlay in some games.
- Red Dead Redemption 2™ may experience a blank screen when launched using the Vulkan® API.
- Radeon Software may experience an application crash, or a system TDR may occur, when VRAM reaches 8GB or more with HBCC enabled on Radeon RX Vega series graphics products.
- DOOM™ may experience an intermittent system hang or application crash during gameplay.
- Space Engineers™ may experience an application or hang during gameplay when Grass Density is turned on.
- A system hang or black screen may occur when exiting SteamVR™ with multi display system configurations.
- Monster Hunter World™: Iceborne may have lower than expected performance in some areas of the game on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Video playback may exhibit corruption on Interlaced content in Movies and TV on Ryzen 3000 with Radeon Graphics Processors.
- PassMark™ may experience an application hang on some Ryzen with Radeon Graphics Processors.
- On Radeon RX Vega and older discrete GPUs and on APUs, enabling integer display scaling could result in a reduction of frame rate.
- Integer display scaling may not show up as available in Radeon Software on some GCN-based GPUs.
- The default hotkeys for recording and taking a screenshot with Radon ReLive have been updated. Recording is now 'Ctrl + Shift + E' by default and Screenshot is now 'Ctrl + Shift + I' by default.
Known Issues
- Enhanced Sync may cause a black screen to occur when enabled on some games and system configurations. 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.
- 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.
- Desktop or In-game corruption may occur intermittently when HDR is enabled.
- Radeon RX Vega series graphics products may experience a system crash or TDR when playing games with Instant Replay enabled. A workaround for users experiencing these issues is to disable Instant Replay.
- A system crash or hang may be experienced when using Edge browser to play Netflix™ content.
- 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.
- Direct ML Media Filters are currently unavailable in Radeon Software Media gallery for video or image content.
Important Notes
AMD Ryzen™ Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Vega Graphics FAQ for Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition can be found here.
Footnotes
[RS-333] Testing conducted by AMD Performance Labs as of March 16, 2020 with a Radeon RX 5700 XT. PC manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. The Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 configuration scored an average of 139.1 FPS, while the 20.2.2 Edition configuration scored an average of 133.1 FPS, showing an 5% uplift driver over driver. Actual results may vary.
Package Contents
The Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 installation package contains the following:
- Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 Driver Version 19.50.29.15 (Windows Driver Store Version 26.20.15029.15004)
Support For
DOOM™ Eternal
- Achieve up to 5% better performance playing Doom Eternal (Ultra Nightmare settings) at 1920x1080p on the Radeon™ RX 5700XT with Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1, versus Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2. [RS-333]
Half-Life™: Alyx
Ghost Recon™ Breakpoint
- Vulkan® API
Added Vulkan® Support
VK_EXT_post_depth_coverage
- This extension indicates support for shader modules that use the SPV_KHR_post_depth_coverage extension. Fragment shaders using the SPV extension can control whether the SampleMask built-in input variable reflects the coverage after the depth and stencil tests are applied. This extension is only supported on AMD RDNA hardware.
VK_KHR_shader_non_semantic_info
- This extension indicates support for shader modules that use the SPV_KHR_non_semantic_info extension. Shader modules using the SPV extension can include non-semantic instructions that can be safely removed from the module.
VK_EXT_texel_buffer_alignment
- This extension provides a mechanism to query alignment requirements for uniform and storage texel buffers that cannot be well communicated via minTexelBufferOffsetAlignment.
VK_EXT_pipeline_creation_cache_control
- This extension provides flags that can be used by an application to inquire about potential high cost that could be incurred during pipeline creation. The information can be obtained prior to carrying out the create operation, which would allow the application to adjust its behavior accordingly.
Fixed Issues
- Frame skipping or choppy audio may be experienced in videos captured using Radeon ReLive.
- Some games may experience stutter while using Instant Replay or third-party applications that stream or perform screen capture.
- Hotkeys may fail to apply to scenes in ReLive scene editor when the scene has a custom name.
- Webcam elements may fail to appear on screen when a custom location is set during ReLive recording.
- AMD A-Series/E-Series APU Processors will reflect older Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition Settings user interface.
- Zero RPM toggle may fail to reset or appear when disabling advanced fan tuning options in Performance Tuning.
- Radeon Software may automatically close when a live stream is started or stopped.
- Desktop cursor may intermittently remain visible after toggling Radeon Software’s overlay in some games.
- Red Dead Redemption 2™ may experience a blank screen when launched using the Vulkan® API.
- Radeon Software may experience an application crash, or a system TDR may occur, when VRAM reaches 8GB or more with HBCC enabled on Radeon RX Vega series graphics products.
- DOOM™ may experience an intermittent system hang or application crash during gameplay.
- Space Engineers™ may experience an application or hang during gameplay when Grass Density is turned on.
- A system hang or black screen may occur when exiting SteamVR™ with multi display system configurations.
- Monster Hunter World™: Iceborne may have lower than expected performance in some areas of the game on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- Video playback may exhibit corruption on Interlaced content in Movies and TV on Ryzen 3000 with Radeon Graphics Processors.
- PassMark™ may experience an application hang on some Ryzen with Radeon Graphics Processors.
- On Radeon RX Vega and older discrete GPUs and on APUs, enabling integer display scaling could result in a reduction of frame rate.
- Integer display scaling may not show up as available in Radeon Software on some GCN-based GPUs.
- The default hotkeys for recording and taking a screenshot with Radon ReLive have been updated. Recording is now 'Ctrl + Shift + E' by default and Screenshot is now 'Ctrl + Shift + I' by default.
Known Issues
- Enhanced Sync may cause a black screen to occur when enabled on some games and system configurations. 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.
- 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.
- Desktop or In-game corruption may occur intermittently when HDR is enabled.
- Radeon RX Vega series graphics products may experience a system crash or TDR when playing games with Instant Replay enabled. A workaround for users experiencing these issues is to disable Instant Replay.
- A system crash or hang may be experienced when using Edge browser to play Netflix™ content.
- 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.
- Direct ML Media Filters are currently unavailable in Radeon Software Media gallery for video or image content.
Important Notes
AMD Ryzen™ Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Vega Graphics FAQ for Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition can be found here.
Footnotes
[RS-333] Testing conducted by AMD Performance Labs as of March 16, 2020 with a Radeon RX 5700 XT. PC manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. The Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 configuration scored an average of 139.1 FPS, while the 20.2.2 Edition configuration scored an average of 133.1 FPS, showing an 5% uplift driver over driver. Actual results may vary.
Package Contents
The Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 installation package contains the following:
- Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 Driver Version 19.50.29.15 (Windows Driver Store Version 26.20.15029.15004)
