AMD Launches Much-Needed Software Revamp, Offers More Control Of Video Cards

AMD has released what's called Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition, which is a revamped package of all the software technologies built for PC gamers that use AMD graphics cards. While it offers new features like the Radeon Overlay and the AMD Link mobile application, Adrenalin Edition improves the functionality of existing programs and houses them in a convenient fashion.

With the Radeon Overlay, all your options can be accessed while in-game and can be changed on-the-fly. Performance monitoring options include live metrics and internal logging of that information. ReLive has been around since last year--which allows users to capture gameplay, launch a stream, and take screenshots--but it can now be customized in the overlay with plenty of options. Streamers can change the position of their picture-in-picture, adjust microphone settings, and record instant replays.

Users can also access Radeon Chill, a dynamic video card power management technology, which now supports more games through a catch-all profile. It also has support for games that use the Vulkan graphics API. Radeon Wattman lets you adjust performance manually, and it's accessible through the overlay and allows for saved profiles. FRTC now supports Vulkan games, too; this program lets you set framerate targets so the video card adjusts properly based on its set goal.

Enhanced Sync now supports all GCN video cards, which dates back to the Radeon HD 7000-series of cards that released in 2012. E-sync is a lower-latency version of V-sync to get rid of screen tearing with less stuttering; it's especially useful for those without FreeSync monitors. In addition to all the ways AMD lets you control video card performance, the new overlay lets you adjust color settings. Brightness, hue, contrast, saturation options can be tweaked at any time.

AMD's Adrenalin Edition software may not give Radeon video cards a direct boost in performance, but it's a quality-of-life improvement that was much needed for AMD users. It's streamlined and user-friendly and packs AMD software technologies in a clean user interface. If you have an AMD card and haven't downloaded Adrenalin Edition, you can do so on the official website.

For more on what AMD offers PC gamers, check out our reviews of the RX Vega 64 and RX Vega 56 video cards, or read our review of the Ryzen 7 1800X and Ryzen 5 1600X CPUs.