AMD’s new Crimson Software 17.4.1 isn’t a particularly meaty driver release, but the improvements it does come with are quite interesting, including updates for smoother VR projection and new connectivity options, along with a small handful of bug fixes.
On the Rift side of the VR font, this driver adds support for Oculus’ Asynchronous Spacewarp technology on Radeon R9 290 series and R9 390 series cards. In short, Oculus’ ASW is a feature that takes two frames and extrapolates a new frame in between, resulting in a much smoother frame rate – an especially useful feature for users who don’t have the fastest graphics cards but still want to get into VR and have a pleasant experience. For a more detailed explanation on how ASW works you can read our detailed writeup.
Similarly, AMD also added support for SteamVR Asynchronous Projection for Radeon RX 480 and RX 470 graphics cards, just like it promised last month. This feature will smooth out playback on the HTC Vive but, for the time being, it only supports Windows 10.
For connectivity, the driver adds support for DisplayPort 1.4 HBR3, 8K at 30Hz over a single cable, and 8K at a full 60Hz over two cables.
Resolved issues include:
Display flickering may be experienced on some AMD FreeSync displays when running applications in windowed borderless fullscreen.Radeon Settings install may become stuck or unresponsive when doing a driver upgrade through Radeon SettingsTom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlands may experience poor Multi GPU scaling on some Multi GPU enabled system configurations.Surprise unplug of an AMD XConnect™ technology system after Radeon Software installation may cause a system hang.
More information on known issues and download links are available in the full release notes on AMD's website. Let us know in the comments what your experience is with the new driver. Has enabling ASW or SteamVR Asyncronous Projection improved your gaming experience?
