2 DISCLAIMER The information presented in this document is for informational purposes only and may contain technical inaccuracies, omissions and typographical errors. The information contained herein is subject to change and may be rendered inaccurate for many reasons, including but not limited to product and roadmap changes, component and motherboard version changes, new model and/or product releases, product differences between differing manufacturers, software changes, BIOS flashes, firmware upgrades, or the like. AMD assumes no obligation to update or otherwise correct or revise this information. However, AMD reserves the right to revise this information and to make changes from time to time to the content hereof without obligation of AMD to notify any person of such revisions or changes. AMD MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS HEREOF AND ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INACCURACIES, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS INFORMAMDON. AMD SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL AMD BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF ANY INFORMAMDON CONTAINED HEREIN, EVEN IF AMD IS EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS DISCLAIMER ................................................................................................................................................... 2 AMD Catalyst™ Omega Driver How To Guide ........................................................................................................ 5 Virtual Super Resolution (VSR) .............................................................................................................................. 5 Requirements for VSR: ......................................................................................................................6 Supported Modes: ............................................................................................................................6 How to Enable Virtual Super Resolution ...........................................................................................7 Improved Multimedia Playback – The Perfect Picture Experience ........................................................................ 8 AMD Fluid Motion Video ................................................................................................................................ 8 Requirements: ...................................................................................................................................8 How to Experience Fluid Motion Video: ...........................................................................................8 Contour Removal ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Requirements: .................................................................................................................................10 How to Experience Contour Removal: ............................................................................................10 1080P Detail Enhancement ....................................................................................................................... 12 Requirements: .................................................................................................................................12 How to Experience 1080P Detail Enhancement: ............................................................................12 FullHD to UltraHD Video .............................................................................................................................. 14 Requirements: .................................................................................................................................14 How to Enable an UltraHD-like Experience: ....................................................................................14 4 5K Panel Support ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Requirements: .................................................................................................................................15 How To Enable 5K Panel Support: ...................................................................................................15 Frame Pacing Enhancements ............................................................................................................................. 16 How to Test Enhanced Frame Pacing: .............................................................................................16 Performance Optimizations for Gaming on APUs ................................................................................................ 18 Performance Optimizations for Gaming on Discrete GPUs .................................................................................. 19 Contact Information ............................................................................................................................................ 20 ATTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................................................... 20 5 AMD CATALYST™ OMEGA DRIVER HOW TO GUIDE The AMD Catalyst Omega driver brings a number of new features and enhancements to a wide range of AMD GPU and APU products. This guide explains which hardware configurations are supported by each new feature, and how to enable them for testing and review. VIRTUAL SUPER RESOLUTION (VSR) This technology allows a user to improve visual quality in games and other content by rendering at a very high resolution (up to 4K) and then displaying that content at a lower resolution supported by the available monitor. VSR is game- and engine-agnostic solution. When this feature is enabled, Virtual Super Resolutions beyond the native resolution of the display device will be available in a wide variety of games and applications, including the Windows® desktop. Effectively, VSR provides a Super Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SSAA) feature for the games and applications that do not natively support that functionality. While the real benefit of VSR occurs while playing your games and applications, comparing ‘before and after’ screenshots is one way to understand and illustrate the benefits. Zooming in on specific areas of the images can bring those benefits into focus. 6 In addition to the quality benefits associated with rendering at a higher resolution, VSR can improve the user experience by providing a wider or more complete view. This aspect of the feature can be beneficial in real-time strategy or world-building games, for example, where seeing more of the world can give the user an edge. REQUIREMENTS FOR VSR: AMD GPU: AMD Radeon R9 295X2/R9 290X/R9 290/R9 285 Supported on Single and Multi-GPU configurations SUPPORTED MODES: Target Display Timing 1920 X 1080 @ 60Hz 1920 X 1200 @ 60Hz 2560 x 1440 @ 60Hz 1920 x 1080 @ 120Hz Supported VSR Modes 2560 x 1440 3200 x 1800 3840 x 2160 (R9 285 only) 2048 x 1535 2560 x 1600 3840 x 2400 (R9 285 only) 3200 x 1800 1920 x 1200 @ 120Hz 2048 x 1536 @ 120Hz VSR works independent of the game engine. As long as the game title can support the higher resolutions enabled by VSR, this feature should work. 7 HOW TO ENABLE VIRTUAL SUPER RESOLUTION 1) Open AMD Catalyst™ Control Center (CCC) a. b. c. Use the Preferences to switch to Advanced Mode, if it’s not already running Open the ‘My Digital Flat Panels’ page Place a checkmark in the ‘Enable virtual super resolution’ checkbox and click Apply 2) Launch a game and use the in-game menus to select a resolution that is HIGHER than the native resolution of your flat panel. The Windows desktop can also be configured in a similar way, if the VSR benefits are desired for applications that run on the desktop or in a window. Right-click on the Windows desktop and choose ‘Screen resolution’ from the pop-up menu. When VSR is enabled, you will see additional resolutions in the list Below is a screen capture of the AMD Catalyst Control Center showing the settings tab to enable VSR. 8 IMPROVED MULTIMEDIA PLAYBACK – THE PERFECT PICTURE EXPERIENCE AMD Fluid Motion Video This feature uses GPU compute to interpolate inferred frames with real frames and increase overall video frame rate and smoothness when watching Blu-ray content. Frame 1 Frame 1a Frame 1b Frame 2 Frame 2a REQUIREMENTS: - AMD APU: Supported on 35W or higher AMD 7x00 A-series APUs. AMD GPU: AMD Radeon R9 295X2/R9 290X/R9 290/R9 285/R7 260X/R7 260 Cyberlink PowerDVD 14 Blu-ray content HOW TO EXPERIENCE FLUID MOTION VIDEO: 1) Open AMD Catalyst™ Control Center (CCC) a. b. c. Use the Preferences to switch to Advanced Mode, if it’s not already running Open the ‘Quality page’ page then go to ‘Video Quality” tab Scroll down until you are able to place a checkmark on “Fluid Motion” and use slider to select a quality preset (ex. Medium) 2) Use Cyberlink PowerDVD 14. a. b. c. d. e. Play a Blu-ray disk or video (Note: only available on Blu-ray content) Go to the settings screen on PowerDVD, click the settings button(the gear on the top right) Under Video, Audio, Subtitles tab, click on TrueTheater/Hardware Decoding Place a checkmark in the Enable AMD Fluid Motion for Blu-ray movies checkbox. Playback a Blu-ray movie to experience Fluid Motion Video. 9 Below is a screen capture of AMD Catalyst Control Center to enable AMD Fluid Motion video: Below is a screen capture of PowerDVD’s settings tabs to enable AMD Fluid Motion video: 10 Contour Removal This feature implements an improved algorithm for compressed videos which removes compression artifacts without disturbing video details. Original Video Processed Video REQUIREMENTS: - AMD APU: Supported on 25W or higher AMD APUs. (Athlon APUs and 7x00 A-series APUs) AMD GPU: AMD Radeon R9 295X2/R9 290X/R9 290/R9 285/R7 260X/R7 260 HOW TO EXPERIENCE CONTOUR REMOVAL: 1) Open AMD Catalyst Control Center (CCC) a. b. c. Use the Preferences to switch to Advanced Mode, if it’s not already running Under Video tab, choose Quality, then Video Quality. Place a checkmark in the De-contouring box. 2) Playback a compressed video to experience contour removal. 11 Below is a screen capture of the AMD Catalyst Control Center showing the settings tabs to enable Contour Removal. 12 1080P Detail Enhancement This feature improves the sharpness and clarity of compressed and low resolution content when it’s played on a 1080P display. The AMD Catalyst Omega driver brings this existing feature to AMD APU products. Original Video Processed Video REQUIREMENTS: - AMD APU: AMD 7x00 A-Series APU AMD GPU: AMD Radeon R9 285 Any supported video player Low resolution, compressed video content HOW TO EXPERIENCE 1080P DETAIL ENHANCEMENT: 1) Open AMD Catalyst Control Center (CCC) a. b. c. Use the Preferences to switch to Advanced Mode, if it’s not already running Under Video tab, choose Quality, then choose Video Quality Place checkmarks in the Edge-enhancement, De-noise, Mosquito Noise Reduction and Deblocking boxes and apply your changes. 2) Play your video content 13 Below is a screen capture of the AMD Catalyst Control Center showing the settings tab to enable video enhancement. 14 FullHD to UltraHD Video This feature makes your 1080p video content look even better when displayed on an Ultra HD (4K resolution) display. Original 4K video Processed 1080P video REQUIREMENTS: - AMD APU: AMD 7x00 A-Series APU AMD GPU: AMD Radeon R7 260 or higher 4K (3840x2160) Ultra HD display HOW TO ENABLE AN ULTRAHD-LIKE EXPERIENCE: 1) This technology is already enabled by default as a part of the driver. 2) Choose a 1080p video and play it on a 4K display. 15 5K PANEL SUPPORT The AMD Catalyst Omega driver enables unparalleled display performance for professionals and gamers who require the highest resolution available with support for this new breed of displays. The Dell UP2715K panel supports 5K capability: - 5120x2880 @ 60Hz 14.7 million pixels, 218 PPI Dual DisplayPort 1.2 input REQUIREMENTS: - An AMD GPU with at least two individual DisplayPort 1.2 output ports. GPU output connector configurations vary by brand and model. Check with your graphics board manufacturer. GPUs supported: AMD FirePro, AMD Radeon HD 7000-series , AMD Radeon R-series HOW TO ENABLE 5K PANEL SUPPORT: 1) Connect the 5K panel to an AMD GPU with at least 2x DP 1.2 ports 2) Boot to Windows 8.1 3) The monitor should be automatically configured 16 FRAME PACING ENHANCEMENTS Frame-pacing enhancements have been implemented in prior AMD Catalyst™ drivers to bring a smoother gameplay experience to users of AMD Crossfire™ Multi-GPU graphics configurations. The AMD Catalyst Omega driver brings this same technology to our AMD Dual Graphics system configurations, which harness the power of an AMD APU working together with an AMD Radeon GPU. System configuration (for the results shown above): AMD A10 7850K APU with AMD Radeon R7 graphics AMD Radeon R7 250 Windows 8.1 64bit, 2x4GB DDR3 2400 AMD Catalyst Omega driver (14.501) vs. a previous driver, AMD Catalyst driver 14.301.1001 All game titles were run at 1080p medium settings. HOW TO TEST ENHANCED FRAME PACING: 1) Use FRAPS to log frame times during gameplay. a. b. c. d. FRAPS is a free download from www.fraps.com. Enable the ‘frametimes’ option on the FPS page of FRAPS to enable frame time logging Locate a repeatable scene in the game you’d like to test Start FRAPS logging with the FRAPS hotkey (user selectable, usually F11) and play through the scene. Stop FRAPS logging with the same hotkey, use the FRAPS hotkey More steps on next page. 17 2) Analyze the log file a. b. c. d. e. Import the resulting frame time log into Excel or a similar tool. FRAPS logs the total (cumulative) time elapsed on a per-frame basis. To calculate the time spent on EACH frame (in milliseconds), subtract the timestamp for a given frame from the timestamp for the previous frame. Plot the resulting frame times on a line graph. Repeat the process using an older AMD Catalyst driver, capturing and plotting frame times for the same scene in the same game. Compare the plots. The AMD Catalyst Omega driver provides more consistent frame times, with smaller differences in render time between subsequent frames, and this results in a smoother, more enjoyable gaming experience 3) Perform additional statistical analysis as desired a. Frame time smoothness can be expressed in a variety of ways. Calculating the standard deviation of the frame times as a portion of the average frame time is one way to express the smoothness of game play (smaller values indicate a smoother experience). 18 PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS FOR GAMING ON APUS Like many other AMD Catalyst drivers, the AMD Catalyst Omega driver delivers free performance increases. Here we compare the performance of the AMD Catalyst Omega against AMD Catalyst driver 14.2 – the driver provided with our AMD 7000-series APU products at launch. System configuration (for the results shown above): AMD A10 7850K with AMD Radeon R7 graphics, Windows 8.1 64bit, 2x4GB DDR3 2400, AMD Catalyst Omega driver (14.50) vs. AMD Catalyst driver 14.2 APU performance optimization results for reference: Game Title Batman Arkham Origins 1080p Settings AMD Catalyst 14.2 (FPS) AMD Catalyst Omega 14.50 (FPS) PHYSX=off GEOMETRYDETAIL=normal DYNAMICSHADOWS=normal MOTIONBLUR=off DOF=normal DISTORTION=off LENSFLARES=off LIGHTSHAFTS=off REFLECTIONS=off AO=normal LOW settings 34.96 45.2 35.7 38.15 MAX settings 37 43 Fifa Online 1080p MAX settings 53 56 StarCraft II 1080p MAX settings 60.97 64.05 COD: AW 1080p Medium settings 48 53 Bioshock Infinite 1080p Dota 2 1080p 19 PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS FOR GAMING ON DISCRETE GPUS AMD Catalyst Omega driver also provides significant performance benefits for gamers who use our AMD Radeon Discrete GPU products. Performance benefits are shown here for an AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics card, comparing the AMD Catalyst Omega driver to the launch driver for that product – AMD Catalyst driver 13.12 System configuration (for the results shown above): Intel Core i7 4690X, Windows 8.1 64bit, 16GB DDR3-1866, AMD Catalyst Omega driver (14.501) vs. AMD Catalyst driver 13.12 Discrete GPU performance optimization results for reference: Game Title Batman Arkham Origins 4k Bioshock Infinite @ 4K COD Ghosts @ 4K Grid 2 @ 4K Sniper Elite 3 @ 4K Rome 2: Total War @ 4K Settings @ AMD Catalyst 13.12 (FPS) AMD Catalyst Omega 14.501 (FPS) PHYSX=off GEOMETRYDETAIL=dx11 DYNAMICSHADOWS=dx11 MOTIONBLUR=on DOF=dx11 DISTORTION=on LENSFLARES=on LIGHTSHAFTS=on REFLECTIONS=on AO=dx11 ULTRAsettings 42.85 49.56 30.47 36.24 imagequality=extra dof=on ssao=hbao terraindetail=on motionblur=on distortion=on shadows=on HIGH preset, 8xMSAA, 16xAF 24.7 27.5 84 90.64 texturedetail=high motionblur=off quality=high ssaa=0 aalevel=high shadowdetail=high drawdistance=high ambientocclusion=off tessellation=off obscurancefields=off mantle=off VERY HIGH settings 61.4 67 43 46.8 20 CONTACT INFORMATION For any further information, questions or anything else not included in this guide, please contact Robert Hallock: [email protected] ATTRIBUTION © 2014b. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Phenom, Catalyst, CrossFireX, Radeon and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows, Vista and DirectX® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. E
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