AMD Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition: Streaming for Videos, Games, & VR

Closing Words

To preface, an exact list of resolved issues was not provided before today’s launch. On the feature side however, the new Adrenalin 2019 Edition is an interesting sequel to Adrenalin, with seemingly larger investment of resources put into streaming games to mobile devices and VR headsets.

How successful that becomes remains to be seen. Otherwise, as another one of AMD and RTG’s annual major updates, it accomplishes the fundamentals by addressing user requested features, extending core features like FreeSync 2 and WattMan, and refining the previously-new AMD Link and Radeon Overlay. Particularly with AMD Link, the previous Adrenalin iteration had UX inconsistencies that could hamper the way it was designed to be used.

In terms of all the streaming emphasis, while ReLive continues to be refined for streamers, there isn’t much note of actual streamer adoption, or of notable streamers utilizing it.

With the use-case of a streamer using a tablet or phone with AMD Link as second screen, this would be something that varies based on a streamer's style or workflow. It's difficult to say without seeing a streamer utilize it in full force. For social gamers who want to send screenshots or instant replays of everything to everyone and post it everywhere, AMD Link still provides that quick option during a respawn timer or end-of-round.

The AMD Link based game streaming is in an odd place because of the WiFi network requirement, and similarly it would depend on a gamer's specific intended use case.

Usage would be more-or-less a localized area near the PC. The desktop streaming might be a little more versatile in terms of productivity use-cases while moving about. But if the implementation is solid and seamless enough across most configurations, then it might just be convenient to have if you never want to pause a game when you need to step away momentarily. The SteamVR streaming has more caveats, but also clearer benefits. The discrete GPU would outpace either the Android phone's GPU or HTC Vive Focus. Yet it's not clear how seamless the configuration is.

Even the outstanding driver matters regarding DXR and mobile APUs are somewhat out-of-scope for today’s annual feature updates. And though RX Vega received some welcome enhancements, the current support situation is not fundamentally different from last year’s Adrenalin.

Adrenalin 2019’s marquee features might be solely focused on discrete GPUs but the fact remains that the discrete Radeon GPU lineup is in somewhat of a holding pattern, with only the recent RX 590 emerging as a refresh. These are all factors that today’s feature update is not intended to address, yet at some point falls under the same driver strategy.

Another thing to note is that of mid-year overhauls like Crimson ReLive 17.7.2, which AMD stated was a possibility for the coming year.

Given that Adrenalin 2019 may not seem as wide-ranging as the original Adrenalin Edition, this would be a good opportunity to gauge the current direction of RTG driver development. For the past 4 years, the releases of Polaris and Vega provided ample areas of extending feature support, perhaps best exemplified in the feature compatibility tables for Crimson ReLive Edition. For the time being, exploring game/VR streaming offers plenty future directions.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 drivers are available through the Radeon Settings tab or online at the AMD driver download page. More information on this update and further issues can be found in the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 18.12.2 release notes.