AMD Radeon 19.6.2 GPU driver rolls in enhanced support for Vulkan graphics API
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AMD has pushed out a new Radeon graphics card driver update, the headline addition being revamped support for the Vulkan graphics API. The Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 19.6.2 GPU is almost exclusively focused on enhanced Vulkan functionality, adding in support for new Vulkan extensions and assorted goodies.
Team Red already holds a commanding performance advantage over the competition in terms of Vulkan support, so an enhanced feature set can only improve matters. After slow beginnings, support for Vulkan is really beginning to pick up among developers. This year alone we’ve already had Total War: Three Kingdoms, Rage 2, World War Z, and Quake II RTX all arrive with Vulkan support. The future’s looking bright for Khronos Group’s API, providing a genuine contender to DirectX 12’s slightly shonky crown.
Anyway, a grand total of five new Vulkan extensions are bundled with the Radeon 19.6.2 graphics card driver, comprising the following:
Added Vulkan Support
VK_EXT_host_query_reset Allows resets of queries from the host, rather than on the GPU. VK_EXT_full_screen_exclusive Gives applications explicit control over exclusive full-screen modes (this is for instance useful for HDR support). VK_AMD_display_native_hdr Exposes FreeSync2 capabilities for improved HDR support. VK_EXT_separate_stencil_usage Separates the usage flags for depth/stencil aspects of a depth/stencil image making it possible to restrict/expand the usage relative to the depth aspect. VK_KHR_uniform_buffer_standard_layout Provides more flexible alignment for uniform buffers, enabling among other things, the usage of std430 layouts in Vulkan.
Aside from this, there are no game-specific performance fixes in this driver update. That’s basically because there are simply no new big new games coming out this week. However, there is the usual myriad bug fixes and known issues to look out for. There’s nothing particularly major to look out for here though, aside from the handful of folks that may own an Acer Swift 3 laptop.
Radeon Adrenalin 19.6.2 Fixed Issues
Wireless VR may experience performance drops across multiple game titles on some Radeon RX 400 and Radeon RX 500 series graphics products. Performance Metrics Overlay may fail to enable or may be disabled when toggling Radeon Overlay while in game. A TDR may occur when exiting some gaming applications that are using DirectX 12 API when multiple displays are connected and in clone mode. Microsoft PIX tool may fail when a GPU is connected using AMD XConnect Technology. Crackdown 3 may experience an application or game hang on Radeon R7 370 series graphics products.
Radeon Adrenalin 19.6.2 Known Issues
Radeon ReLive streaming and uploading of videos and other content to Facebook is currently unavailable. ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 may experience discrete GPU connection issues with devices disappearing from device manager when the system is idle. Performance Metrics Overlay and Radeon WattMan gauges may experience inaccurate fluctuating readings on AMD Radeon VII. ACER Swift 3 with AMD Ryzen Processor may experience system instability when upgrading to Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.6.2 using the Custom Clean Installation option. Graphics driver may not uninstall correctly when using the express uninstall option on some Ryzen APUs.
As always, the latest AMD driver can be auto-updated through your current Adrenalin installation or grabbed directly from AMD’s website.
