Advanced Micro Devices formed a stand-alone graphics chip division, Radeon Technologies Group, to better focus on all things graphics. Now it is launching new software, dubbed Radeon Software Crimson, that will effectively be a “mini operating system for graphics” on your home PC.
The move is the latest effort by AMD to cater to the tastes of players of PC games, which are a $33.7 billion market in 2015, according to market researcher Newzoo. The Radeon Software Crimson edition is the latest collection of software — such as graphics drivers that connect hardware and software in a PC — that the company has been delivering for more than 20 years. The drivers consist of user interfaces, libraries, tools, and applications that make it easy for games and other apps to work with your PC’s graphics system.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1831552,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"A"}']“The software has morphed into a mini graphics operating system,” said Raj Koduri, senior vice president in charge of Radeon Technologies Group, in a video.
The latest Radeon Software replaces what was previously known as the AMD Catalyst Control Center, and it is meant to compete with rival Nvidia’s GeForce Experience. (AMD’s Catalyst software has been downloaded more than 1 billion times.) Gamers can use the software to auto-detect their hardware and figure out the optimal settings for running games. AMD has revamped the interface, and it is introducing the new Radeon Settings as a modern user interface for getting your PC’s settings just right.
The features include a Game Manager that lets you view all of your games and their graphics settings. The system also has video quality presets, social media integration, system notifications, and simplified setup. Radeon Software Crimson also loads 10 times faster than previous software — now in less than one second.
You can use the software to set overclock settings (which allow you to run the video card at higher speeds than the factory defaults) for your games, so that each game will launch with a different preset graphics setting.
