AMD Driver Update: Massive OpenGL Performance Boost Tested!

The latest AMD driver update delivers significant OpenGL performance enhancements, potentially revolutionizing gaming and emulation on AMD hardware. This article dives deep into benchmark results across various games and emulators, revealing the extent of these improvements and highlighting the benefits for AMD users. Is it time to upgrade? Let's find out!

What is OpenGL and Why Does It Matter?

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform API for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. For years, it has been a staple in the gaming and emulation communities, providing a standardized way for software to interact with graphics hardware. Many older games and emulators rely heavily on OpenGL, making its performance crucial for smooth gameplay. The new AMD driver aims to optimize how AMD GPUs handle OpenGL instructions, leading to improved framerates and reduced stuttering.

OpenGL optimization is essential for maximizing the performance of older software on modern hardware. With these new optimizations, AMD aims to deliver a better experience across a wide range of titles, even those not built on the latest APIs.

This matters because many gamers enjoy playing retro games or rely on emulators to experience console titles on their PCs. By improving OpenGL performance, AMD effectively breathes new life into these older applications, making them more enjoyable and accessible. Moreover, OpenGL performance also impacts various professional applications that utilize the API for rendering and visualization.

The driver update incorporates changes that allow AMD graphics cards to process OpenGL commands more efficiently. These enhancements can reduce CPU overhead, improve shader compilation, and optimize memory management, all contributing to better performance. The key is understanding the nature of OpenGL and appreciating the effort involved in improving its efficiency in the face of newer graphics APIs like Vulkan and DirectX.

AMD's Commitment to OpenGL: A Significant Shift

In recent years, the focus in the graphics industry has largely shifted towards newer APIs like Vulkan and DirectX 12. These APIs offer closer-to-the-metal access to hardware, enabling developers to extract maximum performance. However, AMD's decision to invest in OpenGL optimizations demonstrates a continued commitment to supporting a wide range of applications, including those that predate the modern API era.

This is particularly important for users with older AMD graphics cards, as these optimizations are not limited to the latest GPU architectures. By improving OpenGL rendering, AMD is extending the lifespan of existing hardware and providing value to a broader customer base. The update signifies more than just a performance patch; it reflects a strategic decision to support diverse applications and hardware configurations. This is a refreshing approach in an industry often driven by the relentless pursuit of the newest technologies.

The 79% performance uplift that AMD are claiming is significant. Obviously due to testing and hardware differences, results are going to vary from user to user. For Minecraft for example, that is running at maximum setting, with 4k. Even if every application had even half the benefit of Minecraft, this would still be a really good improvement. That being said, the results should still provide an idea of what to expect.

Test System Specifications

The tests were conducted on a system equipped with the following components:

• CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F
• GPU: AMD Vega 56
• RAM: 16GB DDR4 (Dual Channel)

This configuration represents a mid-range gaming PC, providing a balanced platform for evaluating the impact of the AMD driver update. The Vega 56 GPU, while not the latest model, is still a capable card and serves as a good representative of the AMD user base that could benefit from OpenGL optimizations.

For benchmarking, the latest version of each Game and emulator was used, along with consistent settings across all tests. Frame rates were recorded using reliable monitoring tools to ensure accurate and consistent data. Each test was repeated multiple times to minimize the impact of variability and ensure the results are representative of typical performance.

Benchmarking Software and Tools

To accurately measure performance improvements, a suite of benchmarking tools was utilized during the testing process. Frame rates, CPU usage, and GPU utilization were closely monitored. These metrics provide a comprehensive view of the system's behavior under different workloads, allowing for a detailed analysis of the driver update's impact. Key tools used during benchmarking:

• Fraps: Used for real-time frame rate monitoring in games.
• MSI Afterburner: Provides detailed GPU and CPU utilization metrics, along with temperature monitoring.
• Benchmark-specific tools: Some games, like those with built-in benchmarking modes, were used for standardized performance measurements.

This multi-faceted approach ensures that the results are not only indicative of frame rate improvements but also account for overall system stability and resource usage.

Doom (2016)

The tests were conducting using Doom (2016) using the OpenGL API. The average frame rate was improved significantly, there is an absence of Vulcan. This shows that openGL performance was significantly better. A demo version of the game was used for testing. The latest drivers are often best, but sometimes there may be bugs.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 153, the 1% Low was 81 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 166 FPS, the 1% Low was 83 FPS

OpenMW (Morrowind Engine)

OpenMW is a modern open-source engine recreation for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. The test was conducted on OpenMW reporting major changes in average. This shows that openGL performed very well with the new drivers.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 226, the 1% Low was 141 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 249 FPS, the 1% Low was 186 FPS

7 Days to Die

Tests were conducted on "7 days to die" on OpenGl where is refused to run with the new drivers, suggesting bugs are present. The directx11 (dx11) was tested instead, showing higher average FPS.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 41 FPS, the 1% Low was 35 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers (dx11) was 98 FPS, the 1% Low was 36 FPS

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Wolfenstein: The New Order with these new AMD drivers shows an overall boost in frames per second with a 60fps cap.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 178, the 1% Low was 125 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 212 FPS, the 1% Low was 167 FPS

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Amnesia: The Dark Descent shows very little improvements. While the minimums improved, averages had very little difference.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 196, the 1% Low was 97 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 203 FPS, the 1% Low was 146 FPS

Subnautica

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 109, the 1% Low was 37 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers DX9 was 142 FPS, the 1% Low was 88 FPS.

The game was also run with directx9 which overall provided very similar results in average, with about doubling the minimum FPS, giving it a more stable experience.

Killing Floor

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 95, the 1% Low was 58 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers dx9 was 450 FPS, the 1% Low was 242 FPS.

These results are very high, since the game was ran under directx9 it could be determined it was better than older OpenGL Drivers.

Minecraft

Minecraft has shown to have some strange results. Bencmarking with 20 Chunks and fancy settings with the older drivers are actually consistently better than the newer drivers. The same area as tested over multiple times but the new one was still significantly better. A second Minecraft test was done with 8 chunks but was significantly worst on both the high setting and minimums.

A static camera angle was conducted for the last test since streaming issues where speculated. This last test still shows that the older driver was consistently better.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 436, the 1% Low was 160 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 355 FPS, the 1% Low was 152 FPS

Cemu(Wii U emulator

Cemu is a Wii U Emulator which was tested using The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and as a result has performed really badly as the older driver did not reach the frame cap.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 20, the 1% Low was 12 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 30 FPS, the 1% Low was 13 FPS

Citra (3DS emulator)

Testing Citra with Pokemon sun has shown improvement by allowing it to run faster on the unlocked frames, making gameplay stable.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 86, the 1% Low was 60 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 142 FPS, the 1% Low was 90 FPS

RPCS3 (PlayStation 3 Emulator

In this test for RPCS3 we will use The Last of Us for testing since it had a significant problem. Due to the new driver there were graphics slightly broken that are not displaying correctly or flickering .This can cause issue in the gameplay since more effects are being displaye.

Average FPS with 22.2Q2 was 18, the 1% Low was 9 FPS Average FPS with the new 22.7.1 drivers was 27 FPS, the 1% Low was 17 FPS