Software blogs
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The blogs on this page give detailed information about what’s in our new releases and updates, as well as guides on how you can use the new features.
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Don’t forget – you can find advice on developing with AMD hardware, HPC, ML, ray tracing, Vulkan®, DirectX®, Unreal Engine, and lots more over in our technical blogs.
Featured posts
Introducing AMD Capsaicin Framework – our ARR Research Framework which includes our GI-1.0 sample
AMD Capsaicin Framework is a research framework for real-time graphics which we have been using to develop and test new and upcoming rendering algorithms. We are now releasing it to the public.
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 2.1 adds interoperability with Radeon™ GPU Analyzer (and more)!
RGP 2.1 adds RGA interoperability, ‘Color by’ modes, and additional customization options. Dive in for all the details!
Radeon™ Developer Tool Suite
Our highly-acclaimed developer tool suite should be your first port of call when analyzing and optimizing your game or graphics application. Our tools engineers frequently write detailed blog posts to accompany major updates, making sure you’re able to take full advantage of the new features.
The Radeon Developer Tool Suite comprises of:
Radeon GPU Profiler, Radeon Raytracing Analyzer, Radeon Memory Visualizer, Radeon GPU Analyzer, and Radeon™ Developer Panel.
Radeon GPU Profiler (RGP)
The Radeon GPU Profiler is a ground-breaking low-level optimization tool that provides detailed information on Radeon™ GPUs.
New Radeon™ Developer Tool Suite brings Driver Experiments, Dark Mode to Tools
Find out more about our latest tools release, including driver experiments, updates to RRA, RGP, and more!
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 2.1 adds interoperability with Radeon™ GPU Analyzer (and more)!
RGP 2.1 adds RGA interoperability, ‘Color by’ modes, and additional customization options. Dive in for all the details!
Introducing Radeon™ GPU Profiler 2.0!
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 2.0 is packed with brand-new features and updates. This release includes a new customizable layout to the Wavefront Occupancy View, support for dark mode in UI, thread divergence monitoring in raytracing pipelines, and much more.
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 1.16 is here!
Radeon GPU Profiler v1.16 updates the GPU ISA disassembly view, adds improved dark mode support, and more.
New Work Graphs sample & RGP support for GPU Work Graphs
“D3D12SimpleClassify” shows the use of a GPU Work Graph in a simple frame-based graphics application, plus learn about new RGP support.
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 1.15 provides an enhanced ISA view experience and more
Radeon GPU Profiler v1.15 adds an enhanced user experience for GPU ISA disassembly, mesh shader event names, WMMA support, and more.
RDNA 3: Read about our tool updates in Radeon Developer Tool Suite (RDTS)
Read this high level summary of our updates to RDTS for RDNA™ 3, including other new features and improvements, plus updates to GPUPerfAPI.
RDNA 3: Radeon GPU Profiler 1.14 introduces support for Radeon™ RX 7000 Series, HIP, and more
Radeon GPU Profiler 1.14 is here, with support for Radeon™ RX 7000 series GPUs, profiling HIP applications, and much more. Take a look!
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 1.13 and Radeon Developer Panel 2.6
RGP 1.13 adds enhanced ray tracing features, such as new performance counters and inline RT. RDP 2.6 includes improved data capture.
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 1.12 features improvements to Instruction Timing
RGP 1.12 provides some significant enhancements to the Instruction Timing feature, including wavefront filtering and single-wavefront mode.
Radeon GPU Analyzer
The Radeon GPU Analyzer is an offline compiler and performance analysis tool for DirectX®, Vulkan®, SPIR-V™, OpenGL®, and OpenCL™.
DirectX®12 single shader compilation with Radeon™ GPU Analyzer (RGA) v2.9.1
Radeon™ GPU Analyzer v2.9.1 now supports D3D12 shader compilation without requiring a completely defined pipeline state. RGA v2.9.1 is available now.
Radeon™ GPU Profiler 2.1 adds interoperability with Radeon™ GPU Analyzer (and more)!
RGP 2.1 adds RGA interoperability, ‘Color by’ modes, and additional customization options. Dive in for all the details!
Visualizing VGPR Pressure with Radeon™ GPU Analyzer 2.6
Radeon GPU Analyzer 2.6 introduces VGPR Pressure Visualization. This post explains exactly how to get the most out of this brand-new feature.
Using Radeon™ GPU Analyzer v2.4.1 with DirectX® Raytracing
Radeon™ GPU Analyzer v2.4.1 introduces support for DXR shaders in a new mode of the command line tool.
Using the Visual Studio® Code Extension for RGA
This is a Visual Studio® Code extension for the Radeon GPU Analyzer (RGA). This extension makes it possible to use RGA directly from within VS Code.
Using Radeon™ GPU Analyzer with DirectX®12 Graphics
With DirectX 12 comes the power of generating disassembly and hardware resource usage statistics that are closest to the real-world case, and therefore making better performance optimization decisions.
Using Radeon™ GPU Analyzer with Direct3D®12 Compute
Radeon GPU Analyzer (RGA) has support for DirectX12 compute shaders with the command line tool. This mode can generate GCN/RDNA ISA disassembly for your compute shaders, regardless of the physically installed GPU.
Radeon Memory Visualizer
The Radeon Memory Visualizer allows you to gain a deep understanding of how your application uses memory for graphics resources.
Radeon™ Memory Visualizer 1.8 is out now
Radeon™ Memory Visualizer 1.8 is available now. v1.8 enhances the Resource usage size timeline to better visualize overlapped aliased resources.
Radeon™ Memory Visualizer 1.6 introduces improved device configuration info and an expanded Resource details pane
Radeon Memory Visualizer v1.6 adds improved device configuration information, and more parameters on the resource details pane.
Announcing Radeon™ Memory Visualizer support for Linux
RMV is now available on Linux. RMV and RDP officially support Ubuntu 20.04 with Linux distros requiring additional dependencies. Check it out!
Radeon™ Memory Visualizer 1.4 introduces Smart Access Memory support
Find out in this blog post how you can make all memory visible to the CPU in Radeon Memory Visualizer (RMV) v1.4 with Smart Access Memory.
Viewing DirectX® 12 Named Resources with Radeon™ Memory Visualizer 1.3
Radeon Memory Visualizer (RMV) now supports Named Resources in DirectX® 12 applications. This blog explains how you can view them in RMV.
Radeon™ Memory Visualizer v1.1 adds support for aliased resources and more
Radeon Memory Visualizer V1.1 introduces support for aliased resources, and allows selection of a resource in the memory leak finder pane.
Unified Radeon™ GPU Profiler and Radeon™ Memory Visualizer usage with Radeon™ Developer Panel 2.1
This tutorial explains how to take advantage of the functionality in RDP v2.1 onwards, which unifies the RMV and RGP functionality from earlier versions to provide a unified workflow.
Getting Started with Radeon™ Memory Visualizer (RMV)
Radeon™ Memory Visualizer (RMV) is a tool provided by AMD for use by game engine developers. It allows engineers to examine, diagnose, and understand the GPU memory management within their projects.
Radeon Raytracing Analyzer
Our brand new Radeon Raytracing Analyzer allows you to investigate the performance of your raytracing applications and highlight potential bottlenecks.
Radeon™ Raytracing Analyzer 1.7 adds user marker support for ray dispatches
RRA 1.7 lets you associate ray dispatch data from DirectX®12 and Vulkan® applications with a user-defined string called a user marker.
Radeon™ Raytracing Analyzer 1.2 adds ray face culling flags, ray traversal histograms, and more
Radeon Raytracing Analyzer v1.2 introduces ray face culling flags, a ray traversal histogram, a geometry list pane, and an instance mask.
Learn about Radeon™ Raytracing Analyzer 1.1
The latest update for RRA includes changes to the camera system and support for split triangles and rebraided instances. Check it all out here!
Radeon™ Raytracing Analyzer source code available + meet amdrdf
Analyze the source code to RRA, and learn about amdrdf, a library for handling Radeon Data File (RDF) format, used by RRA and others.
Improving raytracing performance with the Radeon™ Raytracing Analyzer (RRA)
Optimizing the raytracing pipeline can be difficult. Discover how to spot and diagnose common RT pitfalls with RRA, and how to fix them!
Introducing our brand new tool: Radeon™ Raytracing Analyzer 1.0
We’re proud to announce Radeon Raytracing Analyzer. RRA provides the tools you need to investigate raytracing performance in your apps.
Other tools on GPUOpen
Compressonator
Compressonator is one of our oldest and widely-used tools/SDKs. It is a set of tools which allow artists and developers to more easily work with compressed assets and easily visualize the quality impact of various compression technologies.
It consists of a GUI application, a command line application, and an SDK for easy integration into a developer toolchain.
Pre-condition block compressed textures with Brotli-G
Brotli-G (v1.1 onwards) now supports pre-conditioning of block compressed textures. Take a look for a quick summary!
Introducing Compressonator v4.5 with up to 20% improvement in Brotli-G compression
Compressonator v4.5 introduces improved BC1-BC5 compression that reduces file sizes on average by 10%-15% using a new Brotli-G zip packaging feature, mipmap changes, ETC codec fixes, and more.
Introducing Compressonator v4.4 with AVX-512 support for BC1 Encoding
Compressonator v4.4 adds AVX-512, AVX2, and SSE4 variations of BC1 encoding in the Compressonator Core library, new CLI options, and more.
Introducing Compressonator v4.3 – Brotli-G, multi-texture mipmap generation, and more
Compressonator v4.3 is out now! v4.3 features Brotli-G lossless compression, multi-texture mipmap generation, and much more.
Brotli-G SDK
Brotli-G is an open-source compression/decompression standard for digital assets (based on Brotli) that is compatible with GPU hardware.
Compressonator 4.2 – Features update for BC1 and BC7 codecs, and more
Compressonator v4.2 brings improvements for BC1 and BC7 codecs, plus API, SDK, and CMake updates.
Compressonator 4.1 – SNORM support for BC4/BC5, MIP map filter support, and more
Compressonator v4.1 adds SNORM support for BC4 and BC5, MIP map filter support using either GPU or CPU, GPU-based compression and MIP map generation, and much more.
RenderDoc 1.8 has Compressonator support
When associated with DDS files, RenderDoc generates thumbnails for DDS formats and displays them in Windows Explorer. Compressonator Core provides functions for compressing and decompressing DDS files.
Compressonator 4.0 – Utilize the Power of GPU-based Encoding
The Windows version of Compressonator 4.0 supports GPU encoding with DirectX® Compute (DXC) or OpenCL™ (OCL) shaders.
Announcing Compressonator 3.2
The latest version of Compressonator is now available, featuring new BCn codec kernels, framework interfaces, cube maps, and more.
New Compressonator 3.1 SDK for seamless integration into asset toolchains – and more!
This version contains several new features and optimizations, including new installers for the SDK, CLI and GUI tool, new batch compress support, improvements to Compressonator’s BC6H and ETC2 support, a new glTF model previewer, and more.
Compressonator V3.0 release brings powerful new 3D model features
Compressonator is a set of tools that allows artists and developers to work easily with compressed assets and easily visualize the quality impact of various compression technologies.
SDKs
We have many, many SDKs on GPUOpen, as you’d probably expect! While you’ll find blogs on some of them grouped elsewhere on this page, here’s some of the more recent ones.
AMF v1.4.35 adds multi-HW instance mode encoder, FFmpeg 7.0 & split frame encoding
Download v1.4.35 from GPUOpen today! Requires latest driver.
AMF v1.4.34 features stable support for RADV drivers in VideoConverter/HQScaler + more
Features stable support for RADV drivers for AMF on Linux in VideoConverter / HQScaler / VideoEncoder (experimental for decoder), DX11 support for FRC component, Linux support for DVR sample.
Vulkan Memory Allocator v3.1, with many fixes and improvements, is out now!
VMA V3.1 gathers fixes and improvements, mostly GitHub issues/PRs, including improved compatibility with various compilers and GPUs.
GI-1.1 adds support for glossy reflections rendering
GI-1.1 is available now as part of the AMD Capsaicin Framework. GI-1.1 includes new support for glossy reflections rendering.
AMF v1.4.33 provides native DX12 encoding support, public Vulkan Khronos decoding extensions + more
In addition, AMF on Linux can now be used with AMD Pro Vulkan and experimentally with RADV drivers. Download Advanced Media Framework now!
AMF v1.4.32 brings new FRC component, sample presenter improvements, and FFmpeg 6.0
Download the latest version of Advanced Media Framework, with a new FRC component, improvements and cleanup in sample presenters, and more.
AMF v1.4.30 introduces wrappers for AVC/HEVC/AV1 FFmpeg software encoders, and more!
AMF v1.4.30 provides AMF wrappers for AVC/HEVC/AV1 FFmpeg software encoders, and frame in -> slice/tile output support for the same. Plus multi-monitor support for DVR + more!
Introducing AMD Capsaicin Framework – our ARR Research Framework which includes our GI-1.0 sample
AMD Capsaicin Framework is a research framework for real-time graphics which we have been using to develop and test new and upcoming rendering algorithms. We are now releasing it to the public.
AMD GPU Services (AGS) 6.1 is now available
AMD GPU Services (AGS) 6.1 is now available, adding RDNA 3 GPU support, VS2022 versions of the static libs, and a new sample showing you how to use AGS extensions from DX12.
AMF v1.4.29 introduces Smart Access Video for decoder & AVC/HEVC/AV1 encoders, and more
This latest version of Advanced Media Framework SDK also provides new options for VQEnhancer and AV1 encoder components, and Markdown docs.
RDNA 3: Introducing ADLX: The Next Evolution in Software Enablement
ADLX is a modern library and SDK designed to access features and functionality of AMD systems in the categories of Display, 3D graphics, and more.
AMF v1.4.26 introduces powerful new modes for PreAnalysis
New PreAnalysis modes include perceptual adaptive quantization, temporal adaptive quantization, and high motion quality boost. And there’s more!
The latest Vulkan SDK now ships with Vulkan Memory Allocator (VMA)
VMA appears as an optional component that can be selected in the Vulkan SDK 1.3.216.0 installer.
Announcing Vulkan Memory Allocator 3.0.0 and Direct3D 12 Memory Allocator 2.0.0
Find out more about the latest releases of VMA and D3DMA – our easy-to-integrate memory allocation libraries for Vulkan® and Direct3D® 12.
Announcing AMD support for DirectStorage launch
AMD is proud to announce our support of Microsoft® and its release of DirectStorage. The DirectStorage SDK is now available for download.
AMF v1.4.23 out now, with a new Auto LTR encoder mode, and more
AMF v1.4.23 brings you a new Auto LTR encoder mode, plus additional encoder usage presets and encoder statistics/feedback.
Render Pipeline Shaders
We’ve recently developed a new framework for graphics engines to use Render Graphs with explicit APIs (e.g. DirectX12 or Vulkan), with a generally optimal resource barrier and memory aliasing scheduler. The compiler-like architecture of Render Pipeline Shaders (RPS) is designed to be both controllable and extensible.
Render Pipeline Shaders 1.1 is now available with Linux support and other improvements
The latest release of the Render Pipeline Shaders (RPS) SDK adds Linux support, the ability to dynamically load Vulkan functions, and more. Check out this post for the full release notes.
RPS SDK Tutorial
This tutorial demonstrates key RPS SDK API usage, provides an informal introduction to RPSL, and explains how the RPS Render Graph is built.
Effects
AMD FidelityFX SDK
The AMD FidelityFX SDK is a collection of heavily optimized, open source technologies (shader and runtime code) that can be used by developers to improve their DirectX®12 or Vulkan® applications.
We’re excited to provide full documentation for ALL our AMD FidelityFX SDK technologies here on GPUOpen!
We’ve also written some excellent guides, published here on GPUOpen, on how to use some of our effects, and we’ve there’s some guest blogs too!
The AMD FidelityFX™ SDK 1.1.2 is now available on GPUOpen
The AMD FidelityFX SDK 1.1.2 release includes fixes for issues with FSR 3.1.1, and code changes needed for the October release of the Microsoft GDK.
Microsoft® DirectSR has integrated AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 3.1
This integration enhances upscaling capabilities, offering improved temporal stability and detail preservation.
Foliage in AMD FidelityFX™ Brixelizer GI
In this two-part blog series, we will investigate Brixelizer GI to pinpoint the problems faced with foliage-heavy scenes and then look solutions to adding support.
Part 1: Foliage in AMD FidelityFX Brixelizer GI
This article describes Brixelizer GI’s functionality to better highlight the problem with foliage.
Part 2: Extending AMD FidelityFX Brixelizer GI
To improve the quality of foliage in Brixelizer GI, we must modify the algorithm to support alpha-clipped geometry.
Introducing AMD FidelityFX™ Brixelizer
As of FidelityFX SDK version 1.1, Brixelizer and Brixelizer GI are now unleashed to world so in this article we aim to discuss a few practical use cases and provide you with some tips you can apply for getting the most performance out of Brixelizer in your application.
AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 3.1 released as part of FidelityFX SDK 1.1
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 3.1 is now available. This post details some of the major updates to this latest change to FSR.
Introducing the latest version of the AMD FidelityFX™ SDK – v1.1
The AMD FidelityFX SDK v1.1 is now available. This update introduces three new FidelityFX™ technologies: FSR 3.1, Breadcrumbs, and BrixelizerGI.
Introducing the AMD FidelityFX™ Breadcrumbs library
We’re proud to introduce a brand-new FidelityFX technology: AMD FidelityFX Breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs is a cross-platform library for post-morten analysis of GPU crashes.
Microsoft® DirectSR and AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution technology
With the introduction of Microsoft’s DirectSR, the need to integrate many super resolution APIs has been reduced. Instead, developers may integrate just one API – Microsoft DirectSR.
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3.1.1 Unreal Engine plugin guide
Download the AMD FSR 3.1.1 plugin for Unreal Engine, and learn how to install and use it.
The AMD FidelityFX™ SDK 1.0 is now available on GPUOpen
The AMD FidelityFX SDK is now available! The SDK is AMD FidelityFX graphics middleware helping you to integrate AMD FidelityFX features into your games without any hassle.
Integrating AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 2 (FSR 2) into Unity URP (DX11)
Want to add FSR 2 to your Unity URP project? Take a look at our quick-start guide to get you up and running. (DirectX®11 only)
Guest blog by EBB Software: Integrating AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 2 (FSR 2) into Scorn
In this guest post by EBB Software, learn how they integrated our FSR 2.1 plugin for Unreal Engine into their first title: Scorn
AMD FSR 2 UE plugin enhancements part 1: Intro & improving foliage appearance using the base pass
Discover one of several ways to improve upscaled foliage appearance in the first of this five part blog series on getting the most out of our FSR 2.1 Unreal Engine plugin.
AMD FSR 2 UE plugin enhancements part 2: Improving foliage appearance via content changes
Learn which content changes you can make in the Unreal Engine editor to improve the appearance of upscaled foliage.
Radeon ProRender and HIP
Our engineers who work on Radeon ProRender and related areas regularly keep you updated on their latest developments.
Announcing AMD RenderStudio – supporting collaborative 3D creation and rendering in the OpenUSD and MaterialX ecosystem
Introducing AMD RenderStudio – a set of tools for cross-user collaboration using the OpenUSD and MaterialX ecosystem.
HIP Ray Tracing 2.0 introduces improved custom function handling, bitcode linking, and more
HIPRT-v2 is now available for download! This post covers some of the most exciting features and optimizations.
Radeon™ ProRender SDK 3.1.0 introduces bevel shader support, light linking, and much more
We are happy to announce Radeon™ ProRender SDK 3.1.0 is finally available, so let’s take a look at the latest updates and improvements.
Latest updates to Radeon™ ProRender plug-ins
Find out more about all our updates to the Radeon ProRender plug-ins, including new fog and shadow settings for ProRender in Blender and Maya.
Introducing HIP RT – a ray tracing library in HIP
HIP RT is a new ray tracing library for HIP. It makes it easy to write a ray tracing app using HIP. Check out this page for more information.
Introducing Orochi – dynamic loading of HIP/CUDA® from a single binary
Orochi is a library that loads HIP and CUDA driver APIs dynamically at runtime, eliminating the overhead of maintaining separate backends.
Primitive variables, flexible ramp node, beta support for HIP in Radeon™ ProRender SDK 2.02.11
The latest release of the ProRender SDK introduces support for primitive variables, enhanced Cryptomatte AOVs, AMD’s HIP API, and much more.
New renderer backend and more in the updated Radeon™ ProRender SDK 2.02.10
Introducing a new renderer backend and support for simpler volumes, cutting planes, and artistic control of shadow color. Also, new SDK tutorials are now available.
Introducing Radeon™ ProRender SDK 2.02.6
Introducing support for Apple M1, heterogeneous volume, and deepEXR. Plus improved CPU rendering, and toon contour rendering.
AMD USD™ Hydra™ plug-in for Blender®
Find out about our exciting new plug-in for Blender®, which uses the power of Open Standards to enable you to reference and assemble USD™, and use MaterialX.
New Radeon™ ProRender plug-in updates
Our Blender® add-on, Autodesk® Maya® plug-in, and the SideFX® Houdini™ (USD) plug-in now incorporate the latest Radeon™ ProRender SDK.
Updated Radeon ProRender 2 SDK now available with many new features
Read about Cryptomatte support, light group AOVs, deformation motion blur, homogeneous volume support, and our toon material in Radeon™ ProRender.
Searchable table for all our software blogs
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Browse our technical blogs, and find valuable advice on developing with AMD hardware, ray tracing, Vulkan®, DirectX®, Unreal Engine, and lots more.
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