Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Radeon Boost is a new way to improve framerates on AMD graphics cards

By

AMD’s new-generation Radeon Software suite comes with a number of exciting improvements, but one of the most intriguing is its new Radeon Boost technology. Using dynamic adjustment of resolution during moments of high-speed action and fast movements, AMD claims that it can improve frame rates by almost 40% in some circumstances, dramatically improving the fluidity of animation and reducing input lag, all without impacting image quality by a noticeable factor.

Alongside new generations of graphics cards, both AMD and Nvidia have taken major steps in the past year to improve the quality of gamers’ experiences beyond raw performance. Image sharpening started with AMD and is now available for both red and green team GPU owners, and anti-lag technologies have become common place too. Radeon Boost is something a little different though, and for now at least, remains an AMD exclusive technology.

Recommended Videos

AMD describes it as “Motion-based dynamic resolution,” technology. It detects when you’re performing fast motion, like in high-speed FPS or RTS games, and adjusts the resolution down to improve your frame rate. The end result is faster, more fluid gameplay without impacting the look of the game. While eagle-eyed gamers may spot a slightly more pixelated image, AMD claims that it should be almost imperceptible to most. This should, in theory, improve your game’s responsiveness too, as higher frame rates help reduce input lag as well.

AMD Radeon Boost
Image used with permission by copyright holder

AMD claims an average improvement of around 23 percent in average FPS for supporting games, with Overwatch notching a near 40 percent enhancement in framerate with Radeon Boost enabled.

The list of supporting games so far includes:

  • Overwatch
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  • Borderlands 3
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider
  • Destiny 2
  • GTA 5
  • CoD WW2
Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!
Privacy Policy

AMD has plans to expand this list in future if the feature proves popular. It’s not something that needs game developers to enable, either, so there’s no real limitation to which games AMD could support with it.

Within the Radeon Software, users can toggle the feature on and off, as well as set a percentage-based “Minimum Resolution,” that the game will downgrade to at times of fast motion. A lower percentage will yield greater performance improvements, but may suffer from more obviously inhibited game-visuals.

If you want to have a play with AMD Radeon Boost yourself, it’s available now as part of the latest AMD Radeon driver update.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale
Computing Coordinator
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
Nvidia RTX 50-series graphics cards: news, release date, price, and more
RTX 4070 seen from the side.

Nvidia already makes some of the best graphics cards, but it's also not resting on its laurels. Although the RTX 40-series, which has been bolstered by a refresh, is still very recent, Nvidia is also working on its next-gen GPUs from the RTX 50-series.

The release date of RTX 50-series GPUs is still at least a few months away, but various rumors and leaks give us a better idea of what to expect. Here's everything we know about Nvidia's upcoming generation of graphics cards.
RTX 50-series: pricing and release date

Read more
The sad reality of AMD’s next-gen GPUs comes into view
The AMD RX 7900 graphics card on a pink background.

For months now, various leakers agreed on one thing -- AMD is tapping out of the high-end GPU race in this generation, leaving Nvidia to focus on making the best graphics cards with no competitor. Today's new finding may confirm that theory, as the first RDNA 4 GPU to make an official appearance is one that has been speculated about for months: Navi48.

Following the typical naming convention for AMD, the flagship in the RDNA 4 generation should have been called Navi41 -- and it very well might have been, but according to various sources, that GPU will not be making an appearance in this generation. Hence, the flagship is now said to be the Navi48, and the latest finding shared by Kepler_L2 on X tells us that might indeed be the case.

Read more
AMD needs to fix this one problem with its next-gen GPUs
The RX 7800 XT graphics card with the ReSpec logo.

AMD's current-gen graphics cards have been a revelation. Last generation, AMD was able to hit performance parity with Nvidia while sacrificing ray tracing performance. This generation, AMD is maintaining parity while getting closer in ray tracing, as showcased by GPUs like the RX 7900 GRE. But the next frontier of gaming is rapidly approaching, and AMD's current options aren't up to the task right now.

I'm talking about path tracing. Nvidia calls it "full ray tracing," and it's a lighting technique that can take gaming visuals to the next level. Path tracing is only available in a small list of titles right now, but with frame generation and upscaling tools better than they've ever been, it won't be long before we see these destination gaming experiences everywhere.
Player two in path tracing

Read more