AMD has released a second driver for the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT (test) with the RDNA 3 GPU Navi 31. The Adrenalin Edition 22.12.2 fixes bugs and aims to reduce power consumption when the graphics card is decoding videos. This driver is again available exclusively for RX 7900, older models remain at 22.11.2.
A first step in the right direction?
Both new Radeon RX 7900s were noticed at the start with high power consumption when playing videos (see also diagram). But even when idling and when using multiple monitors, the consumption was sometimes significantly higher than with the Radeon RX 6000, whereby the type of monitor and its refresh rate were once again important in multi-monitor operation.
Power consumption, Windows desktop
- YouTube video
- Complete idle
- Window movement
8 entries power consumption, Windows desktop – YouTube video
- 3840 × 2160, 60 FPS:
- AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT18
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 FE19
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE23
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 FE30
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 FE30
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT30
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 FE32
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT32
- AMD Radeon RX 680033
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FE34
- XFX Radeon RX 6900 XT Black34
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti36
- Asus GeForce RTX 3090 Strix OC37
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 22.12.171
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 22.12.180
< /li>
- 3840 × 2160 HDR, 60 FPS:
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 FE38
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE40
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 FE45
- AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT45
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 FE53
- AMD Radeon RX 680060
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT61
- XFX Radeon RX 6900 XT Black61
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT61
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 FE66
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti68
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 22.12.177
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FE81
- Asus GeForce RTX 3090 Strix OC87
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 22.12.189
Unit: Watt ( W) 8 Entries Power Consumption, Windows Desktop – Complete Idle
- 3840 × 2160, 60Hz:
- AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT7
- XFX Radeon RX 6900 XT Black8
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT8
- AMD Radeon RX 68008
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT9
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 FE11
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE11
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 FE12
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FE13
- Asus GeForce RTX 3090 Strix OC15
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 22.12 .117
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 FE19
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 22.12.119
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 FE20
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti25
- Dual monitor, 2 × 3840 × 2160, 60 Hz:
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 22.12.119
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE20
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 FE21
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 FE23
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 22.12.123
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 FE24
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FE24
- Asus GeForce RTX 3090 Strix OC27
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 FE32
- AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT33
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti35< /li>
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT39
- XFX Radeon RX 6900 XT Black40
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT41
- AMD Radeon RX 680041
Unit: Watt (W) 4 entries Power Consumption, Windows Desktop – Window Movement
- 2560 × 1440, 144 Hz:
- AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT17
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 FE22
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 FE22
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE22
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 FE30
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 FE31
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT33
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FE34
- XFX Radeon RX 6900 XT Black34
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT35< /li>
- AMD Radeon RX 680035
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti37
- Asus GeForce RTX 3090 Strix OC38
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 22.12.138
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 22.12.138
Unit: Watt (W)
At least the problem, According to its release notes, AMD now wants to have tackled the fact that the graphics cards consume an exorbitant amount of electrical power when AMD's Video Codec Engine (VCE) takes over the decoding of videos, although the manufacturer is only talking about “improvements” for the time being – it seems so maybe even better to go.
Improvements to power usage during hardware accelerated video playback.
The driver does not yet address other areas such as the doubled idle consumption compared to RDNA 2 or the problems in multi-monitor operation. However, AMD promises “further efficiency improvements in the future”.
The multi-monitor issue, which again stems from memory not downclocking, isn't a new issue for AMD, but it's not new to Nvidia either. With the switch to the multi-chip approach in Navi 31, however, the challenges for AMD may have changed, because the memory controllers are in the six (XTX) or five (XT) memory controller dies (MCD), which are external to the graphics Compute The (GCD) are connected. With the Infinity Fabric, another component comes into play in power management. Against this background, it remains to be seen whether AMD will be able to further reduce idle consumption.
What results does the community see?
What are the first experiences in the community with the new driver? How does this version fare in terms of power consumption, performance and stability? Feedback is always welcome in comments. The editors haven't had a chance to take a look at the driver yet.
Downloads
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AMD Adrenalin Radeon Driver Download
4.3 stars
AMD Adrenalin (formerly Crimson or Catalyst) is the driver for all Radeon graphics cards.
- Version 22.12.2 (WQHL) German
- Version 22.12. 1 (WQHL) German
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