AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition is the modern driver and settings suite for Radeon graphics cards, and it includes several features specifically aimed at squeezing more performance and responsiveness out of budget and mid-range hardware. Here's what's worth turning on, and what each setting actually does.
Key takeaway: Radeon Anti-Lag, Radeon Boost, and Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) are the three Adrenalin features budget gamers should know about, each targeting a different problem: input lag, dynamic performance, and driver-wide upscaling respectively.
Radeon Anti-Lag
Anti-Lag reduces the delay between your mouse or controller input and the frame appearing on screen by better synchronising how the CPU and GPU hand work back and forth. It's most noticeable in fast-paced or competitive games and generally has little to no downside, making it safe to leave on for most titles.
Radeon Boost
Radeon Boost dynamically and temporarily lowers rendering resolution during fast camera movement (like quickly turning or sprinting), when you're least likely to notice the drop in detail, then restores full resolution when the camera is still. This can meaningfully smooth out frame rate dips during intense action without a constant, noticeable resolution reduction the way a permanent render scale change would.
Radeon Super Resolution (RSR)
RSR is a driver-wide version of FSR 1.0 that works even in games with no built-in upscaling support at all, similar in concept to Nvidia's driver-wide NIS feature. It upscales from a lower rendered resolution to your monitor's native resolution with a sharpening pass, giving a free FPS boost in older or less-supported titles.
- Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition and go to the "Gaming" tab, then "Global Graphics" (or a specific game's profile).
- Turn on "Radeon Anti-Lag" for a responsiveness improvement with minimal downside.
- Turn on "Radeon Boost" if your games support fast camera movement (most action and shooter games do) for smoother frame pacing during intense moments.
- For driver-wide upscaling, go to the "Display" tab, enable "Radeon Super Resolution," and set your desired sharpness level.
- Then, in-game, lower the resolution below your monitor's native resolution; RSR will automatically upscale it back up.
- Check the "Performance" tab's metrics overlay to monitor FPS, GPU usage, and temperatures while you test these settings.
Tip: If a game has its own native FSR 2 or FSR 3 option built in, use that in preference to driver-wide RSR, since native FSR 2/3 implementations are more advanced (motion-aware) and generally give better image quality for a similar FPS gain.
Keeping drivers current without the hassle
AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition includes an automatic driver update checker under its "Home" tab, which notifies you of new releases and can download and install them directly. This is convenient for routine updates, though a full clean install using DDU (covered in our clean driver install guide) is still worth doing occasionally, especially after switching GPU brands or if you're experiencing unexplained stability issues.
Before you start: Only install AMD drivers from AMD's official website or through the Adrenalin software's own updater — avoid third-party driver-download sites, which can bundle outdated or modified installers.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Radeon Boost lower image quality noticeably?
- Because it only reduces resolution during fast camera movement, when detail is hardest to perceive anyway, most players don't notice it during normal play, though very sensitive users occasionally report seeing it.
- Can I use RSR on an Nvidia graphics card?
- No, Radeon Super Resolution is an AMD driver feature exclusive to Radeon graphics cards; Nvidia users should use Nvidia Image Scaling (NIS) for the equivalent driver-wide upscaling.
- Is Radeon Anti-Lag worth using in single-player games?
- It's less critical in slower single-player games, but there's generally no real downside to leaving it enabled across the board.