AMD Releases Radeon Software 17.12.1 WHQL Drivers

To launch their new Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition, AMD chose to use 17.12.1. The new drivers offer a new complete experience over the previous Crimson ReLive, with improvements in every area. On top of all the new features, 17.12.1 also brings a number of other changes to drivers. Most importantly are bug fixes for current issues. As a WHQL release, it should be more stable than the more frequent beta releases as well.

Despite adding in slew of new features, AMD found time to make a lot of critical bug fixes. OverWatch and Rainbow Six Seige will no longer have issues with random or intermittent hang. Netflix which is a staple also gets a fix for playback. It is unclear if this addresses some other playback issues from other sources. Assasin’s Creed Origins, Mass Effect Andromeda and Forza Horizon 3 all get fixes for various graphical bugs. HBCC also gets some fixes for multi-GPU and Radeon Settings problems.

AMD Adrenalin Edition Brings New Bugs

On the other hand, there is still a lot of work for AMD to do. There may no doubt be many new bugs yet to be discovered due to the new features. One bug deals with the new Performance Metrics Overlay causing a hang. This is on top of any existing issues. One glaring issue is updating Radeon Software on an X99 system with multi RX Vega GPUs. Users on X99 may want to go back to a single Vega GPU before upgrading.

With all the changes in 17.12.1, AMD has their work cut out for them. Hopefully, we will see another release this month before the holidays to fix any major bugs. I am certain that we will discover a couple big ones in the week ahead.  With all the changes, AMD no doubt expects that they have probably broken something somewhere. The important thing is that act quickly to fix the bugs they discover. With at least 6 WHQL releases a year, we could be set for our next one in January. You can find the full release notes and download links here.