70 PCWorld AUGUST 2019REVIEWS AMD RADEON RX 5700 AND 5700 XT
Better yet, it does so with next to no
performance impact, AMD says.
Here’s how AMD’s reviewers guide
describes Radeon Image Sharpening:
“Because RIS is based on an algorithm
that modulates the degree of sharpening
depending on contrast, it clarifies interior
object details while leaving high-contrast
edges largely untouched. RIS sidesteps harsh
artifacts like “ringing” or halos that commonly
affect other sharpening methods. Meanwhile,
it avoids damaging smooth gradients on
high-contrast edges. As a result, RIS can be
combined with virtually any anti-aliasing
technique used in a game, and the results will
look great.
“When paired with Radeon GPU scaling,
RIS allows gamers to configure their games to
run at lower resolutions to optimize
performance while still enjoying crisp,
detailed full-screen visuals.”Sounds nifty!
And talking to
Scott Herkelman
on The Full Nerd,
it sounds like
Radeon Image
Sharpening
could be a
cornerstone of
AMD’s future
ray-tracing
ambitions.
For now,
though, it works only with DirectX9,
DirectX12, and Vulkan games on the Radeon
RX 5700 GPUs. Yes, DX11 support appears to
be missing for now, and RIS can’t process
HDR visuals, either. To activate it, open the
Radeon Settings app and enable Radeon
Image Sharpening in the Display tab. AMD
also recommends activating the GPU Scaling
option in the Display tab if you’re using RIS to
compensate for using a lower resolution than
your display’s maximum.Tweaks and tuning
While Radeon Image Sharpening and Radeon
Anti-Lag steal the spotlight, AMD also added
helpful tweaks to existing tools in Radeon
Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.7.1. We’ll
quickly recap the most notable.
Radeon Chill was already impressive,
intelligently ramping down frame rates during
static scenes to use less power—sometimes