More changes are afoot at AMD, and this time it is on the software front. The newly formed Radeon Technology Group has announced that it is retiring the Catalyst Control Center and will be replacing it with Radeon Software, which the company is calling a mini graphics operating system .
The first incarnation of this new graphics controller will be called Radeon Software: Crimson edition, with subsequent editions still retaining the Radeon Software moniker. It will include a redesigned user interface that is being called Radeon/FirePro settings, and is intended to streamline GPU controls.
At its core, the new Radeon Software is intended to bring a greater level of optimisation; the user interface is simplified, and the start up time has been dropped to 0.6-seconds. AMD is highlighting the ease of use with its multi-monitor eyefinity settings, saying that Radeon Software will make it easier to manage multiple displays at the same time.
The Game Manager also allows overclocking settings to be applied on an individual basis to games. This essentially means that the GPU performance can be tweaked for specific games, particularly those that might need a little extra juice from the graphics card.
Radeon Software will also retain the usual display settings that come with these sorts of controllers. Things like customised video profiles and display settings will still exist, although with a slightly different interface.
AMD is planning to begin rolling out the new Radeon Software: Crimson edition to users by the end of the year. It isn’t quite clear how the transition period will take place, but it is likely that more information will be made public as the release nears.
