AMD Seeks New GPU Driver Developers for CPU Optimization

btarunr · Feb 23, 2015

AMD put up a new Linkedin job post, looking for a new engineer that can better optimize graphics drivers for CPUs. AMD graphics drivers are known in the developer community to be rather CPU-heavy compared to NVIDIA's drivers. The company changed that perception to some extent with the development of its own Mantle 3D API, which is essentially a CPU-optimization exercise disguised as new technology. Sensing that not every developer is willing to implement Mantle, the company is looking to optimize its drivers to be CPU-efficient across other more industry-standard APIs. If you have the chops, and you're willing to work out of Boxborough, MA or Sunnyvale, CA., find the posting here.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

NC37 · Feb 23, 2015

Well thats nice, only took them what...a decade and a few years to realize their drivers are bloatware? Hell that was an ATI problem too. lol...well hopefully before the 300 series launches they'll nail it.

With nVidia a ways off from 1000 series, might be good to finally have one less knock against Radeons to give me a reason to try them again.

Sony Xperia S · Feb 23, 2015

Good. They need it outside Mantle which introduces quite some software support constraints.

But if they are successful with it, then maybe all products will look better in all applications.

But what does "CPU-heavy" mean? That AMD cards show lower scores in lower resolutions or that the CPU is used too much? :confused:

HumanSmoke · Feb 23, 2015

Sony Xperia S said:
But what does "CPU-heavy" mean? That AMD cards show lower scores in lower resolutions or that the CPU is used too much?

Driver overhead taking a bigger toll in performance as the CPU processing power decreases - esp. in relation to Nvidia's driver. Most review systems are centred around a high performance CPU, but a budget/mainstream graphics card will in all likelihood also be paired with a budget/mainstream processor. This scaling thus goes unnoticed on many enthusiast sites.
There are a few reviews with relative scaling. Eurogamer has a reasonably good overview.

RejZoR · Feb 23, 2015

I dion't see any of the "heavier on CPU" with my Radeon cards. And my CPU isn't brand new or super powerful that would compensate this with raw power.

NC37 · Feb 23, 2015

RejZoR said:
I dion't see any of the "heavier on CPU" with my Radeon cards. And my CPU isn't brand new or super powerful that would compensate this with raw power.

Its been a long tired old story with Radeons. Every time I've ever used them, their drivers just suck in comparison to NV. Course I haven't used one since the 3870. It improved a little back then but memory and CPU usage wouldn't lie. I had an 8800GTS at the time too so I tested them both.

Before that, 9700 Pro years back and even with ATI, the drivers were blech.

Then you had the period where they could never get Crossfire to work right and it scaled really poorly. Took years before AMD caught up in multi GPU and managed to scale as well as NV SLI.

I know it sounds discouraging but I'd still consider another Radeon. Just AMD has more hurdles to get over before getting my money. Honestly, neither company has wowed me much since Fermi. Both have been rebadging far too much. But NV has started to earn some ire from me for wreaking the x60 cards. Don't like this...charge premium for 04 chips then release the 10s only to counter AMD. They keep on purposely holding back the 10s and getting premiums off the 04s.

Mussels · Feb 23, 2015

some made a thread about this on TPU not long ago, basically AMD cards use more CPU power to get the same FPS in various titles.

It's not all titles, and it usually doesn't matter because most gamers have enough CPU power, and instead lack GPU power.

The problem shows up more with people gaming on budget gamers with something like an i3 or APU, where the nvidia systems *can* get a decent performance lead, especially in CPU intensive titles.

R-T-B · Feb 23, 2015

Ironically, my benchmark (admittedly very flawed) hinted AMD has LESS CPU usage than nvidia. This was generally attributed to nvidia being smarter with the CPU though, with technologies like Shadercache.

Mussels · Feb 23, 2015

R-T-B said:
Ironically, my benchmark (admittedly very flawed) hinted AMD has LESS CPU usage than nvidia. This was generally attributed to nvidia being smarter with the CPU though, with technologies like Shadercache.

It definitely varies by title. It may simply come down to Nvidia having more titles optimised in its favour.

Sony Xperia S · Feb 23, 2015

NC37 said:
IBefore that, 9700 Pro years back and even with ATI, the drivers were blech.

You are too much exaggerating. And you are kind of liars.

Nvidia drivers are negligibly better touched but to claim that AMD drivers are "blech" is stupid.

alwayssts · Feb 23, 2015

Have they hired John Mautari away from Raptr yet (or does he already do driver work in this area)?

Any time stuff like this comes up, I always feel compelled to tell AMD they owe him a job.

PLAfiller · Feb 23, 2015

Since they are on the subject, I highly hope they will not only optimize the CPU-usage, but redesign the UI as a whole. It is one of the main things that has put me off AMD GPU. It may sound stupid to some, but when I right-click my nVidia control panel I actually understand what does what and with a few clicks I make myself clear. Radeon on the other hand...oh boy...I need like 5 min to get to "turn Vsync off", and it's not even called vsync, but vsync-something. I just can't take it, so annyoing for me. I really hope they put some serious effort into the layout of their drivers. The "new" intel one's are just as bad.

Mussels · Feb 23, 2015

lZKoce said:
Since they are on the subject, I highly hope they will not only optimize the CPU-usage, but redesign the UI as a whole. It is one of the main things that has put me off AMD GPU. It may sound stupid to some, but when I right-click my nVidia control panel I actually understand what does what and with a few clicks I make myself clear. Radeon on the other hand...oh boy...I need like 5 min to get to "turn Vsync off", and it's not even called vsync, but vsync-something. I just can't take it, so annyoing for me. I really hope they put some serious effort into the layout of their drivers. The "new" intel one's are just as bad.

i actually find the modern AMD software to be quite simple to use. make sure its in advanced mode, and everythings fairly simple to use.

Having issues because the names are different is fairly obvious - you think they could copy nvidias layout and naming scheme without nvidia crying about it and trying to sue?

PLAfiller · Feb 23, 2015

Mussels said:
Having issues because the names are different is fairly obvious - you think they could copy nvidias layout and naming scheme without nvidia crying about it and trying to sue?

I really don't know. I've always thought it is a technical language that is available to all manifacturers. But anything's possible. After Canndy Crush wanted patent on the this combo of words. I might have to reconsdier my undesrstanding of the situation.

FrustratedGarrett · Feb 23, 2015

HumanSmoke said:
Driver overhead taking a bigger toll in performance as the CPU processing power decreases - esp. in relation to Nvidia's driver. Most review systems are centred around a high performance CPU, but a budget/mainstream graphics card will in all likelihood also be paired with a budget/mainstream processor. This scaling thus goes unnoticed on many enthusiast sites.
There are a few reviews with relative scaling. Eurogamer has a reasonably good overview.

Where did you get these numbers from? Can you provide us with a link? From what I've seen from the latest benchmarks on TPU, The R9 290 is as fast in most games as the GTX970, and even slightly faster in games where gameworks isn't used.

Mussels · Feb 23, 2015

FrustratedGarrett said:
Where did you get these numbers from? Can you provide us with a link? From what I've seen from the latest benchmarks on TPU, The R9 290 is as fast in most games as the GTX970, and even slightly faster in games where gameworks isn't used.

he's not talking about how fast it is, but how much CPU power it needs.

GhostRyder · Feb 23, 2015

lZKoce said:
Since they are on the subject, I highly hope they will not only optimize the CPU-usage, but redesign the UI as a whole. It is one of the main things that has put me off AMD GPU. It may sound stupid to some, but when I right-click my nVidia control panel I actually understand what does what and with a few clicks I make myself clear. Radeon on the other hand...oh boy...I need like 5 min to get to "turn Vsync off", and it's not even called vsync, but vsync-something. I just can't take it, so annyoing for me. I really hope they put some serious effort into the layout of their drivers. The "new" intel one's are just as bad.

I don't see that, having to use both regularly I prefer the AMD UI over the NVidia if I were choosing. Though personally both work fine enough and I can find whatever I need within a minute of using them.

Mussels said:
i actually find the modern AMD software to be quite simple to use. make sure its in advanced mode, and everythings fairly simple to use.

Having issues because the names are different is fairly obvious - you think they could copy nvidias layout and naming scheme without nvidia crying about it and trying to sue?

I am with you, though I will say the names are a bit odd in some areas and I do not like a few of the locations for some settings mostly because I feel they can be considered "Hidden" almost (I am mostly referring to the monitor settings like scaling and the vsync area of settings) unless you know where they are.

Well the location for this work is not in Austin

RejZoR · Feb 23, 2015

Mussels said:
i actually find the modern AMD software to be quite simple to use. make sure its in advanced mode, and everythings fairly simple to use.

Having issues because the names are different is fairly obvious - you think they could copy nvidias layout and naming scheme without nvidia crying about it and trying to sue?

I frankly don't like NVIDIA control panel at all. It's clumsy and badly organized. It's really bad these days and I wish they'd stick with NVMax interface design. That 3rd party app was freaking brilliant when I owned NVIDIA cards back in those days.

And they both suck (AMD and NVIDIA) when it comes to tray icon and tray controls. Why is it so freaking hard to give users quick direct controls for FSAA, AF, Transparency AA and MLAA/FXAA filtering options? Stuff that you fiddle most often and it's digged inside freaking 5 submenus. Fucking retarded.

FrustratedGarrett · Feb 23, 2015

Mussels said:
he's not talking about how fast it is, but how much CPU power it needs.

Correct, but in what games does this CPU bottlenecking occur? I think that some games that are "The Way It's Meant to be Played" tend to perform considerably worse on AMD's cards. Crysis 3 does that
Other games such as the Stalker games, Alens vs Predators, Dirt, etc. are more CPU bound on Nvidia cards from what I've seen.
I'd like to see a thorough review of CPU performance with both AMD and Nvidia cards.

HM_Actua1 · Feb 23, 2015

I said it back when Mantle was announced and I'm saying it again now. Mantle will flop.

Primey_ · Feb 23, 2015

NC37 said:
Well thats nice, only took them what...a decade and a few years to realize their drivers are bloatware?

That's not what this article is about

HumanSmoke · Feb 23, 2015

FrustratedGarrett said:
Where did you get these numbers from? Can you provide us with a link?

I have already provided the link. The word "Eurogamer" (in light blue) is the link to the jpeg shown immediately below it.

FrustratedGarrett said:
Correct, but in what games does this CPU bottlenecking occur?

The Eurogamer review link will tell you that the games tested are: BF4, Crysis 3, AC:U, Far Cry 4, COD:AW, Ryse, Shadow of Mordor, Tomb Raider, and Metro:LL Redux.

Joss · Feb 23, 2015

lZKoce said:
Since they are on the subject, I highly hope they will not only optimize the CPU-usage, but redesign the UI as a whole. It is one of the main things that has put me off AMD GPU.

Agree.

arbiter · Feb 23, 2015

Mussels said:
It definitely varies by title. It may simply come down to Nvidia having more titles optimised in its favour.

I think part of it as well besides the market share numbers why, nvidia has a team dedicated for driver optimization so that could play a nice part.

Hitman_Actual said:
I said it back when Mantle was announced and I'm saying it again now. Mantle will flop.

Best chance AMD had with mantle was up til MS announced ship date for Dx12. Since then its been on a Death clock and since still haven't released an SDK for it which is already 2 months past due from when they said. Its Not looking good for any future mantle development on game side. I know there is games that claim they are working with it, but wonder how many are gonna stay with it now?

HumanSmoke said:
The Eurogamer review link will tell you that the games tested are: BF4, Crysis 3, AC:U, Far Cry 4, COD:AW, Ryse, Shadow of Mordor, Tomb Raider, and Metro:LL Redux.

Could toss Starcraft2 in to that that is known to very CPU heavy.

Dieinafire · Feb 23, 2015

Intel with Nvidia is the way it is meant to be played

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Lailalo
Processor	Ryzen 9 5900X Boosts to 4.95Ghz
Motherboard	Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WIFI
Cooling	Noctua
Memory	32GB DDR4 3200 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	XFX 7900XT 20GB
Storage	Samsung 970 Pro Plus 1TB, Crucial 1TB MX500 SSD, Segate 3TB
Display(s)	LG Ultrawide 29in @ 2560x1080
Case	Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Power Supply	XPG 1000W
Mouse	G602
Keyboard	G510s
Software	Windows 10 Pro / Windows 10 Home

Processor	AMD FX-8320
Motherboard	AsRock 970 PRO3 R2.0
Cooling	Thermalright Ultra120 eXtreme + 2 LED Green fans
Memory	2 x 4096 MB DDR3-1333 A-Data
Video Card(s)	SAPPHIRE 4096M R9 FURY X 4G D5
Storage	ST1000VX000 • SV35.6 Series™ 1000 GB 7200 rpm
Display(s)	Acer S277HK wmidpp 27" 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS
Case	Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus Black + Red Lights
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek
Power Supply	OCZ ProXStream 1000W
Mouse	Genius NetScroll 100X
Keyboard	Logitech Wave
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

System Name	MoneySink
Processor	2600K @ 4.8
Motherboard	P8Z77-V
Cooling	AC NexXxos XT45 360, RayStorm, D5T+XSPC tank, Tygon R-3603, Bitspower
Memory	16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600C8
Video Card(s)	GTX 780 SLI (EVGA SC ACX + Giga GHz Ed.)
Storage	Kingston HyperX SSD (128) OS, WD RE4 (1TB), RE2 (1TB), Cav. Black (2 x 500GB), Red (4TB)
Display(s)	Achieva Shimian QH270-IPSMS (2560x1440) S-IPS
Case	NZXT Switch 810
Audio Device(s)	onboard Realtek yawn edition
Power Supply	Seasonic X-1050
Software	Win8.1 Pro
Benchmark Scores	3.5 litres of Pale Ale in 18 minutes.

System Name	Lailalo
Processor	Ryzen 9 5900X Boosts to 4.95Ghz
Motherboard	Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WIFI
Cooling	Noctua
Memory	32GB DDR4 3200 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	XFX 7900XT 20GB
Storage	Samsung 970 Pro Plus 1TB, Crucial 1TB MX500 SSD, Segate 3TB
Display(s)	LG Ultrawide 29in @ 2560x1080
Case	Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Power Supply	XPG 1000W
Mouse	G602
Keyboard	G510s
Software	Windows 10 Pro / Windows 10 Home

AMD Seeks New GPU Driver Developers for CPU Optimization

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

NC37

Sony Xperia S

HumanSmoke

RejZoR

NC37

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

R-T-B

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Sony Xperia S

alwayssts

PLAfiller

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

PLAfiller

FrustratedGarrett

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

GhostRyder

RejZoR

FrustratedGarrett

HM_Actua1

Primey_

HumanSmoke

Joss

arbiter

Dieinafire

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen R9 9950X
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	Intel 905p Optane 960GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Gentoo Linux x64 / Windows 11 Enterprise IoT 2024

System Name	HTPC whhaaaat?
Processor	2600k @ 4500mhz
Motherboard	Asus Maximus IV gene-z gen3
Cooling	Noctua NH-C14
Memory	Gskill Ripjaw 2x4gb
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1080 FTW @ 2037/11016
Storage	2x512GB MX100/1x Agility 3 128gb ssds, Seagate 3TB HDD
Display(s)	Vizio P 65'' 4k tv
Case	Lian Li pc-c50b
Audio Device(s)	Denon 3311
Power Supply	Corsair 620HX

System Name	PLAHI
Processor	I5-10400
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling	120 AIO
Memory	32GB Corsair LPX 2400 Mhz DDR4 CL14
Video Card(s)	PNY QUADRO RTX A2000
Storage	Intel 670P 512GB
Display(s)	Philips 288E2A 28" 4K + 22" LG 1080p
Case	Silverstone Raven 03 (RV03)
Audio Device(s)	Creative Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Fractal Design IntegraM 650W
Mouse	Logitech Triathlon
Keyboard	REDRAGON MITRA
Software	Windows 11 Home x 64

System Name	SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor	i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard	Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
Cooling	RX 360mm + 140mm Custom Loop / Dell Stock
Memory	Corsair RGB 16gb DDR4 3000 CL 16 / DDR3 128gb 16 x 8gb
Video Card(s)	GTX Titan XP (2025mhz) / Asus GTX 950 (No Power Connector)
Storage	Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s)	Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case	Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
Audio Device(s)	Realtec ALC1150 (On board)
Power Supply	Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Logitech G19S
Software	Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016

System Name	14900KF
Processor	i9-14900KF
Motherboard	ROG Z790-Apex
Cooling	Custom water loop: D5
Memory	G-SKill 7200 DDR5
Video Card(s)	RTX 4080
Storage	M.2 and Sata SSD's
Display(s)	LG 4K OLED GSYNC compatible
Case	Fractal Mesh
Audio Device(s)	sound blaster Z
Power Supply	Corsair 1200i
Mouse	Logitech HERO G502
Keyboard	Corsair K70R cherry red
Software	Win11
Benchmark Scores	bench score are for people who don't game.

Processor	Intel Core i5 4670K
Motherboard	GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87
Cooling	Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance (4 x 8GB)
Video Card(s)	GALAX GeForce GTX 970 OC Silent Infinity Black Edition 4GB
Storage	WD 1TB, 120GB & 250GB Samsung 840 EVO
Display(s)	BenQ XL2411
Case	Fractal Design Define R5
Power Supply	XFX PRO 650W Core Edition
Mouse	Zowie FK2
Keyboard	Vortex POK3R

Processor	i7-13700k
Motherboard	Asus Tuf Gaming z790-plus
Cooling	Coolermaster Hyper 212 RGB
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5 7000mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus Dual Geforce RTX 4070 Super ( 2800mhz @ 1.0volt, ~60mhz overlock -.1volts)
Storage	1x Samsung 980 Pro PCIe4 NVme, 2x Samsung 1tb 850evo SSD, 3x WD drives, 2 seagate
Display(s)	Acer Predator XB273u 27inch IPS G-Sync 165hz
Power Supply	Corsair RMx Series RM850x (OCZ Z series PSU retired after 13 years of service)
Mouse	Logitech G502 hero
Keyboard	Logitech G710+