AMD Monday released a small update to its Radeon Software Crimson Edition. Version 16.7.2 Beta addresses a minor user-interface issue which causes the "Compatibility Mode" global setting, which is "off" by default, to remain in its user-set state when the "restore factory defaults" function is used. AMD in its change-log for the drivers states:

In the previous Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.1 driver the "Restore Factory Defaults" option under Preferences of Radeon Settings Software would not set the "Compatibility Mode" UI toggle to its default "OFF" value. This is fixed in the Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.2 driver. The "Restore Factory Defaults" options resets all Radeon Settings to their factory default values.

The rest of its change-log appears to be identical to that of 16.7.1 drivers.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.2 Beta for Windows 10/8.1/7 64-bit | Windows 10/8.1/7 32-bit

Earlier today, AMD has posted a new Radeon Crimson Edition Beta, 16.7.1, which actually includes two fixes for the reported PCI-Express overcurrent issue that kept Internet people busy the last days.

The driver changelog mentions the following: "Radeon RX 480's power distribution has been improved for AMD reference boards, lowering the current drawn from the PCIe bus", and there's also a second item "A new "compatibility mode" UI toggle has been made available in the Global Settings menu of Radeon Settings. This option is designed to reduce total power with minimal performance impact if end users experience any further issues."

AMD today provided an update on how it is addressing the Radeon RX 480 power-draw controversy. The company stated that it has assembled a worldwide team of developers to put together a driver update that lowers power-draw from the PCIe slot, with minimal performance impact. This driver will be labeled the Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.1, and will be released in the next 2 days (before weekend). This fix will be called the "Compatibility" toggle in the Global Settings of the Radeon Settings app, which will be disabled by default. So AMD is giving users a fix, at the same time, isn't making a section of users feel like the card has been gimped with a driver update. The drivers will also improve game-specific performance by up to 3 percent.The statement by AMD follows.

Earlier this week, we heard reports of some early adopters of the 4 GB variant of AMD Radeon RX 480 claiming that their cards shipped with 8 GB of memory physically present on their cards, but their graphics card BIOS somehow prevented the GPU from addressing more than 4 GB of it. In its Reddit AMA, the company presented a vague answer to the question of whether such 4 GB cards are moddable to 8 GB by flashing it with the BIOS of the 8 GB variant, by stating that the ability to mod is restricted to review samples. This is both true and false. Short answer: retail 4 GB RX 480 can be flashed to 8 GB, and the modified card perfoms on par with the 8 GB variant.

AMD sent out review samples of the 8 GB variant, and to enable reviews to also put up reviews of the 4 GB variant, it sent a special BIOS that converts the 8 GB card to 4 GB, by reducing its address-space and memory clocks, perfectly simulating the 4 GB variant. AMD's claims of 4 GB cards with 8 GB physical memory being restricted to review samples was proven false when early adopters of retail 4 GB cards discovered eight Samsung 8 Gbit memory chips on their card amounting to 8 GB. We currently have an AIB partner-branded retail 4 GB Radeon RX 480 card which we bought online (invoice posted), and which we're using to prepare our 4 GB RX 480 review. We first discovered that our 4 GB retail card had the same exact Samsung 8x 8 Gb chips (including the same bin, specc'd for 8 Gbps) as the 8 GB card. We flashed this card with the 8 GB card's BIOS, and were successful in doing so. The trick here is to extract the BIOS of the 8 GB card with ATIFlash 2.74 and then transplanting that BIOS onto the 4 GB card. The 8 GB card BIOS image which we used, can be found here. Use at your own risk.

Here are some more pictures of the Radeon RX 480 Nitro by Sapphire, which was first pictured in June. This is the company's premium RX 480 offering, featuring a custom-design PCB, and a large new-generation cooling solution. Unlike its first pictures, which showed a silver/chrome color on the metal cooler shroud; the final design features a gunmetal finish. The cooler features a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink to which heat drawn from the GPU by copper heat pipes, is dissipated under the airflow of two 100 mm fans, which stay off when the card is idling. These fans are easily detachable, letting you clean the heatsink underneath.

The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, located along the rear side of the PCB, and not the usual top. The Sapphire logo along the top features RGB LED lighting, with a selection button on the PCB. The card is rumored to feature GPU clocks of up to 1350 MHz. Also featured is dual-BIOS. A back-plate runs along the entire length of the card. The card is listed for pre-order by OCUK for 249 GBP (incl VAT), a 20 GBP premium on the reference-design card.

AMD sent us this statement in response to growing concern among our readers that the Radeon RX 480 graphics card violates PCI-Express power specification, by overdrawing power from its single 6-pin PCIe power connector and the PCI-Express slot. Combined, the total power budged of the card should be 150W, however, it was found to draw well over that power limit.

AMD has had out-of-spec power designs in the past with the Radeon R9 295X2, for example, but that card is targeted at buyers with reasonably good PSUs. The RX 480's target audience could face troubles powering the card. Below is AMD's statement on the matter. The company stated that it's working on a driver update that could cap the power at 150W. It will be interesting to see how that power-limit affects performance.

"As you know, we continuously tune our GPUs in order to maximize their performance within their given power envelopes and the speed of the memory interface, which in this case is an unprecedented 8 Gbps for GDDR5. Recently, we identified select scenarios where the tuning of some RX 480 boards was not optimal. Fortunately, we can adjust the GPU's tuning via software in order to resolve this issue. We are already testing a driver that implements a fix, and we will provide an update to the community on our progress on Tuesday (July 5, 2016)."

A leaked slide from NVIDIA press-deck for the imminent launch of the GeForce GTX 1060 confirmed the reference board design, which first surfaced in Hong Kong. The slide also reveals clock speeds, and other key specs of the card. While it doesn't reveal the GPU nominal clocks, it mentions that the GPU Boost frequency will be set as high as 1.70 GHz. The memory is clocked at 8 Gbps, which over the GPU's 192-bit GDDR5 interface, puts out 192 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The chip features 1,280 CUDA cores based on the "Pascal" architecture. The card draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector, its TDP is rated even lower than that of the AMD Radeon RX 480, at 120W (vs. 150W of the RX 480). NVIDIA has been making huge (and successful) performance claims for its "Pascal" GPUs so far. The GTX 1060 is claimed to be faster than the GeForce GTX 980 from the previous generation, and "much faster" than the RX 480, which means that NVIDIA intends to price this card competitively to the RX 480.

Here's the first picture of a PowerColor Radeon RX 480 DEVIL. It turns out that the DEVIL-branded graphics card the company threw open a giveaway for, is in celebration of the RX 480 after all. Pictured below with its rear I/O shield removed, the card appears to feature a brand new triple-fan, dual-slot cooling solution by PowerColor, and a custom-design PCB that draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include a DVI connector, besides the three DisplayPorts 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b. The card appears to feature dual-BIOS, looking at that tiny switch. The card is reportedly capable of GPU clocks above the 1.40 GHz mark.

Here are some of the first pictures of ASUS Radeon RX 480 STRIX, the company's premium custom-design RX 480 graphics card. Designed to overcome the power and noise shortcomings of the reference design, the RX 480 STRIX features a custom-design PCB by ASUS which draws power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors, conditioning it with a strong VRM.

The Radeon RX 480 STRIX from ASUS features the same variant of the DirectCU III cooling solution featured on the company's GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 STRIX graphics cards, featuring a large aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by three fans. This cooler features ASUS Aura compliant RGB LED lighting on not just the cooler shroud, but also the back-plate. Apparently AMD's AIB partners are having better luck at keeping the RX 480's engine clocks above the 1.50 GHz mark, with their custom VRM and cooling solutions.

NVIDIA has reportedly pulled the performance-segment GeForce GTX 1060, a possible competitor for the recently launched AMD Radeon RX 480, from its earlier reported Fall-2016 launch to early July. The card is expected to be officially launched on the 7th of July, 2016. Market availability is expected to follow a week later, on 14th July. This will be the third desktop graphics card based on NVIDIA's "Pascal" architecture, following the GTX 1080 and the GTX 1070.The rumored (and derived) specifications of the GeForce GTX 1060 follow.

EK Water Blocks is ready with a full-coverage water block for AMD Radeon RX 480 (model: EK-FC RX-480). Designed for the reference-design RX 480 PCB, the block features a common coolant channel for the GPU, memory, and VRM, with a ridged coolant channel over the GPU for better heat dissipation. The block is 1-slot thick, and comes in four variants, exposed copper block with clear acrylic top, exposed copper with opaque POM acetal top, and nickel-plated copper with acrylic/acetal tops. Since the upcoming Radeon RX 470 features the same reference PCB design, this block could be compatible with that card, too. The company didn't reveal pricing.

With its Radeon RX 480 launch, AMD launched the new Radeon.com website, as a centralized source of product information, updates, and software downloads. The site also features articles related to AMD gaming hardware, and is the second such website by the company after game.amd.com. It appears to feature a similar design scheme to the new Radeon Settings app that ships with Radeon Software Crimson Edition.

MSI is proud to add AMD's latest Radeon RX 480 to its graphics card lineup. The new Polaris architecture combines the latest FinFET 14 process technology and AMD's advanced power, gating and clocking technologies for a superior cool and quiet gaming experience. The new 14 nm process allows for an impressive increase in efficiency, providing 2.5 times more performance per watt over the last generation.

Get ready for a whole new level of gaming at 1440p where powerful Async shaders and new geometry capabilities enable unique support for DirectX 12 and Vulkan in the best version of Graphics Core Next yet. Every PC gamer knows how incredibly smooth gaming can be at a steady 60+ FPS. Now you can have that polished experience at virtually any framerate with AMD FreeSync technology.

Hot on the heels of its Radeon RX 480 launch, AMD released the latest version of Radeon Software Crimson Edition. Version 16.2.2 Beta adds support for the RX 480, and introduces new features such as AMD WattMan, a manual power-management utility, CrossFire toggle, which lets you control CrossFire for supported games via profiles; HDMI scaling, new display color temperature, and Vulkan Version readout. The drivers also add CrossFire profile for "World of Tanks."DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8.1 64-bit | Windows 8.1 32-bit | Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 7 32-bit

AMD today announced availability of its Radeon RX 480 graphics card. The card is currently only available in its 8 GB variant, with the more cost-effective 4 GB variant touting the magic price-tag of $199 slated for July. The 8 GB variant being launched today will start at $229. Based on the 14 nanometer Polaris 10 silicon, the RX 480 takes advantage of the 4th generation Graphics CoreNext (GCN) architecture.

The chip features 2,304 stream processors spread across 36 GCN compute units, 144 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface, holding 8 GB of memory. At its given clock speeds, the card features 256 GB/s of memory bandwidth, although AMD claims DCC memory compression technology to effectively increase memory bandwidth by up to 30 percent in the best case scenarios. The core ticks at 1266 MHz, and the memory at 8 GHz (GDDR5-effective). The card features a TDP of just 150W, and draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.0b. Custom-design cards could feature DVI connectors.

Read the TechPowerUp Reviews of this card: AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB | AMD Radeon RX 480 CrossFire

AMD Radeon Technologies Group (RTG) chief Raja Koduri was in Shanghai last week to meet with one of the design teams of the "Polaris10" and the upcoming "Vega10." He tweeted that development of "Vega10" had just crossed a milestone, although it's a long way to go before you can see it. The 5th generation Graphics CoreNext architecture, and successor to the upcoming "Polaris" architecture, "Vega" promises a higher performance/Watt than "Polaris," which in turn boasts of a large energy efficiency leap over its predecessor.

One of the most notable derivatives of "Vega" is the "Vega10," poised to be a performance-segment GPU, which will make it to the market alongside "Vega11," a larger enthusiast-segment chip. The Vega10 is rumored to feature 4,096 stream processors spread across 64 compute units, and is expected to be a competitor to NVIDIA's GP104 silicon. The larger Vega11 could compete with larger chips based on the "Pascal" architecture, such as the GP102.

Futuremark teased its first benchmark for DirectX 12 graphics, the 3DMark "Time Spy." Likely marketed as an add-on to the 3DMark (2013) suite, "Time Spy" tests DirectX 12 features in a silicon-scorching 3D scene that's rich in geometric, textural, and visual detail. The benchmark is also ready for new generation displays including high resolutions beyond 4K Ultra HD. Existing users of 3DMark get "Basic" access to "Time Spy" when it comes out, with the option to purchase its "Advanced" and "Professional" modes.

Under the hood, "Time Spy" takes advantage of Direct3D feature-level 12_0, including Asynchronous Compute, heavily multi-threaded CPUs (which can make use of as many CPU cores as you can throw at it), and DirectX explicit multi-adapter (native multi-GPU, including mixed setups). Futuremark stated that the benchmark was developed with inputs from AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and other partners of the Futuremark Benchmark Development Program.A teaser trailer video follows.

AMD could deal yet another shock to NVIDIA after the Radeon RX 480, with its smaller sibling, the Radeon RX 470. This card is expected to be priced at $149 for the 4 GB variant, and $179 for the 8 GB variant. The card is rumored to feature 2,048 stream processors, spread acrosss 32 compute units, down from the 2,304 stream processors of the RX 480. Its memory ticks slower, at 7 Gbps, with a memory bandwidth of 224 GB/s. The most spectacular specification, however, is its typical board power, which is rated at 110W. The card should be faster than at least the R9 380X, and at its given specs, offer a very interesting option for 1080p gamers, at $149.

A Sapphire branded AMD reference design Radeon RX 480 graphics card was taken apart, giving us an early close look at the card and its key components. The pictures reveal pretty much the same details as the first close-up shot of the reference RX 480 / RX 470 common PCB, and the cooling solution was taken apart further, revealing more details than the first time we saw what's underneath.

To begin with, the reference RX 480 PCB features a 6-phase VRM that draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4 connectors. One of the pictures features a close-up of the 14 nm "Ellesmere" silicon. The cooling solution is confirmed to feature a chunky monolithic aluminium heatsink with a copper core, cooling the GPU, with a metal base-plate conveying heat from the VRM and memory to it; ventilated by a lateral blower. The Radeon RX 480 is expected to launch on the 29th of June, 2016, priced at $199 for the 4 GB variant, and $229 for the 8 GB variant.More pictures follow.

With its next-generation processors and APUs based on the "Zen" micro-architecture, AMD is integrating the chipset into the processor/APU die, making motherboards entirely chipset-free. This on-die chipset, however, is rumored to be facing issues with its integrated USB 3.1 controllers, according to industry sources. AMD sourced the design for the integrated USB 3.1 controllers from ASMedia. The company has a tendency of sourcing integrated controller IP from third-party manufacturers (eg: its SATA controllers and port-multipliers in the past have been sourced from Silicon Image).

Motherboard manufacturers are noticing significant drops in USB 3.1 bandwidths with increase in circuit distances (think wiring running from the AM4 socket to USB 3.1 front-panel headers on the bottom-right corner of a motherboard). Board designers are reportedly having to use additional retimer and redriver chips to get acceptable bandwidths over such ports, and in some cases even entire USB 3.1 controllers, eating into the platform's PCIe budget and escalating costs.

Here's a sight for sore eyes, a stream of Radeon RX 480 graphics cards by XFX are making their way down the production line to packaging. The picture reveals that XFX could top up the reference-design RX 480 board with a back-plate, to make it even more marketable. To give you an idea of just how cool the 14 nm "Ellesmere" chip runs, with the cooler shroud taken apart, you'll find that the GPU is cooled by just a chunky, monolithic aluminium heatsink with a copper core, and not an elaborate aluminium fin-stack/channel setup with heat-pipes crisscrossing it. A base-plate cools the memory and VRM. In related news, ChipHell scored a GPU-Z screenshot of the XFX Radeon RX 480, confirming its stream processor count of 2,304 and GPU clocks of 1328 MHz, with the memory ticking at 8 GHz (GDDR5-effective).

AMD's all-important Polaris10 "Ellesmere" ASIC is pictured up close in a 3-quarter PCB shot of the upcoming Radeon RX 480 / RX 470. The picture reveals the ASIC with a die that's significantly smaller than that of the 28 nm "Tonga" silicon. The "Ellesmere" die is built on the 14 nm FinFET+ process. The die is seated on a substrate with a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. This appears to be a common reference PCB between the RX 480 and the RX 470.

The RX 480 ships with a classy looking lateral-flow cooler that's longer than the PCB itself; while the RX 470 uses a more common fin-stack top-flow cooling solution. Of course both cards are expected to ship with custom-design boards and cooling solutions. The reference PCB draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector, and uses a 6-phase VRM to condition it for the GPU and memory. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.0a connectors. There are also unused traces on the PCB for a DVI connector, so it's likely that some custom-design cards could feature it.

In its post-E3 press-deck, AMD confirmed the specifications of its Polaris10 "Ellesmere" and Polaris11 "Baffin" GPUs. The two chips will drive at least three desktop discrete SKUs between them, the Radeon RX 480, the RX 470, and the RX 460. Of these, the RX 480 and RX 470 appear to be based on the "Ellesmere" silicon. This chip features 2,304 stream processors spread across 36 compute units (CUs), and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The "Baffin" silicon, on the other hand, features 1,024 stream processors spread across 16 CUs, and a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface, likely ticking at 128 GB/s.

It looks like Microsoft will overpower Sony in the next round of the console wars, with a more powerful SoC on paper. The new XBOX "Scorpio" 4K Ultra HD game console will feature a custom-design SoC by AMD, which will combine not just a GPU based on the "Polaris" architecture, but also a CPU based on the "Zen" microarchitecture. This is significant because it sees a departure from using 8 smaller "Jaguar" CPU cores, and upshifts to stronger "Zen" ones. The chip could be built on the 14 nm process.

The SoC powering the XBOX Scorpio could feature a CPU component with eight "Zen" CPU cores, with SMT enabling 16 logical CPUs, and a "Polaris" GPU with 6 TFLOP/s of compute power. The combined compute power is expected to be close to 10 TFLOP/s. The Radeon RX 480, for instance features 5.84 TFLOP/s of power at its given clock speed. The CPU and GPU will likely share a common memory interface, belting out a memory bandwidth of 320 GB/s. The silicon muscle of this console should power 4K Ultra HD, 1080p @ 60 Hz HDR, and "good VR" solutions such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Games for the console could leverage DirectX 12.

Today at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) CEO Lisa Su delivered a pre-launch showcase of the full line of forthcoming Radeon RX Series graphics cards set to transform PC gaming this summer by delivering enthusiast class performance and features for gamers at mainstream price points. AMD previously showcased the Radeon RX 480 graphics card, designed for incredibly smooth AAA gaming at 1440p resolution and set to be the most affordable solution for premium VR experiences starting at just $199 SEP for the 4GB version. Joining the Radeon RX family are the newly announced Radeon RX 470 graphics card delivering refined, power-efficient HD gaming, and the Radeon RX 460, a cool and efficient solution for the ultimate e-sports gaming experience.