AMD FreeSync(TM) - Q&A with Shane Parfitt, Technology Manager AMD

[rolypolyman]

'Yes, both cards will have similar VSR functionality as the 290X.

The 7790 will also fully support FreeSync.'

There are board and bios level differences between the 7xxx series and the 280/280X series. The R9 280/280X should get VSR support in the future, the 7xxx series will not.

Is the 7790 not 7xxx series then, has this anything to do with GCN?

 

[LoadsaMoney]

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2oqgk5/amd_launches_new_catalyst_omega_drivers/

Wth

 

[pgi947]

More likely if I'm reading what Matt wrote correctly, that those particular 7970 wont work and possibly neither will the 280x's the bios came from.
If there are subtle revisions between the 7970 and the 280x that haven't been adhered too in certain board or bios then it might make things difficult.

I think some clarity is needed tbh, as you're right, there was a few revisions of the 7970, even when excluding Ghz/boost editions, and how many of those just had an id change in the bios to say r9 280x...certainly some must have, which is why some cards will flash to a 280x and others won't...

I do feel bad for 7900 owners, especially previously being one my self, they're getting nothing, no freesync, no true audio, no vsr, mantle support is/was lagging, while still being very relative in terms of raw performance.

 

[bru]

Yup it is bad to think that the 7970 Tahiti chip has now been in service as a currant on sale enthusiast part for over three years.

And before anyone thinks I'm just having a dig at AMD, the NVidia GF108 chip started its service in September 2010 on 40nm and is still used today in the entry level GT 730 DDR3 128bit according to the NVidia 700 series wiki

We desperately need this die shrink to happen.

 

[thebennyboy]

Seems like the AMD reps aren't singing from the same hymn sheet.

So many lies, false promises and mis-information.

 

[triss]

Yup it is bad to think that the 7970 Tahiti chip has now been in service as a currant on sale enthusiast part for over three years.

And before anyone thinks I'm just having a dig at AMD, the NVidia GF108 chip started its service in September 2010 on 40nm and is still used today in the entry level GT 730 DDR3 128bit according to the NVidia 700 series wiki

We desperately need this die shrink to happen.

I see it as a compliment really, Good example of a long lasting gpu

 

[Silent_Scone]

I take it our Canadian friend didn't actually answer any questions then lol.


Edit: Oh, we have to wait for the 19th :s


Come on Swifty, let's go and play

 

[LtMatt]

How is it possible for certain 7970's to be flashed with a 280x bios then? Would that mean those particular cards could run vsr after flash?

Unfortunately a bios flash will not overcome a hardware limitation on the scaler used on the older 7xxx series chips.

We're exploring alternative methods to bring VSR to the R9 280/280 cards but this will not arrive on the 7xxx series.

'Yes, both cards will have similar VSR functionality as the 290X.

The 7790 will also fully support FreeSync.'

Is the 7790 not 7xxx series then, has this anything to do with GCN?

The 7790 'Bonaire' part is the only exception to this because it's actually GCN 1.1, same as the R9 290X. This is why it shares the same functionality on VSR and FreeSync as our Hawaii and Vesuvius parts.

Seems like the AMD reps aren't singing from the same hymn sheet.

So many lies, false promises and mis-information.

We still intend to deploy a Phase 2 driver update to improve on our VSR technology Benny. You're correct though, this is different from our Phase 2 FreeSync driver which is scheduled to arrive in our April Catalyst update.

There is no set date for the VSR Phase 2 driver yet, but we're working on it diligently behind the scenes.

Robert posted the JAN/FEB time frame for a Phase 2 update as a rough estimate. It's not quite ready yet so rather than release it we decided to spend more time ensuring it's up to the incredibly high standards we've set with 14.12 Omega.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

Cheers AMDMatt for getting this information.....

Thanks for the replies matt.

Thanks for getting these questions answered Matt, These Q&A things are one thing i do think AMD do way better then Nvidia

Thanks everyone, glad this helped.

 

[thebennyboy]

We still intend to deploy a Phase 2 driver update to improve on our VSR technology Benny. You're correct though, this is different from our Phase 2 FreeSync driver which is scheduled to arrive in our April Catalyst update.

Sorry about the moan, have not had a good week so far and let loose a bit too much. I still think the mis-information should have been clarified, which you have clarified now.

 

[LtMatt]

Sorry about the moan, have not had a good week so far and let loose a bit too much. I still think the mis-information should have been clarified, which you have clarified now.

That's ok Benny.

 

[thebennyboy]

That's ok Benny.

Are new crossfire profiles going to be added in the driver coming 19th March? Are you able to say which games are getting new profiles and/or updated profiles?

 

[LtMatt]

Are new crossfire profiles going to be added in the driver coming 19th March? Are you able to say which games are getting new profiles and/or updated profiles?

We have lots of improvements coming in the next driver. You'll be able to find more specific improvements in the release notes, which I'll publish in the AMD driver thread when the driver launches.

 

[Stanners]

Matt,

No asking for details as such, but in your role how much do you get to know about up and coming hardware. Do you get to see specs, samples etc. at an early stage?

 

[meldarthx]

AMDMatt; good set of facts; though I completely understand the software doesn't write itself and takes time so its not buggy; but someone should throw out there about phase 2 for VSR and a few updates for people...

 

[Perfect_Chaos]

Should have asked this earlier but anyone have any guesses on when we can expect any blur reduction technology to work with Freesync? Would anything happen this year or will it be a while off?