Getting the most frames per second out of AMD Adrenalin Software is not about turning everything on. The driver suite prioritizes responsiveness, consistent frame pacing, and low overhead, and the best results come from disabling features that add latency or visual processing you do not need for competitive play. For maximum fps you want the GPU to render as fast as possible without artificial caps, sync delays, or extra post-processing, while keeping power and thermal headroom available for sustained boost clocks. This guide gives you exact menu paths, setting names, and value ranges you can apply immediately and revert if needed.

As of early 2026, the current Adrenalin Edition uses a unified Gaming > Graphics layout where global settings and per-game profiles are separated. Always configure a per-game profile after setting your global baseline so Windows and background apps do not dictate behavior in your shooter.

Setting Recommended value Why
Radeon Anti-Lag / Anti-Lag+ Enabled (Anti-Lag+ for supported games) Reduces input lag by controlling CPU queue without capping fps
Radeon Chill Disabled for max fps Prevents driver-level frame rate cap
Radeon Boost Disabled Avoids dynamic resolution drops that hurt clarity
Radeon Enhanced Sync Disabled Removes extra sync layer that can cause stutter at high fps
Wait for Vertical Refresh Off, unless application specifies Eliminates vsync-induced latency and fps cap to monitor refresh
Anti-Aliasing Mode Use application settings Lets the game engine handle AA more efficiently
Anti-Aliasing Method Multisampling Lowest overhead when driver AA is required
Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA) Disabled Avoids blur and extra post-process cost
Anisotropic Filtering Mode Use application settings Prevents forced 16x filtering in every title
Texture Filtering Quality Performance Prioritizes filtering speed over visual quality
Surface Format Optimization Enabled Allows driver to use optimized formats for older titles
Tessellation Mode Override application settings / Maximum Tessellation Level: 8x or 16x Limits excessive tessellation that tanks fps
Shader Cache AMD Optimized Reduces stutter by reusing compiled shaders
OpenGL Triple Buffering Disabled Avoids queued frames and added latency
10-Bit Pixel Format Disabled (unless monitor is 10-bit professional panel) Prevents compatibility issues and overhead

Setting-by-Setting

Radeon Anti-Lag and Anti-Lag+

What causes it: At high frame rates the CPU often prepares frames far ahead of the GPU, creating queue depth that increases click-to-photon latency even when fps is high.

How to check: Open Adrenalin with Alt+R > Gaming > Graphics > Select your game profile. Look for Radeon Anti-Lag. If the game is on the Anti-Lag+ supported list, that toggle appears instead. Check in-game with the Performance Overlay (Alt+R > Performance > Metrics Overlay > Enable, or assign Hotkey via Settings > Hotkeys > Performance Overlay) to see latency metrics.

What to do: Menu path: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Custom > Radeon Anti-Lag > Enabled. For Anti-Lag+: Enable per-game only when supported. Leave it off globally if you play unsupported competitive titles and use standard Anti-Lag. Do not enable both Chill and Anti-Lag+ together; Anti-Lag+ is disabled when Chill is active.

How to undo: Return to the same menu path and set to Disabled, or click Reset for that profile. No restart required.

Radeon Chill

What causes it: Chill caps fps between a minimum and maximum value to save power. If left on globally, your maximum fps will never exceed the Chill Max value even on high-end hardware.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Radeon Chill. If the toggle is enabled, note Min FPS and Max FPS fields (range 30 to 300). Also check Per-Game profiles, as Chill can be enabled per-game and override global.

What to do: For pure fps: Set Radeon Chill to Disabled in Global Graphics and in your competitive game profile. If you want power saving for story games, create a separate profile for those titles with Chill Min 60 / Max 144 instead.

How to undo: Re-enable Chill and set Min to 70-80 below your monitor refresh and Max to match refresh (e.g., 60 / 144 for 144Hz). Click Apply.

Radeon Boost and Image Sharpening

What causes it: Boost lowers rendering resolution during fast camera movement to raise fps. This causes momentary softness and inconsistent aim feel.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Radeon Boost. Check if Enabled. For Resolution-based Boost vs. Variable Rate Shading implementations, the description will show in the tooltip.

What to do: Set Radeon Boost to Disabled for competitive fps. If you prefer clarity with minimal cost, use Radeon Image Sharpening instead: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Radeon Image Sharpening > Enabled, Sharpness 50-70%. Sharpening costs far less than Boost resolution scaling.

How to undo: Disable Image Sharpening or re-enable Boost and set Minimum Resolution to 50% if you want it back.

Wait for Vertical Refresh and Enhanced Sync

What causes it: Both settings synchronize frames to the display. Wait for Vertical Refresh (vsync) caps fps to your refresh rate and adds input lag. Enhanced Sync adds a driver-level sync to prevent tearing but can introduce micro-stutter when fps fluctuates above refresh.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Wait for Vertical Refresh. Values: Off, unless application specifies / Always Off / Always On. Check Enhanced Sync toggle directly below it.

What to do: Set Wait for Vertical Refresh to Off, unless application specifies and Enhanced Sync to Disabled. If you have screen tearing and do not mind a latency trade-off for single-player games, enable Enhanced Sync only in that per-game profile, not globally.

How to undo: Set Wait for Vertical Refresh back to Always Off if you see tearing, or enable Enhanced Sync. For FreeSync monitors, manage sync under Adrenalin > Display > AMD FreeSync > Enabled instead.

Anti-Aliasing and Morphological Filtering

What causes it: Forcing driver-level anti-aliasing overrides the game’s optimized solution and adds GPU load per frame.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Anti-Aliasing Mode (options: Use application settings / Override / Enhance). Check Anti-Aliasing Method and Morphological Anti-Aliasing toggle.

What to do: Set Anti-Aliasing Mode to Use application settings, Anti-Aliasing Method to Multisampling, Morphological Anti-Aliasing to Disabled. Control AA inside the game where you can choose FXAA, SMAA, or TAA with lower cost.

How to undo: Set Anti-Aliasing Mode back to Enhance application settings and enable Morphological AA if you prefer smoother edges in older titles with no built-in AA.

Anisotropic Filtering and Texture Filtering Quality

What causes it: Forcing 16x anisotropic filtering globally sharpens distant textures but adds filtering cost in every game.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Anisotropic Filtering Mode (Use application settings / Override) and Texture Filtering Quality (Performance / Standard / High).

What to do: Set Anisotropic Filtering Mode to Use application settings, Texture Filtering Quality to Performance. In-game, set Anisotropic Filtering to 4x or 8x for a good balance. Surface Format Optimization below it should be Enabled for legacy DirectX 9 titles.

How to undo: Set Texture Filtering Quality to Standard and Anisotropic Filtering to Override 16x if you notice blurry ground textures at distance.

Tessellation Mode

What causes it: Some games use extreme tessellation factors (up to 64x) that disproportionately load the geometry pipeline without visible benefit.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Tessellation Mode (AMD Optimized / Override / Use application settings). If Override, check Maximum Tessellation Level (2x, 4x, 6x, 8x, 16x, 32x, 64x).

What to do: Set Tessellation Mode to Override application settings, Maximum Tessellation Level to 8x for competitive shooters or 16x for visually demanding titles. This caps worst-case load while preserving most detail.

How to undo: Set Tessellation Mode back to AMD Optimized or Use application settings.

Shader Cache and Other Advanced Toggles

What causes it: Repeated shader compilation causes hitching when entering new areas. A disabled or reset shader cache forces recompilation.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Shader Cache (Disabled / AMD Optimized / On). Check file location: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\AMD\DxCache and C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\AMD\GLCache. If the folders are empty or constantly cleared, stutter will return. Also check OpenGL Triple Buffering and 10-Bit Pixel Format under Advanced.

What to do: Set Shader Cache to AMD Optimized, OpenGL Triple Buffering to Disabled, 10-Bit Pixel Format to Disabled. After a driver update using Factory Reset, launch each game once to rebuild the cache before benchmarking. To clear a corrupted cache manually: Settings > Graphics > Advanced > Reset Shader Cache > Perform Reset.

How to undo: Set Shader Cache to Off if you have limited SSD space, or re-enable OpenGL Triple Buffering for OpenGL titles where you experience tearing.

By Hardware Tier

Low-End Systems (RX 6500 XT, RX 7600, Ryzen 5 5600G, 8-16GB RAM)

What causes it: Limited VRAM (4GB-8GB) and lower compute units mean every driver overhead matters and VRAM spills to system RAM cause massive fps drops.

How to check: Monitor VRAM usage via Adrenalin Performance > Metrics > VRAM. If usage is within 500MB of your total VRAM, you are at risk of spill. Check Adrenalin > Performance > Tuning > Power Tuning to see if the GPU is thermal or power limited.

What to do: Use Global settings: Texture Filtering Quality Performance, Surface Format Optimization Enabled, Tessellation Override 8x, Anti-Lag Enabled, all sync off, Chill Off, Boost Off. Per-game: Create profile under Gaming > Add A Game > Select .exe. Set in-game textures to Medium, shadows Low, disable in-game vsync. Enable AMD FSR or HYPR-RX Eco Mode only if you need stable 60 fps in story titles.

How to undo: Restore global defaults via Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Reset. Delete per-game profile via Gaming > Select Game > Delete Profile.

Mid-Range Systems (RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 XT, Ryzen 5 7600 / i5-13600)

What causes it: CPU-GPU balance is usually good, but uncapped fps can cause inconsistent frame times when background features are left on.

How to check: Use Metrics Overlay (Default: Ctrl+Shift+O, can be rebound under Settings > Hotkeys) to compare GPU Busy vs. Frame Time. If frame time spikes align with Enhanced Sync or Boost activation, those features are the culprit.

What to do: Global: Anti-Lag Enabled, Texture Filtering Performance, Shader Cache AMD Optimized, Tessellation Override 16x, Chill Off. Per-game for shooters: Disable in-game frame limiters and set Adrenalin Frame Rate Target Control to Disabled (Performance > Tuning > Custom). For FreeSync 144Hz/165Hz monitors, enable FreeSync under Display > AMD FreeSync > Enabled, but keep Wait for Vertical Refresh Off in Graphics.

How to undo: If you prefer a cap for quiet operation, enable Chill globally with Min 90 / Max 141 for a 144Hz display, instead of a hard cap.

High-End Systems (RX 7900 XT / XTX, RX 7900 GRE, Ryzen 7 7800X3D / 9800X3D)

What causes it: At very high fps, latency and sync settings matter more than raw throughput. Driver queues and excess filtering become the limiter.

How to check: Check Adrenalin > Performance > Metrics > GPU Clock and Hotspot. If clocks are at boost (up to 2500-3000 MHz range depending on card) but latency feels high, Anti-Lag is likely off or vsync is forcing queue.

What to do: Global: Anti-Lag+ Enabled where supported, otherwise Anti-Lag Enabled, Texture Filtering High if you prefer visual fidelity (cost is minimal at this tier), Tessellation AMD Optimized, all sync off. Use per-game profiles to unlock fps: In Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Frame Rate Target Control > Disabled, and in-game disable VSync and set Max FPS to Custom 300 or Unlimited. Enable SmartAccess Memory / Resizable BAR from BIOS if available (check Adrenalin > System > Smart Technology Status).

How to undo: Set Texture Filtering back to Performance and Tessellation Override 8x for maximum competitive advantage, or re-enable Enhanced Sync for tear-free casual play.

Common Mistakes

Leaving Global Chill Enabled and Wondering Why FPS is Capped: What causes it is a global Chill Max value acting as a hidden fps limiter across all games. How to check is Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Radeon Chill and note the Max value, then check the same toggle inside each per-game profile. What to do is disable Chill globally and only enable it per-game where you want power savings. How to undo is re-enable Chill and adjust Max to your desired cap.

Forcing Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering Globally: What causes it is overriding application settings which adds driver-level filtering on top of the game’s engine. How to check is Gaming > Graphics > Anti-Aliasing Mode and Anisotropic Filtering Mode showing Override. What to do is set both to Use application settings and control them in-game. How to undo is set them back to Override 4x AA and 16x Anisotropic if you play older titles without in-game options.

Enabling Multiple Sync Methods at Once: What causes it is running FreeSync + Wait for Vertical Refresh Always On + Enhanced Sync simultaneously, creating competing sync queues. How to check is Display > AMD FreeSync status and Gaming > Graphics > Wait for Vertical Refresh and Enhanced Sync toggles. What to do is keep FreeSync Enabled under Display if your monitor supports it, and set Wait for Vertical Refresh to Off, unless application specifies and Enhanced Sync to Disabled for fps priority. How to undo is set Wait for Vertical Refresh to Always On if tearing is intolerable.

Not Resetting Shader Cache After Driver Updates: What causes it is leftover or cleared cache files after a Factory Reset install. How to check is Performance > Metrics for hitching on first load and verify C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\AMD\DxCache contents. What to do is use Settings > Graphics > Advanced > Reset Shader Cache > Perform Reset, then launch each game once to rebuild, and keep Shader Cache at AMD Optimized. How to undo is set Shader Cache to Disabled if you need to save disk space, but expect more stutter on new maps.

Editing Config Files Without Backup: What causes it is manual edits to GameUserSettings.ini or AMD config files being overwritten or causing launch failures. How to check is to locate game configs (e.g., C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\My Games\ or C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\GameName\Saved\Config\WindowsClient\GameUserSettings.ini) and note if you have a .bak copy. What to do is back up the file before editing and use Adrenalin profiles for driver settings instead of editing CN files in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\AMD\CN\. How to undo is restore the .bak file or delete the edited ini and verify game files via your launcher.

FAQ

Should I use Anti-Lag or Anti-Lag+ for the highest fps?

What causes it: Confusion between the two features leads to using the wrong one, or expecting a fps increase where the benefit is latency reduction. Anti-Lag does not raise average fps, it reduces queue depth. Anti-Lag+ uses game integration to align frame submission even tighter but only works in supported titles.

How to check: In Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics, see if your game shows Anti-Lag+ as an option. If it is grayed out, the title is not supported.

What to do: Enable Anti-Lag globally for all competitive games. Enable Anti-Lag+ only in its per-game profile when supported. Do not enable Chill in that same profile, as it disables Anti-Lag+.

How to undo: Disable Anti-Lag or Anti-Lag+ from the same menu. Game-specific integration may require a game restart.

Does Radeon Boost actually help fps in shooters?

What causes it: Boost helps by dynamically lowering resolution during rapid mouse movement, which raises fps counters during motion but lowers image clarity exactly when you are tracking targets.

How to check: Enable Boost, then use Adrenalin Performance Overlay to watch resolution scaling indicator and frame time during fast 180-degree turns.

What to do: For maximum competitive fps with clear visuals, leave Boost Disabled. If you need extra fps on low-end hardware, use FSR in-game set to Performance or Balanced instead, which is more predictable than dynamic Boost.

How to undo: Disable Boost and reset Image Sharpening to Disabled if the image looks over-sharpened.

Why is my fps capped at 60, 75, or 144 even with vsync off?

What causes it: Hidden caps from Chill, Frame Rate Target Control, in-game Max FPS sliders, or the monitor’s refresh enforced by Wait for Vertical Refresh.

How to check: Check four places: 1) Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics > Radeon Chill Min/Max, 2) Adrenalin > Performance > Tuning > Frame Rate Target Control, 3) In-game Settings > Display > Frame Rate Limit / VSync, 4) Adrenalin > Display > Display Specs refresh rate. Press Alt+R in-game to confirm current capped value.

What to do: Set Chill to Disabled, Frame Rate Target Control to Disabled, in-game Frame Rate Limit to Unlimited or 300, Wait for Vertical Refresh to Off, unless application specifies.

How to undo: Re-enable Chill with Min 72 / Max 142 for 144Hz FreeSync to reduce power and keep tear-free feel without Always On vsync.

Is it better to use Global Graphics or per-game profiles?

What causes it: Global settings apply to every application, including browsers and launchers, and can force unwanted filtering or caps in competitive games where you want raw performance.

How to check: Adrenalin > Gaming > Graphics shows Global Graphics at the top. Below it, your added games are listed. If a game profile shows Custom, it is overriding global.

What to do: Set Global Graphics to a balanced baseline: Anti-Lag Enabled, Texture Filtering Performance, Tessellation AMD Optimized, all sync Disabled, Shader Cache AMD Optimized. Then for each shooter: Gaming > Add A Game > Browse to .exe (e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\YourGame\Game.exe) > Create Profile > Apply fps-specific overrides.

How to undo: In that per-game profile, click Reset or Delete Profile to fall back to global settings.

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