Back in 2019, AMD launched a version of its Adrenalin graphics drivers for its Radeon GPUs that included a new feature called Anti-Lag. It was a way for the graphics driver to cut down on latency while playing PC games. In September 2023, AMD released what was supposed to be an improvement for that technology, called Anti-Lag+.
However, in October 2023, Valve sent out an alert stating players who downloaded the AMD Anti-Lag+ drivers could be banned from playing the popular shooter Counter-Strike 2 if they used that feature. Valve said that Anti-Lag+ was "implemented by detouring engine dll functions" which Valve considered to be tampering with the game's code. AMD quickly issued a new Adrenaline driver that disabled the Anti-Lag+ feature.
This week, AMD announced that it was launching a public preview of the latest version of the technology, Anti-Lag 2. In a blog post, the company revealed that this technology is now integrated into games, and it's starting with, ironically, Counter-Strike 2.
AMD stated:
With the game-integrated Radeon Anti-Lag 2, the frame alignment is also applied in the game code itself and works in conjunction with the CPU pacing controlled by the driver to allow for better frame syncing. This leads to even lower click-to-response latency than what an in-driver only solution like Radeon Anti-Lag can deliver.
The company also posted some of its own charts to show significant reductions in latency with Anti-Lag 2 integrated with Counter-Strike 2 on many Radeon GPUs, compared to the latency numbers with no such feature. It also shows a lower latency number compared to the original Anti-Lag tech.
If you want to try out this new Anti-Lag 2 Technical Preview, you can head over to the AMD support page to download the new Adrenalin Edition 24.5.1 driver. The driver will work with the following Radeon desktop GPUs:
- Radeon RX 7900/7800/7700/7600 Series Graphics
- Radeon RX 6900/6800/6700/6600/6500/6400 Series Graphics
- Radeon RX 5700/5600/5500/5300 Series Graphics
Some mobile Radeon GPUs can also run the new drivers as a reference version:
- AMD Radeon RX 7900M Series Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 6800M Series Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 6700M Series Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 6600M Series Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 6500M Series Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 6300M Series Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 5700M/5600M/5500M/5300M Series Graphics
Once you download and install the new drivers and launch Counter-Strike 2, you will see the Anti-Lag 2 feature is enabled by default in the game's Advanced Settings.
If the Technical Preview is successful, AMD plans to release the Radeon Anti-Lag 2 SDK which will allow other game developers to add the tech in their titles.
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