AMD Radeon Software 21.6.1 seems to cut idle power consumption too

Posted on Wednesday, June 23 2021 @ 9:33 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck

Yesterday we saw the release of AMD's Adrenalin 2020 21.6.1 driver. Besides the list of known features and bug fixes, it seems this release also contains energy efficiency improvements.

Users report lower idle consumption

TechPowerUp noticed some users are seeing relatively big drops in energy consumption in idle modus or on low-load workloads. This brings the idle power use of AMD's GPUs closer to what is seen on the NVIDIA platform.

One user on Reddit claims the 21.6.1 release fixed 144Hz refresh rate consuming 31W GPU power while idling, it's now down to a level of just 6W to 8W.

Users are reporting drops from around 30 W to ~8 W - nothing to scoff at, and getting AMD's offerings in line with NVIDIA's on that particular metric. While this remains anecdotal evidence for now, rest assured that we will be testing these new drivers so as to definitely claim an improvement (or the absence of it).

TechPowerUp promises to publish a more detailed analysis soon.

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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