- Jan 1, 2011
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Since this software has been publicly released in beta form with the latest AMD driver package beta, I figured it would be appropriate to have a separate thread discussing it, as it will last longer than the driver package beta. So I'll give my first impressions. The app is made of two functional halves: for optimizing settings in games, and as a client for the Raptr service. This thread is only for talking about the game optimization half. Discussion about the Raptr service probably belongs in the PC gaming section.
First a few notes about how it installs and starts up. After installing it as part of the driver package and restarting your PC, it runs immediately at startup and does a scan on your PC for installed games. There's no apparent way to prevent it from doing this, so if you're strict about not letting software scan your PC and phone home with the data, then the Gaming Evolved app is not for you.
After that, the app started up, and it had detected all my games (I only have a handful of games installed, currently). It is possible go into settings and turn off information gathering on your PC, but the information gathering is sort of the point of the app. See, the game optimization has nothing to do with AMD or Raptr developers running tests on each game and deciding which settings are the best. Rather, the app gathers hardware, usage, and performance data from users (the "AMD community") and compiles that data to determine which settings are best for "Performance", "Balanced", and "Quality" levels. As this is a brand new beta release and very few AMD users have installed it, let alone used it much, currently most games give me a "This game does not yet have enough data from the AMD community" messaged, not even the Gaming Evolved branded games (Tomb Raider and Deus Ex Human Revolution Director's Cut, to be specific). But that's really to be expected considering the nature of the service and its beta form. Only one game, Skyrim, initially gave me some optimization data (it suggested I turn down a bunch of settings even on "quality". Pfft. A 7870 is plenty enough to max out unmodded Skyrim's settings at 1080p). However, possibly due to a beta glitch, it's changed to showing me the same "This game does not have enough data" message.
So the actual utility of this app to PC graphics enthusiasts is pretty limited. You won't gain anything that you can't get from a couple minutes of tweaking settings yourself, and it's not as accurate as running some benchmarks to evaluate performance. However, I think that PC graphics enthusiasts are exactly the kind of people AMD and Raptr want to be using the service. Why? So they can collect our usage data and use it to come up with the optimal settings. The more PC graphics enthusiasts use the service, the more accurate their optimal setting suggestions will be for people who don't know so much about tweaking PC settings. I think that's a worthwhile goal to pursue per se, it's just up to you if you think having your PC monitored for gaming usage data is worth it.
First a few notes about how it installs and starts up. After installing it as part of the driver package and restarting your PC, it runs immediately at startup and does a scan on your PC for installed games. There's no apparent way to prevent it from doing this, so if you're strict about not letting software scan your PC and phone home with the data, then the Gaming Evolved app is not for you.
After that, the app started up, and it had detected all my games (I only have a handful of games installed, currently). It is possible go into settings and turn off information gathering on your PC, but the information gathering is sort of the point of the app. See, the game optimization has nothing to do with AMD or Raptr developers running tests on each game and deciding which settings are the best. Rather, the app gathers hardware, usage, and performance data from users (the "AMD community") and compiles that data to determine which settings are best for "Performance", "Balanced", and "Quality" levels. As this is a brand new beta release and very few AMD users have installed it, let alone used it much, currently most games give me a "This game does not yet have enough data from the AMD community" messaged, not even the Gaming Evolved branded games (Tomb Raider and Deus Ex Human Revolution Director's Cut, to be specific). But that's really to be expected considering the nature of the service and its beta form. Only one game, Skyrim, initially gave me some optimization data (it suggested I turn down a bunch of settings even on "quality". Pfft. A 7870 is plenty enough to max out unmodded Skyrim's settings at 1080p). However, possibly due to a beta glitch, it's changed to showing me the same "This game does not have enough data" message.
So the actual utility of this app to PC graphics enthusiasts is pretty limited. You won't gain anything that you can't get from a couple minutes of tweaking settings yourself, and it's not as accurate as running some benchmarks to evaluate performance. However, I think that PC graphics enthusiasts are exactly the kind of people AMD and Raptr want to be using the service. Why? So they can collect our usage data and use it to come up with the optimal settings. The more PC graphics enthusiasts use the service, the more accurate their optimal setting suggestions will be for people who don't know so much about tweaking PC settings. I think that's a worthwhile goal to pursue per se, it's just up to you if you think having your PC monitored for gaming usage data is worth it.
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