lcass
Junior Boot Camper
Posts: 10
|
Post by lcass on Jan 8, 2019 13:51:55 GMT
I'm interested to know how you are actually modifying the drivers in order to get all these performance improvements, how do you get the source code and what modifications and programs are you using?
|
|
|
Post by Mat HD on Jan 9, 2019 7:20:20 GMT
There's a somewhat lengthy process I go through to modify the drivers to make them work... - Add some installer flags to allow the installer to search for Mac graphics cards without throwing up errors.
- Add a list of recognised Mac graphics cards to the list of PC cards already in the PC driver so that once the installer has started searching for Mac graphics cards it can then identify which one is installed.
- Remove some further installation blocks that would otherwise throw up errors in the installer by manipulating a couple of dll files.
- Merge the official Apple graphics card settings (from the latest official BootCamp driver) with the latest PC driver INF code so that new driver features are more likely to work whilst also providing improved compatibility for newer game releases, and also so that the installer installs the correct settings for the graphics card you have which does have some differences to comparable PC versions of the graphics card.
- Tweak and add further lines of code to the Apple graphics card settings in the INF to improve FPS performance.
- Build a new driver catalogue to account for the changes to the INF code.
- Sign the new driver catalogue so that test mode isn't required and so that Battlenet and other online/anticheat services can be used without issues.
- Uninstall current drivers with DDU.
- Test the drivers (I usually open up Rocket League and play a game or two, then open up a more recent game release such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider or Assasins Creed Origins. I also test Radeon ReLive but I don't test overclocking capabilities for each driver release).
- Upload the driver and edit the website/add forum announcement posts upon successful testing. Unsuccessful testing where significant issues are found will mean I do not release the driver version or I go back to make more tweaks and repeat the last few steps.
Some of the extra modifications & tweaks include... - Disabling 'Ultra-Low-Power-Saving' (ULPS). Improves FPS and stops the card from downclocking unnecessarily. This does make the card run hotter however, but importantly it doesn't stop the card from downclocking if thermal issues arise.
- Texture compression settings applied. Again improves FPS with minimal visual impacts to texture quality.
- Fast buffer/cache 'force clear' settings applied. Once again improves FPS. Sometimes can introduce weird artifacting on older games but works well for most games.
- Additional resolutions added to the INF that are not included in any official driver. Helps improve FPS by allowing the user to select resolutions that smoothly downscale from the native resolution of the display.
- Merging both the Apple official Bootcamp driver code and the PC official driver code allows for eGPU compatibility and 'hotswapping' between the internal GPU and external GPUs via Device Manager without needing to install multiple drivers.
Programs used to edit & build the drivers... - Notepad++: for manual editing of the inf file.
- Python 3.6: for automation of manifest files and parts of the inf file.
- HxD Hex Editor: for tweaking one or two dll files to make the installer work.
- Command prompt: for rebuilding and signing the tweaked driver.
|
|
ifrosty
Junior Boot Camper
Posts: 11
|
Post by ifrosty on Jan 27, 2019 18:53:11 GMT
Mat, back when I had the 2015 MBPr, I would download the official M300 drivers from AMD and do the INF edit by removing the EXCLUSIONS for the mac and also turning off driver enforcement.
Is this even possible with newer Macs, such as the 2018 MBPr? I know it uses the Polaris architecture but I still don't feel as if its the correct drivers.
Sidenote, to this day I don't know how you are able to get AC: Origins (and Odyssey) to play since I cannot load past the splash screen!!
Other than that, Thank you for everything you do for us Mac users and thank you for a nice post on how you accomplish everything you do. I enjoyed reading it!
|
|
|
Post by Mat HD on Jan 27, 2019 19:08:47 GMT
Mat, back when I had the 2015 MBPr, I would download the official M300 drivers from AMD and do the INF edit by removing the EXCLUSIONS for the mac and also turning off driver enforcement. Is this even possible with newer Macs, such as the 2018 MBPr? I know it uses the Polaris architecture but I still don't feel as if its the correct drivers. Sidenote, to this day I don't know how you are able to get AC: Origins (and Odyssey) to play since I cannot load past the splash screen!! Other than that, Thank you for everything you do for us Mac users and thank you for a nice post on how you accomplish everything you do. I enjoyed reading it! Yes you can remove the exclusions and turn off driver enforcement and you should have something usable, however the Apple versions of the graphics cards often have customized settings so you have to grab these from the official apple driver too. This very much depends on what graphics card you have. E.g. the M200 series cards work fine with stock AMD settings, though the M300 require the custom Apple settings to work. The polaris ones MOSTLY work without any of the Apple settings, though some Pro 400 series cards may run into display issues. The only way I can get Assasins Creed:Origins to work is by running it off an external HD.
|
|
|
Post by cestlucas on Jan 27, 2019 19:31:33 GMT
I got odyssey, origins and unity work on my 2018 MBP. Here’s how it works: there’s a readme in every AC game that dictates the game cannot run on a C drive. Therefore there are a couple of ways to make the game run: 1. Partition your bootcamp partition so you get a D drive or whatever; 2. Move the game files to an external SSD; 3. Create a virtual hyper disk VHDX so the games can run on your virtual disk. I used method 3. It doesn’t have anything to do with the graphics driver. Mat, back when I had the 2015 MBPr, I would download the official M300 drivers from AMD and do the INF edit by removing the EXCLUSIONS for the mac and also turning off driver enforcement. Is this even possible with newer Macs, such as the 2018 MBPr? I know it uses the Polaris architecture but I still don't feel as if its the correct drivers. Sidenote, to this day I don't know how you are able to get AC: Origins (and Odyssey) to play since I cannot load past the splash screen!! Other than that, Thank you for everything you do for us Mac users and thank you for a nice post on how you accomplish everything you do. I enjoyed reading it!
|
|
ifrosty
Junior Boot Camper
Posts: 11
|
Post by ifrosty on Jan 27, 2019 19:44:22 GMT
Mat, back when I had the 2015 MBPr, I would download the official M300 drivers from AMD and do the INF edit by removing the EXCLUSIONS for the mac and also turning off driver enforcement. Is this even possible with newer Macs, such as the 2018 MBPr? I know it uses the Polaris architecture but I still don't feel as if its the correct drivers. Sidenote, to this day I don't know how you are able to get AC: Origins (and Odyssey) to play since I cannot load past the splash screen!! Other than that, Thank you for everything you do for us Mac users and thank you for a nice post on how you accomplish everything you do. I enjoyed reading it! Yes you can remove the exclusions and turn off driver enforcement and you should have something usable, however the Apple versions of the graphics cards often have customized settings so you have to grab these from the official apple driver too. This very much depends on what graphics card you have. E.g. the M200 series cards work fine with stock AMD settings, though the M300 require the custom Apple settings to work. The polaris ones MOSTLY work without any of the Apple settings, though some Pro 400 series cards may run into display issues. The only way I can get Assasins Creed:Origins to work is by running it off an external HD. This MBPr has the pro 560X. I used to always use the method I said above and there was no real issue. I do recall doing that the first time when I got this Mac. I selected on AMD's site the Radeon pro Series Duo (Polaris) and did the INF settings, but I think I panicked when I saw Radeon Software in blue and used your drivers instead. I grabbed that driver due to not seeing (what I thought) where the correct 500 series drivers that AMD has on their site. I also assumed the software being blue meant it was more for server use. Its strange that you state its playing on an external. As much as I would do that, I find that asinine and should be unnecessary, but alas, its Ubisoft.
|
|
ifrosty
Junior Boot Camper
Posts: 11
|
Post by ifrosty on Jan 27, 2019 19:55:38 GMT
I got odyssey, origins and unity work on my 2018 MBP. Here’s how it works: there’s a readme in every AC game that dictates the game cannot run on a C drive. Therefore there are a couple of ways to make the game run: 1. Partition your bootcamp partition so you get a D drive or whatever; 2. Move the game files to an external SSD; 3. Create a virtual hyper disk VHDX so the games can run on your virtual disk. I used method 3. It doesn’t have anything to do with the graphics driver. Mat, back when I had the 2015 MBPr, I would download the official M300 drivers from AMD and do the INF edit by removing the EXCLUSIONS for the mac and also turning off driver enforcement. Is this even possible with newer Macs, such as the 2018 MBPr? I know it uses the Polaris architecture but I still don't feel as if its the correct drivers. Sidenote, to this day I don't know how you are able to get AC: Origins (and Odyssey) to play since I cannot load past the splash screen!! Other than that, Thank you for everything you do for us Mac users and thank you for a nice post on how you accomplish everything you do. I enjoyed reading it! On my 2015 Mac, I was able to run AC: Origins no problem, minus the fact the card wasn't able to handle the game much at all. This was all done on the C: drive. Ill look into the VHDX or if need be, ill use an external drive. Thanks for the heads up.
|
|
|
Post by cestlucas on Jan 27, 2019 21:38:45 GMT
In Odyssey/Support/Readme/English it says:
2.4. Known Issues
* It is _not_ advisable to install the game into the Windows folder (usually C:\Windows), a subfolder of the Windows folder, nor the root of the system drive (usually C:\).
* It is recommended to close all other running programs before installing the game, to reduce the risk of software conflicts.
* Mobile Solutions are not yet fully supported and should be considered supported “as is” with the limitations that they impose
|
|
vega20
Newbie Boot Camper
Posts: 1
|
Post by vega20 on Jan 29, 2019 4:44:51 GMT
New to this forum. Hi Mat how are doing? I was wondering for the MacBook Pros with Polaris chips... maybe if its better to reference other OEM's AMD laptop drivers such as the Intel one for RX Vega M? downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28432/Radeon-RX-Vega-M-GraphicsDunno if it's any better cause maybe it comes with customizations and features baked in just for mobile GPUs that the standard PC drivers might not have? Vega M GH and GL are EXTREMELY similar to the Vega 20 and 16. Same 4GB HBM2 Memory, similar compute unit counts and peak performance. Would you compare the latest RX Vega M driver (18.12.2) from Intel with the ones from AMD see how different are they? Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by Mat HD on Jan 29, 2019 7:59:56 GMT
New to this forum. Hi Mat how are doing? I was wondering for the MacBook Pros with Polaris chips... maybe if its better to reference other OEM's AMD laptop drivers such as the Intel one for RX Vega M? downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28432/Radeon-RX-Vega-M-GraphicsDunno if it's any better cause maybe it comes with customizations and features baked in just for mobile GPUs that the standard PC drivers might not have? Vega M GH and GL are EXTREMELY similar to the Vega 20 and 16. Same 4GB HBM2 Memory, similar compute unit counts and peak performance. Would you compare the latest RX Vega M driver (18.12.2) from Intel with the ones from AMD see how different are they? Thanks! Thanks for the heads up on this one. I'll have a look and see if I can get anything useful from the code.
|
|
|
Post by powerhousepr on Jun 23, 2019 0:44:48 GMT
You DEFINITELY need to teach people how to do this otherwise we would all be screwed if something ever happens to you.. May GOD FORBID
Pass ON the knowledge my friend!!
Much Bless!
|
|
|
Post by vega20ok on Nov 29, 2019 1:49:32 GMT
I’ve managed to remap the .cat files and sigh the drivers for the 5500M, but the .exe file in the WT6A folder is still blocking installation. What did you do to make this file compatible with other cards?
|
|
|
Post by backdoor on Dec 4, 2019 19:40:17 GMT
I’ve managed to remap the .cat files and sigh the drivers for the 5500M, but the .exe file in the WT6A folder is still blocking installation. What did you do to make this file compatible with other cards? Edit InstallManager.cfg Edit the file “Config\InstallManager.cfg” and add this line to the end of the file: EnableFalcon=true
|
|
|
Post by vega20ok on Dec 4, 2019 21:00:37 GMT
I’ve managed to remap the .cat files and sigh the drivers for the 5500M, but the .exe file in the WT6A folder is still blocking installation. What did you do to make this file compatible with other cards? Edit InstallManager.cfg Edit the file “Config\InstallManager.cfg” and add this line to the end of the file: EnableFalcon=true I already did that.
|
|
|
Post by sneakyness on Mar 20, 2020 9:01:57 GMT
Man I was ready to do this myself up until I heard about the registry changes in the latest version :\ It isn't by chance possible to cherrypick the updated vulkan runtime from the latest drivers and drop them into what I currently have is it?
|
|