What is AMD Anti-Lag Plus? The low latency tech explained
Lag is the bane of the lives of many a gamer, especially those playing competitive titles. To solve this, brands have introduced low latency technology, like Nvidia Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag. The latter has been boosted and is now AMD Anti-Lag Plus. Here’s exactly what it is.
The computing industry is awash with buzzwords but, when it comes to gaming, a lot relate to some quite impressive technology, from AMD’s FSR3 to Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus and many more features.
For competitive players, low latency is essential and, as such, gaming tech manufacturers are doing their best to battle it. AMD’s latest effort, Anti-Lag Plus, hasn’t had the easiest time of it, but it’s came back with a vengeance. This is our simple explanation.
What is AMD Anti-Lag Plus?
AMD Anti-Lag Plus is a feature of AMD’s Radeon graphics chips, aiming to provide low latency gaming. Anti-Lag Plus works by applying frame alignment within the code of the game. This then allows for improved synicing of frames which, ultimately, leads to lower latency.
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AMD Anti-Lag Plus differs from its original Anti-Lag technology. Anti-Lag controls the speed at which the CPU runs to keep it aligned with the GPU, preventing the CPU workload from building up as it waits for a GPU to respond adequately. This allow prevents lag.
AMD’s Anti-Lag Plus is a direct rival to Nvidia’s Reflex technology, which also involve game developers incorporating it directly into a video game’s code to function. Anti-Lag Plus initially launched back in back in September 2023 but was pulled after the technology appeared to fall foul of games’ anti-cheat programs (via PCGamer). The issue seemed to stem from the technology being implemented at driver-level, which would require no work from game developers. Now, as mentioned above, the feature is touted as being built into the game code, seemingly to dodge a reoccurence of the problem.
AMD Anti-Lag Plus Requirements and Supported Games
To use AMD Anti-Lag Plus, there are both some system requirements and a limited amount of games currently supported. The requirements include AMD RDNA 3 products, including the AMD Radeon™ RX 7000 Series or newer, DirectX 11/12 and Windows 10/11. These are the current supported games:
- Apex Legends
- Overwatch 2
- Dying Light 2
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Resident Evil 4
- Ghostwire: Tokyo
- Fortnite
- Last of Us: Part 1
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Resident Evil 3
- Borderlands 3