BF4 Mantle Patch Live on January 30th 4AM EST

[Dicehunter]

I know this is just a copy, Paste and quote job but there's some exciting news that's just been released.
The BF4 mantle patch will be live at 4am east coast time on Origin and it's looking like there are going to be some big performance gains for certain users, More info below -

AMD let us know that it's on-schedule with its highly-anticipated Mantle API update for Battlefield 4, and will be delivering it January 30th. Following the update it will release Catalyst 14.1 Beta drivers, which are required to run the Mantle API in Battlefield. The new drivers will include the mantle update as well as a host of additional updates that include phase two of its frame pacing fix, HSA implementation for Kaveri APUs, and more.

According to AMD, the Mantle patch will arrive via an update through the Origin client for Battlefield 4 on January 30th, at 4:00AM EST. To receive the update you must update the game through Origin. The game won't automatically default to using the Mantle API however, but you'll be able to select it in the game's options. To be honest, we're still a bit unclear on whether you'll be able to run Mantle on a driver other than Catalyst 14.1, but we'll find out soon enough. AMD tells us the Catalyst 14.1 drivers are required to run Mantle in Battlefield 4, so you can update your game apparently but won't be able to run it unless you have the new driver. The highly-anticipated Mantle demo StarSwarm will also be coming out on Steam January 30th at "roughly" 3:00PM.

Since you are probably wondering what kind of performance improvement you will see with the Mantle update, assuming you are using a GCN-based GPU (HD 7000, R9, and R7 GPUs), AMD has sent us information from its testing that will give you some insight. First off, it notes that the biggest gains will be achieved on systems with mid-to-low end CPUs that are essentially CPU constrained. According to AMD, "Mantle makes the most significant (and we do mean significant) performance benefit for gaming scenarios that are CPU-limited."

For those of you with beefy CPUs where the GPU is the limiting factor, AMD says don't get your hopes up. It writes, "An API change is unlikely to make a drastic change in these scenarios, as GPU resources are being maximally utilized in a fashion that is difficult to improve at the API-level."

Briefly, here are the numbers AMD has provided for Battlefield 4:

CPU: AMD A10-7700K with Radeon R9 290X - 40.9% improvement at 1080p, 40.1% improvement at 1600p.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4960x with Radeon R7 260x - 2.7% improvement at 1080p, 1.4% improvement at 1600p.



It also provided numbers for the upcoming RTS demo from Oxide games named StarSwarm:

CPU: AMD A10-7700K and Radeon R9 290X - 319% improvement at 1080p, 281% improvement at 1600p.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4960X and Radeon R7 260X - 5.1% at 1080p, 16.7% at 1600p.

In addition, AMD has released a list of known issues for its Catalyst 14.1 drivers. It told us that rather than delay the release of Mantle because of these issues it wanted to get it into the hands of gamers as soon as possible so it can get real-world feedback as it works to fix the issues. Here they are:

1. Mantle performance for the AMD Radeon HD 7000/HD 8000 Series GPUs and AMD Radeon R9 280X and R9 270X GPUs will be optimized for BattleField 4 in future AMD Catalyst releases. These products will see limited gains in BattleField 4 and AMD is currently investigating optimizations for them as they are the next highest priority products.

2. Multi-GPU support under DirectX and Mantle will be added to StarSwarm in a future application patch.

3. Intermittent stuttering or stability issues may occur when utilizing Mantle with AMD CrossFire technology in BattleField 4.

4. Notebooks based on AMD Enduro or PowerXpress™ technologies are currently not supported by Mantle in Battlefield 4.

5. Portrait mode display configurations are currently not supported under Mantle in Battlefield 4.

6. AMD Eyefinity technology is not currently supported in the StarSwarm application.

7. Disabling AMD CrossFire technology in the AMD Catalyst Control Center may cause a system hang. If you experience this, a reboot will ensure that AMD CrossFire is disabled.



But wait, there's more! In addition to all this the Catalyst 14.1 drivers will also include AMD's "phase 2" frame pacing driver it promised last year. If you recall, the first release of this driver only supported it on one display up to 2560x1600 resolution. It also only worked on DX11 games. Phase 2 broadens support to DX10 and DX11, and allows resolutions higher than 2560x1600, so those of you with 4K panels will appreciate this update. The update also applies to any GPUs that don't feature AMD's XDNA technology, which are the R9 290 and R9 290X boards (it gets rid of the CrossFire cable as they communicate directly through PCI Express). The driver update also helps frame pacing in dual GPU configurations where an APU is coupled with a GPU.

Finally, the Catalyst 14.1 driver is also the first HSA-enabled driver, which allows Kaveri APUs to intelligently cooperate with a GPU to share the workload. The only supporting applications listed by AMD at this time are LibreOffice v4.2.0.1+ and Core AfterShot Pro v1.2.0.6+, but it says more will come online soon.

That's quite a list, so sit tight while AMD works its fingers to the bone prepping the driver to be in your hands very soon hopefully around the 30th the same time as the mantle patch and Starswarm demo.

Source - http://www.maximumpc.com/amds_catalyst_141_drivers_are_incoming_mantle_update_and_more

Also it seems because of the bugs that have plagued BF4, DICE are doing something special for us

DICE to give away grenades and other virtual swag throughout the month of February

Nothing says you're sorry better than handing out free gifts -- you know, things like unlocked pistols and grenades, plus double XP opportunities and other virtual items. It's with that in mind that developer Dice is kicking off a Battlefield 4 Player Appreciation Month starting Saturday, February 1, 2014. Throughout the month, DICE will roll out "fun community missions" and give away free stuff.

This is DICE's way of thanking players for putting up with early hiccups that plagued BF4's launch. Now several patches later, most of the issues that made BF4 a frustrating experience early on have been wiped out, and this latest effort on DICE's part may help bring some players back who had previously given up on the game.

"If you are currently playing Battlefield 4, we hope you enjoy this month-long community appreciation. If you haven’t played in a little while, it’s a great time to get back in the game," DICE said. Whoever you are, we appreciate the time you spend with Battlefield 4, we thank you for your support and we hope to keep hearing from you on the Battlefield 4 forums on Battlelog. Here’s to a great 2014!"

Each day you log into BF4 throughout the month of February, you'll receive a Bronze or Silver Battlepack containing bonuses like XP Boosts and solider camos. It usually takes around 30 hours of gameplay to earn all of these packs. In addition, DICE is preparing two optional shortcut bundles that will unlock all grenades and handguns "so you can make up for lost time."

BF4 Premium users will also get access to unlocked DMRs and shotguns, plus a second double XP weekend over the single one that regular users will get.

Source - http://www.maximumpc.com/battlefield_4_devs_shower_players_free_swag_february2014

 

[SuB]

can you add a source link at the bottom of your copy paste please

 

[Dicehunter]

can you add a source link at the bottom of your copy paste please

Done

*EDIT* 09:10 AM GMT

Just fired up Origin and the BF4 Mantle Patch is downloading.

 

[WYP]

Nice to see it happening, especially the star swarm demo .

But by the looks of it it sounds unfinished with cf buggy or not working and only optimisations for 290 series cards on bf4. Dissapointing really

 

[barnsley]

CPU: AMD A10-7700K with Radeon R9 290X
^ dem specs tho. Judging by the improvements on low end cpus, gaming pcs could suddenly start to have less powerful cpus if Mantle goes into full swing.



Sounds like EA didn't do a proper job on mantle. WHAT A SUPRISE

Good to hear frame pacing is still being sorted. Soon crapfire will be crossfire again ^_^

-edit- I wonder what benefits the amd 8cores will have? I'm guessing it won't be as minimal as the i7 or as big an improvement as the APUs get.

 

[WYP]

CPU: AMD A10-7700K with Radeon R9 290X
^ dem specs tho. Judging by the improvements on low end cpus, gaming pcs could suddenly start to have less powerful cpus if Mantle goes into full swing.



Sounds like EA didn't do a proper job on mantle. WHAT A SUPRISE

Good to hear frame pacing is still being sorted. Soon crapfire will be crossfire again ^_^

-edit- I wonder what benefits the amd 8cores will have? I'm guessing it won't be as minimal as the i7 or as big an improvement as the APUs get.

Better frame pacing is always good , shame I won't be home until Sunday.

Mantle should be good for the 8 cores as all cores should be used and their lower IPC compared to Intel will be much less of an issue.

I'm looking forward to testing this star swarm demo and seeing how my 1090t copes

 

[barnsley]

Better frame pacing is always good , shame I won't be home until Sunday.

I'm looking forward to testing this star swarm demo and seeing how my 1090t copes

I'm very excited about Star swarm, especially now I know it will make full use of my cpu! (most RTS games don't)

 

[WYP]

I'm very excited about Star swarm, especially now I know it will make full use of my cpu! (most RTS games don't)

Yeah, most modern RTS games use lots of cores well, I really want to see a mantle ready RTS game.

Here is a link to dice's own benchmarks for those interested.

 

[Excalabur50]

Also you need the new 14.1 beta drivers which will be released soon for Mantle to work