AMD Radeon Anti-Lag 2 is here, requires game integration, available now in Counter-Strike 2

AMD Radeon Anti-Lag 2 has been formally announced and is now available in 'technical preview' form in Counter-Strike 2. Like NVIDIA's Reflex latency reduction technology, the new Radeon Anti-Lag 2 requires game integration - unlike Anti-Lag or last year's short-lived Anti-Lag+.

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AMD Radeon Anti-Lag 2 in Counter-Strike 2.

The choice of Counter-Strike 2 to debut Anti-Lag 2 is an excellent move from AMD because of the whole Anti-Lag+ controversy. Here's a quick rundown: Anti-Lag+ was launched as an in-driver solution for latency reduction in September 2023. Fast forward to October 2023, and Counter-Strike 2 players with Anti-Lag+ enabled were banned for cheating. It turns out Anti-Lag+ worked by accessing and even modifying game code and data.

From there, AMD disabled Anti-Lag+ and then removed it entirely. And now, several months later, we've got the new and very different Anti-Lag 2 that requires game integration.

• Read more: New AMD Radeon drivers introduce HYPR-RX and Anti-Lag+ to optimize performance for RDNA 3 GPUs
• Read more: Valve: so, yeah.. enabling AMD Anti-Lag tech on Radeon GPUs = VAC banned on CS2
• Read more: AMD disables Anti-Lag+ tech in ALL games with new driver, after CS2 issues and VAC banning
• Read more: AMD's Anti-Lag+ tech is returning 'soon' - but what form will the reintroduced feature take?

"We've partnered closely with Valve to integrate Radeon Anti-Lag 2 into Counter-Strike 2, and a game update and technical preview AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition driver is available now to enable it for a more responsive esports experience and the ultimate in low-latency gaming," AMD writes.

The technology is an improvement over the existing Anti-Lag, with AMD describing how it works straightforwardly. Anti-Lag 2's frame alignment, which syncs up the CPU and GPU to improve response times, is applied in the game code, which now works with the driver to reduce CPU latency. This makes it a Radeon-specific technology that requires at least a Radeon RX 5000 Series GPU or Ryzen 6000 Series Processors with Radeon graphics. Game developers also need to add it to their games.

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Valve's Counter-Strike 2 is the first title to roll out support for the new Anti-Lag 2 technology. AMD supplied the chart (seen above) showing the difference it makes to system latency.

You can download theAMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 24.5.1 For Anti-Lag 2 Technical Preview driver here. AMD notes that the new driver also includes a Radeon Anti-Lag 2 Latency Monitor, which shows FPS, the latency in ms, and the latency in frames.