AMD frame rate control issues and fps lock.

[MiniMax]

Several months ago, after alt-tabbing to “AMD software” and adjusting “Radeon Chill” min and max frames, game suddenly locked itself to 60 fps. Any further changes to driver settings or game options that in any way control frame timing (Vsync and Enhanced sync included) seem to have no effect at all. I haven’t been able to find any solution since. Prior to that, the game has been running at stable +140 fps with no stutter or tearing.
Things I’ve tried so far:
- Toggling vysnc option in game settings;
- Toggling driver’s vsync, triple buffering, Chill and Enhanced Sync options;
- Toggling display “Freesync” options both on the display and in “Adrenaline”;
- Any console command that controls frame rate or vsync (fps_max #, mat_vsync 0, fps_override 1 etc. as well as mat_powersavingmode 0);
- Such launch options as (separately and not in order): -freq “#” (without quotes), different –dxlevel values, -gl, +fps_max;
- Xbox DVR, Game Bar, and gameplay recoding were disabled prior to problem occurring.
- Disabling Windows 10 fullscreen optimization and DPI scaling;
- Running as admin
- Running in different windows compatibility modes;
- Disabling steam UI
- Reverting the game back to default configs and deleting “custom” folder with cloud disabled;
- Verifying file integrity and freshly reinstalling the game;
- Reverting game specific and global driver settings and reinstalling “AMD software”;

Locked 60 fps wouldn’t be such a problem if it weren’t for the fact, that the game stuttering and screen tearing occuring even with in game vsync enabled. And since changes to driver have no effect, I have no way of getting rid of them.

What I discovered however, is that other games, that use same Source version are also affected with the same exact issue (Half-life 2 and episodes; Entropy Zero 1/2 and any other game that has hl.exe as executable).

If you have the solution or know any other way the frame rate can be unlocked, please message here. At this point any idea is good.

PC specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600x
GPU: Radeon 6600 XT 8 Gb
RAM: 16 GB (2 sticks 8 GB each)
Display: Ref. rate: 60Hz; Resolution:2560x1400; connected to GPU via HDMI
The game is installed on 2TB 7200 RPM hard drive with Windows 10 64-bit installed on separate SSD.

[MiniMax]

Forgot to mention that these games are the only ones affected. Even applications that use upgraded "Source" (like Black Mesa) are running and reporting to driver just fine

[MiniMax]

UPDATE in the unlikely case somebody with an AMD system finds this post: I’ve managed to solve the problem by wiping graphics driver completely with the
“AMD cleanup utility”. Everything seems to work as intended now. However, according to forums, the game doesn’t really like being Alt-tabed that much. This should server as a reminder that in this specific case, any changes to the driver must be made prior to playing.

Spending several months looking for a solution for what turned out to be a faulty driver is the experience I don’t wish upon anyone.

Btw. Don’t use driver Image sharpening with TF2: It’ll return a blank screen.

https://youtube.com/shorts/RRObi6P2bqM?feature=share