How To Disable Radeon Overlay

AMD is constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to gaming. One of its latest additions is the ability to open the Radeon overlay using the Alt+R keyboard shortcut. Unfortunately, many users find this feature annoying as the software keeps displaying a prompt asking them to open the overlay.

If you’re one of these frustrated gamers, there is a way to disable the Radeon overlay. This guide will show you how to put an end to these constant pop-up messages.

Disable the Radeon Overlay

When playing a game or launching an app that uses your AMD video card, the Radeon Software Adrenalin overlay appears. After opening the program, the Radeon dashboard shows you the game’s performance and the various shortcuts you can use while playing. Some gamers find the dashboard useful, but others could do without the constant interruption. The In-Game Overlay can also mess with the hotkeys used by other programs and apps.

If you would like to disable this feature, the steps outlined here will walk you through the process:

1. Press ALT + R to open the Radeon software.
   
2. In the menu displayed, select “AMD Radeon Software.”
3. Tap “Settings” in the top right corner of the dashboard that opens.
   
4. Navigate to “Preferences,” then go to the “General” section.
   
5. Hit the “In-Game Overlay” button to disable it.
   

Once the In-Game Overlay switch has been disabled, the overlay will no longer be displayed on your screen. The ALT + R shortcut will also be inactive and unable to interfere with other apps.

The Hotkey to Turn Off Radeon Overlay

Even after disabling the In-Game Overlay, the keyboard shortcuts for the Radeon software can still be used by Windows apps and desktop programs. Some keyboard functionalities like pressing Ctrl + Shift + S to open the Paint app will no longer work. You will have to turn off the Radeon overlay hotkeys to resolve these conflicts.

Here’s how to do so:

1. Open the Radeon dashboard.
2. Click “Settings” in the top right corner.
   
3. Go to “Hotkeys” to see all the shortcuts used by Radeon.
   
4. Tap the keyboard shortcut that you would like to fix.
   
5. Hit “Delete” when Radeon asks if you want to unbind the shortcut.
   

The Radeon overlay hotkey for that shortcut will no longer be active. Repeat this process for all the overlay shortcuts you would like to unbind.

Uninstall Radeon Software

Although this would be a drastic step, you could also delete Radeon from your computer to stop the overlay pop-up messages. This is how to remove the Radeon software from your PC:

1. Go to the Start menu and navigate to the Control Panel.
   
2. Tap “Programs & Features.” then “AMD Radeon.”
   
3. Next, click “Uninstall” and follow the prompts displayed.
   
4. Restart your device to complete the process.
   

You have now uninstalled Radeon from your PC. It’s important to bear in mind that removing Radeon will negatively affect the graphic displays on your monitor.

How to Use Radeon Features Without Overlay

Now that you have disabled the Radeon overlay, you may wonder how to utilize the software’s impressive features. This list will show you how to access Radeon to fine-tune your gaming graphics and enhance performance.

Sharpen Computer Graphics

A lot of graphic tweaks can severely affect your frame rate. Fortunately, AMD has created a solution called Image Sharpening that will improve sharpness while having little impact on performance. This is how to enable it:

1. Go to “Settings” on the Radeon dashboard and click “Graphics.”
   
2. Select the game you want to improve or tap “Global Graphics” to use the sharpening feature on all the games.
   

The results will be more noticeable in games where the graphics are below your PC’s max resolution.

Overclock

Overclocking should only be attempted if you don’t know what you’re doing. This is how to overclock using Radeon software:

1. From the dashboard, go to “Performance.”
   
2. Press “Tuning,” then “Manual,” located beside Tuning Control.
   
3. Tweak the overlock settings for your game.
4. Alternatively, hit “Automatic” beside Tuning Control.
   
5. Click “GPU Overlocked” in the Auto Tuning section.
   

Your new overlock settings should now boost your game’s performance.

Monitor Temperature and Frame Rate

Many gamers rely on third-party apps like Afterburner to monitor their PC’s performance, but you can view this data from your software settings. By clicking the Performance overlay, you’ll see all of the vital information about your game. It’s imperative to monitor the GPU’s temperature when you’re overclocking.

If you’ve disabled the overlay feature, you’ll have to access the Radeon dashboard to find these statistics. From the dashboard screen, navigate to the “Performance” tab and monitor the temperature and frame rate of the GPU. The main disadvantage of this method is that you won’t be able to get this information at the click of a button like with overlay.

Enhance Sync and FreeSync

If you have a FreeSync monitor and haven’t turned the feature on in your Radeon settings, then you aren’t taking advantage of the low latency and minimal screen tearing. This feature adapts the monitor’s refresh rate to the game’s frame rate.

If you don’t have a FreeSync monitor, there’s still a way to get around this issue with a newer version of vsync called Enhanced Sync. With Enhanced Sync, you should experience less screen tearing, but it won’t be able to increase input lag or cut your frame rate in the same way as vsync.

You can use FreeSync and Enhanced Sync simultaneously to boost performance. Go to “Settings,” “Display” “Enhanced Sync,” then “Graphics” to optimize your game.

Instant Replays Recording

The best moments in gaming are often unplanned. You don’t know beforehand if you’ll score a spectacular goal or go out in a blaze of shoot ’em up glory. That’s what Instant Replay is for. It allows you to view these fantastic moments, immortalizing them for all time.

Since the Ctrl + Shift + S hotkey will no longer be functional, you’ll have to go to the Windows folder where these files are saved to view the Instant Replay clips. They should be in your “Videos” folder.

Modernize Older Games

The Radeon Settings lets you modify your game’s graphics on a per-game basis. Some of these features only apply to DirectX 9 games and are unnecessary for modern games as new games already have this option in their settings.

Many older games don’t have these graphic enhancements. If you’re looking to modify your game’s graphics, follow these steps:

1. From the dashboard, go to “Gaming,” then “Games.”
   
2. Select a game that supports DirectX 9, then tap “Advanced” to see the changes you can make.
   
3. Turn the anti-aliasing button to “Supersampling” and turn on “Anisotropic filtering.”
   

Your older games will now have the impressive graphics of more modern games.

Uninterrupted Gaming

AMD’s Radeon Software comes with tons of fantastic features. However, the constant pop-up messages asking you to open the overlay can get annoying. The hotkeys can also interfere with the regular use of your keyboard, preventing other app shortcuts from working. This guide shows you how to stop the numerous notifications by disabling the Radeon overlay. It also walks you through turning off the hotkeys and alternative methods of accessing the Radeon features. With this information, you can enjoy uninterrupted gaming.

Have you disabled the Radeon overlay on your computer? What method did you use to do that? Let us know in the comments section below.