CATALYST™ Release Notes Version 3.8

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 12:46:38 -0700, Replicant wrote:

On this day of our lord, Wed, 8 Oct 2003 11:41:25 -0700, Sam
quilled:


Where are the drivers? I only can find the 3.7 version on their website.

Sam

I just downloaded both XP and Win98 versions from here.

http://www.ati.com/support/driver.html

That's where I'd looked earlier. They just must not have had them listed
when I last looked. They're definitely there now. In fact, I just
downloaded and installed them.

Thanks.

Sam

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 22:47:26 +0100, patrickp wrote:

"Sam" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:47:21 GMT, Pluvious wrote:

http://www2.ati.com/drivers/Catalyst...ase_Notes.html


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CATALYSTT Release Notes Version 3.8

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Where are the drivers? I only can find the 3.7 version on their website.

Sam

Refresh the page, Sam - press Ctrl/F5.

patrickp

Nope, that wasn't it... I just checked before they were put up on the web
page. They were apparently put up about an hour after I originally looked.

Sam

Loaded the 3.8 drivers.
The game Command & Conquer Zero Hour now flickers.
Went back to 3.7, game now runs fine
(Sapphire ATI 9100 128MB).

"Pluvious" wrote in message
...


http://www2.ati.com/drivers/Catalyst...ase_Notes.html





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CATALYSTT Release Notes Version 3.8

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These release notes provide information on the latest posting of ATI's
industry
leading software suite, CATALYSTT. This particular posting updates the ATI
Display Driver to version 7.94. This unified driver has been further
enhanced to
provide the highest level of power, performance, and reliability. The ATI
CATALYSTT software suite is the ultimate in performance and stability. The
CATALYSTT 3.8 Release Notes provides information on the following:

The CATALYSTT 3.8 Release Notes provides information on the following:

Web Content
Desktop product family support
Operating systems supported
New Features
Performance Improvements
Issues Resolved in CATALYSTT Version 3.8
Known Issues
Web Content
The CATALYSTT software suite 3.8 contains the following:

RADEONT display driver 7.94
MULTIMEDIA CENTERT 8.7
HydraVisionT 3.21
HydraVisionT Basic Edition 3.25
Remote Wonder 2.1
WDM version 3.09
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Note: These release notes provide information on the 7.94 display
driver
only. For information on the ATI MULTIMEDIA CENTERT 8.7, HYDRAVISIONT
3.21,
HYDRAVISIONT 3.25 Basic Edition, or the REMOTE WONDERT 2.1, please refer
to
their respective release notes found at: http://ati.com/

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Desktop product family support
The CATALYSTT software suite is designed to support the following ATI
desktop
product family:

RADEONT 9800XT
RADEONT 9800 series
RADEONT 9700 series
RADEONT 9600 series
RADEONT 9500 series
RADEONT 9200 series
RADEONT 9100 series
RADEONT 9000 series
RADEONT 8500 series
RADEONT 7500 series
RADEONT 7200 series
RADEONT 7000 series
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Note: ATI All-In-Wonder variants based on the above are also
supported.

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Note: All ATI PC Graphic cards are optimized for Microsoft's Media
Center
Edition when coupled with a supported video capture card.

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Operating systems supported
The latest version of the CATALYSTT software suite is designed to support
the
following Microsoft Windows platforms:

Windows XP
Windows 2000
Windows Millennium Edition (ME)
Windows 98/98SE through the ME driver
New Features
This section provides information on new features found in this release of
the
CATALYSTT Display Drivers. CATALYSTT 3.8 adds new features to the ATI
Control
Panel. Game play, multimedia, and 3D applications are extended with new
technologies and customizable environments. CATALYSTT 3.8 features
upgrades,
expansions and innovative solutions to 3D applications, multimedia, game
play
and home entertainment that deliver the ultimate in visual experiences.
New
features include:

OpenGL and D3D tabs combined into one
Game Profile Feature
CATALYSTT Uninstaller
MULTIMEDIA CENTERT Update
New ATI 3D Tab Layout
SMARTSHADERT Effects
VPU Recover
ATI OVERDRIVE
HYDRAVISIONT Basic Edition
TV Overscan
OpenGL and D3D tabs combined into one
CATALYSTT 3.8 introduces a new user-friendly 3D control panel. The 3D
control
panel combines the current D3D and OpenGL tabs into one tab called ATI 3D.

Game Profile Feature
CATALYSTT 3.8 provides users with the ability to create 3D profiles so
that
every game can have its own unique settings. The custom sections of the
control
panel can now be used to individually configure 3D settings such as
Anti-Aliasing, Anisotropic filtering and SMARTSHADERT effects. These
additions
allow gamers to activate exciting pixel shader effects in any Direct3D or
OpenGL
application.

CATALYSTT Uninstaller
CATALYSTT 3.8 introduces a new simple application that removes the
CATALYSTT
software from the system.

MULTIMEDIA CENTERT Update
The latest version of the ATI MULTIMEDIA CENTERT now provides the
following new
features:

Teletext support within EAZYLOOKT
Fast TVTVT for PC Integration
File Player Enhancements
MULTVIEWT
EAZYLOOKT On Screen Information Enhancements
For more information on these new features within the ATI Multimedia
Center 8.7
visit: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/mmc87_Release_Notes.html

New ATI 3D Tab Layout
CATALYSTT 3.8 now provides a single slider within the new 3D tab that
allows
users to select from different ATI recommended 3D settings. Benefits
include the
flexibility to adjust the overall performance/quality experience with the
main
slider.

SMARTSHADERT Effects
SMARTSHADERT allows gamers to enable an exciting pixel shader effects in
Direct3D or OpenGL applications. SMARTSHADERT effects delivers the amazing
rendering techniques found in pre-shader 3D applications.

VPU Recover
VPU Recover (patent pending) allows the CATALYSTT display driver to reset
the
graphics accelerator when it is no longer responding to the display
driver.
Without VPU Recover, a reboot of the system would be required when the
graphic
accelerator is not responding to the display driver. Depending on the
state of
the system when VPU Recover is activated, applications that are running
may be
able to fully recover from the graphics processor reset. If this is not
possible, the active application may be closed and the system will return
to the
desktop. VPU Recover will significantly reduce the number of system
crashes
caused by graphics hardware hangs. This allows for fewer interruptions and
virtually eliminates situations where work can be lost, as well as
increasing
system stability.


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Note: When the CATALYSTT display driver cannot activate the VPU
Recover
feature a message is displayed indicating the following: A severe graphics
error
has occurred. Please save your work, and restart your system.

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ATI OVERDRIVE
The new ATI OVERDRIVE (patent pending) tab, currently available for the
RADEONT
9800XT only, provides a safe and intelligent graphics processor clocking
utility. ATI OVERDRIVE is constantly monitoring the graphics processor and
pushing the graphics frequency to its maximum, while always ensuring that
the
processor temperature stays at a safe level. If the temperature of the
graphics
processor were to become too hot, ATI OVERDRIVE automatically decreases
the
clock speed until a safe temperature is reached. ATI OVERDRIVE never
reduces the
graphics processor speed below the pre-set factory default clock speed.

HYDRAVISIONT Basic Edition
HYDRAVISIONT Basic Edition provides users with the ability to configure
and
operate a multiple display setup. HYDRAVISIONT allows for applications to
be
moved between displays using the application taskbar and restoring
minimized
applications to any display. HYDRAVISIONT basic edition provides full
control
over how many displays an application should expand across. It also allows
the
user to have full control where dialog boxes should appear.

TV Overscan
TV Overscan supports full screen TV display on devices connected to a
RADEONT or
MOBILITYT RADEONT product. This feature is supported under the Windows
98SE, ME,
2000, XP and XP MCE operating systems. In normal mode, the video image is
scaled
down so that the complete picture is always visible. This is necessary
when
displaying the Windows desktop on a TV. In Overscan mode, the video image
is not
scaled and uses all available scan lines of the TV. This results in a
slightly
bigger picture but the outer edges of the picture will be lost. This is
the
normal mode for TVs playing a standard video source such as live TV or DVD
using
a consumer electronics DVD player.

Performance Improvements
As with most CATALYSTT releases, the performance has increased. The HyperZ
enhancements in CATALYSTT 3.8 provide performance improvements to
applications
that use the Z-buffer in certain ways. Tomb Raider frame rates improve as
much
as 20%. Giants - Citizen Kabuto also runs significantly faster. Other
titles may
also be improved.

Issues Resolved in CATALYSTT Version 3.8
The following section provides a summary of the issues that have been
resolved
in the latest release of CATALYSTT 3.8. These include:

Resolved Game Issues
Resolved Application Issues
Resolved Benchmark Issues
Resolved CATALYSTT Driver Issues
Resolved Game Issues
This section provides information on game issues that have been resolved
in the
latest release of CATALYSTT.

Setting the Landscape details to Perfect in the game IL2 Stumovik
Forgotten
Battles no longer results in the system not responding during the track
playback
Playing the game Tiger Woods with the game options set to 1280x1024 32bpp
and
graphic parameters set to high, no longer results in the game failing to
respond
after the scorecard is displayed
Setting the game Flight Simulator 2004 to display at 1024x768 or 1280x1024
followed by starting a new flight results in the menu being flipped just
before
the new flight is about to begin
Setting the display to 800x600 32bpp 100Hz followed by enabling triple
buffering
no longer results in display corruption when playing CounterStrike
The correct ATI board name is now display in the configuration window of
the
game Serious Sam 2
A dark screen image and texture corruption is no longer seen when playing
the
game Project A3
Running the game eRacer with clone mode enabled no longer results in
corruption
on the secondary display during the opening introduction
Playing the game Midnight Club 2 with the default setting no longer
results in
the texture coordinated being corrupted. This issue occurred under Windows
XP
with an ATI RADEONT 7500 installed
Fog issues have now been resolved in the game Neverwinter Nights
Image corruption is no longer noticed in the game Tomb Raider: Angel of
Darkness. This issue was known to occur under Windows XP with an ATI
RADEONT
9000 series installed
Playing the demo game Midnight Club 2 under Windows XP with the default
modes
enabled for the game no longer results in the fog being missing from the
game
Playing the demo game XIII under Windows XP with an ATI RADEONT 9500 or
9800
series card installed no longer results in texture corruption when moving
the
mouse around the game area
Resolved Application Issues
This section provides information on Application issues that have been
resolved
in the latest release of CATALYSTT

The ATI RADEONT 7500 series card no longer experiences texture and
geometry
corruption in GL application samples
Resolved Benchmark Issues
This section provides information on Benchmark issues that have been
resolved in
the latest release of CATALYSTT.

Setting the display size to 1600x1200x32 bpp under Windows ME with a 256Mb
RADEONT 9700 series card installed and running 3D Mark2003 no longer
results in
the system failing to respond
The CodeCreatures benchmark score dropping by approximately 10-12% on
DX8-class
hardware (RADEONT 9200, 9000, and 8500) is now resolved
Resolved CATALYSTT Driver Issues
This section provides information on CATALYSTT driver issues that have
been
resolved in the latest release of CATALYSTT.

When updating to current or future CATALYSTT releases your current color
control
panel profiles are no longer lost
Setting the main OpenGL slider in the ATI 3D tab to quality no longer
results
causes games to run in 16bpp mode
Disabling Extended Desktop when two display adapters are connected to four
Displays no longer results in corruption on one display
Help file is now available for brightness of TV under Windows XP with a
RADEONT
9800 series card installed
The large desktop resolution setting are no longer displayed in the
Setting tab
once large desktop has been disabled
Selecting the 3D screen saver during DVD playback when the display
resolution is
set to 1280x1024x16bit no longer results in display corruption being
noticed on
the overlay
Repeatedly switching between a Full Screen DOS session and the window
desktop no
longer results in corrupt horizontal red lines on the CRT
Entering the screen saver tab in the display properties and selecting 3D
Flying
Objects followed by entering standby mode no longer results in the Windows
2000
operating system rebooting
The ability to extend the desktop while playing an MPEG file is now
resolved
The system no longer reboots when playing NEC dvd4 after changing the
display
from extended mode to clone mode
The ATI Problem Report Wizard is now functioning properly under Windows XP
The ATI RADEONT 8500 no longer suffers from a Direct 3D performance
decrease
when the Windows XP desktop resolution is set to 32bpp
Setting the display resolution to 1152x864 32bpp under Windows XP and
playing an
MPEG or AVI file no longer results in display corruption on the TV output
Texture banding issues under OpenGL is now resolved
Known Issues
The following section provides a brief description of known issues
associated
with the latest version of CATALYSTT.

The main menu screen of Blade of Darkness displays a flickering pink
horizontal
strip of corruption. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming CATALYSTT
Release. Further information regarding this issue can be found at:
http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4277.html
Flashing on boat texture when playing Morrowind on specific system with
specific
board. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming CATALYSTT Release.
Further
information regarding this issue can be found at:
http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4276.html
ChameleonMark shows some display corruption on DX8-class products. The
issue is
already resolved and a fix will be released in CATALYSTT 3.9
Home World 2 experiences poor performance and possible system hangs with
CATALYST 3.7. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming CATALSYTT
release.
Quake III or Half-Life engine games remap the arrow keys to the shift key
when
the Num Lock is enabled. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming
CATALYSTT
release.
Jedi Academy hangs when enabling 4x or 6x Anti-Aliasing. This issue will
be
resolved in an upcoming CATALYSTT Release. Further information regarding
this
issue can be found at: http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4271.html
The help files for the new VPU Recover feature may still reference to that
feature as smartsave. Smartsave was the internal engineering name of the
feature
and we were unable to update the help files with the proper name of VPU
Recover.
This issue will be resolved in an upcoming CATALSYTT release.
CATALYSTT CREW Feedback Program
This driver release incorporates suggestions received through the
CATALYSTT CREW
feedback program. Please refer to http://apps.ati.com/driverfeedback/ and
provide us further feedback.

Customer Care Service
The ATI Customer Care Center is focused on delivering accurate, up-to-date
product support for optimum usability and performance. Should you require
assistance with your ATI product visit,
http://www.atitech.com/support/index.html


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ATI Technologies Inc.
http://www.ati.com
Voice: (905) 882-2600
Fax: (905) 882-2620

"Sam" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 22:47:26 +0100, patrickp wrote:

"Sam" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:47:21 GMT, Pluvious wrote:

http://www2.ati.com/drivers/Catalyst...ase_Notes.html



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CATALYSTT Release Notes Version 3.8


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Where are the drivers? I only can find the 3.7 version on their
website.

Sam

Refresh the page, Sam - press Ctrl/F5.

patrickp

Nope, that wasn't it... I just checked before they were put up on the web
page. They were apparently put up about an hour after I originally looked.

Sam

LOL! Too eager, Sam! ;-)

patrickp

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 15:36:24 -0700, Sam wrote:


Nope, that wasn't it... I just checked before they were put up on the web
page. They were apparently put up about an hour after I originally looked.

Sam


My bad.. I posted the readme before the drivers where out.. the readme hit the
net about 3 hours before the actual release. I should have specified.


Pluvious

"Pluvious" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 15:36:24 -0700, Sam wrote:


Nope, that wasn't it... I just checked before they were put up on the web
page. They were apparently put up about an hour after I originally
looked.

Sam


My bad.. I posted the readme before the drivers where out.. the readme hit
the
net about 3 hours before the actual release. I should have specified.


Pluvious


Previous Pluvious, hmmm? ;-)

patrickp

Pluvious wrote in
:

The ATI RADEON™ 8500 no longer suffers from a Direct 3D
performance decrease when the Windows XP desktop resolution is set to
32bpp

?! Anyone got more info on this issue? How long it's been present, what
level of performance decrease they're talking about?

Jedi Academy hangs when enabling 4x or 6x Anti-Aliasing. This issue
will be resolved in an upcoming CATALYST™ Release. Further information
regarding this issue can be found at:

Damn. Nothing about fixing dynamic-glow or cloaked-soldiers-causing-
extreme-slowdowns. But then, those might be LucasArts issues and not ATI
issues, I'm not sure.

--
Ian Merrithew - ADM Systems Engineering
ian.merrithew "at" ieee.org
Dartmouth High Gym Ball Hockey League page at http://24.138.1.228:2655/

rejectus expectus
"patrickp" - take five to email me wrote in
message ...
"Pluvious" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 15:36:24 -0700, Sam
wrote:


Nope, that wasn't it... I just checked before they were put up on the
web
page. They were apparently put up about an hour after I originally
looked.

Sam


My bad.. I posted the readme before the drivers where out.. the readme
hit
the
net about 3 hours before the actual release. I should have specified.


Pluvious


Previous Pluvious, hmmm? ;-)

patrickp