AMD Releases Catalyst 11.8 Drivers
by Andrew Cunningham on August 17, 2011 5:15 PM ESTAMD today released version 11.8 of its Calalyst driver package for Windows. As with previous releases, version 11.8 is available for all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7, and supports most desktop and laptop DirectX 10 and DirectX 11-capable graphics hardware.
The major addition to the driver suite this month is the ability to overclock your CPU using the AMD Vision Control Center - GPU overclocking was previously possible through the Control Center, but CPU overclocking was done with a separate AMD Overdrive tool. As before, software CPU overclocking is only possible for AMD Black Edition processors running on AMD chipsets.
Other improvements include performance increases in several games (including Crysis 2, Fear 3, and "Call of Duty Black Operations") on Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 series cards, and a handful of fixes for each operating system - the release notes are linked below, for those of you who are interested in specifics.
You can download the new drivers from AMD.com. Users of current drivers can also update them automatically using the AMD Vision Control Center or Valve's Steam service.
Source: AMD
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Snoopans - Friday, August 19, 2011 - link
I have done a lot of tinkering with Catalyst Control Center and my Sapphire Radeon HD6970 Xfire setup. The biggest issue I see is CCC and the drivers acting screwy when upgrading versions. A fix for this is to uninstall all the ATI/AMD software and drivers and run CCleaner (get it from cnet.com) to wipe out any trace of ATI/AMD products. Then install the fresh 11.8 CCC and profiles. This should correct many bugs.I have however witnessed that lack of Hydravision in the past few versions of CCC. To fix this download CCC 11.4 and Hydravision. Notice that in CCC there is a Hydravision tab now. Upgrade to the latest version and the hydravision will remain in CCC. Hydravision, however, is buggy as well.
Other issues still not fixed in 11.8 is the failure of CCC to maintain user defined presets. I have a need for 3 different presets: 3 monitor Eyefinity, 3 monitor Extended, and 1 Monitor 1 TV Extend displays. I have not found a fix for these issues as of yet.
Other things to consider that I have noticed regarding CCC is the instability of its Overclocking abilities on my system. In a Xfire setup I experience freezing during benchmarks at all sorts of different OC settings. Using a single card I experience ZERO of these freezing problems when OC to the max.
Hope this helps someone out there!
Obsoleet - Monday, August 22, 2011 - link
I'm guessing there's 50 people without issues for every person here saying they have problems with these.Work great for me. I use multiple monitor profiles, use my card a lot for gaming, none of the issues listed here on a 5870.
Alírio - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
After installing new driver the two HD 5850 in crossfire the rig obtains 60 FPS in Crysis 2 everything extreme, DirectX 11 and High Definition upgrade, resolution1980 x 1080 pixel. No I have a 6 in graphics in the Windows 7 experience index. Earlier, with old drivers, Crysis 2 obtain 54 FPS and a 7.8 in Windows 7 experience index! Please can someone explain to me this strange behavior?Thanks.
Alírio / Portugal
DriftMachine - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
I have been using AMD's GPU's gor 6 years now. They have some nice features over nvdia. Price, easily customizable 3d options, and overdrive to name a few.The overdrive is where my biggest complaint is or shall I say temperature management. Out of the box AMD seems to regulate temps at about 65 to 75. I notice my fps goes down after 70 on any ati/amd card i have owned. I have suggested they add a temperature control slider to control the fans rather than percentage to allow cool and quit when not gaming.
I don't want to go in to overdrive every time I am about to play a game and after I exit a game just to turn up or down the fan. I would rather set the temperature to 55 or so and forget. I know the only time my card really heats up is during gaming. If it has to get loud to keep cool during a game, I would have to accept that if i want my fps to stay stable. At least i would not have to say oh shit i forgot to up my fan, like i do now.
This seems like a respected forum so maybe posting this idea may actually get heard.