catalyst 11.8 released

[Qbah]

My Windows Experience Index reset to 1.0 after installing those. Aero turned off and it took me a while to figure out why. Had to rerun the test to reestablish the right values and get Aero back.

 

[blessytc]

I would like to know that how is the performance ?

 

[Regs]

Black Ops runs better on my 6950. It's not a whole lot better, but at least some maps are playable now without a lot of hitching.

 

[apoppin]

I would like to know that how is the performance ?

i usually do a performance analysis of every WHQL driver from AMD and Nvidia for ABT but i got sidetracked from doing Cat analysis for a few months by a mega-3D Vision evaluation.

The last published analysis that i did was of Cat 11-5 in May and i am comparing them to 11-8 right now. Overall (in 20 games) there are solid performance increases overall for the HD 6970 and to a lesser extent, the HD 6770
:thumbsup:

 

[mingsoup]

I am getting noticeably less crashes in Fallout New Vegas. Call me crazy.
Still can't OC my Crossfire 6950/70 setup without setting all EnableUlps in registry to 0. Otherwise its blue screens everywhere. After I can run 1 hour of AvP bench perfect.

 

[Red Hawk]

i usually do a performance analysis of every WHQL driver from AMD and Nvidia for ABT but i got sidetracked from doing Cat analysis for a few months by a mega-3D Vision evaluation.

The last published analysis that i did was of Cat 11-5 in May and i am comparing them to 11-8 right now. Overall (in 20 games) there are solid performance increases overall for the HD 6970 and to a lesser extent, the HD 6770
:thumbsup:

Thanks for including HD 6770 benchmarks! It does seem that the 11.8 drivers have a little edge over the 11.5 in most games tested, indicating the 11.8 are better overall. Still, I don't actually have any of the games tested, so the BF:BC2 release note warning holds me back from upgrading.

Are you going to test Crysis 2 or Fear 3, the two games the release notes specifically said should have performance increases?

 

[Madcatatlas]

One does wonder why you didnt use the 6870 or 6850 instead of the 6770 which we are all aware of, is basicly a 5770 with added capabilities for hdmi stuff.

Wouldnt that be more comparable to the 560 ti and your own words of high to mid range?
I mean when did 6770 become midrange for AMD? When did 560 ti become midrange for Nvidia?

You make some choice of words that leaves one perplexed, lacking a better word for that. But a reader tip would be to explain desicions and choices so the reasoning behind can be considered.

Nice review othervise!

 

[Termie]

One does wonder why you didnt use the 6870 or 6850 instead of the 6770 which we are all aware of, is basicly a 5770 with added capabilities for hdmi stuff.

Wouldnt that be more comparable to the 560 ti and your own words of high to mid range?
I mean when did 6770 become midrange for AMD? When did 560 ti become midrange for Nvidia?

You make some choice of words that leaves one perplexed, lacking a better word for that. But a reader tip would be to explain desicions and choices so the reasoning behind can be considered.

Nice review othervise!

I actually disagree...I think it was helpful for him to include the HD6770, because as you point out, it is in fact a 5-series, and many of us still run a 5-series card. Also, it's a perfect matchup for the 550Ti, which is used in that review. He doesn't pit it against the 560Ti.

 

[apoppin]

Thanks for including HD 6770 benchmarks! It does seem that the 11.8 drivers have a little edge over the 11.5 in most games tested, indicating the 11.8 are better overall. Still, I don't actually have any of the games tested, so the BF:BC2 release note warning holds me back from upgrading.

Are you going to test Crysis 2 or Fear 3, the two games the release notes specifically said should have performance increases?

Crysis 2 will get added next month. Not FEAR 3 but likely DeuSex: HR will also become part of my benching suite also in September.

i wanted to add HD 6990 benches, but that card has failed and is artifacting (although it still works for now in my Phenom II system). So, i'll use HD6970 CrossFire until (if) AMD replaces it.
:'(

One does wonder why you didnt use the 6870 or 6850 instead of the 6770 which we are all aware of, is basicly a 5770 with added capabilities for hdmi stuff.

Wouldnt that be more comparable to the 560 ti and your own words of high to mid range?
I mean when did 6770 become midrange for AMD? When did 560 ti become midrange for Nvidia?

The point of using HD 6770 is that it is also a HD 5770; so series 5000 gets tested for double-duty. It would be lower-midrange, if you want to mince words. i didn't test GTX 560 Ti; i tested the HD 6770's closest Nvidia competitor, the GTX 550 Ti.
- i'd love to also test GTX 560 Ti and HD 6870; however, there is real importance in getting these performance analysis out in a timely fashion.

It was really cool seeing the improvement in AMD drivers over 3 releases - of course, that is because of my long detour with 3D Vision - i should be back to *monthly* updates - as soon as i finish DeuSex, that is

 

[Red Hawk]

Well I appreciate the 6770 benches.

 

[Red Hawk]

Anyone know if the MLAA improvement should apply to Deus Ex in MLAA mode?

 

[(sic)Klown12]

Anyone know if the MLAA improvement should apply to Deus Ex in MLAA mode?

Shouldn't. The MLAA improvement was specifically stated being for only when it is forced through CCC, not when a game natively supports it.

 

[Red Hawk]

I know, but Deus Ex is literally the only game out that natively supports MLAA (at least, until BF3 comes along). The devs have stated in interviews that AMD helped them implement MLAA into the game, so the underlying code should be similar.

I guess the only way to prove it would be with benchmarks.

 

[Denbo1991]

I'm having trouble opening AMD Vision Control Center after switching from 11.7 to 11.8. The installer works fine, but nothing happens when I try to open CCC. Ive tried uninstalling the entire package and reinstalling, but the same problem persists. Anyone else having this problem? Any suggestions?

Running Win7 64-bit, Phenom2 X6 1090T, 4GB(2x2GB) DDR3, Sapphire 5770

 

[CarpeDiem99]

uninstall drivers, run driver sweeper, clean out all the amd drivers, restart, install drivers again

 

[Red Hawk]

I know, but Deus Ex is literally the only game out that natively supports MLAA (at least, until BF3 comes along). The devs have stated in interviews that AMD helped them implement MLAA into the game, so the underlying code should be similar.

I guess the only way to prove it would be with benchmarks.

The follow-up to this is no, 11.8 doesn't help with regards to Deus Ex's in-game MLAA. I ran benchmarks using Fraps, during the on rails in engine sequence walking with Meghan at the beginning of the game (had to stop before getting in the elevator, as there's a short pre-rendered clip which throws off max and average frame rates)

In 11.7, these were the scores (with vsync off and all other settings maxed):
No AA: Min 28 Max 58 Avg 43.291
MLAA: Min 26 Max 50 Avg 39.071

11.8
No AA: Min 28 Max 57 Avg 43.078
MLAA: Min 26 Max 51 Avg 39.159

Clearly, there is no difference in performance between the drivers in either mode.

 

[darckhart]

hm dunno if anyone else had this prob.

11.8 definitely did not like my RBE'd 5850 (1.015V, 850/1100). 11.4/5 were fine. I'm also getting some playback issues with mpc-hc (dxva i suspect) if i hook up the tv and put the video on it. If I have mpc-hc try to play the video on the tv, it will hang. If I start playing the video on the monitor and drag it onto the tv, then the video will play fine. these issues did not exist on the previous drivers. *shrugs*