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JBeckman
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Location: Sweden
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 07:56 Post subject: |
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It's funny how big a deal ATI drivers are. I have Nvidia and I rarely update (I just wanna see bigger version numbers)
I don't even have the latest drivers atm. All that ATI preview/beta/rc is ridiculous.
Also, is it really true that you can't have application settings/profiles ? So that your settings get used automatically according to the game you run ?
And lastly, what is that Catalyst AI thing all about ?
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JBeckman
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 08:08 Post subject: |
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ATI drivers are considered to be somewhat behind NVIDIA drivers for compatibility with the latest titles (Aside from DX11 which ATI/AMD now heavily promotes.) and the CCC has a few bugs as well, especially for later hardware such as the 5000 series and the 5970 in particular it's quite important to update due to the so called "gray screen of death" due to a mistake with ATI's so called power saving feature or "powerplay" of those cards. (Similar to a driver crash but WDDM can handle those just fine in Vista and W7)
And yes there are game specific profiles but it can't be altered or accessed so in 10.2 or maybe 10.3 there will be a side profile file in some XML format or something and a editor but this is only for Crossfire compatibility as far as I've understood it.
(Some titles scale badly or incorrectly this should get around that issue.)
As for Catalyst AI the help file says it improves texture filtering methods and that advanced mode improves IQ a bit at the cost of performance but this is incorrect and what the old method of it was.
What it does is apply profile specific tweaks and optimizations (Detected via EXE name.) so that for example Crossfire scaling kicks in (Particularly on X2 like cards.) and that specific compatibility checks are used like no AA or Crossfire in Gothic 3, forcing AA in Oblivion or a number of UE3 titles and so on, advanced mode apparently also tries to optimize texture and shader calculations to improve performance but at a image quality loss although in most comparisons you won't see much of a difference.
(It also tries to force a sort of general AFR scaling for Crossfire under advanced mode.)
Updating to beta versions I'd recommend if they fix particular issues like the Mass Effect 2 profile addition in 8.69.1 (Hotfix 10.1 driver.) or the so called GSOD problem for ATI 5800 cards in 8.69.3 (Hotfix 2 for 10.1) but using leaked drivers like the Feb 13th 8.703. I wouldn't recommend and I'd recommend a clean uninstall and proper reinstall when updating from those to the official drivers.
NVIDIA solves this somewhat better by releasing many beta drivers between larger WHQL certified ones and also adds profile support (Mainly SLI) as a separate download and via EVGA's little SLI beta update program.
(As with ATI hotfixes are only for major problems or additions otherwise it's the usual one driver a month cycle so for recent titles you might have to wait upwards one and a half month for drive support and for not so common titles like say Divinity 2 or Venetica or more foreign titles in general there might never be a proper profile, six driver revisions ago there was finally a profile for the Gothic 3 expansion to use a example, heh not that many people liked that game or that it was all that popular but that's quite a delay for something that just copies the G3 profile to a new name.)
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Werelds
Special Little Man
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 10:55 Post subject: |
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VGAdeadcafe wrote: | It's funny how big a deal ATI drivers are. I have Nvidia and I rarely update (I just wanna see bigger version numbers)
I don't even have the latest drivers atm. All that ATI preview/beta/rc is ridiculous.
Also, is it really true that you can't have application settings/profiles ? So that your settings get used automatically according to the game you run ?
And lastly, what is that Catalyst AI thing all about ? |
The fact that you don't update doesn't mean other NVIDIA users don't need it. NVIDIA releases just as many drivers (more in fact, they have a new beta every 2 weeks or so), also with game-specific enhancements and SLI profiles/fixes.
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JBeckman
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 13:37 Post subject: |
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Frant
King's Bounty
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 14:28 Post subject: |
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VGAdeadcafe wrote: | I don't even have the latest drivers atm. All that ATI preview/beta/rc is ridiculous. |
Are you kidding me?????? Every week nvidia releases new alphas/betas/rc's/non-whql/whql-driver sets. ATI release drivers once a month unless there's a hotfix. The other versions leaks from devs/magazines.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
"The sky was the color of a TV tuned to a dead station" - Neuromancer
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 18:08 Post subject: |
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Nvidia does it too ? Well, their drivers are fine, thta's the difference. I couldn't care less if they release 1 driver set per year, everything runs fine. That's the difference.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 18:20 Post subject: |
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For non-crossfire cards, ATI drivers are also rarely in a need for replacing. You can go for months without replacing. The problems start when you need crossfire profiles, and it is exactly the same with nVidia SLI, with the only difference being you can create custom profiles - something that is about to get fixed.
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JBeckman
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 18:35 Post subject: |
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Epsilon
Dr. Strangelove
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Location: War Room
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JBeckman
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Location: Sweden
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 20:26 Post subject: |
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After checking the 8.70.3 drivers a bit more (Hex editing.) they appear to have profiles for Splinet Cell Conviction and Empires.2exe (Napolen Total War?) which might be the difference from the WHQL ones, probably a test driver for development use or something.
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[sYn]
[Moderator] Elitist
Posts: 8374
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 20:55 Post subject: |
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Anyone know if the flickering and vertical stripe issues are solved with the latest drivers?
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
Location: 0100111001001100
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 22:53 Post subject: |
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VGAdeadcafe wrote: | I get it from my own expeerience. You know : running everything fine and not having "vertical stripe issues" ! |
Never had that, even once. Overclocked my 5870 on the day that I got it. Haven't had any issue with any game so far either apart from the fact that some don't even come close to stressing the card, so come again?
VGAdeadcafe wrote: | Now with these new drivers, go play the games you couldn't play before  |
I don't run Crossfire, so I don't need these new drivers for anything.
So again, what do you base the "ATI DRIVERS SUCK OLOLOL" on? Less acting as if you have a clue, while you don't really.
Yeah, some users had grey stripes and shit, but at least that's fixable by a driver, and caused by their own combination of hardware and software. My G80 and G92 chips breaking because they're shit chips couldn't be fixed by a driver unfortunately.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 23:06 Post subject: |
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Lulz, anyone remember the 8800GTX (G80) resistor bugs? That is not fixable by drivers. 
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 23:16 Post subject: |
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@ pwrelds
So you had 2 cards break on you and then bought a new one and overclocked it on the first day even though the games don't utilize it 100% ? High five !
Selfpwnage makes my job easier. 8xxx cards being shit is a fact,though. An old fact. I went from 7800gtx to gtx260 anyway. My old card still works fine btw.
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 23:27 Post subject: |
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Well, I remember when that Splinter Cell game came out and it didn't support 8xxx, loool. Fail.
I will never let that happen to me. Ever.
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 23:28 Post subject: |
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ehmm that was dev's fault, not nvidia's lol
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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Posted: Wed, 17th Feb 2010 23:34 Post subject: |
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Who said it was nV fault? Whoever it is, is an idiot. Ubisoft failed very hard with that one, but the entire game was a fail, so whatever. 
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
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Posted: Thu, 18th Feb 2010 00:04 Post subject: |
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VGAdeadcafe wrote: | @ pwrelds
So you had 2 cards break on you and then bought a new one and overclocked it on the first day even though the games don't utilize it 100% ? High five !
Selfpwnage makes my job easier. 8xxx cards being shit is a fact,though. An old fact. I went from 7800gtx to gtx260 anyway. My old card still works fine btw. |
I'm a tweaker at heart, so I wanted to see how far this thing could go, and I already read up on results from other, so there was no real risk. And "My old card still works fine btw" is a useless statement. My 6800GT still works (my uncle still uses it), and so does my 9700 non-pro (bro still uses it). Fuck, even my goddamn Mach64+Voodoo 1 combo still works, and is still in use by my grandfather.
I didn't even bother overclocking my last two 9800GTX's, because I didn't want them to break even sooner than the original 8800GTS. Unfortunately, both did, the 8800 is still the one that lasted the longest out of the three >_<
And Mortibus, it's not that "ATI users" are sensitive about drivers, I am just sensitive about people who pull shit out of their ass and present it as a dessert, claiming it's the best thing you'll ever taste!
ATI drivers are fine, they're not better or worse than NVIDIA's driver. I've rolled back my NVIDIA drivers several times, because I'd gain performance in one game, but another would go to shit. Red Faction: Guerrilla was an example, they released a driver a week after the release, giving up to 20% extra performance. I wanted that, because an E8400 + 9800GTX wasn't exactly running the game at a constant 60 FPS.
The drivers gave me an extra 5-10 FPS on average alright, but also fucked up Heroes of Newerth, to the point where it wouldn't even load. Still doesn't mean NVIDIA or their drivers are shit though, mistakes happen on both sides.
And clearly NVIDIA learned from SC *points at the latest Batman game* 
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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Posted: Thu, 18th Feb 2010 00:36 Post subject: |
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Nope, the troll face is on every nubcake that needs to bring up some flying paper in order to feel his card is superior.
(Not only that, but you need at least 2 cards to have a 60 fps framerate with the moving paper - extra FAIL.) 
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Posted: Thu, 18th Feb 2010 00:41 Post subject: |
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Not if you lower the PhysX setting ! So, it ran fine on mine and I was pushing paper and had fog.
Lol, you played without smoke effects, paper effects, flags (I think) and breakable tiles and who knows what else. Lolzor. Superior performance, too.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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Posted: Thu, 18th Feb 2010 00:45 Post subject: |
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If you lower settings you have half the paper and still run @ "fine" 20-30fps
I preferred 60. Even if I had an nV, I would have never enabled that afterthought crap. The fact that his is the only thing you can think of to prove superiority is laughable.
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Posted: Thu, 18th Feb 2010 01:28 Post subject: |
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anyone that complains about ati drivers should go back to nvidia, so tired of reading complaints about "problems" that 90% of the time are due to the users fault or faulty hardware.
I NEVER in my life had a problem with ati cards or ati drivers, but then again im a pro PC user.
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Posted: Thu, 18th Feb 2010 02:49 Post subject: |
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Paintface wrote: | anyone that complains about ati drivers should go back to nvidia, so tired of reading complaints about "problems" that 90% of the time are due to the users fault or faulty hardware.
I NEVER in my life had a problem with ati cards or ati drivers, but then again im a pro PC user. |
Hear, fucking, hear.
ATi user here, not having ANY problems with my drivers. Works like a charm and the only time a game runs like ass is when it's (and here's a shocker) nVidia "certified"
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