AMD has made available its first new ATI Catalyst driver release of 2010, introducing support for Linux operating system Ubuntu 9.10.
The release, version 10.1 and the first of twelve schedule Catalyst launches this year, also provides Windows users with minor performance improvements - with AMD claiming a 3 per cent boost in popular titles Left 4 Dead 2 and Crysis when using certain Radeon HD 5000-series products.
A wave of bug fixes are also included, but AMD has used the release as a platform on which to promise bigger and better releases later in the year. AMD product marketing manager Jay Marsden states that "over the next few months AMD is planning to roll out some major new features and functionality into the ATI Catalyst drivers".
In the meantime, Catalyst 10.1 is available to download at game.amd.com and the pertinent sections of AMD's release notes can be found below.
Performance Improvements
The following performance gains are noticed with this release of ATI Catalyst™ 10.1:
- Left 4 Dead 2 – Overall performance improves as much as 3% on ATI Radeon™ HD 5700 series products and ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series products
- Crysis – Performance improves as much as 3% on ATI Radeon™ HD 5700 series products and as much as 4% on ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series products
Resolved Issues for All Windows Operating Systems
This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows. These include:
- Confirmation dialog box will now appear while extending the display through ATI Catalyst™ Control Center
- "Enable Manual Fan Control" check box will now be checked when utilizing external tools to apply fan speed
- [ATI Catalyst™ Control Center] The display order will now reflect changes properly when Eyefinity is re-arranged while desktop is rotated to portrait mode
- Hot unplugging one of the displays in an Eyefinity configuration no longer causes rotation modes to disappear from ATI Catalyst™ Control Center
Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System
This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows 7. These include:
- [ATI Catalyst™ Control Center] Enabling LCD Overdrive will no longer cause mouse cursor to magnify when moved overtop of the "Calibration Preview"
- DisplayPort™ "Lower Setting Applied" and "Link Failure" messages will no longer appear after driver installation and reboot with DP displays connected to the mini DP port
- Firefox now works properly and video no longer drop frames when playing Youtube clips with Adobe Flash Player 10
- CrossFire™ logo now appears properly in CFX enabled applications like "3DMark Vantage" or "Call of Juarez"
- [ATI Catalyst™ Control Center] Newly added custom modes will now appear properly in desktop area tree view
- Confirmation dialogue window will now appear when setting up Eyefinity mode 120 Hz is no longer missing from display modes for specific digital displays
- Specific configurations will no longer cause Ubisoft "Wheelman" to stop responding during gameplay
- Loss of HDMI signal may no longer occurs when viewing Blu-ray content, and rescanning for the HDMI signal no longer cause the entire screen to shift and display a green border
- Overscan/underscan issue no longer occurs when setting displays to HDTV modes
- Performance drop no longer observed during some scenes of Resident Evil 5 cinematics
- Blocky grass and trees no longer visible in Unigine "Heaven" in OpenGL mode
Resolved Issues for the Windows Vista Operating System
This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows Vista. These include:
- Changing basic color settings will now reflect properly during playback with Adobe Flash Player using Internet Explorer or Firefox
- The right side of HD progressive playback screen will no longer freeze while enabling split screen mode and dynamic contrast
- Green horizontal line no longer visible at the top of the playback window when viewing SD HQV content with desktop resolution set to 25x16
