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AMD releases Catalyst 10.8b hotfix

by Pete Mason on 10 September 2010, 11:58

Tags: Tom Clancys HAWX, Catalyst Drivers, AMD (NYSE:AMD), ATi Technologies (NYSE:AMD), PC, Xbox 360, PS3

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qazy5

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Outside of its normal update-schedule, AMD has released a hotfix for its Radeon graphics-cards.  The Catalyst 10.8b drivers provide some specific fixes and should improve performance of the company's newer GPUs under Windows Vista and Windows 7.

The first fix applies to both the Radeon HD 4870 X2 and HD 4850 X2 and promises significant improvements.  Apparently the cards weren't properly using both GPUs, seriously hamstringing performance in certain games.  The update should fix that issue, getting the most out of the hardware and putting both cores back to work.

The second change applies to all ATI cards that support DirectX 10 and higher, which includes all members of the HD 3000-, 4000- and 5000-series.  Apparently the updated driver will significantly improve performance in Ubisoft's H.A.W.X. when anisotrophic filtering is forced-on through the Catalyst Control Centre.  Again, this will only affect users running newer versions of Windows.

Obviously this is just an incremental hotfix, so the list of changes is quite small.  Users of AMD's dual-GPU cards should appreciate the improvements, though, as it is expected to deliver a significant performance-boost.

Full details are available from the company's website along with download links for the hotfix.



HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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Has this problem always existed with the 4850X2/4870X2 if so I would be pretty unhappy as these card's have been out a long time, to now find that that it hasn't always worked to it's full potential would make me pretty mad!

At the same time I suppose it would be like getting a new card with the new driver as it will start working properly!
Mark@SCAN;1978060
Has this problem always existed with the 4850X2/4870X2 if so I would be pretty unhappy as these card's have been out a long time, to now find that that it hasn't always worked to it's full potential would make me pretty mad!

At the same time I suppose it would be like getting a new card with the new driver as it will start working properly!

It says only in certain games, so more than likely the newer games. People do buy those cards for more than just games, and have been getting the full potential out of them already.
It's not even “certain games”, it appears to only be for HAWX, and only when AF is forced through CCC…which should be never anyway.

I'd just file this one under “WTF” and move along. :woowoo:
Yeah, sounds like nVidia might have been using HAWX as some kind of silly ‘our card is better than yours in this specific circumstance’ willy waving, so AMD had good incentive to fix any specific bugs.
From what I have read, ever since the 10.6's dual GPU cards have had a problem where they were either locked in 2d speeds… or the second core never ran at full speeds.

Imp