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Preview
ATi’s
Catalyst 3.8 Software Suite
by John
Reynolds
 Today
ATi is once again updating their software suite with the release
of the Catalyst 3.8s,
a unified package that includes a display driver and support
for the company’s multimedia products. To be honest,
penning a write-up on a driver release feels a bit odd, yet
this new release has been rumored for weeks to be a significant
update, one that ATi themselves are proclaiming as the most
significant software update in the company’s history.
The documentation that has been made available to the press
enumerates ten separate points ATi is emphasizing, but we’re
going to skip a few and simply address the most important
new features found within the 3.8s.
Overdrive
is a new overclocking feature found in ATi’s XT products,
introduced last week in numerous reviews (SimHQ’s coming
soon!) as the 9800 XT and 9600 XT. The Catalyst 3.8s make
available the necessary software support for Overdrive’s
thermal sensors in the XT boards (purportedly on-chip for
the 9600s), adding a control panel option for end users to
enable. Once enabled, Overdrive will slowly increase the chip
speed until the thermal sensor detects the maximum degree
of heat output allowed, at which point it will reduce the
speed to remain within limits. The Catalyst 3.8s support Overdrive
for the 9800 XT, and support for the 9600 XTs will be added
in the 3.9 update.
 Game
profiles is the next major
feature included in the 3.8s, one that is in this writer’s
opinion long, long overdue. Yes, profiles are a feature that
many are already using, but thanks only to 3rd party utilities
written by home users. Honestly, the IHVs should be more than
a little ashamed that it’s taken this long to officially
support game profiles in their software. Nevertheless, game
profile support will allow users to customize the control
panel options (anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, texture
preference, Vsync, etc.) for their individual preferences.
.
The SMARTSHADER
Effects option allows
users to enable certain shader effects for older, pre-shader
games. Some of these shader effects, for example, will render
an older game into a stylized black and white image, or cast
an X-ray-like contrast across the display, or more. SMARTSHADER
works for both D3D and OpenGL.
VPU
Recover is a new feature
that ATi claims ‘resets’ the graphics chip if it
fails to respond to display driver commands, thereby hopefully
lessening the number of system crashes end users experience.
Once enabled, VPU Recover also allows users to send error
reports directly to ATi to help assist their software developers
in fixing bugs.
There
are other additions in the Catalyst 3.8s, such as a
new 3D control panel that
combines D3D and OpenGL settings into a single rather than
separate panel, a new interface for HydraVision,
a Catalyst uninstaller, and improved Linux support. ATi is
also promising to post 6 Linux driver updates a year from
now on, and, moreover, that their Catalyst suite will be updated
12 times a year, an increase in commitment from the company’s
previous 8-10 updates/year. And these updates will all receive
WHQL certification prior to release.
The improvements
that ATi has made in the company’s software support over
the past year has been nothing short of amazing. While the
arrival of the 9700 Pro, the first DX9 graphics part to reach
the market, was definitely a milestone for ATi, the company’s
continued commitment to their Catalyst software suite through
new and innovative features such as Overdrive sets a high
standard, one their competition must work hard for if they
hope to match.
You can download the new ATi
Catalyst 3.8 Software Suite from here.
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