14 DAY TRIAL // As you are probably aware, the Sunnyvale, California-based AMD has announced a series of new graphics card models, part of the outfit's latest generation of Radeon HD 5xxx-series of GPUs. The introduction of the new cards spans across the latest months, with each new release designed to provide an alternative for a different market segment. However, today, the company is unveiling a new Catalyst driver that will add a few more features to its latest cards, consequently providing users with a boost of performance and a better computing experience.
Before the release of the Catalyst 10.1 drivers, there were leaked reports on the Internet claiming that release 10.1 will enable a number of new features, such as 3D Stereo support. However, the January-bound drivers were only designed to enable some performance enhancements and fix some known issues, leaving much of the speculated features for a later release. Fortunately, there was some truth in said leak, as AMD plans to enable those features in today's release, but also with the addition of the upcoming Catalyst 10.3
Catalyst 10.2 To get straight down to it, the new Catalyst 10.2 release includes the following features, which we will list below and will detail later on in this article.
CrossFire profile CrossFireX rearchitecture ATI PowerPlay CrossFire Eyefinity support DisplayPort Audio support
The introduction of the CrossFire profile features, which will be available with the Catalyst 10.2 set of drivers, will put AMD on the same track as NVIDIA, which has been providing users with application profile updates for some time now. Basically, this will enable AMD to deliver numerous profile updates, without the end-user having to wait for the full Catalyst driver release. This feature was enabled through the separation of the 3D driver to a separate .XML file that will be updateable from the company's website. Although it's similar to the solution provided by NVIDIA, AMD said that, for the time being, they wouldn't let users create their own profiles, as they were confident they could deliver the profile that offered the best performance.
Another critical update that will be enabled in the Catalyst 10.2 is the rearchitecture of CrossFire. According to the chip maker, the new drive will see some of the CrossFire code moved from the 3D drive to a separate driver component, in an attempt to prepare the Catalyst Software Suite for future AMD products, namely the much-anticipated Fusion products, such as the 2011-bound 'Llano' APU. In addition, the separate drive will also enable users to mix and match ATI graphics cards from different generations.
With PowerPlay AMD will enable its 40nm GPUs to deliver the same amount of performance, while offering a better power consumption, when the card is in idle mode. According to AMD, the new release will enable users of Radeon HD 5870 series of graphics cards, running an ATI CrossFireX configuration, to take advantage of a power save of about 12 Watts, thanks to this technology. Essentially, when the PC is running in desktop mode, the secondary GPU is put into a very low power state, as it's not being used. The 'slave' GPU will be close to being disabled, just to save a bit more power.
Eyefinity is one of AMD's most appreciated solutions, especially by those computer and gaming enthusiasts that want to change the way they enjoy a gaming experience. With the new drivers, users of CrossFire setups will now be able to take advantage of the power delivered by all the CrossFire-enabled cards to run an Eyefinity setup.
Finally, the DisplayPort Audio support will be enabled in the new driver release, according to AMD. While this feature will only affect some users, namely those that have a DisplayPort-equipped monitor with built-in speakers, the addition is notable and completes the package that is Catalyst 10.2 Software Suite.
Catalyst 10.3 Now, in addition to Catalyst 10.2, which the outfit is expected to make available today, users will soon be able to take advantage of the features of the Catalyst 10.3, which is due out in March. However, AMD wanted to let everybody know that is coming, probably because this is a good way to boost sales of its Radeon GPUs with the release of NVIDIA's Fermi cards at the horizon.
Like Catalyst 10.2, the March-bound drivers will add a couple of new features that users should be looking forward to, some of which have been requested by AMD users in the company's forums. The things we should see in 10.3 include:
3D Stereoscopic support Display Bezel Compensation for Eyefinity setups Per-Display Controls for Eyefinity Eyefinity Multiple Groups Catalyst Mobility Eyefinity Display Configuration switching
One of the most anticipated features in Catalyst 10.3 will be the support for 3D Stereoscopic, which will enable AMD to compete in a head-to-head battle with NVIDIA, which launched its 3D Stereoscopic solution some time ago. According to the company, the 10.3 release will be a step forward for its Radeon graphics cards, as it will enable consumers to take advantage of the 3D capabilities of its new cards. The solution has been made possible thanks to a modification of the Direct3D drive that will enable 3rd party middleware vendors, like iZ3D to output stereo L/R images on 120Hz monitors.
Another significant feature is the re-introduction of Catalyst Mobility, which will basically enable consumers of ATI-equipped notebooks to update their system's graphics drivers directly from the Catalyst software suite, available on the company's website. According to AMD, there will be monthly ATI Catalyst release that will support Windows 7 and Windows Vista for the company's ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2000, 3000, 4000 and future ATI Mobility products. However, this feature will not be supported by all OEM/ODM notebook manufacturers, according to AMD, although the driver will deliver support to all Mobility GPUs included in the systems designed by partners that won't opt-out of the new program. Such partners include Toshiba, Sony and Fujitsu, for the time being.
The Display Bezel Compensation for the Eyefinity setups is something that has been on AMD's to-do list since they announced Eyefinity and received an early feedback from enthusiasts. The majority of today's displays are featured with rather large bezels, making them somewhat uncomfortable, when used in an Eyefinity setup. This is where feature comes into play, with a tool that will enable users to adjust their display layout in order to remove the pixels that are typically occupied by the large bezels.
In Catalyst 10.3 AMD has an impressive focus on its Eyefinity technology, enabling two more features that are related to this solution. That is the Eyefinity display configuration switching and the Per-Display Controls for Eyefinity. The former will enable users to swap between modes using hotkeys and the profiles in the ATI Catalyst Control Center. The latter will allow the use of three different panels, each one with its own configuration options. Finally, there's the Eyefinity Multiple Groups, which will enable the creation of more than one group from multiple displays. This might also enable users to add as many as six displays to a group.
As mentioned before, we will update with the download links for the Catalyst 10.2, as soon as they will become available. The Catalyst 10.3 drivers should be out in March so be sure to keep an open eye for those, too.