14 DAY TRIAL // AMD will release later today its Catalyst 8.3 software driver pack, the company's first official shot at its already existing video technologies: CrossFireX quad- and three-GPU support for Windows Vista, and the new Hybrid Graphics technology.
The company has previously released its 780G chipset, the cornerstone for company's upcoming "Puma" and "Cartwheel" platforms. During the CeBIT launch, company officials said that the new driver pack will officially unleash the power of multiple CrossFireX links and will enable the company's Hybrid Graphics technology.
"AMD packed ATI Catalyst 8.3 with a double-barreled set of leading technologies to simultaneously push the ultimate visual experience to new heights and to a wider population of PC users," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president of AMD's Graphics Product Group, in a statement. "We deliver industry firsts that make a visible difference to PC users, whether it's CrossFireX and the first ever quad-GPU performance on Windows Vista, or ATI Hybrid Graphics that bring a new level of performance to mainstream PC platforms."
The graphics and the x86 divisions of Advanced Micro Devices have been closely working in order to release products able to compete with both Intel and Nvidia in the CPU and graphics businesses, respectively. Currently, AMD is competing against the two chip manufacturers and delivers both next-generation x86 processors at lower prices than Intel, as well as high-end chipsets, just like Nvidia.
Hybrid graphics is, however, a different story. The new technology allows the chip manufacturer to compete with both Intel and Nvidia on the same market. The hybrid graphics technology is based on the fact that the central processing unit can work in a tight relationship with the existing graphics card, in order to pass the latter additional workload.
At the moment, the hybrid graphics technology requires the presence of both an AMD 780G-based motherboard, as well as an ATI Radeon HD 3400 series graphics card on the same system. However, the new architecture can offer impressive performance boosts of up to 70 percent.
On the other side, the CrossFireX is merely hardcore graphics computing. Graphics cards such as Radeon HD 3850, Radeon HD 3870 or ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 can be linked in multiple units in order to deliver double or triple their performance. Recent tests show that AMD's graphics cards support CrossFire links even if the connected cards are not identical.
The 8.3 version of the Catalyst driver pack will bring DirectX 10.1 first-time-ever support for the ATI Radeon HD 3000 series, as well as tessellation support for the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series. Moreover, users that connect widescreen displays to their computers, will be able to enable GPU-accelerated scaling to keep their aspect ratio while gaining image quality.
Until the Catalyst 8.3 finally kicks in, you can enjoy the latest sample driver, that is currently available for download at Softpedia. The ATI Catalyst 8.471 (Sample Driver) has been successfully used by AMD in yesterday's CeBIT demonstration, covered live by our editors at the event.