AMD Catalyst

[Servelius]

Two versions of new AMD graphic drivers were just released and both versions on the same day, 10/22/2012, Catalyst 12.10 WHQL and Catalyst 12.11 beta:

==> http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx

Very hot so grab them while they are.

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For AMD Radeon™ HD 5000, HD 6000 and HD 7000 Series users, Microsoft® has certified today’s AMD Catalyst™ 12.10 release as “compatible with Windows 8.” With this driver, these products offer full support for WDDM 1.2, which is an updated model for graphics drivers that Microsoft has developed to ensure smooth performance and wide compatibility in their new operating system.

Target-Independent Rasterization (TIR): TIR is a new rendering path that enables superior anti-aliasing in Direct3D driver applications.

Native Stereo 3D Support: Windows 8 natively supports stereoscopic 3D gaming and videos via compatible applications.

Unified Video API: Video playback has been integrated into the DirectX® 11 API, enabling simultaneous video and gaming content. Transcoding performance may also be improved for supporting applications.

Optimized screen rotation for rotation aware devices

Improved sleep/resume performance

Optimized GPU power consumption

Major technologies / features also supported under Windows 8:

AMD Eyefinity technology

OpenCL™

OpenGL

Unified Video Decoder (UVD)

AMD Dual Graphics

AMD CrossFire technology

AMD Overdrive

AMD Catalyst Control Center

Vision Engine Control Center

For more advanced users, we are also making the AMD Catalyst™ 12.11 Beta available today. This driver introduces significant performance improvements for many games across ALL 28nm AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series products: HD 7700, HD 7800 and HD 7900.

Check out our blog posting on Catalyst 12.11 Beta for more information. Highlights of AMD Catalyst™ 12.11 Beta. Performance gains seen on the entire AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series:

10%-15% more performance in Battlefield 3 in most cases

More than 20% in certain missions and sequences (Comrades)

Up to 7% more performance in Metro 2033

Up to 10% more performance in DiRT Showdown

Up to 8% more performance in Sleeping Dogs

Up to 12% more performance in Civilization V

Up to 10% more performance in StarCraft II

Up to 8% more performance in Sniper Elite: V2