AMD Takes the Ultimate Visual Experience(tm) in PC Gaming to New Heights with CrossFireX(tm)

- Milestone ATI Catalyst(tm) 8.3 release unlocks quad- and triple-GPU performance and ATI Hybrid Graphics for Windows Vista(R) -

Hannover, Germany -- March 4, 2008 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced its latest graphics driver release to advance the Ultimate Visual Experience(tm) for PC gaming enthusiasts and casual gamers alike. Expected to be available for download starting March 5, ATI Catalyst 8.3 is a milestone software update in delivering both CrossFireX(tm) for Windows Vista(R) -- the world's first quad-GPU support, and scalable, cost-effective three GPU support -- as well as ATI Hybrid Graphics Technology for casual gamers. These multi-GPU capabilities provide gamers a more realistic and immersive experience allowing them to play at high resolutions with demanding image quality settings, and at a better value than competing multi-GPU solutions.1

"AMD packed ATI Catalyst 8.3 with a double-barreled set of leading technologies to simultaneously push the Ultimate Visual Experience(tm) to new heights and to a wider population of PC users," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president, AMD Graphics Product Group. "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."

Advancing Multi-GPU Gaming with CrossFireX

Through three- and four-GPU configurations in CrossFireX, gamers can see multi-GPU performance scaling across a range of today's most popular DirectX(R) 9 and DirectX(R) 10 games on Windows Vista -- up to 3.2 times the performance over a single GPU2 in some scenarios. The flexible architecture of CrossFireX allows for the mixing and matching of high-performing ATI Radeon(tm) GPUs. Any ATI Radeon(tm) HD 3850, ATI Radeon(tm) HD 3870 or ATI Radeon(tm) HD 3870 X2 cards can be combined to harness the power of up to four GPUs. CrossFireX also supports a wide range of platforms, enabling many gamers to take advantage of three- and four-GPU gaming on their existing hardware.

Boosting Game Performance through ATI Hybrid CrossFire ATI Catalyst 8.3 also introduces ATI Hybrid Graphics support for Windows Vista. An industry first that is unique to AMD processor-based platforms, ATI Hybrid CrossFire(tm) delivers a significant 3D performance boost. Up to 70 percent increases in performance are possible in some gaming scenarios3 based on PCs comprised of an AMD 780G motherboard and ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series graphics product in Windows Vista. ATI Hybrid Graphics also support up to four independent displays through the SurroudView(tm) feature for those who want to maximize productivity.

Additional Innovations Found in ATI Catalyst 8.3

Beyond multi-GPU configurations in CrossFireX, ATI Catalyst 8.3 introduces a number of new features including:

* DirectX 10.1 and Tessellation Support: ATI Catalyst 8.3 marks the first time DirectX 10.1 support for the ATI Radeon(tm) HD 3000 series, and tessellation support for the ATI Radeon(tm) HD 3800 series have been made available to developers.
* Anti-Aliasing enhancements: ATI Catalyst introduces anti-aliasing support for all Unreal Engine 3.0-based games running in DirectX 9 mode. ATI Catalyst also allows users to enable the Custom Filter Anti-Aliasing filters (box and wide tent) while running in CrossFire Super Anti-Aliasing modes, providing superior image quality.
* HydraVision(tm) support for Windows Vista: HydraVision support is now included in ATI Catalyst Control Center for Windows Vista. HydraVision enables users to efficiently organize multiple applications across single or multiple displays. You may configure up to nine virtual desktops, and divide the Windows Vista desktop into definable areas helping to easily move and organize multiple applications.
* Digital Panel GPU image scaling: For those using widescreen displays, ATI Catalyst now allows users to enable GPU-accelerated scaling to maintain the aspect ratio of the display while providing superior image quality.
* Advanced Video Quality controls: With ATI Catalyst 8.3, multimedia enthusiasts get further control over video quality. Using the new edge enhancement feature, the level of sharpness of video content can be adjusted. Through the new noise reduction feature, ghosting artifacts can be removed while preserving the details of the original video. The new slider controls can be found in the All Settings page of the Avivo(tm) Video tab found in ATI Catalyst Control Center.

Availability
ATI Catalyst 8.3 is scheduled to be available as a free download starting Wednesday, March 5 online at http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html.



This post has been edited by jinaun: Mar 6 2008, 08:52 AM

but where you got the info from?
if they say march 5 maybe it's march 6 for us coz of the time difference

whoops .. forgot to add.. its from here

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/Virtual...~124080,00.html

Still waiting for it to come...

support for all graphic card?X1950Pro can install this...

well.. have to wait for the release notes...

but its likely that its supported.. it does not make sense to abandon 1950 series support at this time..

---

Added on March 5, 2008, 11:20 ami think enables folding on current HD3000 series GPU too

This post has been edited by jinaun: Mar 5 2008, 11:20 AM

o like tat good o....10s ..i am waitting for release

checked now the driver still not yet up... hope later will update. thanks for the inform.

I guess this thread will become "hot topic" in no time when everyone posting their checkup on the AMD ATI Driver site for the release

haha...true2...

See, we're here again

Cat 8.3 has been released!!!! at guru3d!!!???

found @ 5thMarch2008:8.39PM -8gmt

http://downloads.guru3d.com/AMD-ATI-Cataly...nload-1871.html

download at ur own risk

This post has been edited by jinaun: Mar 5 2008, 08:39 PM

vista only?

No people answer...

already officially released :

http://ati.amd.com/support/radeonx-xp.html

ATi Catalyst 8.3 for WinXP Pro/Home Edition : Download

has any1 tried? tremendous improvements?

Performance Improvements

The following performance gains are noticed with this release of Catalyst(tm).

* Call of Juarez: Up to 20% improvement is noticed on ATI CrossFireX(tm) configured systems containing an ATI Radeon(tm) HD38x0 series of product
* Company of Heroes DX10: Up to 17% improvement is noticed, especially at lower resolutions, on ATI Radeon(tm) HD38x0 products
* Crysis DX10: Up to 15% improvement is noticed on all supported ATI Radeon(tm) products
* Lost Planet DX9: Up to 36% improvement is noticed across all supported ATI Radeon(tm) products and in ATI CrossFireX(tm) configured systems
* Shadermark 2.1: Performance scores increased up to 35% across all supported Radeon(tm) products and in ATI CrossFireX(tm) configured systems
* Unreal Tournament 2004: Up to 10% increase in performance is noticed on systems containing an ATI Radeon(tm) HD2400, HD2600, or HD3400 series of products on in ATI CrossFireX(tm) configured systems

Hybrid Graphics only VISTA , not XP ?

i have tried on Crysis feel more smooth then before especially fight with aliens. but hope Crysis new path v1.2 will release soon.

Downloaded and installed

Anyway, does the latest driver actually includes the ATI Crysis Hotfix along with their driver release?

will dload and c tonight...

thanks

support aspect scaling FINALLY WOOT, good job lol.
been waiting this since i bought wide screen lcd.
no more weird aspect ratio when playing a 3d game that doesnt support wide screen(iirc its really working but still look wierd lol)

finally can use my his radeon hd 2600xt 512mb agp.can u belive that only now i can use the card?bought a week ago but driver that come with it is useless.

good 4 ya

one more good thing is, now catalyst finally support 1280x800,
a new medium resolution with 16:10 aspect ratio,
for those who are using 1680x1050 or 1440x900 widescreen lcd with mid/low-end GPU, now can use lower resolution with native aspect ratio support for 2/3d gaming.