These release notes provide information on the latest posting of ATI's industry leading software suite, CATALYST™. This particular posting updates the ATI Display Driver to version 7.98. This unified driver has been further enhanced to provide the highest level of power, performance, and reliability. The ATI CATALYST™ software suite is the ultimate in performance and stability.
The CATALYST™ 4.2 Release Notes provides information on the following:
- Web Content
- Desktop product family support
- ATI Integrated Product Support
- Operating systems supported
- New Features
- Issues Resolved in CATALYST™ Version 4.2
- Known Issues
- Downloading the ATI CATALYST™ Software Suite
- Uninstalling the ATI Control and Display Driver
- Installing the latest CATALYST™ Software Suite
- CATALYST™ CREW Feedback Program
- Customer Care Service
Web Content
The CATALYST™ software suite 4.2 contains the following:
- RADEON™ display driver 7.98
- MultimediaCenter™ 8.9
- HydraVision™ 3.25.0006
- HydraVision™ Basic Edition 3.25.9006
- REMOTE WONDER™ 2.3
- WDM version 3.11
Note: These release notes provide information on the 7.98 display driver only. For information on the ATI MULTIMEDIA CENTER™ 8.9, HydraVision™ 3.25.0006, HydraVision™ 3.25.9006 Basic Edition, WDM version 3.11, or the REMOTE WONDER™ 2.3, please refer to their respective release notes found at: http://ati.com/
Desktop product family support
The CATALYST™ software suite is designed to support the following ATI desktop product family:
Note: ATI All-In-Wonder variants based on the above are also supported.
Note: All ATI PC Graphic cards are optimized for Microsoft's Media Center Edition when coupled with a supported video capture card.
ATI Integrated Product Support
The CATALYST™ software suite is designed to support the following ATI integrated product family:
- RADEON™ IGP 320
- RADEON™ IGP 330
- RADEON™ IGP 340
- RADEON™ 9000 IGP
- RADEON™ 9100 IGP
- IXP 150
- IXP 200
- IXP 250
Operating systems supported
The latest version of the CATALYST™ software suite is designed to support the following Microsoft Windows platforms:
- Windows XP
- Windows 2000
- Windows Millennium Edition (ME)
Note: Windows 98/98SE is supported through the ME driver
Note: As of January 1, 2004, Microsoft no longer accepts certification submissions for the Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition operating system. ATI Technologies Inc. can no longer obtain WHQL certification for this operating system. For more information refer to the following Microsoft® website: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwtest/search/details.aspx?ID=800
New Features
This section provides information on new features found in this release of the CATALYST™ Display Drivers. New features include:
Component Video Output Enhancement
The latest ATI software driver now allows the user the choice of using panning mode or a center-timing mode in which the image would appear in the center of the TV screen when using the Component Video output on an HDTV display. This option is found in the ATI Control Panel and is supported under the Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows ME operating systems. This feature is available on the ATI RADEON™ 8500 and higher class of products that contain a (YPrPb) component video connector.
Direct3D Setting Enhancement
Previous versions of the ATI display driver required the monitor going blank for up to 8 seconds when applying Direct3D settings. The latest ATI software driver for the RADEON™ 9500 and higher class of products now allows for the Direct3D setting to be applied without the monitor's display going blank.
Performance Improvements
As with most CATALYST™ releases performance has increased in various situations. This release of CATALYST™ provides performance gains to the ATI DX8 product family. These products include the RADEON™ 9200, 9000, and 8500 series. Performance gains are noticed throughout the following software:
- Framerates in Unreal Tournament 2003 are up by as much as 15%
- A performance gain of between 5 and 10% is noticed in Aquamark3
- A performance gain of between 2-3% is noticed in ShaderMark scores
- Framerates in Halo are up 3 to 4%
- A performance improvement of 2% is noticed in Tomb Raider
Issues Resolved in CATALYST™ Version 4.2
The following section provides a summary of the issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST™ 4.2. These include:
- Resolved Application Issues
- Resolved Benchmark Issues
- Resolved CATALYST™ Driver Issues
- Resolved Game Issues
Resolved Application Issues
This section provides information on application issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST™. These include the following:
- Running Celestia under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 8500 series or RADEON™ 9100 series installed no longer results in a slow down of the performance
- Enabling extended desktop mode with the display set to 1600x1200 and running Inventor 8 no longer results in display corruption when loading a sample
Resolved Benchmark Issues
This section provides information on benchmark issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST™. These include the following:
- Performance losses noticed in Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory with the previous CATALYST™ display driver have been resolved in this release of CATALYST™
Resolved CATALYST™ Driver Issues
This section provides information on CATALYST™ driver issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST™. These include the following:
- Logging on as an Administrator under Windows XP and doing a fast user switch to limited user no longer results in display corruption when playing a DVD using WinDVD version 4 or 5
- User defined colour setting are now retained when exiting a 3D game or application
- The ATI Control Panel no longer fails to launch when attempting to enter the Advanced options of the primary display adapter after disabling extended desktop support
- The Cancel button found in the ATI 3D tab is now working properly when switching between a user defined profile and the default setting
- Enabling the CRT as the primary display and turning the TV off in the Display page no longer results in a general protection fault under Windows ME
- The Anisotropic Filtering custom setting is now retained under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 7200 installed
- The D3D panel now retains the user defined AA/AF setting under Windows XP when a RADEON™ 8500 series is installed and the main setting is set to High Quality
Resolved Game Issues
This section provides information on game issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST™. These include the following:
- Launching the game Tron 2.0 under Windows XP no longer results in the game failing to respond after the game introduction is loaded
- Launching the game Line of Sight: Vietnam and setting the graphics option to 800x600 16bpp no longer results in the game failing to respond when selecting a new game
- Running the game Armed and Dangerous under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 9200 series installed no longer results in the display image appearing corrupted when selecting Storm the Base mission in the game
- The game Half-Life is now displayed properly under Windows XP when the game resolution is set to either 320x240 or 400x300
- Playing the game Serious Sam 2 under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON&tdrade; 9500/9800 series installed no longer results in the game failing to run when the game option is set to OpenGL
- Playing the game Unreal Tournament 2003 under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 9600 series installed no longer results in texture corruption being displayed on the flag surfaces in the DM-Tokara Forest
- Selecting the Optimum Quality setting in D3D control panel no longer results in a frozen frame when launching the game HALO
- Setting the resolution in the game SpyHunter to 1280x1024 along with having the Use Recommended Settings slider set to balanced in the ATI 3D tab no longer results in some background images being missing while the game is loading
- Setting the display option to 640x480 or 800x600 in the game Splinter Cell no longer results in the game menu flickering
- Returning to the main menu in the game Counter-Strike no longer results in the game's refresh rate reverting back to 60Hz when resuming game play
Known Issues
The following section provides a brief description of known issues associated with the latest version of CATALYST™. These include the following:
- Playing the game Nascar 2003 with the display resolution set to 1280x1024 32bpp results in display corruption being seen. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming CATALYST™ release. Further information on this issue can be found at: www.ati.com/support/infobase/4388.html
- Setting the video resolution to 1280x1024 in the game Medal of Honor: Spearhead, along with Anti-Aliasing set to 2x results in the main menu of the game not displaying properly. This issue is known to occur under Windows 9x with an ATI RADEON™ 9200 series installed. This issue is resolved in the next release of CATALYST™. Further information on this issue can be found at: www.ati.com/support/infobase/4355.html
- The demo movie Worms 3D randomly fails to properly play. Launching the movie may result in sound only being heard with no display. This issue is known to occur under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 9800 series card installed. Further information on this issue can be found at: http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4405.html
- Display corruption is noticed when playing the game Aquanox under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 9100 IGP series installed. This issue is known to occur when specific video options have been customized. Further information on this issue can be found at: http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4404.html
- Running the game Hegemonia under Windows XP with an ATI RADEON™ 8500 series installed results in all of the main menu options and the 3D textures in the background not being available. Further information on this issue can be found at: http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4402.html
For further information and general help on driver or software installation, game issues, and more, visit the ATI FAQ website.
Downloading the ATI CATALYST™ Software Suite
This section provides information on downloading the CATALYST™ Software Suite for your ATI RADEON™ product. The ATI CATALYST™ Crew recommends that you create a central location for your ATI CATALYST downloads. To do this, follow these steps.
- Right-click on any open area of your desktop. A drop down menu is displayed.
- Select New->Folder. A new folder is created on your desktop.
- Name the folder CATALYST™ Downloads.
- Navigate to the ATI software download web page, and select the software driver you require.
- Click Download. A File download dialog box is displayed.
- Click Save. The Save As dialog box is displayed.
- Navigate to the CATALYST™ Download folder, and click Save.
You have successfully saved the software driver to your desktop.
Uninstalling the ATI Control and Display Driver
This section provides information on uninstalling the previous versions of your ATI Control Panel and ATI Display Driver for your RADEON™ product.
Note: If your are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, ensure that you have logged in with system administrative rights.
Before you can install the latest CATALYST™ software driver for your RADEON™ product, you must uninstall the previous ATI Control Panel. To do this, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Add/Remove programs tool provided by Microsoft. This tool is found in the Control Panel.
Note: Ensure all other applications are closed before continuing with the uninstall of the ATI Display Driver.
- Click the Change/Remove button. The ATI Control Panel Setup window is displayed.
- Select Remove, and click Next. A Confirm File Deletion dialog box is displayed.
- Click OK. The ATI Control Panel Setup window is displayed.
- Select No, and click Finish. You are returned to the Add/Remove Program tool.
You have successfully uninstalled the ATI Control Panel.
You are now ready to uninstall the ATI Display Driver. To do this, follow these steps:
- Select ATI Display Driver in the Add/Remove Program tool.
- Click the Change/Remove button.
Note: If you have multiple display adapters installed, a dialog box will appear instructing you to choose which ATI Display driver to uninstall. Click the Select All button.
- Click Yes when prompted to confirm the uninstall of the ATI Display Driver.
- Reboot your system as prompted to compete the uninstall of the ATI Display Driver.
Note: If you are prompted to start the installation of a display driver upon boot up, click CANCEL
You have successfully uninstalled the previous version of the ATI Display Driver and ATI Control Panel.
Installing the latest CATALYST™ Software Suite
This section provides information on installing the latest CATALYST™ Software Suite for your RADEON product. To install the driver, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the CATALYST™ Download folder on your desktop. Double-click on the folder to view its content.
- Double click the CATALYST™ display driver. Accept all the default prompts.
- Restart your system as required.
You have successfully installed the latest CATALYST™ software driver.
CATALYST™ CREW Feedback Program
This driver release incorporates suggestions received through the CATALYST™ CREW feedback program. Please refer to http://apps.ati.com/driverfeedback/ and provide us further feedback.
Customer Care Service
The ATI Customer Care Center is focused on delivering accurate, up-to-date product support for optimum usability and performance. Should you require assistance with your ATI product visit, http://www.atitech.com/support/index.html
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