|
| |
|
AMD Catalyst 11.4 Windows 7 Driver Analysis
|
 "Unless you've been living under a rock, you would know that the release of the Catalyst 11.4s has been anticipated as one of the most significant ones from AMD in many months. We've actually been using the 11.4 driver for months in the form of the HD 6990 Beta and new models that launched after the HD 6990 carried with them slightly modified versions of the 11.4.
Today, though, we've got a WHQL version and we'll of course be comparing it to the 11.3 driver which while we thought was better than the 11.2s, wasn't as much of a stand out as the 11.4 betas that we'd been using."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catalyst 11.11 Windows 7 Driver Analysis
|
|
This popped up a little out of nowhere. To be honest with how late we got the 11.10 Catalyst drivers from AMD last month, I`d figure we`d probably be getting these ones at the last minute as well. At the same time, it doesn`t surprise me too much, though, that we`re seeing them in the middle of the month. No doubt AMD don`t want to get into a pattern of releasing them at the absolute last minute of the month, especially more so with the next driver coming hopefully before Christmas next month, ideally before the 17th when I take my first holidays for the year."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nouveau's OpenGL Performance Approaches The NVIDIA Driver
|
|
"As I began to share over the weekend, the community-created
Nouveau driver that's open-source and is written by clean-room
reverse-engineering the NVIDIA binary display driver, has reached a
serious milestone. For low-end NVIDIA GPUs, the Nouveau driver based
upon the Mesa Gallium3D architecture is now as fast, or even faster,
than NVIDIA's official proprietary driver."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Low-End GPUs, Nouveau Speeds Past The NVIDIA Driver
|
|
With a little work, the group of community Linux developers
without any corporate backing have clean-room reverse-engineered the
proprietary NVIDIA GeForce graphics driver to write a fully open-source
2D/3D driver for NVIDIA graphics cards. After years of work, this
open-source driver called Nouveau is now just as fast -- or faster --
than the official NVIDIA driver when running it on low-end GeForce
8/9/200 series graphics cards."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Look at AMD's Catalyst 11.4 Driver
|
|
With our look at AMD's Radeon HD 6990 out of the way, we've decided to shift some focus over to AMD's upcoming Catalyst driver, 11.4, to see all of what it's bringing to the table. Read on as we explore its improvements and additions, and also evaluate AMD's results for multi-monitor performance using its HD 6990.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Details Leaked
|
|
NVIDIA sprung a leak again. Actually, it's a multitude of
leaks on the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 dual-GPU graphics card.
One wonders if NVIDIA itself may be the source of some of these leaks
in an effort to counter AMD's earlier release of the Radeon HD 6990,
which is also a dual-GPU solution.
Of course, this is all just for the bragging rights. No matter which
dual-GPU solution wins the benchmark battle ahead, only a handful will
actually be sold and even fewer will be used to their full potential.
So, if you are actually planning to buy one of these power-hungry
behemoths, you are either...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enermax Aeolus Premium CP003 review
|
|
Enermax is best known for its series of power supplies but over the years the Taiwanese company has branched out into several other product categories. Named after the Greek god of wind, the company's Aeolus laptop cooling pads promise enough airflow to keep your laptop at a cooler temperature. The latest addition to Enermax's Aeolus lineup is the Aeolus Premium CP003, a premium laptop cooler designed for systems of up to 17".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intel Gallium3D Graphics Driver Performance
|
|
"While Intel remains to be the only major graphics vendor
standing strong behind their classic Mesa driver on Linux for
open-source support rather than drawing up plans to move to the
Gallium3D driver architecture, there is actually available a Gallium3D
driver available for Intel hardware. This Intel Gallium3D driver has
been around since close to Gallium3D's inception, but it targets the
older generations of Intel IGPs and was developed by VMware as a proof
of concept. The driver is incomplete, but our testing shows that for
those with Intel 945 netbooks and other hardware, the "i915g" driver is
usable. In this article are benchmarks showing how this Intel Gallium3D
driver compares to Intel's officially supported classic Mesa DRI driver."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NVIDIA ForceWare 266.58 Performance Analysis
|
|
"NVIDIA release a heap of drivers. It seems there's one coming out every week lately. Unlike AMD, NVIDIAs betas are really pushed throughout the enthusiast community. If we did the same kind of thing with the NVIDIA ForceWare drivers as we do with AMD and its Catalyst drivers, I would be testing ForceWare drivers 24 / 7.
The ForceWare 266.58 driver set is more important, because unlike a lot of other drivers this is a WHQL one; which for people who prefer to only upgrade when WHQL ones make their way to the market, it could well be time for an upgrade. With a whole lot of new models recently as well, there's finally a chance to get off those betas and get on some proper WHQL ones. So what are the performance improvements? Let's take a quick look at what's in the release notes before we get stuck into the benchmarks."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intel Rapid Storage Technology 10.5.0.1027 with SRT Support @ NGOHQ.com
|
|
The Intel Rapid Storage Technology software package provides high-performance SATA AHCI and SATA RAID capabilities for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Intel Rapid Storage Technology provides improved performance and reliability for systems equipped with SATA disks for desktop, mobile, and server platforms. When using one or multiple SATA disks, you can take advantage of enhanced performance and lower power consumption. This version adds support for Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD caching)."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMD Catalyst 11.1 Windows 7 Driver Analysis
|
|
"As we roll into another year and the first month comes to a close, it comes as no surprise that we begin to see a new iteration of the Catalyst driver suite. As you would've guessed, we're dealing now with the 11 series driver and being both the first one and the January one, the exact name is the 11.1 driver.
This has been a little weird this time around, as AMD actually released a hot fix version of the driver before the official WHQL one. This is something we're seeing more and more from them and it will be interesting if over time we continue to see "monthly" WHQL drivers, instead of just "monthly" driver updates. The thing is, over the recent months we've seen the official WHQL driver come followed by a bunch of non WHQL hot fix versions. We know the WHQL process takes time, and we would assume it also costs money, so it will be interesting to see if anything changes in 2011."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMD Catalyst 11.1a Hotfix Now Available on NGOHQ.com
|
|
AMD has released a new build of their Catalyst software suite. This particular software suite updates both the AMD Display Driver, and the Catalyst Control Center. This unified driver has been further enhanced to provide the highest level of power, performance, and reliability. The AMD Catalyst software suite is the ultimate in performance and stability. Catalyst 11.1a Hotfix brings the following features: AMD Radeon HD 6900 and AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series: • 3DMark Vantage improves ~7% • 3DMark06 improves ~3% • Call of Duty Black Ops improves ~20% at 4xMSAA and up to 35% at 8xMSAA • Riddick Assault on Dark Athena SSAO performance improves ~20% • Unigine Heaven OpenGL performance improves ~10% at moderate, 30% at normal and 100% at extreme tessellation levels AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series: • Aliens vs. Predators improves ~9% at 2xMSAA and up to 20% at 4xMSAA • Batman Arkham Asylum improves ~4% • Crysis Warhead improves ~2-4% • Metro 2033 improves ~28% at 4xMSAA AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series: • Battleforge DirectX 11 performance improves as much as 6% AMD Optimized Tessellation The Catalyst Control Center includes an early prototype of some new tessellation controls. Our goal is to give users full control over the tessellation levels used in applications. The default selection “AMD Optimized” setting allows AMD, on a per application basis, to set the best level of tessellation. The intention is to help users get the maximum visual benefit of Tessellation, while minimizing the impact on performance. Currently no applications have been profiled, so the “AMD Optimized” setting will be non-operational until further notice. Download"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMD Catalyst 10.9 Windows 7 Driver Analysis
|
|
"As we roll into the end of September which marks a few things like the end of the third quarter, the start of the new HD 6000 series coming, a new Catalyst driver suite and what could be an end to NVIDIAs very short reign on the mid range video card market, we find ourselves excited about October.
From next month onward we should begin to see what we really only know at this point as "Bart", being offered from AMD. I've been practicing the whole AMD thing, trying to get ATI out of my vocabulary, as no doubt the release of the HD 6000 series will almost mean the end of the ATI name, a name we've grown to love (and sometimes hate)."
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| The best Guides by the best writers on the internet; PCstats Beginners Guides explain computers, software, and all those other wonderful things that cause you frustration.
Learn how to use your computer better, master the internet while protecting yourself, and know what to do when your hard drive kicks the bucket.
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
"Get the 'Stats and Stay Informed!"
|
|
|
Beginners Guides
