ATI's Catalyst 3.8 Drivers: ATI Sanctioned Overclocking
by Derek Wilson on October 8, 2003 3:02 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Eager to get started with testing, the next stop on the list was the 3D tab.
Rather than having separate tabs for DirectX and OpenGL, ATI has combined them into one panel with a radio button selecting which API we are working on at the moment.
Since the selection of AA, AF, and quality options has been removed to a separate dialog box (activated by clicking on the "Custom" button), it seems like ATI is pushing the use of the Quality/Performance slider, which I don't personally like but is used to simplify things for the masses who don’t know what AA/AF are. Of course, they have made up for this by adding a feature to save a settings profile. Since people tend to tweak their settings for each game they play, there is much less hassle involved in the settings process.
What we would really like to see in the future is the ability to associate settings with an actual game executable file, so we can set all our games the way we want them and never have to touch the control panel.
The properties dialog opened by the customize buttons on the D3D and OGL panel brings us to a rather familiar looking list of selections. Nothing has really changed here other than the separation from the rest of the controls.
Of course, when we look at the top, we see the smartshader tab. We didn't expect this feature to be any good at all, but honestly we were strangely fascinated with it. Still definitely only an oddity, but its interesting for a few minutes.
That’s it for UI and functionality enhancements, lets check out the performance.
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Anonymous User - Thursday, October 9, 2003 - link
I'm just setting up a new rig with a 1/2in watercooling system. I have the maze4 GPU cooler and was about to buy a 9800-Pro. I assume that if I got an XT instead and used the C3.8 drivers it will probably run permenantly at the full overdrive speed because the chip should be cool even under full load?I wonder if the new drivers will cause any problems if I manualy overclock an XT...
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 9, 2003 - link
lol, when ATI renders only the half in TRAOD it is clear that ATI is leading. Also please look at the 52.14 fpsAnonymous User - Thursday, October 9, 2003 - link
Sounds like #28 has a case of the sour grapes ;)Anonymous User - Thursday, October 9, 2003 - link
I think, reading the reference numbering that something has knocked them out of sync.Still, for want of a better reference, what I see as #12 has a good point. Try cooling the case and see what happens. I'd like to know how far the overdrive is prepared to take it.
Also, perhaps the 9600XT part may see more dramatic improvements since the base running temperature should be lower than the 9800XT.
Scott
Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - link
OOOHHHH! that explains it! i didnt know the overdrive feature only went up to 432mhz...well, i guess its a step in the right direction, but still pretty conservative all things considered
Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - link
Checking out other sites reviews (I wonder why it wasn't mentioned here...), Overdrive only goes up to 432Mhz on the core and doesn't touch mem speed at all (although they said it will in future releases). That's such a small increase it's pretty much as if it wasn't there at all.Manual overclocking won't get replaced anytime soon.
Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - link
Should try the 3.8 with IL2. My framerate went in the crapper and now there is texture tearing. They did fix the white water "perfect mode" bug though. Well,except in perfect mode it does about 20 FPS now. Whoopie..........!Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - link
#33... was that a comeback? LOLStop talking about HL2 cause it aint coming out for half a year now. Doom3 will most likely come out before it =)
And why are some of you people acting like theres nothing to prove RIGHT NOW that ATi beats NV in DX9 games?
Im not going to bash GeforceFX owners. You had your own reasons for buying that line of cards. Whether it was to support your favorite company or to get the really cool leaf blower. Who cares.
But dont try and say no one knows if ATI cards will perform better then Nvidia. It does and its been proven. In developer interviews for almost all DX9 games, developers say they needed to code a special NV path to try and get compareable frame rates to the R3XX series. (With no special coding for ATI cards)
If your going to tell me that the developers dont know, then whatever, put on your fanboy cape and jump of a bridge.
p.s. ROFL @ #8
Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - link
#31, this is #28 ...I wasn't talking about HL2 frame rates.
I was talking about TRAOD fram rates.
I thuroughly expect HL2 to perform MUCH better than TRAOD. I'm really pissed off at CORE for writing a shitty game. I dont' think their performance problems are due to a lack of graphics power, but to incompitant programming.
But I can play at 10x7 with AA and AF, as long as the horrid PS2.0 effects are off.
Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - link
#31 atleast he can play the game...what are u using ? maybe intel extreme graphics...