Official Catalyst 7.3 drivers out for XP and Vista rate them here

mazzy

is the user experiences on the ATI driver going south fast on late ?
I use to remember High grades on the driver early last years (6.x) with Avr around 8, now I see Avr around 3-4. so what 's it going on ? Vista and his new WDDM and WinXP/2K with the old ones running side-by-side is creating big trouble at the developer's group ? The CCC is still creating trouble, news release broken things that used to work.
maybe too much new hardware and the software team can't get to keep the pace ?....

Warpy

I remember when ATI use to be solid in their driversets. They also gave the rest a good run for their money... time seems to have changed this, now I'm concerned about the next driverset release being stable - unsure as to what problems might occur. I think you can guess my rating.

Vengeful#1

Unless you are a Vista user i dont really know what you are on about here..for XP users this is a great driverset probably the best set ATI have released in awhile..

technonerd

I looked at the vote and was nervous about installing the driver. I realized that those negative votes was prolly from Vista user because the driver works great on my Xp.


Should have a seperate vote.

berni2k

i got so pissed with CCC that i switched to a what i now must say better alternative, so if you got problems with crashing CCC just do it like so many gamers out there and switch back to the old CP (if you manage to find it) or use ati tray tools and your problems are gone forever!

i have no idea whoever got the great idea to bring up CCC and how they manage it to make it no better with every release ... with ATT you get constant _useful_ development of a toolset that sets all the functions of your hard paid ati/amd grafic card (and all that for free and without any help of ati/amd developers)

good luck
berni2k

Eeastcoasthandle

Thank you, thats why we need a separate poll for XP only. Cat 7.3 is fine for XP, bottom line. Let the early adaptors of Vista worry and complain about 3rd party driver support from ATI, Nvidia, sound blaster, etc. As it stands now that's not our problem (hate to be rude but it's true). Those of us who are not eager to buy a new OS just because one is release should not be penalized when trying to obtain information regarding new Cat releases.

berni2k

i saw that ppl talked about stalker here in this thread so i want to give my 2 cents to it:

sys:
amd x2 5400+
amd x1800 XT with catalyst 7.3
1GB RAM corsair XMS (2x512 twin pack)
2GB page file
defragged harddrive
windows vista 32

result: the game is a slideshow with under 5 FPS whatever i set minimal or maximal settings (it is actually the first game that manages to get stuck while playing the cut scene movies like the intro *sigh* ... so there are also under 5 FPS in the movies) btw i play oblivion with maxed out settings very well around 30FPS with the same system

thx a lot for any help
berni2k

EDIT: for me it looks like the HardDisk is constantly active while playing STALKER as far as i move or turn around it starts penetrating the hardrive and wont stop for minutes (same for quitting a game)

Eeastcoasthandle

This is the never ending cycle of a bad OS. You will need driver support for:
-your hardware
-the game itself
-game and program fix from MS which so happens to be such a thing here.

Why don't people learn to leave OS's alone unless proven they will work with existing hardware and, play all your games like the previous os did. MS did step up to the plate and provided an update. But this only proves that vista IS the problem here not the game. What MS needs to do now is provide an update to get these video, sound, etc drivers working.

berni2k

thax for your help!
hmm it seems i already got this update automatically two weeks ago over windows update (just checked the history) but funny to see such support threads again (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/932246) they remember me at the beginnings of XP heh

oh and dont understand me wrong but i like to have the newest software working together with my up to date hardware

X1800XTTOP

I know that mate, but still;
A) The bug is 2 months old now.
B) Bohemia stated that "[COLOR=#000000]The bug is confirmed by the ATI team and they are working on a fix." [/COLOR][COLOR=#000000]- and these leads me to the question;
Who the hell is the ATI team developers get to contact? Apperantly ATi still have no idea of the bug wich is kind of worrying.

On (probably) the biggest swedish gaming site these drivers were mentioned and the only thing people cared about was the ArmA leak-issue - and STILL there is no word for it appart from using 6.7 wich isnt even an option for most new ATi cards.
[/COLOR]

Dwarden

x1800xttop

that bug is older than 2 months, it was just identified 2 months ago ... (considering it's in 6.8 drivers and up) and ArmA was released here in Nov 2006

i really wish ATI release hotfixed driver for this because in moment ArmA reaches 250-280 thousands handles it's over game degrade to freeze state ...

i hope someone at least answer my ticket about it

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I support

keeler

I don't disagree at ALL about the need for seperate polls as these are two diff animals, but please DO keep in mind that it's these early adaptors that are clearing the way for your future upgrades!

We take point and DO bleed; that's why they call it "bleeding edge", but if it weren't for folks like us, many of you might STILL be runnin WIN98!

I guess I've seen too many comments about how stupid is is to take the jump, and that "I'm waiting for SP1". Guess who's contributing to SP1? (see above!)

Sorry to go off topic, and ain't ment to take shots at anyone particular!!

Rick

thecaretaker

Well, I've tested out around 500 demos now on my 1800XT.

I get a lot (approx 30% or more) with the same error message which tends to point to a single problem somewhere with these drivers. I get:

The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005) Click OK to terminate the application

Then Vista says it's trying to find a solution to the problem, but it doesn't so I just click cancel.

I can't tell if these are all OpenGL or DirectX demos. But maybe this means something to somebody on the beta team.

Also, OpenGL still sucks! I am still unable to run any demos by plastic or any demos that use the latest OpenGL features for ATI cards on Vista (they used to have these extensions available on XP).

Cat 7.2 Diagnostic


Cat 7.3 Diagnostic


I'm not a gamer, so I can't comment on how games run with 7.3

Most demoscene demos use bog standard DirectX8/9 or OpenGL code. Very few use fancy pixel shaders or card specific effects, yet these drivers don't seem to want to even run some of the basic stuff without the above error. I always understood DirectX and OpenGL was backwardly compatable. Is this not the case anymore?

Please get these drivers working properly Terry and gang! They are still very touchy.

Whatever happened to the old spirit you guys once had. I am getting worried for ATI. I build PCs for family and friends and get parts from my local computer store, my local store has stopped selling ATI cards and when I questioned them why, I was told other companies making a much better product these days (to put it politely on this forum). I was furious at the time as I've always been a ATI supporter, but I am seriously wondering if they knew something I didn't. With the added bad news stories flashing around the internet about these Cat 7.3 drivers for Vista, I am concerned about the effect this will have on ATI previously gained good reputation. I hope things aren't slipping back to the bad old days before Terry took the helm. - rant over!

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My Demoscene website
My Caretakers Website

junka

Best vote score a set of ATI drivers ever got, pitty it's upside down.

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Irishgi

..

junka

My views on the 7.3 set with my setup are...........
Vista worst ever driver set to date.
Xp best driver set ever to date, speed is down but quality is best Ive seen.
How many of you agree/disagree with this?

PS: when can have a Avavtar?

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X1800XTTOP

I have yet to see a diffrence in quality between any driver. I think the 7.3 drivers are as the 7.2 and 7.1 were. I havent seen any performance drop at all, but at the same time no performance increase. All I know is that the only game not playable on my system is ArmA and after a while ingame the game gets unplayable.

Hooker

I'm having roughly the same problems as shanok & MissileMan. BSODs at the Vista start-up (just before the log-in screen) as soon as I install Catalyst 7.3 or 7.2. I have this with both a x1600 Pro & a x300. Both those cards work fine on my housemate's 4400 X2 system.

So, I'm not quite happy with these drivers. My motherboard could be defective as well of course, only way to find that out is to find someone willing to let me test their nVidia card in my system...

Those drivers better be fixed the time r600 launches, otherwise it's an 8800 for me

jumpyjim

Still experiencing complete random lockups in Vista x64 when exiting games. The games themselves play fine, but apon quitting - complete system freeze. Whilst annoying, I do realise Vista drivers are still a work in progress. But with firsthand experience, I can quite happily point out ATI's drivers are superior to that of Nvidias currently. Previously had a BFG 7900GT but the stability was so poor that I switched to my shiny new X1950XTX - which aside from the above issue, is quite simply an amazing card. I'm hoping this issue will be resolved in Catalyst 7.4, fingers crossed.

junka

I can foresee a massive increase in sales for Nvida graphics cards in the coming year.

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ombas

ditto, got an x1900xt last year
next gfx card i get will be nvidia, nothing but trouble from ati since the buyout

B4D93R

While I'm seeing BSODs every other boot on Vista with an X1950 Pro, when the box is up I definitely have to rate the 7.3 drivers. The games that I play like them

The Vista crash analysis page kindly refers me back to the Catalyst 7.3 drive page after every "BOOM", in classic M$ 'somebody elses problem' style. Interesting to note that the 7.3 drivers performed BSOD free for 2 days before I used Windows Update to patch up to date...

Makes you wonder whether ATI forgot to pay their protection money to M$, and nVidia are paid up to date

Genki

Reading all this Im glad I stuck with XP and didnt get sucked in with the Vista hype.

Not had a single issue using these drivers.

Nightowl225

These drivers are junk. They can't remember FSAA settings from a cold boot, or reboot. As a result, I removed them, and went back to Catalyst 7.1. Second bug, that exists in these drivers and has existed for a long time, is they will randomly cause WindowsXP to reboot, just as WindowsXP finishes loading when I least expect it, and starts loading Catalyst Control Center. This bug has existed for over 6 months. I always thought it was some other software or hardware in my system, but not anymore.

I'm to the point, where this fall, I'll most likely be building a Core 2 Duo system, and will probably do SLI rather than put up with this ATI mess anymore.

Admittedly, ATI has some good hardware, but lately the drivers are something else.

Dyre Straits

You can add me to the list of those who have had to quit using the CAT 7.3s. I was having some problems in Oblivion: Shivering Isles where my CRT would go completley black. There would be no VGA recovery, no 'signal loss' indication, nothing. It would just go black. The only way to restore things was to hit the RESET button on the PC.

After it did this three times over a period of a couple of hours, I removed these and went back to the CAT 7.2s

This is on Windows XP PRO SP2 and the system in my Profile at left.

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Nightowl225

Catalyst 7.2 is a joke, all Catalyst Control Center did with that set of drivers, was crash all the time, forget my settings, and mess up my saved profile. Catalyst 7.3, forgets my FSAA setting, and messes up my saved profile after a cold boot as I said.

I do wish ATI would kindly get the lead out, and fix these bugs.

Dyre Straits

I can confirm that, after reverting to the CAT 7.2s, I have not had anymore instances of the screen going black. So far, so good. (Knock on wood!)

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junka

I told ya, ATI are just to darn busy playing with their silly little CCC toy so that it has nice flashy lights and pretty little graphics and don't have the time to devote to the drivers, and why -o -why does CCC need access to the internet, is it playing on line games?
There isent 1 set of drivers for Vista that you could call okay, 7.1 where naff, 7.2 crash, crash and crash, 7.3, well, you can forget them completly they are a ****** joke, I'm saving like mad for a nice Nvidia card prob the 8800, then I'm finished with ATI and their crappy CCC for good.

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Nightowl225

I'm sticking with WindowsXP, there are just too many driver issues and software issues right now with Windows Vista, for me to even want to put Vista back on my system.