This article provides information on the latest posting of AMD's software suite, AMD Catalyst 12.1. This particular software suite updates the AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center. This unified driver has been updated to provide enhanced level of power, performance, and reliability.

AMD Vision Engine Control Center

Package Content

The AMD Catalyst software suite 12.1 contains the following:

  • AMD display driver version 8.93
  • HydraVision for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7
  • Southbridge/IXP Driver
  • AMD Catalyst Control Center version 8.93 / AMD Vision Engine Control Center version 8.93.

Important! Caution!

The AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center can be downloaded independently of each other. However, for better stability and performance AMD recommends that both components be updated from the same AMD Catalyst release.

The AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center requires that the Microsoft .NET Framework SP1 be installed for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Without .NET SP1 installed, the AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center will not launch properly and the user will see an error message.

Notes:

When installing the AMD Catalyst driver for Windows operating system, the user must be logged on as Administrator or have Administrator rights to complete the installation of the AMD Catalyst driver.

The Catalyst driver requires Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to be installed.

These release notes provide information on the AMD display driver only. For information on the ATI Multimedia Center, HydraVision, HydraVision Basic Edition, Remote Wonder, or the Southbridge/IXP driver, please refer to their respective release notes found at: https://support.amd.com/.

AMD Eyefinity technology gives gamers access to high display resolutions. As pixel count grows, the graphics horsepower required to drive the displays at a reasonable frame rate can increase dramatically. Depending on the game and system configuration, users may notice texture corruption and reduced frame rates when running games in multi-monitor Eyefinity modes.

Window Driver Model (WDM) drivers are no longer bundled in the AMD Catalyst software suite. The WDM drivers install bundle can be downloaded independently through the AMD website

Highlights of the AMD Catalyst 12.1 Windows release includes:

Improvements

  • AMD HD3D technology support enhancement
    • Enables support for AMD HD3D technology in conjunction with AMD CrossFireX configurations
    • Delivers a new Stereo 3D mode over HDMI 1.4a connections - 1080p at 30Hz is now enabled on supported displays
  • AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements - Application Profiles
    • AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver enables users to create per application profiles to individually control 3D and CrossFireX settings for Direct3D applications
    • Please be sure to select the "Restore Factory Defaults" option under the Catalyst Control Center Preferences menu before using the new application profiles feature - this ensures there are no compatibility issues between previous drivers and the new AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver with regards to application profiles

    AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements - Video UI improvements

    AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver includes user interface enhancements to simply adjustment of video color and video quality controls

    Resolved Issues

    Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System

    • The in-game mouse cursor no longer randomly disappears while playing Alien vs Predator.
    • Enemy Territory - Quake Ware will no longer experience intermittent crashes when in a 3 monitor Eyefinity configuration.
    • Water texture is now rendered correctly in Enemy Territory - Quake Wars
    • Dirt 2 does not exhibit stuttering when run in DirectX 9 mode.
    • Playing Crysis 2 with in Crossfire mode no longer experiences random graphics corruption or game instability.
    • Random corruption and screen flicker is no longer observed while playing Dragon Age 2 with Tri-Crossfire enabled.
    • Lost Planet 2 no longer crashes after game launch when run in Crossfire mode.
    • Lost Planet 2 and Tom Clancy HAWX2 no longer experience random game hangs/black screens when run at high in game settings.
    • Water textures in World of Warcraft running in DirectX 9 mode no longer appear corrupted.
    • The game "Rage" no longer experiences intermittent hangs when Crossfire is enabled.

    Resolved Issues for the Windows Vista Operating System

    • Ejecting the disc during Blu-Ray/DVD playback using WinDVD no longer causes the system to crash.
    • 3D content playback using PowerDVD now correctly used hardware acceleration.
    • Poor performance is no longer randomly experience when playing World of Warcraft, Metro 2033 and Starcraft II at high in-game settings.
    • Medal of Honor now correctly displays all in game settings.

    Known Issues

    Known issues under the Windows 7 operating system

    • Call of Duty 4 may experience corruption when run in DirectX 9 mode and the Edge Detect filter is enabled.
    • Portal 2 may generate a black screen when launched in 3D stereo mode.
    • The Morphological filter settings may be missing in the Vision Control Center.
    • Civilization V may experience random game crashes.
    • Forced Anti-Aliasing may not be available when playing Enemy Territory - Quake Wars.
    • Call of Duty - Black Ops may experience a crash when run in Crossfire mode.
    • Battlefield 3 may crash when run at ultra settings.
    • Vsync may be disabled after task switching when playing Rage.
    • Launching Rage with Crossfire enabled may cause the application to hang.
    • Random flickering may be observed while playing Battlefield- Bad Company 2.
    • Saints Row III may hang randomly during gameplay.
    • Dragons Age 2 may experience random flickering when run in Tri Crossfire mode with Vsync enabled or when run in DirectX 9 mode.
    • Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3 may experience flickering when run in Tri Crossfire mode.

    Known Issues under the Windows Vista Operating System

    • Windows Aero options may be missing after installing the latest driver.
    • Known Issues under the Windows XP Operating System
    • The mouse cursor may get corrupted if the "enable pointer shadow" option is unchecked.

    AMD Compatible Products

    AMD Desktop Product Family Compatibility

    • AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4890 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6600 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6550D Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6530D Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4700 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6500 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4670 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6410D Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4650 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6370D Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6500 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6310D Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6300 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4550 Series
    • AMD Radeon HD 6200 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4350 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 5900 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 3600 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 5600 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 2900 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 5500 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 2600 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 2400 Series

    AMD FireStream Product Families

    • AMD FireStream 9350
    • AMD FireStream 9250
    • AMD FireStream 9270
    • AMD FireStream 9170

    AMD Chipset Product Families

    • ATI Radeon HD 4290
    • ATI Radeon 3200 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4250
    • ATI Radeon 3100 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 4200 Series
    • ATI Radeon 3000 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 3300 Series

    AMD Mobility Product Family Compatibility

    Catalyst Mobility is a notebook reference graphics driver with limited support for system vendor specific features. When used with Windows Vista or Windows 7, users may have unwanted experiences.

    The Installation Verification Software will prevent driver download on certain notebook products. This is to protect against the installing of drivers that may disable features or functionality provided by the system manufacturer. If unwanted experiences occur while using Catalyst Mobility, it is recommended to revert back to the driver provided by your system vendor for your specific platform. Please contact your system vendor for the most recent drivers for your notebook.

    AMD Mobility Product Families

    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6900M Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6800M Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4100 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6300M Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6300 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3600 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6200 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5700 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3100 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5600 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2700 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5400 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5100 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 Series
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4800 Series
    • ATI PowerXpress enabled notebooks
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 Series using AMD chipsets
    • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 6620G Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 6520G Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 6480G Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 6380G Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 6310G Series
    • ATI Radeon HD 6250G Series

    The following notebooks are not compatible with this release:

    • Any notebook launched after this driver release
    • Switchable Graphics enabled notebooks
    • Toshiba notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)
    • Sony VAIO notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)
    • Panasonic notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)

    Compatible Operating Systems

    The latest version of the AMD Catalyst software suite is designed to support the following Microsoft Windows platforms:

    • Windows 7 32-bit version
    • Windows 7 64-bit version
    • Windows Vista 32-bit version
    • Windows Vista 64-bit version
    • Windows XP Professional
    • Windows XP Home Edition
    • Windows XP Media Center Edition
    • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition