AMD Catalyst™ 11.5 Release Notes 

This article provides information on the latest posting of AMD’s software suite, AMD Catalyst™ 11.5. This particular software suite updates both the AMD display driver, and the AMD Catalyst Control Center. This unified driver has been updated to provide enhanced level of power, performance, and reliability.

Package Content
The AMD Catalyst software suite 11.5 contains the following:

• AMD display driver version 8.85
• HydraVision™ for Windows® XP, Windows Vista® and Windows 7
• Southbridge/IXP Driver
• AMD Catalyst Control Center version 8.85

Important ! Caution !

• The AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst 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 requires that the Microsoft® .NET Framework SP1 be installed for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Without .NET SP1 installed, the AMD Catalyst 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.
• 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: http://support.amd.com/.
• ATI 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.
• Windows 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

AMD Product Compatibility
The AMD Catalyst driver is compatible with the following AMD products.

AMD Mobility Product Family Compatibility
AMD 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 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.

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

Highlights of the AMD Catalyst 11.5 Windows release includes:

New Features:

Hydravision enhancements for Eyefinity configurations.

• The HydraGrid feature found in HydraVision is now aware of user created Bezels.
• The HydraGrid feature found in HydraVision now also includes as “Automatic Grid” option that aligns to the user defined Eyefinity display layout.

Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System
This section provides information on resolved known issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 11.5 software suite for Windows 7. These include:

• PowerDVD no longer randomly crashes when HDMI 8 Channel Audio is enabled.
• Avivo settings are now correctly displayed in the AMD Vision Engine Control Center after connecting a secondary display.
• Windows Media Player no longer randomly hangs or displays a black screen after playing VC1 (WMV) video files for over 4 hours.
• PowerDVD no longer crashes intermittently after enabling / disabling Crossfire during BD playback.
• Bioshock no longer displays visual corruption with Vsynch and MLAA enabled.
• Transcoding MPEG-2 video to H.264 no longer causes an application crash.
• Transcoding H.264 to AVCHD no longer generates lagging video.

Resolved Issues for the Windows XP Operating System

• Civilization V no longer stops responding during game launch when Crossfire is enabled.

Known issues under the Windows 7 operating system
The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced under the Windows 7 operating system in the latest version of AMD Catalyst. These include:

• Some BD content may experience jittery playback using WinDVD.
• Quake 4 may display random horizontal corruption during gameplay.
• Random tearing might be observed while playing Riddick 2 with high game settings and Crossfire enabled.  (This issue has been resolved with the Catalyst 11.5a hotfix)
• Random video jitter may be observed while playing 1080i BD video with Aero mode disabled.
• Kings Bounty may display rendering issues.
• The mouse cursor may lag in some situations. (This issue has been resolved with the Catalyst 11.5a hotfix)

Known Issues under the Windows Vista Operating System
The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced under the Windows Vista operating system in the latest version of AMD Catalyst™. These include:

• Windows Aero may be disabled after installing the driver.
• Doom 3 and Quake 4 may display random corruption with HD 4770 series products.
• Performing bezel compensation with a 3 x 2 Eyefinity configuration may cause the bezel group to disappear.
• Video settings may be turned off in the AMD Vision Control Center after extending the desktop to a second display.
• Cyberlink software bay cause the screen to flash green after desktop resolution is changed.

Known Issues under the Windows XP Operating System
The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced under the Windows XP operating system in the latest version of AMD Catalyst™. These include:

• OpenGL games may cause the system to hang when launched with Super AA enabled.
• The system may randomly reboot while playing Star Wars – The Force Unleashed II.

Installing the AMD Catalyst™ Software Driver
For further information and general help on software driver installation, game issues, and more, visit AMD Customer Care.

Installation information can be found at: How to Install Your ATI Product.

AMD Catalyst™  Crew Driver Feedback
This driver release incorporates suggestions received through the AMD Catalyst™  Crew Driver Feedback program. To provide us with your feedback, visit Catalyst™ Crew Driver Feedback.