CATALYST drivers for ATI Radeon

[CygnusX1]

ATI released a new unified (taking the nvidia detanator route!!) driverset for their line of cards. you can grab them <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.ati.com/shopati/promotions/catalyst/index.html">here</a> <BR><BR>i dl'd and installed them late last night (ie no heavy testing) and saw a nice bump in 3dmark 2002 se scores. scored <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=3721299 ">8783</a> with just the card oc'd to 290/290. all other settings were left at their defaults. with my sys oc'd (cpu/mem @ 166, mem timings maxxed out i was getting <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=3582300 ">9256</a>. I cant wait to ramp up my sys again to see how close i can get to the 10k mark...

[Colin]

Ya I tried them on the wknd and my 3DMark scores went up as well. The great thing is, the image quality is as usual excellent. <BR><BR>CygnusX1, I'm positive you can break 10k once you overclock your CPU as well! Go for it man! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

[CygnusX1]

yeah, the visual quality kicks butt...i love my radeon...i want the 128mb ver, but i think i am going to wait till the 300 comes out...<BR><BR>10k will be my goal for this weekend...i have seen people getiitng it on the onion, but they have had 128mb cards...its not that far away tho...

[Colin]

The 128MB version isn't any faster but they overclock higher then the 64MB versions cuz the core is usually a newer stepping adn the BGA memory has a 3.3ns rating.<BR><BR>Have you done the <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=953">pencil mod</a> yet? <BR><BR>Highest I've ever gotten with a Radeon 8500 64MB version was 10.7k... <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> If your card overclocoks well, you should be able to break that! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> Hey do you visit the MO forum a lot?<BR><BR>Good luck man!

[CygnusX1]

i would love to brake 10k...i havent done the pencil mod yet, but have drooled over it quite a bit...i need to pick up a voltmeter befor i even think about it...what i really want to do is watercool the ram, but need to figure out how...guess i will have to play with come copper since i have not seen anything available yet...

[Colin]

Ya, 10k is quite a milestone. I love having that 5th digit on my score! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"><BR><BR>Do you find the memory on the Radeon 8500 very hot? I'm nto sure if watercooling the ram will help you overclock any higher. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">