AMD "Never Settle" 12.11 Driver - benchmarks are in!

[NIGELG]

points-of-view!



The best debates are from two opposing view points -- as long as they are not personal in nature -- sometimes informative and entertaining!

Then tell him to stop being personal and calling people stupid by name.

 

[railven]

Imho,

Don't disagree with that specific premise or context based on companies desire to maximize revenue, profit and margins. Can't blame companies for they do have all the risk. Market does indeed set pricing and dynamic and every changing, and rightly or wrongly markets decide.

Why would AMD leave revenue, profits and margins on the table? They didn't. And similar reasons what nvidia is doing with the pricing of their 6XX family if the market is there for it.

As a consumer, my first interest is me D). I recall during the launch I was one of the few defending the price, because as a consumer I wasn't upgrading from an HD 6970, and I was seeing 100% increases in specific games (without OCing) as an HD 5870 user. The cost was about $20 more than the card I owned (HD 5870 Eye6, which yes I bought for specific reasons). Why I didn't see the issue with the $550 price tag, that an the next closet competitor was $500.

Business make money, I'm cool with that, and it's why I can pay a "premium" for a product I like/want. I used "premium" in quotes because as I explained above, outside of Halo Part pricing levels, I didn't see a "premium" I saw a market competitive price. If the 7970 was equal to the GTX 580 in performance, then I'd see the $50 extra as a premium for a new product.

It's tough to strongly defend premiums and personally like to see improved price/performance relative to AMD's from nVidia -- heck, what kind of gamer doesn't like the bundle deal from AMD? Incredible! However, the market is what the market is -- hopefully will continue to be dynamic, every changing so gamers - no matter what company they choose may find improved value.

However, this 28nm price/performance, at the start, felt more evolutionary and incremental considering the node and arch were substantial and significant -- it's amazing what competition and choice did to improve this.

Frankly, I think it's tough to defend any decision one makes in a situation where everyone is nitpicking. There has been so many shifts in the global economy the only thing I could think of when this whole fiasco came about was entitlement, which I expressed here. Everyone was expecting X, even going as far as to say if X wasn't delivered then the product was a failure. nVidia turned around and delivered relatively the same experience (as we learned through leaks of documentation, charging a "premium" for what originally a lower tiered product) and that was ignored since the card was named GTX 680, thus top dog.

I've had no issues accepting 28nm since from my perspective I didn't pay outlandlishly more than I did when I last bought and unlike real finacial concerns (like gasoline/food) my dollar was still earning more in return.

But, I know not everyone is as mellow or cool as me

 

[sze5003]

Not a single post in Video on ABT since 245 am this morning.I don't mind giving them hits because they really need all the help they can get.

It's like a wasteland there.I read the forums there for pure entertainment really.

Does anyone know of any serious bugs with the new Catalyst drivers?

No issues for me when I had 12.11 switched to 12.10 because I thought bf3 looked odd but then found out msaa in the game on ultra settings is messed up.

 

[ocre]

I have been a member here much longer than at the ABT and I am not some cast away no matter how much you guys try to make me.

Its really sad that the person who started all this (railven) openly admitted that he was doing it for the drama and yet the whole gang jumps in blasting away. I am none of those things you claim, but hey whatever. The post histories show clearly who the bullies are, the drama starters, and the people who actually try.

It is always a few that ruin it for everyone else. Thanks and.......

Carry on

 

[railven]

I have been a member here much longer than at the ABT and I am not some cast away no matter how much you guys try to make me.

Its really sad that the person who started all this (railven) openly admitted that he was doing it for the drama and yet the whole gang jumps in blasting away. I am none of those things you claim, but hey whatever. The post histories show clearly who the bullies are, the drama starters, and the people who actually try.

It is always a few that ruin it for everyone else. Thanks and.......

Carry on

Glad you posted that, since I would like for you to show me where I posted anything for the "drama." I admitted to trolling him, since I was really amused by his spin on the data and how some of you ABT regulars recycled the talking point (I guess I HAVE been spending too much time in P&N haha.)

You know, I wouldn't even mention ABT here if he (and it's users) didn't like to take pot shots at posters here or, worse in my opinion, accuse members of being affiliated with a company just because their opinions differ (oddly enough reading your posts over there, you act no differently and yet here in this post, you are claiming otherwise.)

EDIT: To defend myself, no one really commented on what I said since I mentioned no names (except Nigel, because it seems he reads ABT too thus caught my references), but once you and BoFox came, that's pretty much when things got worse. And if you think Bofox's posts did nothing but add fuel, you really are wearing blinders.

 

[NIGELG]

I have been a member here much longer than at the ABT and I am not some cast away no matter how much you guys try to make me.

Its really sad that the person who started all this (railven) openly admitted that he was doing it for the drama and yet the whole gang jumps in blasting away. I am none of those things you claim, but hey whatever. The post histories show clearly who the bullies are, the drama starters, and the people who actually try.

It is always a few that ruin it for everyone else. Thanks and.......

Carry on

It has gotten out of control....

But that's what happens when one lashes out at people and insult them,they lash back....I was quoted by your precious Appooppin over at ABT and I take his insult personally because I never mentioned his name or site before he attacked me.

Look at how this thread has derailed BECAUSE people who'll never use the card/drivers/bundle came into the thread to urinate all over said thread.

 

[sze5003]

I'm not suprised this always happens.

 

[BoFox]

I meant to say AMD is not done squeezing out more performance, just to clarify. :thumbsup:

And squeezing less and less out of HD 6990 - see below:

Yes. The 7970ge is typically faster than last years duallie, 6990 and is selling for <$400.

NOTE: This is with cat 12.7's With 12.11's it is even faster.

Now, the W1zzard from TPU is ditching HD 6990 altogether while still including GTX 590 in new Cat.12.11 Performance Analysis review. Other 6xxx cards are still reviewed, except for HD 6990. As we can see in the last review that included the 6990, there were just too many CF issues with the card: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_Matrix/26.html

Now, the 6990 is a forgotten thing. It used to actually beat GTX 590 overall, but with the newer games, did AMD ditch the owners of 6990's who paid handsomely for the card? The 6990 couldn't scale in Arkham City, BF3, and scores 13.6 fps in Starcraft 2? And that was 3 months ago with Cat 12.7 drivers. Meanwhile, GTX 590 had ZERO issues, and actually scaled much better than the 6990 in most of the other games.

Do you guys expect it to be any better for the 6990 with Cat 12.11 "Never Settle" drivers?

I think W1zzard was very kind in ditching the 6990 from the 12.11 review, just as AMD has ditched it months ago.

If it were Apoppin, he would've shown the 6990 in a better light for sure, with his vast gaming suite, and yet still received far more flak for it than W1zzard showing it to lose badly in the overall performance chart vs the 590. If he really hated AMD, Apoppin would've gone through all the trouble just to point this out with his own 6990.

Just be grateful that Apoppin didn't really try to bury AMD when he had many chances (and he still has the chance to do it with the "Never Settle" driver).

Now, can we be friends? Can you recommend to AMD's partners to send him high-end Radeon cards for review again? He's likely to do a better job than the W1zzard, for sure (like always). :wub:

 

[railven]

Now, can we be friends? Can you recommend to AMD's partners to send him high-end Radeon cards for review again? He's likely to do a better job than the W1zzard, for sure (like always). :wub:

And that is what the AMD Shill master thread boils down - he wants free Radeons to bench, even sending his cronies here to ask for him

 

[thilanliyan]

Can you recommend to AMD's partners to send him high-end Radeon cards for review again?

Yes I will get right on that. Clearly I (and everyone else here) must work for AMD or an AMD partner since I have not been banned from ATF.

 

[Firestorm007]

Just be grateful that Apoppin didn't really try to bury AMD when he had many chances (and he still has the chance to do it with the "Never Settle" driver).

Now, can we be friends? Can you recommend to AMD's partners to send him high-end Radeon cards for review again? He's likely to do a better job than the W1zzard, for sure (like always). :wub:[/QUOTE]

What in the world is this inane drivel? I'm sure a huge corporation like AMD is frightened by some little peanut, psychotic editor that suffers from AMD persecution syndrome. Give me a break. This is sad on so many levels.

Anyhow, these drivers rock! I've used them on my 7970 and have only tried BF3, since that's all I play these days. I haven't benched it, but they are definitley faster in every regard. I've been able to boost a few more setting to Ultra as well. Great Job AMD!

 

[BoFox]

No issues for me when I had 12.11 switched to 12.10 because I thought bf3 looked odd but then found out msaa in the game on ultra settings is messed up.

That must explain the "massive" gains in BF3 that you guys were clamoring about? I dunno..

 

[thilanliyan]

nm, not worth it.

 

[BoFox]

What? You rather accuse me of being a troll than answer the technical question on topic?

At least I don't accuse you of being a troll when the likes of you are in fact admitting to trolling.

Just asking.. I asked Apoppin to verify this for us, since none of you guys would verify it even with a 10-foot pole.

 

[chimaxi83]

BoFox, why are you even here? ABT goodwill emissary?

 

[NIGELG]

The mighty Appoopin buries AMD??

I think AMD has bigger things to worry about than some insignificant gnat and his brown nosing trolls.

 

[MTDEW]

I would've liked Radeon cards much better if it were not for the likes of you putting out such a negative and malicious vibe surrounding Radeon cards. It's like having a beautiful and sexy wife, but she nags you to death every day about you being an ugly troll. Eventually, you just end up not liking her.



Thanks, and hope you guys keep this in mind. It's very easy for hatred to creep in like usual.


Whoa, you are the one who really remembers a laundry list of everything Apoppin could've done to piss off AMD's same PR who blatantly lied to the public about Bulldozer having 2 billion instead of 1.2 billion trannies. Even Dave Baumann himself said that it was a PR decision (EDIT: which AT, not ABT exploited - why not hate AT with the same intensity for this?)

So, YOU are the one who carries all of that baggage. At least you're one of the few.. well, that's a lot of baggage.

I cannot command you to drop the baggage. It has to come from within. Are you going to be forgiving and give him a second chance for whatever "slights"? Maybe he was just having a bad day with the 6990 not working with his mobo? He actually has the customer's best interest at heart, when it comes to warranty. If AMD states the AUSUM (BIOS 2 switch) clock at 880 MHz for their 6990 on their official specs page, they should at least warranty that clock for the customers. Isn't it nice to have Apoppin review the products with the customer in mind, first and foremost? This is the essence of a good quality review that is not afraid to cover any subject concerning the matter at hand.



Difficult to follow, sorry. Too much obscure philosophy wayyyy off the tangent, don't ya think? Save yourself some trouble and let's not delve that far into the dark woods, getting lost.



You just tried with your own paragraphs to destroy Apoppin all over in the very same post above. YOU - look in the mirror and see what it looks like. Ok, here's a small piece of mirror, that I'm putting right in front of your eyes, quoting you: "Yet, you expect members here, who aren't nVidia fanbois, to have any respect for ABT? Somehow you see apoppin as the victim when the real victims are those who he slandered. If I had read his reviews and read his rant, I wouldn't send apoppin samples either if I were AMD." ARGH! Did the mirror drive you nuts in realizing that it was YOU? No, I'm not the delusional one here like you called me, nor schizo or anything.

And you're the one who's protected here, able to talk nonsense like that, with the very likes of you causing him to say this:

Originally Posted by MTDEW
Finally somebody said it.
Anandtech VC&G is pretty much worthless anymore for sharing info or getting answers in any troubleshooting question posts.

Now, you're probably thinking that "Oh, if I could only get rid of the last few Nvidia enthusiasts still lingering around here...", that your glass home would be the perfect place for a lovely "circle" gathering - never minding that "ATF is pretty much worthless" thanks to your rampant efforts. Or do you want to give Apoppin a friendly handshake as a civil GPU enthusiast without carrying this over-blown baggage and letting it bother you deep down inside for as long as ABT exists?

Truce? Peace, I hope? Or, do I have to bend over in this pipe dream here?

I don't know what your mental problem is but I couldn't care less about Apoppin and or ABT, i don't follow either the site or someone i don't know.
You guys that live on forums just don't seem to understand that the majority of us have no clue what your personal issues are against other sites and/or forum members.
I dont follow memebers posts, i just look for info in threads that interest me.
As hard as it may be for you to believe, i don't even know who you or Apoppin are.

I own several pcs with Nvidia and AMD cards, so I have no issues with any enthusiasts of either camp.

It would just be nice to see this thread stick to the subject matter which is the new performance gains in the 12.11 drivers and bundle.

Because believe it or not, the majority of us in the world don't care whether you guys on here like each other or not.
Create your own thread and argue all you guys want, who cares ?

Instead we're always stuck scanning over a bunch of useless posts, trying to find the few posts that actually have some relevant info.

 

[railven]

What? You rather accuse me of being a troll than answer the technical question on topic?

At least I don't accuse you of being a troll when the likes of you are in fact admitting to trolling.

Just asking.. I asked Apoppin to verify this for us, since none of you guys would verify it even with a 10-foot pole.

I don't actually play BF3, but I did verify the WoW performance increases with 12.11 Without staring at an FPS meter or running FRAPs, I can't conclude it was 20% performance gain on average, but it was definitely enough to notice and enjoy the dailies experience, if only a little more.

Hey, perhaps you can let them know over there that I sent my registration e-mail but haven't heard back, thanks.

 

[BoFox]

I dont follow memebers posts,

You just followed mine, so get back on topic.

It's like Gandhi speaking against violence, and actually punching me in the face at the same time.

Now, can anybody verify BF3's proper use of AA with Ultra settings using the "Never Settle" drivers? That's the topic you should have let the thread stick on (or at least any other topic that is ON Topic).

 

[Red Hawk]

...did you just compare yourself/appoppin/ABT to Gandhi?

EDIT: reading closer you're not, but the Gandhi reference is still way off the mark.

 

[thilanliyan]

What? You rather accuse me of being a troll than answer the technical question on topic?

At least I don't accuse you of being a troll when the likes of you are in fact admitting to trolling.

Just asking.. I asked Apoppin to verify this for us, since none of you guys would verify it even with a 10-foot pole.

If I played BF3 maybe I could have answered your question, if in fact it was a genuine question.

Where did I admit to trolling? Also, you have not answered my question from before of how you can call yourself unbiased, and yet you say to me that I am on a certain "side"? So can you answer that? How could you possibly decide that when you certainly don't know me?

 

[Creig]

I'd forgotten about ABT and apoppin. I suppose (according to apoppin) that I'm still on AMD's shill payroll. Although how I'm supposed to help AMD sales figures with an old Intel Q6600 and a two-generations-old 5870 in my gaming rig is beyond me.

And gstanfor. Wow, he's just as deranged as the day he was tossed out of Anandtech forums. That guy is scary obsessive.

 

[Firestorm007]

Is that desperation I smell in the air? I guess it stings that AMD is the fastest. But please, stop puking your rhertoric all over this thread. It's silly, and you sound like a child that just got their cookies taken away from them. My eyes are starting to bleed reading your green pukefest. This is an AMD driver thread, not the United Nations, so give the green choir a rest. I'm happy that AMD has pumped up a product to new standards by the release of this driver. It was awesome before, but it's even better now; and I didn't pay another red cent. All I did was download a new driver...

 

[BoFox]

...did you just compare yourself/appoppin/ABT to Gandhi?

EDIT: reading closer you're not, but the Gandhi reference is still way off the mark.

LOL, of course - Gandhi would never go against what he's preaching at the same time.

If I played BF3 maybe I could have answered your question, if in fact it was a genuine question.

Where did I admit to trolling? Also, you have not answered my question from before of how you can call yourself unbiased, and yet you say to me that I am on a certain "side"? So can you answer that? How could you possibly decide that when you certainly don't know me?

Not you, specifically. Somebody did here, and I quoted him already.

This thread is a hilarious discussion of Catalyst 12.11... it's hopeless. I'll just let you guys get this thread locked, but of course it cannot be locked with the last ON-topic subject regarding BF3's questionable AA performance... there needs to be a better closure.

In fact, I'll leave this hopeless thread now and let you guys bash us with 10 more OFF-topic messages from 10 different ranting members. Just don't expect me to reply here on this hormone-dominated thread any longer. Nothing you say can provoke me to come back here again.

 

[railven]

Nothing you say can provoke me to come back here again.

I've heard that before, either way, take me with you! I sent an application e-mail but haven't heard back yet, you wanted an AMD Loyalist, I'm sort of one. Ignore the Intel processors in my sig!