ATi HD 4000 Series Drivers

[Ballatician]

Hi all,

I recently installed an XFX HD4850 as part of a new build. Windows 7 (32-bit) detected it immediately, installed some drivers and upon restart my immense 19in monitor was at the correct 1440x900 resolution and everything looked brilliant.

I checked the display adapter driver information in device manager and saw that it was last updated 3/2009 so not too long ago. Even more pleasing - when I clicked > Properties > Driver Details - all the details like Provider/File Version/Copyright were filled out nicely. At this point everything is working fine but no Catalyst Control Center or any of that jazz.

(btw I am borrowing this from a friend during my own cards RMA process which may deserve a thread of its own)

Anyway I pop in the CD to see if the drivers are a little more recent but I have to register to get the updated drivers. I wasn't really feeling that route so I just went straight to the ATi website and downloaded the most recent drivers for Windows 7 (updated 6/15/2009, sweet).

Once I installed the new drivers, everything is still working but it feels just the slightest bit laggy when I am going through different menus etc. Moreover, I haven't found any use for the Catalyst Control Center (seems overdrive is disabled or something, not that I plan on OC'ing my friends card). Also now under driver details none of the info is filled out like provider etc.

Now I know that this is the latest driver for Win7 32-bit and maybe I am just being picky but what can someone recommend the best driver versions for two OS's: Win7 32-bit and Vista Ultimate 32-bit? Was I better of using the Win7 auto-installed drivers?


Also, is there any way to control the fan speed on the card? I have yet to try any games but it seems like it may be a tad loud for my tastes. It's a hot summer right now and it is idling around 45C.

Thanks!

 

[thilanliyan]

Are you sure it didn't uninstall the driver? From what I remember, the lagging at desktop only happened when just a basic Windows display driver was installed.

Aside from that, the only major issue I had before was that the 2D/3D clocks kept changing and so there was some flickering but this was solved by using ATITray tools to fix the 2D/3D clocks and I think newer drivers get rid of this problem altogether. I'm using the Win 7 64-bit driver (9.4 I think) and have no issues. I'm not gonna upgrade unless I do run into issues.

 

[Cookie Monster]

When I had my HD4850, all i did was plug in the card, let windows do its thing, install the latest drivers that i downloaded before hand and play my latest games without a hitch. I never had a major issue with ATi drivers.

 

[Lonyo]

If you enable Overdrive (click to unlock it), then you can set the fan control to a specific % manually.

 

[nemesismk2]

I've never had a major driver issue with my 4870. The only major driver issue I have had was with an x1950 Pro AGP and the drivers didn't find it at all.

 

[imported_Asianman]

the basic packaged drivers have always worked pretty well, but the drivers off AMD's website are sometimes quite buggy. 9.3 refused to install for me entirely. if you get catalyst working, there should be a fan control option in overdrive. Use that, or you can use Rivatuner

 

[Bateluer]

You never install drivers off the CD, unless its an oddball card. Whether the card in ATI or Nvidia, you always go to their respective sites to grab the most current drivers.

 

[Elfear]

Always had good luck installing drivers on my ATI cards. I usually go with the latest drivers on ATI's website unless there is a known issue with one of the games I am playing. I had pretty good luck with Nvidia drivers too for that matter.

I used to uninstall drivers through Device Manager, run Driver Cleaner in Safe Mode, and then install new drivers. Lately I've just been uninstalling through Add and Remove Programs using the Catalyst Express Installer, rebooting, and installing the new drivers. I've had no issues using the latest method and it has been less hassle than using Driver Cleaner.

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
You never install drivers off the CD, unless its an oddball card. Whether the card in ATI or Nvidia, you always go to their respective sites to grab the most current drivers.

That is very true, the first thing I do before the video card has even arrived is download the latest drivers ready for when it arrives!

 

[SSChevy2001]

My 4870 has been running just fine with every monthly driver update and ATT. ( no CCC installed )

ATi needs to get with program and give CCC a completely overhaul.

 

[Binky]

I've had extremely good luck with the 4850/4890 drivers under XP, Vista, and Win7.

I always install CCC but I have no idea why. It looks interesting, but i have no idea why simple controls have to be so bloated.

Best thing for ATI drivers = never run a driver sweeper/cleaner. Just uninstall the drivers. Many people seem to run a sweeper when they have no problems, and this might be the cause of problems. The most common (possibly) sweeper-caused problem is that CCC won't install. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

 

[Sable]

It was going great till I installed the 9.6 and the 85hz refresh rate option vanished from control panel. Great work ATI you belmers. Forgetting about us CRT users eh?

 

[dguy6789]

What's a CRT?

 

[Ballatician]

I did make sure to uninstall completely the original driver before installing the new Win7 one (file 9.6, driver version in device manager 8.620 (5/15/09). It seems most people are doing just fine with the latest drivers from ATi so perhaps the slight lag was a figment of my imagination. Everything is working after all.

I just haven't found a reason to use the CCC yet but now that a few people pointed out the rather obvious way to control fan speed I think I am really liking this card. May have to look for one for myself since my RMA process isn't going too well.

Time to try installing a game.

 

[ExcaliburMM]

My ASUS HD4870 1GB has worked flawlessly since I bought it about 3 months ago.

 

[Ballatician]

I do like the 4000 series and as I begin to search for one, noise will be one of my primary decision factors.

 

[MegaWorks]

nm

 

[Mem]

I always like to update to latest version every month, never had any issues so far (8.4 to 9.6 over the years).

Reason why is I like to have latest driver bug fixes etc.... never know when I buy a game or two that may have a bug fix in the driver for those games,I always install the full CCC package with my 4870 card.


You have to hand it to ATi they have really improved their drivers over the years .

I think we can all remember years ago when they were quite bad in those early days,back then I thought more then twice about getting an ATi card,nowadays its not even an issue (all down to price and performance nowadays for me).

 

[dug777]

Update every month, but been excellent both with my 21" CRT and my 24" LCD (4850).

:beer:

 

[Jacen]

They have worked flawlessly here on Vista and Win7 RC. I have been using them on of my machines and generally update them every time a new set comes out. On win 7 the suite doesn't even require a operating system restart though often I find myself doing it out of habit.

 

[n7]

4000 series drivers = wonderful experience for me thus far.


Went from a GTX 280 with never ending driver issues to an HD 4890 with none really to speak of.

 

[BFG10K]

I've run into a few issues with the latest ones on XP. In particular, performance in a few titles like Bioshock and Fear has taken a dump.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Binky
I've had extremely good luck with the 4850/4890 drivers under XP, Vista, and Win7.

I always install CCC but I have no idea why. It looks interesting, but i have no idea why simple controls have to be so bloated.

Best thing for ATI drivers = never run a driver sweeper/cleaner. Just uninstall the drivers. Many people seem to run a sweeper when they have no problems, and this might be the cause of problems. The most common (possibly) sweeper-caused problem is that CCC won't install. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

I find quite the opposite. Driver Sweeper has solved installation problems for me and created none. I've had enough weird ATI install issues that I just leave Driver Sweeper installed on my machine. Got tired of reinstalling it.

http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/

 

[KIAman]

I've had good luck with my ATI drivers as well. I've been using since Cat 9 came out and have upgraded every version and still going strong.

 

[Binky]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
I find quite the opposite. Driver Sweeper has solved installation problems for me and created none. I've had enough weird ATI install issues that I just leave Driver Sweeper installed on my machine. Got tired of reinstalling it.

And therein lies the chicken or egg question. You use driversweeper, and you've had installation problems. Most people have zero problems. I've only had problems when I used driver sweeper. I consider driver sweeper/cleaner to be a relic of the win95 days when drivers (and OS's) really weren't half as good as they are today.