Best WHQL AMD driver this year *poll*

[slayernine]

Poor year for AMD drivers, that is for sure.

not surprised to hear that from you

Just wondering, do you actually have any AMD Graphics cards that would give you the experience required to make a statement about said drivers?

 

[slayernine]

Give us another example besides a stupid fan that affected couple of users...(how about where it matters)

And as for your poll how many of so called 'No preference, always using the latest' are actually gamers, I wonder...

A "couple of users"? I believe that problem is more prolific than you have assumed.

 

[blastingcap]

http://gizmodo.com/373076/nvidia-responsible-for-nearly-30-of-vista-crashes-in-2007

NV has had bumpgate as well as drivers that literally kill cards.

I am having trouble recalling AMD drivers killing cards, or an AMD bumpgate, but I'll keep you all posted if I remember something.

 

[3DVagabond]

http://gizmodo.com/373076/nvidia-responsible-for-nearly-30-of-vista-crashes-in-2007

NV has had bumpgate as well as drivers that literally kill cards.

I am having trouble recalling AMD drivers killing cards, or an AMD bumpgate, but I'll keep you all posted if I remember something.

blastingcap, you've called him out and made your point. You are definitely right. He's wrong. Everyone here, him included, knows this. You're wasting your keystrokes though if you think you'll get him to say so.

The whole nVidia vs. AMD driver debate is just thread crapping. It has nothing to do with the topic.

So blastingcap, what drivers do you think are the best?

 

[Obsoleet]

You could vote either way, either the ones that worked best for you.. or whichever release you found the most useful for additional features. Doesn't matter. This isn't meant to be scientific or that serious.

I picked 10.7 because it was the first to add VLC accel which is great (fullscreen 1080P movie on 1 monitor and 1920x1200 Starcraft 2 with AA/AF on the other is pretty cool to see work smoothly). I'm also a Kings Bounty player, and some drivers after 10.7 didn't work as well with the game, so I use 10.7.. all the drivers work fine, but some have perks and pitfalls.. there's no showstopper like killing your video card.

Give us another example besides a stupid fan that affected couple of users...(how about where it matters)

Google is your friend. If you're that lazy and just want to remain ignorant and wishfully believe NV has superior drivers, then nuts to you. Plenty of evidence out there that the "gold standard" that NV did hold in the XP days are long gone.

 

[3DVagabond]

The 10.7 had a lot of crossfire problems. They were fixed w/10.8 and 10.8a crossfire profiles.

:snip:
On August 9th, 2010 we saw GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI tearing up even high-end Radeon HD 5870 CrossFireX in AvP and BC2. Performance however changed with the ATI CrossFireX Application Profile 10.8a.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/09/16/nv_gtx_460_1gb_sli_vs_ati_hd_5870_cfx_redux/

 

[blastingcap]

blastingcap, you've called him out and made your point. You are definitely right. He's wrong. Everyone here, him included, knows this. You're wasting your keystrokes though if you think you'll get him to say so.

The whole nVidia vs. AMD driver debate is just thread crapping. It has nothing to do with the topic.

So blastingcap, what drivers do you think are the best?

I was just asking if he actually had AMD cards and used them. I honestly have no idea if he does, or if he's just parroting what other people have claimed. I don't know if he used to have a HD5850 or not, like someone implied earlier.

Single-GPU is too close to call. AMD used to suck more in drivers but have more or less caught up in recent years. NV has generally been more on the ball even going way back. Right now, both are on par with each other. NV supposedly has per game profiles and such but AMD has better video decoding (per the other thread re: HQV 2.0 scores, which are affected in part by drivers).

As for multi-GPU, NV has generally better SLI support, AMD finally caught up with Barts though.

I have a great deal of respect for NV engineers, let me be very clear about that. If I had to go one way or another for the long run, it's NV all the day.

But the gap between NV and AMD single-GPU drivers is, imho, overblown. And it's just weird that people keep repeating the whole "NV has better drivers" mantra when that's only true for multi-GPU.

Anyway, sorry to thread derail, I'll shut up and leave the thread now.

 

[3DVagabond]

I was just asking if he actually had AMD cards and used them. I honestly have no idea if he does, or if he's just parroting what other people have claimed. I don't know if he used to have a HD5850 or not, like someone implied earlier.

Single-GPU is too close to call. AMD used to suck more in drivers but have more or less caught up in recent years. NV has generally been more on the ball even going way back. Right now, both are on par with each other. NV supposedly has per game profiles and such but AMD has better video decoding (per the other thread re: HQV 2.0 scores, which are affected in part by drivers).

As for multi-GPU, NV has generally better SLI support, AMD finally caught up with Barts though.

I have a great deal of respect for NV engineers, let me be very clear about that. If I had to go one way or another for the long run, it's NV all the day.

But the gap between NV and AMD single-GPU drivers is, imho, overblown. And it's just weird that people keep repeating the whole "NV has better drivers" mantra when that's only true for multi-GPU.

Anyway, sorry to thread derail, I'll shut up and leave the thread now.

Wasn't trying to run you out of the thread. I just felt you were getting drawn into a debate about a post that was just a thread crap. Trying to save your sanity (if any of us have any left).

 

[OCGuy]

not surprised to hear that from you

Just wondering, do you actually have any AMD Graphics cards that would give you the experience required to make a statement about said drivers?

If I do, would that embarass you that you made a not-so thinly-veiled accusation that I am speaking out of my ass, instead of from experience?

 

[Obsoleet]

The 10.7 had a lot of crossfire problems. They were fixed w/10.8 and 10.8a crossfire profiles.



http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/09/16/nv_gtx_460_1gb_sli_vs_ati_hd_5870_cfx_redux/

I don't use multiGPU so hasn't affected me. The HDMI overscan bug was in 10.8, fixed in 10.9a/10.10. I use my TV for gaming sometimes so that was an annoyance.

I was just asking if he actually had AMD cards and used them. I honestly have no idea if he does, or if he's just parroting what other people have claimed. I don't know if he used to have a HD5850 or not, like someone implied earlier.

Single-GPU is too close to call. AMD used to suck more in drivers but have more or less caught up in recent years. NV has generally been more on the ball even going way back. Right now, both are on par with each other. NV supposedly has per game profiles and such but AMD has better video decoding (per the other thread re: HQV 2.0 scores, which are affected in part by drivers).

As for multi-GPU, NV has generally better SLI support, AMD finally caught up with Barts though.

I have a great deal of respect for NV engineers, let me be very clear about that. If I had to go one way or another for the long run, it's NV all the day.

But the gap between NV and AMD single-GPU drivers is, imho, overblown. And it's just weird that people keep repeating the whole "NV has better drivers" mantra when that's only true for multi-GPU.

Anyway, sorry to thread derail, I'll shut up and leave the thread now.

Actually no, that was a pretty obviously unbiased post. I *think* (but could very well be wrong) that if I were going to stick with a card for old (old) games, and keep the card for a very long time, I'd probably choose NV drivers too. Although, I've never even seen an issue with AMD drivers on very old games (something like Giants Citizen Kabuto or Sacrifice). Nvidia in the golden age, did have better support for older games.

Single GPU they are even though in all measures really. I have used both, don't get free video cards from either company, zero kickbacks.. I buy what is best.. I was all NV before the 4870 launch and I've been all AMD since then. I will go back if NV can demonstrate superiority, which I don't believe they have in any regard at this point, drivers or engineering. For my money, buying a $380 shipped 5870 on launch day was more than worth it.. NV hasn't given me anything to replace that purchase.
Very interested in the 6970 vs 580 though. I'm a Kings Bounty player though, and NV still has stuttering and freezing issues in that game which is a deal killer for me.

 

[Phynaz]

How about the "I don't upgrade unless I have to" option?

 

[Throckmorton]

It's threads like these that make me never want to buy an AMD card.

I was about to post, this is exactly why I avoided ATI for years. I remember having to use hacked drivers just to set my refresh rate higher than 60 back in 9800 and CRT days. I had figured they would be better after so long.

 

[Throckmorton]

I was just asking if he actually had AMD cards and used them. I honestly have no idea if he does, or if he's just parroting what other people have claimed. I don't know if he used to have a HD5850 or not, like someone implied earlier.

Single-GPU is too close to call. AMD used to suck more in drivers but have more or less caught up in recent years. NV has generally been more on the ball even going way back. Right now, both are on par with each other. NV supposedly has per game profiles and such but AMD has better video decoding (per the other thread re: HQV 2.0 scores, which are affected in part by drivers).

As for multi-GPU, NV has generally better SLI support, AMD finally caught up with Barts though.

I have a great deal of respect for NV engineers, let me be very clear about that. If I had to go one way or another for the long run, it's NV all the day.

But the gap between NV and AMD single-GPU drivers is, imho, overblown. And it's just weird that people keep repeating the whole "NV has better drivers" mantra when that's only true for multi-GPU.

Anyway, sorry to thread derail, I'll shut up and leave the thread now.

So does that mean the latest AMD driver is the best one? Why does this thread exist?

 

[apoppin]

The *best* Catalyst driver of 2010 (so far) was not WHQL at all
- Catalyst 10.3a was amazing. It was the performance driver that went up against the GTX 480 launch driver. Not until 10.5 did we have the same performance.

And let me project that Catalyst 10.12 will also be outstanding, if we see Cayman released this year

 

[Obsoleet]

So does that mean the latest AMD driver is the best one? Why does this thread exist?

Because it's a community forum, and you don't run it. So we can post what we want. Thx.
Since you didn't bother to read the thread, yes, sometimes certain drivers work better for some people than others, depending on what you run for games. Generally though, yes latest is always best but not always.

How about the "I don't upgrade unless I have to" option?

The wisest option and one forgotten in time for its merits. Though, I would only go for this if periodically checking up on release notes.. sometimes there are amazing features being added.. VLC acceleration blew my mind in 10.7.

 

[happy medium]

The *best* Catalyst driver of 2010 (so far) was not WHQL at all
- Catalyst 10.3a was amazing.

That gets my vote. AMD shot there load with that driver.

On a side note "Obsoleet" or should I say "Housecat" ( thats your old name right?), I remembering you petitioning to become a Nvidia focus group member a little while back, what happended? I heard you were denied. Could this be the reason for the animosity toward Nvidia lately? PM me let me know what happened.
Are you still buddies with Rollo and that crew?


Personal attacks are not acceptable.

Re: "I heard you were denied. Could this be the reason for the animosity toward Nvidia lately?"

Ad hominem abuse

Ad hominem abuse (also called personal abuse or personal attacks) usually involves insulting or belittling one's opponent in order to invalidate his or her argument, but can also involve pointing out factual but ostensible character flaws or actions which are irrelevant to the opponent's argument. This tactic is logically fallacious because insults and even true negative facts about the opponent's personal character have nothing to do with the logical merits of the opponent's arguments or assertions.



Examples:

• "You can't believe Jack when he says the proposed policy would help the economy. He doesn't even have a job."
• "Candidate Jane's proposal about zoning is ridiculous. She was caught cheating on her taxes in 2003."

Moderator Idontcare

 

[Throckmorton]

Because it's a community forum, and you don't run it. So we can post what we want. Thx.
Since you didn't bother to read the thread, yes, sometimes certain drivers work better for some people than others, depending on what you run for games. Generally though, yes latest is always best but not always.

You misunderstood. I'm trying to get blastingcap to see that if what he was saying was true about ATI drivers being almost as good as nVidia's, this thread wouldn't exist. From the threads on this forum it's pretty clear there are big issues.

 

[Obsoleet]

None of that is true HM, but replies sent your way.

You misunderstood. I'm trying to get blastingcap to see that if what he was saying was true about ATI drivers being almost as good as nVidia's, this thread wouldn't exist. From the threads on this forum it's pretty clear there are big issues.

My apologies if I took you wrong. In my (small) world, I couldn't use an NV card due to the show-stopping bugs in Kings Bounty. Not sure about all the other big issues, I don't experience any with mine.

 

[blastingcap]

You misunderstood. I'm trying to get blastingcap to see that if what he was saying was true about ATI drivers being almost as good as nVidia's, this thread wouldn't exist. From the threads on this forum it's pretty clear there are big issues.

I hope you aren't serious. There are countless threads in countless forums online that probably shouldn't exist but do anyway. Why? I will let you ponder the possibilities yourself.

 

[Arkadrel]

You misunderstood. I'm trying to get blastingcap to see that if what he was saying was true about ATI drivers being almost as good as nVidia's, this thread wouldn't exist. From the threads on this forum it's pretty clear there are big issues.

Have you seen the nvidia forums for the 4xx cards? lmao...

The mantra of "Nvidia has better drivers" + "ATI drivers suck".. well its not true from my perspective, Ive used both brands and nvidia more than ATI now AMD, for along time. Ive had more troubles with my nvidia cards drivers than with atis (probably because ive used nvidia more in the past).

Anyways with my current 5870, I havnt had any issues with the non beta ones Ive used.



From nvidia driver forums:
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showforum=213

First post there (this sub forum section is full with stuff about driver troubles):
F1 2010 Lag, 480 GTX with 260.89 drivers


this thread for 4xx cards that cant run FFXI without getting 5-15 fps in certain scenarios:
Has been a driver issue for ~7months without getting fixed: (91,000 views and 50+ pages)
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=166243&st=980



atleast Nvidia has a forum where you can voice issues with drivers though.. Im not even sure if amd has something like that.

 

[slayernine]

If I do, would that embarass you that you made a not-so thinly-veiled accusation that I am speaking out of my ass, instead of from experience?

Well I'll come out and say that I do not own any current generation nVidia graphics cards. I installed one in a computer I built for a friend and the drivers did not break anything or have any issues for the couple of hours I tinkered with the computer.

However I have been using multiple 5000 and 4000 series ATI/AMD cards over the last couple years. This allows me to accurately comment on my experience with the associated drivers. That experience has been positive as I find each incremental change in AMD's drivers add features, improves game performance and offers other positive improvements.

Regardless of embarrassment please do inform us of the level of your personal experience in this topic. Is that too much to ask.

 

[notty22]

Have you seen the nvidia forums for the 4xx cards? lmao...

I find it kind of strange that you don't currently own a nvidia card , yet you peruse their support forums. As a AMD user,fan, you don't even know about their support forums, thats lol
http://forums.amd.com/game/categories.cfm?catid=260
Sorted by most replies
ATi "grey screen crash"/coloured stripes [TOPIC]
ATI Radeon HD5770 / 5750 issues
HD 5870 crashing? (stripes)
edit: I used a 4770 for about 9 months,upgraded every month from 9/09 with no problems in any games.
Same with Nvidia before that card, and currently.

 

[Obsoleet]

I think the end result from everyone going back and forth with examples is that neither has gold standard drivers. Not anymore at least. You can find issues with both, and I think we can all agree (those us that used NV back in their golden age, the XP era) had better drivers almost universally. I STILL buy NV cards for old XP machines. Just bought a used GF7 AGP a few months back. Yes yes, I know. I hate Nvidia supposedly, yadda yadda yadda.
It was with Vista and then 7 that NV lost their grip IMO. AMD improved and NV faltered, leaving neither with the gold standard, and both decent.

For me today though, Nvidia is not an option due to certain bugs that AMD does not have.

 

[hawtdawg]

Thats a tough one for me. No ATI driver post 10.5a runs BFBC2 right on my rig, but 10.5a runs SC2 like ass. 10.10e has treated me pretty well with the exception of the BFBC2 Xfire bug that ATI denies exists.

 

[Obsoleet]

Solution is to ditch SC2 man. I beat the campaign and never touched that game again.