The CATALYST™ software suite is designed to support the following ATI desktop product family:
ATI Radeon™ HD 2xxx / 3xxx / 4xxx / 5xxx / 6xxx series | ATI Radeon™ X1950 series | ATI Radeon™ X1900 series | ATI Radeon™ X1800 series | ATI Radeon™ X1650 series | ATI Radeon™ X1600 series | ATI Radeon™ X1550 series | ATI Radeon™ X1300 series | ATI Radeon™ X1050 series | ATI Radeon™ X850 series | ATI Radeon™ X800 series | ATI Radeon™ X700 series | ATI Radeon™ X600 series | ATI Radeon™ X300 series | ATI Radeon™ 9800 series | ATI Radeon™ 9700 series | ATI Radeon™ 9600 series | ATI Radeon™ 9500 series | ATI Radeon™ 9200 series | ATI Radeon™ 9100 series | ATI Radeon™ 9000 series | ATI Radeon™ 7500 series | ATI Radeon™ 8500 series | ATI Radeon™ 7200 series | ATI Radeon™ 7000 series
PREPARE YOUR SYSTEM
Its not uncommon these days to require a good quality PSU (Power Supply Unit) . To achieve maximum compatability it is recommended to have atleast a quality 350+ Watt PSU.
My personal findings show that the Enermax 350w+, Antec TrueBlue 480w, Hiper Type R 580w all work without problems on anything less than an X1800XT . For an X1800XT or X1900XT(X) GPU i would recommend a minimum of 580w
For Crossfire systems, refer to THIS link for compatable PSU's
If you are unsure which PSU to use, or you are experiancing Cold Boot Issues, check out THIS THREAD
BIOS Settings
As with all modern day graphics cards , there are certain Bios functions that are not required by the Radeon. For a guide i will list the basic setting you may require.
PCI EX Frequency : DEFAULT 100 (105 reported optimal)
Fast Gate A20 Option : Enabled
Video BIOS shadowing : Disabled
Video BIOS cacheable : Disabled
xxxxxx - xxxxxx shadow : All Disabled
IDE prefetch mode : Enabled
Init Display First : AGP or PCIex
Assign IRQ for VGA : Enabled
PCI/VGA palette snoop : Disabled
PNP O/S installed : YES or AUTO
AGP Aperture size : 64 or 128 recommended by ATI
Video ram cacheable : Disabled
System bios cacheable : Disabled
Fast Writes : Refer to ATI SMARTGART FAQ's below
AGP Transfer rate : 8x / 4x (If supported, otherwise 2X)
UN-INSTALLING YOUR PREVIOUS DRIVERS
If you are upgrading your current drivers, to the latest version, It is advisable that you remove the old drivers completely from your system to avoid any conflicts or issues.
Simply removing the Drivers from the ADD/REMOVE options in Windows ,isnt as effective as following the guides listed in the links below.
A program dedicated to removing ATI drivers from your system, is now available from Guru3D.
Rather than using the Manual method, this program will do all the work for you, and should give you a complete removal of your old drivers.
I have tested this program sucessfully, but would advise any first time users to read the 'Read-Me' enclosed within the program before using the utility.
Driver Sweeper 2 or grab the latest release from the authors website Version 3.0
ATI introduced a new simple application that removes the CATALYST™ software from the system.
CATALYST™ Uninstaller
There is also a very informative guide made by Genius over at Driver Heaven, for manual removal of the drivers. HERE
*Please note that manually editing your Registry can cause damage to your system , If your not 100% sure what to do, then ask somebody who is*
Not only do you need display drivers for an AGP graphics card, you also need drivers for your motherboard which enable AGP functionality for the motherboard chipset.
These drivers may be referred to using any of the following names:
* AGP Driver
* AGP Miniport
* AGP VXD Driver
* Chipset Driver
* GART Driver
* VGART
Often you will see the name of a motherboard chipset in connection with these terms. For example:
* ALi GART Driver
* AMD AGP Miniport
* Intel VGART
* VIA AGP Driver
* NV AGP
ATI Drivers
The latest available Official Drivers from ATI are listed below :
Known issues with Catalyst Drivers
A bug list has been created regarding issues with Catalyst drivers and is available from HERE. In many cases workarounds have been posted.
For an indepth look into ATi drivers head on over to Rage3D's
The ATi Driver FAQ and Troubleshooter
ATI Catalyst Drivers of 2005 - The Ultimate Analysis!
Catalyst 11.8
ATi Catalyst 11.8 Win7/Vista/XP 32/64
Requires .Net Framework to be installed
Mirror
Release Notes
Third Party Applications
ATi Tray Tools
Catalyst 98/ME
CATALYST Windows 98 / ME - Driver Download
Previous Driver Versions
CATALYST Windows XP - Driver Download
CATALYST Windows 2000 - Driver Download
CATALYST Windows 98 / ME - Driver Download
Current D3D Catalyst game profiles available here
Crossfire Profiled Games list
More info And thanks to Huebie Here
Avivo™ Video Converter
ATI’s new Avivo™ Video Converter is the fast and easy way to transform your videos to play on today’s new breed of portable entertainment devices. The Avivo Video Converter is a “transcoder,” a tool that converts digital video from one file format to another, enabling the same video clip to play on industry standard home DVD/DivX® players, PC’s or portable media devices such as the Apple® iPod®, Sony® portable gaming device, Creative® Zen™ and many others.
Take a look at the full features HERE
Catalyst Control Center (CCC)
A brief introduction to the new CCC.
The CATALYST Control Center requires Microsoft’s .NET version 1.1 as well as the CATALYST 4.8 (or later) driver.
Download- Microsoft’s .NET version 1.1 framework from Microsoft.com.
Click on Thumbnail for larger view
Control Center Features
CATALYST™ Control Center FAQ
Control Center User Guide (Pdf)
Download
& Overview
Unofficial CCC FAQ
Re-enabling the old control panel after installing the CATALYST Control Center:
As long as the control panel and the CATALYST Control Center are both installed, just un-install the CATALYST Control Center and reboot your system to get the old ATI control panel back.
Catalyst AI
The basic idea behind Catalyst AI is that it gives the end user the option to completely disable the optimizations in ATI's driver should they feel its necessary.
For a comprehensive view on Catalyst AI ,take a look Here
OpenGL Version 2.0 Support
The CATALYST™ Software Suite introduces OpenGL Version 2.0 support. This version of OpenGL will be in line with the latest GL ARB approved specifications. New to this specification are GLSL, non-power-of-two-textures, separate stencil, multiple render targets, and point sprites.
TWEAKING AND TROUBLE-SHOOTING
With the instalation of your new drivers. The system should be allowed to re-boot. Smartgart will test your system for compatability when you restart.
SMARTGART Ensures system stability by automatically performing a variety of bus tests, that determine your optimal graphics accelerator settings.
The screen will flicker , or flash on and off for a few seconds after re-booting from installing the drivers, which is perfectly normal.
If you want to check out Smartgarts settings :
At the RUN command, type in the following entry:- atiprbxx.exe /g
The following screen should appear :
All the settings should be set to ON for optimal performance.
Please Note : Changing these settings could result in system instability.
This feature is also present in the Advanced properties of the Control panel.
If you note the 'Set AGP Speed' This reports which level of AGP your card is detected to run.
This can be adjusted using the Slider Bar if you think the reported Speed is incorrect, or you wish to lower the settings for compatability.
SMARTGART Uninstaller
Allows users to uninstall the SMARTGART component of the ATI Display Drivers
File size: 478KB
ATI's FAQ on SMARTGART
Q1: Does SMARTGART disable all AGP support including AGP reads, AGP writes, and AGP fast writes)?
A1: No. SMARTGART tests the functionality of each AGP command and determines if your system is capable of supporting each one, and will only enable it if system stability is maintained. Please note that SMARTGART does not disable or turn off AGP support in your actual hardware; SMARTGART only ensures that the ATI CATALYST driver will not use an AGP function that has been deemed to be unstable.
Q2: Can I disable SMARTGART?
A2: SMARTGART cannot be disabled, but it can be removed from your system. Please note that SMARTGART will only be installed if the ATI setup program is used to install the display driver. To remove SMARTGART, use the Windows->Control Panel->Add or Remove option to uninstall the ATI CATALYST display driver. When the system is restarted the operating system will inform you that "New Hardware" has been detected. Locate the directory where the driver is located and complete the driver installation. The ATI driver will now be installed without SMARTGART.
Q3: Are ATI’s products capable of supporting fast writes?
A3: Yes. The RADEON 9700 PRO, RADEON 9700, RADEON 9500 PRO, RADEON 9500, RADEON 9000 PRO, RADEON 9000 and the RADEON 8500 are capable of supporting fast writes when using an ATI CATALYST based display driver. Of course fast writes must also be supported on the motherboard you are using and be enabled in the system BIOS. In order for fast writes to be used by ATI’s driver, fast writes must also pass the SMARTGART diagnostics test. ATI products previous to the RADEON 8500 as well as the RADEON 8500 DV are not capable of supporting fast writes.
You can read the rest of the FAQ's HERE
(Acrobat Reader Req)
VERSION 6 , ALL O/S's
How do I report a new problem to ATI Technical Support?
ATI Support Pages
CATALYST CREW Feedback Program
http://apps.ati.com/driverfeedback/
ATI Radeon™ HD 2xxx / 3xxx / 4xxx / 5xxx / 6xxx series | ATI Radeon™ X1950 series | ATI Radeon™ X1900 series | ATI Radeon™ X1800 series | ATI Radeon™ X1650 series | ATI Radeon™ X1600 series | ATI Radeon™ X1550 series | ATI Radeon™ X1300 series | ATI Radeon™ X1050 series | ATI Radeon™ X850 series | ATI Radeon™ X800 series | ATI Radeon™ X700 series | ATI Radeon™ X600 series | ATI Radeon™ X300 series | ATI Radeon™ 9800 series | ATI Radeon™ 9700 series | ATI Radeon™ 9600 series | ATI Radeon™ 9500 series | ATI Radeon™ 9200 series | ATI Radeon™ 9100 series | ATI Radeon™ 9000 series | ATI Radeon™ 7500 series | ATI Radeon™ 8500 series | ATI Radeon™ 7200 series | ATI Radeon™ 7000 series
PREPARE YOUR SYSTEM
Its not uncommon these days to require a good quality PSU (Power Supply Unit) . To achieve maximum compatability it is recommended to have atleast a quality 350+ Watt PSU.
My personal findings show that the Enermax 350w+, Antec TrueBlue 480w, Hiper Type R 580w all work without problems on anything less than an X1800XT . For an X1800XT or X1900XT(X) GPU i would recommend a minimum of 580w
For Crossfire systems, refer to THIS link for compatable PSU's
If you are unsure which PSU to use, or you are experiancing Cold Boot Issues, check out THIS THREAD
BIOS Settings
As with all modern day graphics cards , there are certain Bios functions that are not required by the Radeon. For a guide i will list the basic setting you may require.
PCI EX Frequency : DEFAULT 100 (105 reported optimal)
Fast Gate A20 Option : Enabled
Video BIOS shadowing : Disabled
Video BIOS cacheable : Disabled
xxxxxx - xxxxxx shadow : All Disabled
IDE prefetch mode : Enabled
Init Display First : AGP or PCIex
Assign IRQ for VGA : Enabled
PCI/VGA palette snoop : Disabled
PNP O/S installed : YES or AUTO
AGP Aperture size : 64 or 128 recommended by ATI
Video ram cacheable : Disabled
System bios cacheable : Disabled
Fast Writes : Refer to ATI SMARTGART FAQ's below
AGP Transfer rate : 8x / 4x (If supported, otherwise 2X)
UN-INSTALLING YOUR PREVIOUS DRIVERS
If you are upgrading your current drivers, to the latest version, It is advisable that you remove the old drivers completely from your system to avoid any conflicts or issues.
Simply removing the Drivers from the ADD/REMOVE options in Windows ,isnt as effective as following the guides listed in the links below.
A program dedicated to removing ATI drivers from your system, is now available from Guru3D.
Rather than using the Manual method, this program will do all the work for you, and should give you a complete removal of your old drivers.
I have tested this program sucessfully, but would advise any first time users to read the 'Read-Me' enclosed within the program before using the utility.
Driver Sweeper 2 or grab the latest release from the authors website Version 3.0
ATI introduced a new simple application that removes the CATALYST™ software from the system.
CATALYST™ Uninstaller
There is also a very informative guide made by Genius over at Driver Heaven, for manual removal of the drivers. HERE
*Please note that manually editing your Registry can cause damage to your system , If your not 100% sure what to do, then ask somebody who is*
Not only do you need display drivers for an AGP graphics card, you also need drivers for your motherboard which enable AGP functionality for the motherboard chipset.
These drivers may be referred to using any of the following names:
* AGP Driver
* AGP Miniport
* AGP VXD Driver
* Chipset Driver
* GART Driver
* VGART
Often you will see the name of a motherboard chipset in connection with these terms. For example:
* ALi GART Driver
* AMD AGP Miniport
* Intel VGART
* VIA AGP Driver
* NV AGP
ATI Drivers
The latest available Official Drivers from ATI are listed below :
Known issues with Catalyst Drivers
A bug list has been created regarding issues with Catalyst drivers and is available from HERE. In many cases workarounds have been posted.
For an indepth look into ATi drivers head on over to Rage3D's
The ATi Driver FAQ and Troubleshooter
ATI Catalyst Drivers of 2005 - The Ultimate Analysis!
Catalyst 11.8
ATi Catalyst 11.8 Win7/Vista/XP 32/64
Requires .Net Framework to be installed
Mirror
Release Notes
Third Party Applications
ATi Tray Tools
Catalyst 98/ME
CATALYST Windows 98 / ME - Driver Download
Previous Driver Versions
CATALYST Windows XP - Driver Download
CATALYST Windows 2000 - Driver Download
CATALYST Windows 98 / ME - Driver Download
Current D3D Catalyst game profiles available here
Crossfire Profiled Games list
Code:
3DMark2001SE.exe
3DMark2001.exe
3DMark03.exe
3DMark05.exe
3DMark06*.exe
3dsmax*.exe
acad.exe
AcesOfTheGalaxy.exe
AcroRd32.exe
ACTOFWAR.exe
AFR-FriendlyD3D.exe
Age3.exe
AgeOfConan.exe
aJewelQuestSolitaire.exe
ARX.exe
AssassinsCreed*.exe
aquamark.exe
BA2.exe
Backspin.exe
Battlefront.exe
BattlefrontII.exe
battleofthegods.exe
BF2.exe
BF2142*.exe
BfVietnam.exe
Big Kahuna Reef.*
Bia.exe
Biademo.exe
Bioshock.exe
BOS.exe
Breed.exe
BreedSPD.exe
Buildalot2.exe
cccprev.exe
chess.exe
Chuzzle.exe
CMR5.exe
CoD2?P_s.exe
CoDWaW*.exe
CoJ.exe
Condemned.exe
crossfire.exe
Crysis*.exe
CT3.exe
Dead Space.exe
DevilMayCry*.exe
DFX.exe
Diner_Dash_Flo_On_The_Go.exe
DiRT.exe
Driv3r.exe
DungeonSiege2.exe
Dwm.exe
Ehshell.exe
EiB.exe
episode.exe
EverQuest2.exe
ExeFile.exe
Fable.exe
FallOut3.exe
FEAR.exe
FEARspdemo.exe
FEARXP.exe
FF2client.exe
FFOW.exe
FFXiBench.exe
FFXiWinBench.exe
FH.exe
fifa07*.exe
FlatOutdemo.exe
Flip Words*.exe
ForceSingleGPU.exe
FreeCell.exe
fs9.exe
fsx.exe
game.dat (Command&Conquer 3)
game.exe
GH3.exe
GodFather.exe
Gothic3.exe
graw*.exe
Grid.exe
GTAIV.exe
gt.exe
GunBound.gme
GW.exe
gwdev.exe
H5_Game.exe
halo.exe
Hearts.exe
hellgate*.exe
HitmanBloodMoney.exe
hl.exe
\half-life 2\hl2.exe
\half-life 2 Demo\hl2.exe
\half-life 2 episode one\hl2.exe
\half-life 2 episode two\hl2.exe
\portal\hl2.exe
\team fortress 2\hl2.exe
\half-life 2 deathmatch\hl2.exe
\half-life 2 lostcoast\hl2.exe
\counter-strike source\hl2.exe
\day of defeat source\hl2.exe
\half-life deathmatch source\hl2.exe
\half-life source\hl2.exe
InkBall.exe
Inventor.exe
iw3mp.exe
iw3sp.exe
Jewel Quest Solitaire.exe
Jericho.exe
JustCause*.exe
kaneandlynch.exe
KingKong*.exe
KingKongDemo*.exe
left4dead.exe
Legend.exe
legends.exe
LegoStarWarsII.exe
Lithtech.exe
LockOn.exe
LostPlanet*.exe
Mahjong.exe
mahjongg_artifacts.exe
MassEffect.exe
Matrix.exe
MaxPayne2.exe
MaxPayne2Demo.exe
MEM_7.exe
Minesweeper.exe
mm.exe
MOHA.exe
mohpa.exe
MonsterGame.exe
Morrowind.exe
narnia.exe
nba2005.exe
nbalive06.exe
NFSC_demo.exe
NFSC.exe
nhl06.exe
nhl2007.exe
NWN2*.exe
oblivion.exe
PandoraMultiPlayerDemo.exe
PainGame.exe
Painkiller.exe
Pariah.exe
patriots.exe
PCMark04.exe
PCMark05.exe
pc_matador.exe
pol.exe
pop.exe
pop2.exe
pop3.exe
primarysurf.exe
ProjectG.exe
PT2Start.exe
PurblePlace.exe
R6Vegas_Launcher.exe
R6Vegas2_Game.exe
RaceDriver.exe
RCT3.exe
RelicCOH.exe
RD2.exe
RD2D.exe
RD3.exe
Rome*.exe
RomeTW*.exe
Sam2.exe
Scarface.exe
SEGA Rally*.exe
Settlers6*.exe
ShadowVault.exe
Sims2.exe
Sims2EP1.exe
Sims2EP2.exe
SinEpisodes.exe
Snowblind-Demo.exe
Snowblind.exe
Solitaire.exe
SpaceSiege.exe
speed.exe
Speed2.exe
speedDemo.exe
Speed2demo.exe
SpiderSolitaire.exe
SplinterCell.exe
SplinterCell2.exe
SplinterCell3.exe
SplinterCell4.exe
SporeApp.exe
starwars_pc.exe
Stranger.exe
*Stranglehold.exe
Studio.exe
Suffering2*.exe
SupremeCommander.exe
sweaw.exe
Swat4SPDemo.exe
Swat4.exe
SwgClient_r.exe
TechDemo.exe
TestDriveUnlimited.exe
thief.exe
thrones.exe
Tiger 2004.exe
Timeshift*.exe
TRAOD*.exe
tra.exe
Transformers*.exe
trgame.exe
tribesv_?pdemo_en.exe
trl.exe
tru.exe
TurokGame.exe
TV_CD_DVD.exe
TW2005.exe
TW2004.exe
TW2007.exe
TW2008.exe
USM.exe
UT2003.exe
UT2004.exe
UT3*.exe
Validator.exe
w40k.exe
Wargame-g4wlive.exe
white.exe
wic*.exe
witcher.exe
WoW.exe
X2.exe
X2-Demo.exe
x3*.exe
XPANDRALLY.exe
XR_3DA.exe
xrEngine.exe
OGL Games
cityofheroes.exe
codsp.exe
codmp.exe
coduomp.exe
coduosp.exe
coldwar.exe
doom3.exe
et.exe
etqw.exe
homeworld2.exe
il2fb.exe
jamp.exe
jasp.exe
pf.exe
prey.exe
quake3.exe
quake4.exe
sbzengine.exe
serioussam.exe
swkotor.exe
swkotor2.exe
wolfmp.exe
wolfsp.exe
xtop.exeMore info And thanks to Huebie Here
Avivo™ Video Converter
ATI’s new Avivo™ Video Converter is the fast and easy way to transform your videos to play on today’s new breed of portable entertainment devices. The Avivo Video Converter is a “transcoder,” a tool that converts digital video from one file format to another, enabling the same video clip to play on industry standard home DVD/DivX® players, PC’s or portable media devices such as the Apple® iPod®, Sony® portable gaming device, Creative® Zen™ and many others.
Take a look at the full features HERE
Catalyst Control Center (CCC)
A brief introduction to the new CCC.
The CATALYST Control Center requires Microsoft’s .NET version 1.1 as well as the CATALYST 4.8 (or later) driver.
Download- Microsoft’s .NET version 1.1 framework from Microsoft.com.
Click on Thumbnail for larger view
Control Center Features
CATALYST™ Control Center FAQ
Control Center User Guide (Pdf)
Download
& Overview
Unofficial CCC FAQ
Re-enabling the old control panel after installing the CATALYST Control Center:
As long as the control panel and the CATALYST Control Center are both installed, just un-install the CATALYST Control Center and reboot your system to get the old ATI control panel back.
Catalyst AI
The basic idea behind Catalyst AI is that it gives the end user the option to completely disable the optimizations in ATI's driver should they feel its necessary.
For a comprehensive view on Catalyst AI ,take a look Here
OpenGL Version 2.0 Support
The CATALYST™ Software Suite introduces OpenGL Version 2.0 support. This version of OpenGL will be in line with the latest GL ARB approved specifications. New to this specification are GLSL, non-power-of-two-textures, separate stencil, multiple render targets, and point sprites.
TWEAKING AND TROUBLE-SHOOTING
With the instalation of your new drivers. The system should be allowed to re-boot. Smartgart will test your system for compatability when you restart.
SMARTGART Ensures system stability by automatically performing a variety of bus tests, that determine your optimal graphics accelerator settings.
The screen will flicker , or flash on and off for a few seconds after re-booting from installing the drivers, which is perfectly normal.
If you want to check out Smartgarts settings :
At the RUN command, type in the following entry:- atiprbxx.exe /g
The following screen should appear :
All the settings should be set to ON for optimal performance.
Please Note : Changing these settings could result in system instability.
This feature is also present in the Advanced properties of the Control panel.
If you note the 'Set AGP Speed' This reports which level of AGP your card is detected to run.
This can be adjusted using the Slider Bar if you think the reported Speed is incorrect, or you wish to lower the settings for compatability.
SMARTGART Uninstaller
Allows users to uninstall the SMARTGART component of the ATI Display Drivers
File size: 478KB
ATI's FAQ on SMARTGART
Q1: Does SMARTGART disable all AGP support including AGP reads, AGP writes, and AGP fast writes)?
A1: No. SMARTGART tests the functionality of each AGP command and determines if your system is capable of supporting each one, and will only enable it if system stability is maintained. Please note that SMARTGART does not disable or turn off AGP support in your actual hardware; SMARTGART only ensures that the ATI CATALYST driver will not use an AGP function that has been deemed to be unstable.
Q2: Can I disable SMARTGART?
A2: SMARTGART cannot be disabled, but it can be removed from your system. Please note that SMARTGART will only be installed if the ATI setup program is used to install the display driver. To remove SMARTGART, use the Windows->Control Panel->Add or Remove option to uninstall the ATI CATALYST display driver. When the system is restarted the operating system will inform you that "New Hardware" has been detected. Locate the directory where the driver is located and complete the driver installation. The ATI driver will now be installed without SMARTGART.
Q3: Are ATI’s products capable of supporting fast writes?
A3: Yes. The RADEON 9700 PRO, RADEON 9700, RADEON 9500 PRO, RADEON 9500, RADEON 9000 PRO, RADEON 9000 and the RADEON 8500 are capable of supporting fast writes when using an ATI CATALYST based display driver. Of course fast writes must also be supported on the motherboard you are using and be enabled in the system BIOS. In order for fast writes to be used by ATI’s driver, fast writes must also pass the SMARTGART diagnostics test. ATI products previous to the RADEON 8500 as well as the RADEON 8500 DV are not capable of supporting fast writes.
You can read the rest of the FAQ's HERE
(Acrobat Reader Req)
VERSION 6 , ALL O/S's
How do I report a new problem to ATI Technical Support?
ATI Support Pages
CATALYST CREW Feedback Program
http://apps.ati.com/driverfeedback/
Last edited:
.
