Aspire 5672 - ATI driver update?

I've just been looking at the Acer support site at http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_5670.html and noticed that there is something available called VGA_ATI_v8.241.3WHQL_XP this sounds like a new driver for the graphics card but is very large - 73MB. My graphics card (an X1600) currently has a driver version of 8.231

Can anyone confirm that what I have found on Acer's site is a new graphics driver and, if so, has anyone tried upgrading to it with good or bad results?

 

Yes those are a newer version of graphics drivers than yours, but its still really old. My 7.11 are 8.432. Unless you like upgrading drivers for the latest features, bug fixes, etc., general rule of thumb is if your drivers work for you, don't upgrade.

That said, I would still recommend you upgrade your card's drivers off of ATI's site mainly because of how old they are. I have X1600 and upgrading drivers usually hasn't caused more harm than good.

Also, does WMV hardware acceleration work for you (on your current drivers)?

 

Thanks for the information. I've been cautious up to now for exactly the reason you mention but I'm getting an ATI error appearing in my system event log in ati2mtag (the error is CPLIB :: General - Failed to authenticate output protection) and some occasional odd behaviour (the system running very slow after switching users) so I'm wondering if they are connected and I though upgrading the ATI driver might be a good first step.

In the past I've seen warnings about upgrading from ATI's site rather than Acer's because of compatibility issues. Does anyone know if this is really a problem? Can anyone who has upgraded a 5672 under XP in this way let me know what version they have upgraded to and if it is running OK.

Sorry, I'm not sure how to tell whether WMV hardware acceleration is working?

 

While I don't have a 5672, I've had no problems with driver updates on my TM8204WLMi. Here is the link for the direct download of the Mobile Catalyst:

http://www.ati.com/online/mobilecatalyst/

If you install that, I'll tell you how to check on my WMV question. I just want to make sure that the broken WMV acceleration is caused by poor driver handling rather than my card

 

Thanks for the link. I have downloaded that version of the driver but I am being a coward for the moment as the ATI web page check says it is not compatible with my Acer. I know it probably would work but I don't want to take any risks so I'd still be happier to hear if somebody else with the same system as me has also tried it first.

However, I have tried installing the older upgrade on the Acer site and that seems to have gone OK. I tried running 3DMark05 before and after and it showed a minor improvement from 2831 to 2853.

I'll wait and see if anyone else responds before I risk the ATI upgrade.