Catalyst 11.5b (more Witcher improvements) is out.

AMD Catalyst? 11.5b hotfix

Got an extra 10fps out of Witcher 2 with this. Strange because the hotfix doesn't claim to address single GPu performance.

 

I always dread updating Catalyst or AMD drivers when I have a stable driver working.

It is a huge PITA to uninstall and clean the old drivers every time and sometimes the new driver or Catalyst version becomes unstable.

 

If you don't have any problems with the games mentioned on the fix list, then no need to update.

 

If it will improve fps on Witcher 2, then it will be worth it I think.

Does this seem to be the best procedure?

 

Actually starting with Catalyst 10, you don't need to fully uninstall drivers at all. In fact these drivers can install over older drivers, especially if you are coming from 11.4.

 

I've been using an older version from March 2010 that has worked really well and been stable with all other games, so I've been hesitant to update it. I think this is Catalyst version 8.712? not catalyst, but driver version 8.712.

It is Catalyst version 2010.0302.2233.40412

I guess that is Catalyst 10.3? is that correct? So I should still uninstall and clean all the old drivers from the registry before installing the 11.5, right?


Driver Packaging Version 8.712-100302b-097046C-HP
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1010
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0000
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0735
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.9704
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412

 

Actually if you are using 10.3 then jumping to 11.5b could be bad. My idea only works let's say if you jumping from 10.8 to 10.10 or 10.12 to 11.1 that kind of thing. If you are on a driver that is significantly has not been updated frequently to the drivers, you might experience problems. 10.3 and 10.8 had some significant changes done that if you were to jump 10.3 to Catalyst 11, it could cause errors. However from 10.8 to 11.1 is more stable since the changes between those weren't as drastic, despite 11.1 having a new Catalyst CCC and AI.

So if you were on the old HP stock 10.3 drivers, I recommending that you uninstall the 10.3 before hitting 11.5b. I thought that you were on 10.8 or something, in which case you can save time by just installing on top of them.

My advice only works if you are a frequent updater when ATI releases new drivers. However if you keep at a driver for around a year without updating, overriding it with a new driver might cause errors. The installation upgrades must be done on a gradual basis, not on a sudden basis if you know what I mean.

 

Thanks - I was able to update to 11.5

So far no problems, although I had to jump through some hoops to clean the registry, reboot, uninstall, etc.

I'm going to try Witcher 2 now to see if there is any improvement.

BTW are there any settings I should force manually with CCC? (e.g., Disable Catalyst A.I., force Anisotropic Filtering 16x). I noticed there is no setting for Anisotropic Filtering in the Witcher 2 graphics settings menu.

 

I don't have the game (yet) so I can't comment, but that is surprising that there is no scalar AA slider in the game's settings...

 

there is a dropdown box that lets you turn AA on or off, but no way to activate AF unless you enable ubersampling.

and no sliders for AA or AF

 

Well that is a bit disappointing... I usually like the ability to pick how much AA or AF when needed or not needed.

 

Well you can't really handle AA or AF with a single graphics card on this game anyways, so its disabled. XD

 

The game uses MLAA, probably 2x. I have it turned on, but most probably can't.

 

I have the aa enabled, but no bloom, blur, and shadows on low. I can't really tell the diff between low and high shadows in this game...

And for more boost, make sure you're using the gog exe

 

Since i play on native 1920x1080 i dont really AA or AF.
My AMD Radeon HD 6970m really getting Pwned by The Witcher 2.
(I bought it off GoG)

Il try again once Catalyst 11.6 hits next month, because its Minecraft 1.6 ftw right now.

 

Yea my laptop max res is 1680x1050 so I need aa. And Af helps at almost any res I find

 

I run Ultra, with SSAO, and Cinematic Depth of Field turned off, and it runs 30+ fps.

 

The disparity in Performance levels on machines with this game is pretty random

 

I'm still on 11.2 at the moment, they seem to have best performance for me for most of my games.

 

I'm running ultra with motion blur and uber turned off. I see no difference with uber and it reduces it from 60 plus frames to 25 to 30 frames per second and the motion blur because I hate it.

 

Didn't work for me:

1) it lowered my framerates by 1fps
2) graphical glitches
3) drivers lowered my overclocking potential

 

Seems that 11.5b is meant to boost dual GPU perf w/ witcher 2

Oh, and 1 fps? Really?

 

For most recent games, increasing AF to 16x seems to provide significant visual improvement with negligible hit to fps. Increasing AA beyond 2x on the other hand, generally reduces the frame rate significantly.

I will try to force 16x AF with the settings in Catalyst and see if there is any noticeable visual difference.

 

Agreed. AF to the max only takes 1-3 FPS tops. In fact, just having it around 4x-8x is sufficient.

AA on the other hand, well since I try to game on 1080p, I try to not use it.

 

Anyone else can confirm single gpu performance difference with witcher?

 

yes sir, getting an extra 15 fps with 11.5b and 1.1 patches.

 

I installed it today and tried it out too. Well actually my HD5650M is a HD6500M. I OC´d it a bit from 450/800 to 600/960. Runs fine.
I saw also an improvement in BFBC2 and Atacama Desert runs under dX11 on Medium high setting also with 40FPS. With CCC 11-5 it was around 25FPS .
I never have been a fan of all those filters. And all in all i never have seen a great inprovement when activating them. So they just cost performance.
Only AA makes sence to me because i game in 720p and textures look a bit zippy.