AMD Catalyst™ Software Suite Version 12.2 Release Notes 

This article provides information on the latest posting of AMD’s software suite, AMD Catalyst™ 12.2. This particular software suite updates the AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst Control Center/AMD Vision Engine Control Center. This unified driver has been updated to provide enhanced level of power, performance, and reliability.

AMD Vision Engine Control Center

Package Content 

The AMD Catalyst software suite 12.2 contains the following:

• AMD display driver version 8.95
• HydraVision™ for Windows Vista® and Windows® 7
• Southbridge/IXP Driver
• AMD Catalyst Control Center version 8.95 / AMD Vision Engine Control Center version 8.95

Important ! 

Caution !

• The AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst Control Center/AMD Vision Engine Control Center can be downloaded independently of each other. However, for stability and performance AMD recommends that both components be updated from the same AMD Catalyst release.

The AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center requires that the Microsoft .NET Framework SP1 be installed for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Without .NET SP1 installed, the AMD Catalyst Control Center/AMD Vision Engine Control Center will not launch properly and the user will see an error message. 

Notes.

• When installing the AMD Catalyst driver for Windows operating system, the user must be logged on as Administrator or have Administrator rights to complete the installation of the AMD Catalyst driver.
• The AMD Catalyst driver requires Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to be installed.
• These release notes provide information on the AMD display driver only. For information on the AMD Multimedia Center™, HydraVision, HydraVision Basic Edition, Remote Wonder™, or the Southbridge/IXP driver, please refer to their respective release notes found at: http://support.amd.com/.
• AMD Eyefinity technology gives gamers access to high display resolutions. As pixel count grows, the graphics horsepower required to drive the displays at a reasonable frame rate can increase dramatically. Depending on the game and system configuration, users may notice texture corruption and reduced frame rates when running games in multi-monitor Eyefinity modes.
• Windows Driver Model (WDM) drivers are no longer bundled in the AMD Catalyst software suite. The WDM drivers install bundle can be downloaded independently through the AMD website.

AMD Product Compatibility 

The AMD Catalyst driver is compatible with the following AMD products  

AMD Mobility Product Family Compatibility

AMD Catalyst Mobility is a notebook reference graphics driver with limited support for system vendor specific features. When used with Windows Vista or Windows 7, the user experience may be limited or compromised.  

The Installation Verification Software is designed to prevent driver download on certain notebook products. This is to protect against the installing of drivers that may disable features or functionality provided by the system manufacturer. If unwanted experiences occur while using AMD Catalyst Mobility, it is recommended to revert back to the driver provided by your system vendor for your specific platform. Please contact your system vendor for the most recent drivers for your notebook.  

Compatible Operating Systems 

The latest version of the AMD Catalyst software suite is designed to support the following Microsoft® Windows® platforms:

• Windows 7 32-bit version
• Windows 7 64-bit version
• Windows Vista 32-bit version
• Windows Vista 64-bit version
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Windows XP Media Center Edition
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition 

Highlights of the AMD Catalyst 12.2 Windows release includes: 

NEW FEATURES

Windows 7 and Windows Vista support for the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series

• Enables support for Windows 7 64-bit/32-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit/32-bit.
• Windows XP support is planned for AMD Catalyst 12.4. 

IMPROVEMENTS

Super Sampling Anti-Aliasing is now available for DirectX® 10 and DirectX 11 applications

• Supported on the AMD Radeon HD 7900 and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series.
• Users can now enable Super Sample Anti-Aliasing and Adaptive Anti-Aliasing through the AMD Catalyst Control Center for DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications.
• Applications must support in game Anti-Aliasing for the feature to work (Forced on Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center is not supported for DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications).  

AMD Eyefinity 2.1 technology enhancements

• Custom resolutions – users can now choose from a much larger set of display resolutions for their AMD Eyefinity configurations.
• Dynamic Configuration Changes:  Switching between different display configurations (when physically plugging/un-plugging displays) will occur automatically by loading the appropriate profile.
• HydraVision enhancements:  The Windows Task bar can now be moved and resized based on users preference.
• Profile Manager improvements:  Users can now create multiple Display profiles, enabling users to seamlessly switch between various AMD Eyefinity and Display Configurations. 

RESOLVED ISSUES

Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System 

This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 12.2 software suite for Windows 7. These include: