[AT_curiousB]

Having installed the Cat3 drivers as a clean install, after installing DX9, the one problem i have noticed concerns WinDVB-Nova-USB. For some reason at times when pressing for a centralized window, or full screen the format remains stuck in 4:3 format and looks really annoying. The other problem is an ongoing one, and that is please, please ATI enable overlay on the secondary monitor.

OOPS,
ATI RAD8500
AthlonXP 2000+
SBlive 5:1
512 2100DDR RAM
MSI KT3 Ultra MoBo

[dipstick]

Not really a problem, but I get extreme stuttering(in all games) if I turn off FastWrites.

[Jeff]

Well as i only have pre-8500 video cards, i'll let you know how they work for me... Nice!

While i still prefer the 6218, these did work for me quite well, and the OpenGL problem affecting some other users was no where to be seen... Might be because i dont have a Radeon 9500/9700, but it works well for me.

(Tried on 2 AIW Radeon 32DDR's, a 7200SDR, and an 8500dv)

[shuki]

Just had for the first time ever MOHAA:spearhead crash on me today. MP changing maps and crashed to desktop with an invalid "DHT" parameter or something to that affect.... I uninstalled, cleaned windows of ATI and registry and reinstalled. So far, the problem has not come back. I'm using DX9 and r8500 retail. Tried running 3dmarks one time with new DX9 and cat 3.0's and had a crash to desktop in the High detail shootout level.... Never tried again. Will do now...

[Zarathustra]

Problem: Massive stuttering/pauses in all Quake3-engined games running OpenGL (except for MOHAA). Basically the game would run for 5 seconds, then pause for 2, run for 5, pause for 2, etc etc etc. Would even do this in the menus and opening screens. Verified this in RTCW, Quake3, JK2. Any other OpenGL game would run fine, as would all DirectX games.

Fix: This solution is originally from this thread at Rage3D.

So, what you will need is having both Catalyst 3.0 and Catalyst 2.5 in your PC. From the 2.5 set you will need two files, ati2dvag.dl_ and ati2mtag.sy_ .Copy these two files from the 2.5 driver set right into the directory where you have the 3.0 driver files. Yes, you must overwrite when Windows asks you to Then, proceed to install Cats 3.0. It will complain about these files, because they won't be WHQL certified, install them anyway.

After they install and you reboot, try to run one of the DX9 screensavers to see if the DX9 part works. Then proceed to run your favorite OpenGL 3D application, and see no stuttering whatsoever The secret is reveiled when you run DXDIAG : if you look closely, you are using the 6218 display driver instead of the one provided with cat 3.0 and seems to be the root of all problems.

After copying those files from the 6218 set, all the stuttering disappeared on my system!

My System: Athlon XP 1600+@1750mhz, Epox 8K3A+ (KT333), 512mb Samsung PC2700, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, (2) Maxtor D740X 40gb RAID0, WinXP SP1, 4.45v 4-in-1s, DX9

[Decoy]

I recently upgraded to Dx9 and Cat3.0 after backing up my partition using Norton Ghost. Am I ever glad I made a back up.

I didn't notice any problems at first. I tried all of the Dx9 demos/screensavers provided on the ATI website and they all worked flawlessly. Very cool stuff. The problems started appearing when I gave Return to Castle Wolfenstein a try. The problems ranged from some very slight stuttering to downright unplayable pauses (up to 3-4 seconds long), both occuring during play and in the in-game menus. I could not determine what was actually causing the stuttering, as one round (8 minutes or so) could be completely stutter-free and the next round, the game play would grind to a halt with the pausing/stuttering.

Next I loaded up Mafia and while it was much better than RtCW, there were noticeable stutters that had not been present in the Cat2.5 drivers. The stuttering seemed much more common but much less severe in nature.

Unfortunately, I was not aware of the "Notch the Graphical Acceleration slider down one place" fix and reloaded my Ghost Image early yesterday.

I hope this helps,
Decoy

[God_of_mosquitos]

well, as it has already been discussed in the foras of Rage3D.com, going to troubleshoot in advanced graphics settings and moving the acceleration slider one notch down, hence disabling hardware cursor and bitmap acceleration completely solves the stuttering issue for both D3D and OpenGL. Which makes one conclude that is where ATi should look for a way to fix the terrible stuttering especially Radeon 9500/9700 users are experiencing.

[Alistair]

10fps drop in Morrowind (Direct3D)

[ivanjong]

for most D3D game runs ok but mafia is very screwed up screens were sometimes not drawned and the load game menu screw up the whole screen with random letters. after getting out of the load game menu. the game runs ok but the equipment menu is also screwed up with random letters all over the screen. this is on a radeon 7500 with Dx 9 final. and on a Th7II raid mobo with audigy sound card

[Z0rn]

I have some problems as well, my AGP texture acceleration is now disabled and I cannot access the buttons to turn it back on as it's blanked out and also it will not let me turn on fast write If I turn it on and reboot it turned off again. I know these worked before on my system with the old radeon drivers.

system specs:

AMD 1 GIG (Duron)
512 MB of Ram
ATI Radeon 7500
DX 9 (Catalyst 3.0)
SB Audigy Platinum
Amptron 730 (SIS chipset)

[numerik]

i looking a drop of 10fps too and a light bug in kyodai mahjong

[Alistair]

don't get me wrong these drivers have excellent IQ but at the cost of my fps...

[shamuk]

Newbie here.
I installed dx9 last night with 6166 cats and had no problem. When I attempt 3.0 (6891) or 2.5(6218) I lose D3D acceleration.
"direct 3d functionality not available" direct x error report.

I got around it last night trying v2.5 rather haphazzard, now attempting 3.0 and can't seem to replicate fix.

My system is:
AMD 1Ghz Oc'd 1400
Iwill KK 266 R - via 4in1 4.45
9000 pro 64mb
Herc game theater sound card

[shamuk]

forgot win xp pro serv pak 1

[Renegade[CSR]]

Noticed Stuttering in All half life mods, especially team fortress classic. It gets quite bad, but then goes away, and comes back again. This cycle goes on throughout the entire game.

Also noticed this In No one lives forever 2.

Another thing! There is a HUGE conflict with MSN and open gl! If an msn window pops up while running opengl, it may freeze the game and/or distort the image on screen for a few seconds.

[rogeld]

I just tried the new drivers with NOLF2 and Morrowind. Haven't had a spec of stuttering or any new problems to speak of. Will have to try some OpenGL games later since that seems to be where the bulk of the new issues are being reported in. Anyone have some suggestions for a more current game to try than Quake III? If it is good, can always pick it up after work...long as I don't have to drive too far to get it

[Zardon]

having installed the drivers days ago, opengl performance suffered after a few hours of use, stutttering no matter what settings or combinations I used.

I read peoples comments regarding, moving the hardware acceleration slider down a notch, killing background tasks, and other tricks discussed in this thread and in threads on Rage3d.

nothing worked apart from using opengl files from the older 2.5 cat set.

on a positive note, no other problems or problems with D3D.

[manus]

I have make some test this week-end and on my configs:
1:
Athlon XP 2200+
A7V8X
Radeon 9700 Pro 128DDR
2:
Athlon XP 1800+
A7V8X
Radeon 8500 64DDR

The config 2 works on some game (Rallisport Challenge) but blocks on Unreal Tournament 2003 after a few minutes and blocks everytime on the benshmark at the same image.

The config 1 works perfectly (D3D and OpenGL, on all game) with AGP 4x in the bios and FastWrite activited but SmartGart say me that the AGP is in 8x, and if I put the AGP in 8x in the bios I have a lot of stuttering (D3D and OpenGL, on all game)

[Renegade[CSR]]

Another problem I forgot to mention!

Tribes 2: Will not run in FSAA. When you strat up the game, the intro runs fine, but then you get to the login screen. It just flashes whenever you move the mouse, and is unbearable.

[shanghaibaba]

when i update to Catalyst 3.0 my realone player can not play real video file correctly. i must click stop and then click play it will be fine.
i try to back Catalyst 2.5 and the problem disappear

[Paladin06]

Well I've made so many post about the new ATI drivers that I don't know where to start:

1. Ghost Recon crashes
2. Desert Seige Crashes
3. Island Thunder crashes
4. MOHAA Spearhead crashes
5. Hitman2 is very sluggish
6. Comanche4 - I can not start a mission either single or mp because that selection is GRAYED out.
7. I lost about 180 - 200 points in 3D Mark 2001SE
8. The overall quality of my 2D graphics is worst then 2.5 drivers.

I have uninstalled the 3.0's and wish I could uninstall DX9. Together they have made my pc much worst then the 2.5 and DX 8.1.

I'ts been a up hill battle with this ATI card for 2 months now. I've owned Nvidia cards until now and I'm very close to buying another.

Overall the problems with the ATI cards are not worth the little increase in performance over a GeForce4 TI 4600.

[ReaperFIN]

With DX9+Catalyst 3.0 my TV Out don't work. But when i install older drivers, it start to work normally.

[some]

I've noticed stuttering also in openGL, playing HL mod (CS)

[Mystik]

Since ATi will be checking this thread, i thought i'd just copy and
paste my findings from Rage3D..

Minus my entry into all the arguing about driver quality:

[start paste.//

I don't have many games installed right now, so it's a very
small list of things to say.

Counter-Strike:
Works perfectly. Always has, and I suspect it always will.
So does the FiveseveN. Headshots, anyone?

Splinter Cell Demo:
I can't get it to startup fullscreen, but I can go into
fullscreen once the game is loaded. If I try to run it with
startup fullscreen, I get an error about not being able to
create the window. Also, randomly, i'll get a blue screen
talking about some VXD that i've never seen before. It
doesn't lock my computer, i just press a key and i can keep
playing like it never happened.

The Longest Journey:
Prerendered backgrounds, 640x480x32, what could go wrong?
.. Fullscreen Anti-Aliasing doesn't work. ¦Þ

Rallisport Challenge Trial:
It runs pretty smooth, but the when dealing with the lensflare,
it "stutters", like it's having a hard time drawing the damn
lensflare. but once it comes into view, it's fine and dandy again.
until it goes out of view, to which then it stutters again. also,
one of the levels (i don't know which one, it's the one with a
LOT of trees, and I think half tarmac, half dirt.. or all dirt..)
a few turns before the finish line, it stutters like crazy.. the lens
flare is in view, but i don't know if it's the same..

3DMark 2k1 SE build 330:
Same performance with the % margin of difference that
everyone experiences. Then I applied Genius' Radeonator
tweaks. Hello increase. Thanks for the screenshots Genius!
How about some OpenGL tweaks? =)

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2:
.. Wow, .. i mean, wow. Compared to the PS2 version, the
PC version is so much more sh'ttier.. i'm sorry, but.. wow..
it's like they made it crappy on purpose or something. the
graphics are crappy, the models look much.. crappier (sorry
for the repeated usage, but i can't swear and that's my
substitute for the word that means the same).. the shine
is crap, the shadows are crap, the replays are crap.. now i
know what game to buy for the ps2 next. but, all in all,
it seems to work the way it's supposed to. 1280x1024x32,
16xAF (no aa, i still like high res), max details - smooth as
silk. time to uninstall this peice of, you guessed it - crap.

Serious Sam: Second Encounter:
Smooth as silk. I still love this engine and it's extremely
super fast way of rendering everything (scalable mesh?).
Played through for about 30 minutes, played all the demos
over and over. 1280x1024x32, OpenGL - Quality setting,
16xAF.

Private Danc.. err, i mean -- Pan...zer.. dragoon... yeah.:
Smooth. I think it's hardcoded to 800x600 so I enabled
some "smoothing" (as it's called in the game) (aka. AA).
Looks good. Could use some Truform though.. neh, neh?
neh?

=====

Windows:
2D seems the same. I don't think i've ever noticed a
difference in 2d between any set of drivers. my very used
monitor could also attribute to this. there doesn't seem to
be any performance increase or decrease that i've noticed
in 2d working.

Videos seem the same -- like i said above, i've never noticed
a difference between sets concerning non-3d accelerated
things (aka. games and benchmarks and what-not). Haibane
Renmei is so sad.. /sniff.

=====

I'll be installing and trying games later on, if i'm not too lazy.
Mainly, these are the games i've been meaning to install and
play to pass the time i have in life:

Max Payne
Undying
Diablo 2
Contra / Castlevania remake when I buy it.

Until then, later days..

[coffindancer]

I can report findings in BF1942, Blood Rayne-Demo and Vietcong-Demo:

BF1942:
Gets sluggish from time to time (mostly after longer playtimes 1h+)

BloodRayne-Demo:
when using DirectX as renderer, the game will freeze during gameplay

when using OpenGL as renderer, with "dynamic shadows"-option enabeld, the whole floor and parts of the walls are black

without "dynamic shadows " it runs without glitches

Vietcong-Demo:
get kicked back to desktop/computer reboots

EDIT Vietcong:
changed on the configuration screen the texture manager to PT (instead of DX8); now the game seems to be stable, no crashes so far but some textures look "LSD-colored" know ;-). Well, at least it's the 60's and the right time for that :-)


System:
Athlon XP 2000+
512 MB PC2700 Samsung RAM
MSI KT3Ultra 2
Sapphire Radeon 8500LE

[Torsti]

So heres my part to soup.

Did clean install folloving whit Guide from Genious.

MAFIA :

99% lock up on menus, if im lucky to get in the game
part of my desktop is blinking througt textures
like a 5cm X 5cm area desktop comes to visible
like a 2-3 second cycle

RTCW :

Did go to menu and it stuttered like hell , lucky i
did get out of there

UT1 :

randomly the mouse cursor stays from the desk top
when i start the game, need start again and its gone.


Hw/sw specs :

Win xp pro
Dx9+cat3

Xp2400+
Epox Kha+
256 Ram
Hercules 9700 Pro
Sb audigy1

[Erroneus]

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy
my radeon been messed up sence 2.5's and the 3.0's are not any better I talked to ati about my card and the issued me an rma # but there is to many people have the same problem for it to be a hardware issues.. tried one card on two diffrent sytems same problems... I bet it's the drivers I din't have problems with the 2.3/2.4's my games freeze and somtimes i loose video and it freazes you can hear the loop back sound through my speakers... what is ati doing???

Sounds to me more like your having a heat problem or maybe your voltage is to low, so you need a new psu. Try to look monitor your rails, if +5 is dropping under 4.85 under load this could be your problem!! Also check if you haven't overclocked to much...if you fsb is to high and your ram can't handle it, freezes will occour.

[enough]

First thanks Zardon for keeping ATI on the case, and thanks to any ATI staff checking the forums to address these problems! I and many other 8500 owners have unfortunately discovered that the 3.0 Cats have two major issues with two very popular games.

First off, Madden 2003 crashes in rain/snow on any ATI driver set post-6107s on the 8500. For some reason it seams 9700 owners can run Madden in rain/snow on the 3.0 Cats, anyone care to confirm this? This is one of the best selling pc games in 2002 and I really hope ATI addresses this crashing issue. It has been widely reported here at driver heaven, rage3d and maddenmania forums. I really hope that ATI continues to support the 8500 users out there, it is worrisome that Madden tanks in precip on 8500s, yet works fine on 9700s.

Secondly, Rallisport Challege is one on my 8500 LOL. Ghost mode crashes are the primary problem, not stutters. With the most recent set whenever you start racing against your ghost with the track-only view it instantly hard lock crashes. Other driver sets have issues with 3d tree textures flashing. The best driver for RSC is the 6166 set as both ghost mode works and 3d tree textures are fine (downer is rain/snow will crash madden). And surprisingly for me it is 99.9 percent stutter-free.

As you can see its a game of driver roulette if I want to play my current fave games. I humbley pray to the driver gods to make a Cat that will let us 8500 users play both Madden and RSC crash free... unfortunately the 3.0s can do niether. Thanks again for the opportunity to offer input on these issues.

[Azhreal]

Does anyone have a link to the Radeon 9700 pro BETA dx9 drivers? I recently reformatted and installed these 3.0s without saving the beta dx9 ones they had up awhile back which ran everything ROCK SOLID for me 100%. I can't even run Doom3 with 3.0.. everything locks up every 3 seconds and pauses... then goes, pause, go, pause go... I'd kill for those beta dx9 drivers... cant remember version

[AlternateVirus]

guys, whoever having problems with disabled agp and fastwrites from smartgart, there is only one soluation and this is not cause by ATi, you caused it by disabling smartgart service in Services Management. reenable it in services and reinstall the drivers, it'll fix it.