Con la consueta cadenza mensile, ATI ha rilasciato la nuova versione della suite di driver per le proprie schede video e chipset, i Catalyst 7.7.

Disponibili per il download i Catalyst 7.7, rilasciati nel tardo pomeriggio di oggi.
Tra le principali novità di questa release, nuove funzionalità relative alla tecnologia AVIVO nel Catalyst Control Center, e l'introduzione di modalità di Anti-Aliasing 24x e 12x per le HD 2900 e HD 2600.
Per quanto riguarda i giochi, notevole l'incremento prestazionale dichiarato, 13.2% o più, per tutta la serie HD 2000 con Far Cry.

I driver sono scaricabili ai seguenti indirizzi:

• Catalyst™ 7.7 Windows XP Professional/Home Edition
• Catalyst™ 7.7 Windows XP Professional x64
• Catalyst™ 7.7 Windows Vista (32bit)
• Catalyst™ 7.7 Windows Vista (64bit)

Un estratto della release notes:

New Features

New Catalyst™ Control Center Avivo features

Catalyst™ 7.7 releases a number of new Avivo features and enhancements which optimize video playback and display configuration. These include

• Enhanced video color pages with two new color controls¹: flesh tone correction and color vibrance
• Enhanced video quality pages with easier to use deinterlacing controls and layout
• Simplified Theater Mode² controls, layout and now supporting Windows Vista
• Enhanced quick settings for video controls (available through the basic layout in Catalyst™ Control Center)
• Easy to use display scaling controls² when outputting to display devices that support TV timings (480i/p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) through either digital (DVI or HDMI) or analog (component) interfaces

¹These features are only available on the ATI Radeon™ HD 2000 series using Windows Vista.
²These features are only available on the ATI Radeon™ X1000 series and HD 2000 series.

12x and 24x Anti-Aliasing support for the ATI Radeon™ HD 2900 XT and ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 Series

This release of Catalyst™ introduces support for 12X and 24X Anti-Aliasing for the ATI Radeon™ HD 2900 XT, and ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 Series. These new Anti-Aliasing settings are available through the new Anti-Aliasing Edge Detect Filter. Selecting 4X Anti-Aliasing plus selecting the Edge Detect filter deliver the equivalent of 12X Anti-Aliasing. Selecting 8X Anti-Aliasing plus selecting the Edge Detect filter deliver the equivalent of 24X Anti-Aliasing.

Performance Improvements

The ATI Radeon™ HD2400, HD2600 and HD2900 (single and CrossFire™) can see performance improvements of 13.2% or more in various Far Cry maps.