AMD Catalyst 8.12 Introduces ATI Stream Support

AMD has released Catalyst 8.12

The ATI Catalyst 8.12 driver update unlocks new ATI Stream acceleration capabilities already built into ATI Radeon graphics cards. ATI Stream is a set of hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processors (GPU), working in concert with the system's central processor (CPU), to accelerate applications beyond just graphics.

The software package also includes the ATI Avivo Video Converter utility. According to AMD, this application enables transcoding of HD video up to 17 times faster than with the CPU alone, in tests performed using an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card.

This release of Catalyst also introduces a new video quality control: Noise Reduction for progressive video content, which removes ghosting artifacts while preserving details of the original video. The slider control can be found in the All Settings page of the Avivo Video tab found in the Catalyst Control Center

The following performance gains are noticed with this release of Catalyst, according to AMD:

- 3DMark Vantage DX10 - performance gains of up to 5% for Single and Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on HD46xx, HD4550 and HD4350.
-Call of Duty: World at War DX9 - performance gains of up to 21% for Single and Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD48xx.
- Crysis DX10 - performance gains of up to 25% for Single and Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx.
- Crysis Warhead DX10 - performance gains of up to 13% for Single card mode and up to 16% for Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx.
- Devil May Cry 4 DX10 - performance gains of up to 6% for Single and Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx and HD38xx.
- Fallout 3 - performance gains of up to 15% for Single card mode.
- Far Cry 2 DX10 - performance gains of up to 10% for Single card mode and up to 57% in Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx and HD38xx.
- FEAR DX9 - performance gains of up to 6% for Single and Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on Radeon HD4870X2 and HD4870.
- Hellgate: London DX10 - performance gains of up to 6% for Single card mode and up to 10% for Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx.
- Left 4 Dead DX9 - performance gains of up to 10% for Single card mode and up to 5% for Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4870 series.
- Lost Planet Colonies DX10 - performance gains of up to 10% for Single and Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx and HD38xx.
- Prey OGL - performance gains of up to 15% for Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on Radeon HD4870 1GB products, HD46xx, HD45xx.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - performance gains of up to 10% for Crossfire mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx and HD38xx.
- Unreal Tournament 3 DX9 - performance gains of up to 18% for Single card mode and up to 15% in Crossfire mode, especially in cases where AA is enabled. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx and HD38xx.

Catalyst 8.12 is available for Windows XP/Vista/Media Center Edition 2005. For a complete breakdown of what Catalyst 8.12 has to offer, including all the resolved issues, refer to the official release notes at game.amd.com. Donnloads are also available at the same web page.