View Full Version : Do Catalyst 8.12 suck for you?
Just curious on peoples problems with Catalyst 8.12s. Personally for me, I think Cats 8.12 have a lot of potential, but they suck huge balls even for me and generally I never have problems with Catalyst drivers. QC really seems to of hit the sh2tter since AMD bought ATi :shakes: :down: @ AMD. AMD should give some of the 3Dfx driver team a call, now THERE was a team that could make drivers :up:
Fortunately, I don't seem to be having massive problems like some poor folk. For me its a simple case of I can't OC with CCC or any 3rd party app for sh8ts nor giggles. For anyone really wanting the 8.12s goodness without (hopefully) the problems, try DNAs version of 8.12s :yepp: Omega used to be THE MAN for modded ATi drivers, but AFAIK its not the original guy who first come up with the Omegas doing the drivers anymore, and they have just plain gone to pot. DNA on the other hand seem to have stepped up, modded drivers for every new Catalyst release :cool:
DNA homepage (http://www.donotargue.com/)
Waymon3X6
12-27-2008, 05:36 PM
I think the 8.12s are the best ATi drivers I've ever ran. I'm running Vista x64 with duel 3870s and I've had absolutely no problems. I don't know why you're having so many problems though... I used to use the Omega drivers too back with my x1950xt agp and those were the best, then I got the 3870s and they've been real good to me.
You mean you can OC your 3870s with Cats 8.12? Where did you get yours from? I got mine from the ATi site a day or so after they come out..
zanzabar
12-27-2008, 06:21 PM
You mean you can OC your 3870s with Cats 8.12? Where did you get yours from? I got mine from the ATi site a day or so after they come out..
i got mine from the ati site my 3870 ocs, the only only with the problem are some non reference hd4 and they have a hot fix. and some people didnt uninstall the the old driver and c++ library so that will be problematic
I always do a thorough Driver Cleaner Pro run (normal windows and safe mode) prior to installing new Cat drivers ;) I've read others are having the same OC problems with HD3k cards as well, so at least I know its nothing to do with my card :p:
STEvil
12-27-2008, 06:32 PM
8.12's official off the ati site for my 4870x2, overclocking works fine.. everything works fine.
Only thing "DNA" drivers change are a few default image quality settings.
jcool
12-27-2008, 06:36 PM
8.12, HD4870X2 and Server 08 x64 here, zero issues. OC works fine using the latest rivatuner (the limits within CCC are ridiculous anyways - 800 core? come on)
reberto
12-27-2008, 06:54 PM
8.12 Hotfix drivers working great here with my 2 HD4870s :D
SNiiPE_DoGG
12-27-2008, 06:56 PM
don't use driver cleaner it's bad for your system. Just do a normal widows uninstall of the drivers and restart before installing.
SoulsCollective
12-27-2008, 07:23 PM
4870X2, 8.12, Vista Business x64, no issues at all.
Waymon3X6
12-27-2008, 07:28 PM
You mean you can OC your 3870s with Cats 8.12? Where did you get yours from? I got mine from the ATi site a day or so after they come out..
Yup I can oce via the CCC and I did get them from the ATi site. I always remove everything ATi related via Add/Remove Programs and then I clean out the registry and temp files with CCleaner, reboot and install the drivers. I've done that countless times and have never had any issues.
Bobsama
12-27-2008, 09:21 PM
Vista64 and HD3850-256 (ref design). Excellent drivers, no issues. In fact, they resolved my Fallout 3 shoddy-performance issues. No suckage there. I'd rather a stable system to an overclocked system. I've not tried OCing my HD3850 for a while--it always seemed to cause problems with F@H, and I'm just about to bite on $85 HD4830s.
swaaye
12-27-2008, 09:53 PM
8.12 refuse to even install for my 3850. Had to go back to 8.11. First time I've had this kind of issue.
cky2k6
12-27-2008, 10:17 PM
8.12 has been a nightmare for me. probably somehow got corrupted during install, because I simply cannot uninstall these drivers. If I do, it tells me that it cannot find the inf file when I try to install new drivers, so I have to do system restore in order to get my video card working again. That, and when I try autotune in catalyst, it freezes the display, though the system keeps functioning in the background. Manual oc works fine.
iTravis
12-27-2008, 10:22 PM
I don't have any problems since I switched to ATI and starting at Cat 8.8 all the way up to 8.12. The only problem that I had back then was when I ran CrossFireX with 1 X2 and another HD4870, I had to reinstall the driver but since then I no longer have any troubles. I've been running 8.12 on both XP 32bit and Vista 64bit with no problem or whatsoever.
reberto
12-27-2008, 11:31 PM
don't use driver cleaner it's bad for your system. Just do a normal widows uninstall of the drivers and restart before installing.
Driver Sweeper works great for me, normal uninstall leaves bits behind and after a few driver releases it starts to show.
SNiiPE_DoGG
12-27-2008, 11:34 PM
I heard it straight from one of the ATI insiders not to use driver cleaner pro, ATI's built in uninstall from programs menu is designed to remove the right parts of the driver to be installed over.
DX_Medic
12-27-2008, 11:40 PM
4870s in windows xp CF enabled = the best experience of my life !!
BobyTT
12-28-2008, 12:08 AM
4870s in windows xp CF enabled = the best experience of my life !!
So you just start to use PCs like a month ago?
Vista x64 4870X2 constant problems , switching between 2d & 3d , TV-out work like crap. I am totally dissapointed from ATI drivers.
I heard it straight from one of the ATI insiders not to use driver cleaner pro, ATI's built in uninstall from programs menu is designed to remove the right parts of the driver to be installed over.
That makes sence :rolleyes: I know for a FACT most things ATi say software related they do not have a friggin clue what they are talking about. I frequently talk to various people who are programmers (good ones at that, writing retina security recognition software etc) and they all say not using something like Driver Cleaner Pro after uninstalling the ATi drivers is an absolutely stupid idea. Bottom line is the ATi uninstaller is CRAP, it removes CCC, and thats about it. Most ATi files and folders remain - even after a restart. Just check your System 32 folder ;)
I just reinstalled the cat drivers to 8.12, used the ati uninstall and saw a bunch of ati baggage left behind. I went in the registry and removed the usual ATI suspects as instructed from an old Driver Heaven uninstall writeup that I have used dozen times in the past and then lost some necessary file and had to do an OS reinstall.
No biggie but I do not want to go thru this again. I have searched and googled and have not found an agreed upon removal procedure, so ... I ask, what "is" the proper removal sequence? :shrug:
xman01
12-28-2008, 06:47 AM
using 8.12 and no problems, overclocks the same 820/1100
road-runner
12-28-2008, 06:57 AM
Works fine for me with Vista 64 and 4870x2 crossfire x, gained around 500 points in 3DMark over the 8.10s...:up:
jcool
12-28-2008, 07:31 AM
You guys DO know that you don't actually need to uninstall the old driver when running Vista and updating to a new version? Seems like you don't ;)
XP - yes, Vista - no.
SoulsCollective
12-28-2008, 07:35 AM
I've never had that successfully work for me. Whenever I fire up the newer CCC install package, it always prompts me to uninstall the old first, and refuses to proceed until I do.
jcool
12-28-2008, 07:58 AM
Really? I never remove a driver on Vista, not with Nvidia and not with ATI cards. Never had any trouble, and I do quite a few installs, me being a custom PC builder and all. :up:
I just reinstalled the cat drivers to 8.12, used the ati uninstall and saw a bunch of ati baggage left behind. I went in the registry and removed the usual ATI suspects as instructed from an old Driver Heaven uninstall writeup that I have used dozen times in the past and then lost some necessary file and had to do an OS reinstall.
No biggie but I do not want to go thru this again. I have searched and googled and have not found an agreed upon removal procedure, so ... I ask, what "is" the proper removal sequence? :shrug:
1. Run ATi uninstaller
2. Run Driver Cleaner Pro
3. Restart to safe mode
4. Run Driver Cleaner Pro again
5. Restart and install drivers as normal
Never, EVER, had any problems with this routine :up:
I started this process after updating my ATi drivers once and it NUKED my OS install. I would never trust anything ATi say software related EVER again.
No problems with them here.
Wingtime2k
12-28-2008, 09:28 AM
Is there a freeware version of Driver cleaner pro program that works with Vista Ultimate x64?
STEvil
12-28-2008, 02:19 PM
I just do dirty installs, i've had Driver Cleaner break my OS every time I tried it.
reberto
12-28-2008, 03:04 PM
Driver Cleaner Pro and Vista X64 have never gotten along for me. I use Driver Sweeper and it works great :D
xman01
12-28-2008, 03:12 PM
All i do now is uninstall reboot install new drivers, did it under winxp 32 and 64bit and vista 64 ultimate
i used to uninstall, reboot in safe mode run driver cleaner, install new driver
Penny
12-28-2008, 07:07 PM
don't use driver cleaner it's bad for your system.
Hog wash, I have used driver cleaner pro and driver sweeper for ages now with both Nvidia and ATI and have never had a single issue.
Driver Sweeper works great for me, normal uninstall leaves bits behind and after a few driver releases it starts to show.
+1.
The best way to uninstall drivers is to do it in this order-
Uninstall Driver Via Add Remove programs.
Then delete left over ATI or NV folders.
Reboot into safe mode and run Driver Cleaner/Driver Sweeper.
Reboot into windows and run a Registry cleaner.
Install new drivers and enjoy.
Bottom line is the ATi uninstaller is CRAP, it removes CCC, and thats about it. Most ATi files and folders remain - even after a restart. Just check your System 32 folder ;)
This is absolutely correct and most of the driver issues out there come from users who dont know how to do a thorough driver cleaning before installing new drivers.
Driver Cleaner Pro and Vista X64 have never gotten along for me. I use Driver Sweeper and it works great :D
You have to used the paid version of Driver Cleaner Pro with Vista 64, not the free one.
I have it and it works well and fast, not a single issue plus it stays up to date via an online updater.
STEvil
12-28-2008, 11:32 PM
Penny, I think you've been warned about multiple posts before. Start using multi-quote.
As I and others in this thread have already stated we have no issues without using driver cleaner. It seems that doing it either way works, better than some than for others.
patrickadizzle
12-28-2008, 11:34 PM
Working great on my 3870! :up:
IronWarrior
12-29-2008, 12:27 AM
I always just install drivers over the old ones, never get problems.
I guess sometimes it comes down to each individual system... just seems strange how ATi QC has hit the s8tter since AMD bought them. Before that I never had any issues others reported, and now seems like everybody even those who never got problems are starting to get them...... ATi hardware = epic win, ATi software (now) = epic fail. I hate you AMD.
STEvil
12-29-2008, 04:01 AM
I hate CCC, cant disagree.
reberto
12-29-2008, 11:51 AM
I hate CCC, cant disagree.
Why do you hate it? Works great for me :D 24x AA baby!
I Don't like CCC either. I like the old ATi tabs a lot more, simple and quick to navigate and not a resource hog due to being written with the .NET framework.
I have a short answer: yes :down:
saki_bomber
12-30-2008, 06:03 AM
if everyone is complaining about CCC so much, why arent more using the ati standalone rivers and ati tray tools combo?
its supposedly better, but i've never seen any difference from it.
Penny
12-30-2008, 07:31 AM
if everyone is complaining about CCC so much, why arent more using the ati standalone rivers and ati tray tools combo?
its supposedly better, but i've never seen any difference from it.
ATI try tools is a whole lot better than CCC and I myself have always wondered why more people dont use it.
The greatest thing about it is the fact that you can right click on a games launch icon and then with complete ease set a custom profile for that game. That way after you have each game set up the way you want it you never have to touch the settings again, you just launch the game and enjoy.
Yes I know CCC does profiles to but its no where near as good or as simple as ATI Tray tools method.
STEvil
12-30-2008, 02:51 PM
Why do you hate it? Works great for me :D 24x AA baby!
Because it requires unnecessary baggage (.net) and has a tendency to corrupt itself or not install properly.
msimax
12-30-2008, 03:23 PM
does ati have something similar to nvidias digital vibrance in the control panel also can you set custom resolutions
and can someone post pics of the control panels features as i havent use ati in a minute,and want to make sure i can use my Sony GDM-FW900 fully with a ati card
reberto
12-30-2008, 04:54 PM
Because it requires unnecessary baggage (.net) and has a tendency to corrupt itself or not install properly.
Never had it corrupt or not install properly for any of the ATI cards that I have owned or installed. As for using .Net, it's already in Vista and updated so its never bothered me :D
I have. Lost count how many times .NET has corrupted. Usually you have to start right over with a format its messed up so bad.
Penny
12-30-2008, 06:42 PM
Never had it corrupt or not install properly for any of the ATI cards that I have owned or installed.
It may not have happened to you but its happened to others and its happened to myself back when I owned an HD 4870.
reberto
12-30-2008, 07:08 PM
It may not have happened to you but its happened to others and its happened to myself back when I owned an HD 4870.
After a 9600 Pro, 9800XT, X1900GT, X1950 Pro (then another later), X1950XTX, HD3870X2, and now my 2x HD4870s, I think if it was a widespread problem it would have happened to me by now :rolleyes: It could be that unlike a lot of people, I uninstall my drivers and run Driver Sweeper like I should :shrug:
STEvil
12-30-2008, 07:34 PM
It happens either way.
Penny
12-30-2008, 07:48 PM
After a 9600 Pro, 9800XT, X1900GT, X1950 Pro (then another later), X1950XTX, HD3870X2, and now my 2x HD4870s, I think if it was a widespread problem it would have happened to me by now :rolleyes: It could be that unlike a lot of people, I uninstall my drivers and run Driver Sweeper like I should :shrug:
Here is a hint: Just because its never happened to you doesnt mean its never happened to anyone else so you can stop being so defensive about it.
I have owned about as many ATI cards as yourself and I never really had any issues until AMD took over ATI, the driver team since that time has left a lot to be desired.
As for uninstalling drivers I always and I do mean always run both Driver Sweeper and Driver Cleaner Pro, I believe in a thorough driver cleaning before installing a new driver.
Dragy2k
12-31-2008, 05:14 AM
switched up 8.12's on vista and xp pro ......no problems here.....infact very little probs in any drivers installed, nvidea also in the past.
any problems encoutered were either hardware or user errors (me)....including my monitor not being recognised and switching between digital and annalogue (i.e black screen) now solved.
a fresh install if your expierencing any probs is the best way forward (if poss).
gl
I've cleaned everything out. Not sure why I can't software OC all of a sudden. Doesn't bother me that much as I BIOS mod anyway, but its irritating as it currently prevents me from trying different BIOSes on my Hybrid HD3870 which I'm convinced has very aggressive timings set which prevent me from getting over the memorys rated frequency which is 1000*2.
swaaye
12-31-2008, 01:32 PM
I couldn't get 8.12 to install on my system with a 3850 on Vista 64. First time I've ever had a problem like that. Well, aside from the good 'ol days of X800XL AGP (with that PCIe-> AGP bridge chip nightmare that's still going on actually.) So I'm running 8.11 and will just wait for 9.1.
saint-francis
01-01-2009, 09:07 AM
8.12 is working fine here. Vista X64, 3870. Overclocked with CCC to 885/1336. I did this with both an upgrade from 8.11 (went smoothly. no driver cleaner or anything like that) and now my OS installation had 8.12 slipped in. I have always just used the ATI uninstall tool, reboot and then install new driver. :shrug:
Here is a hint: Just because its never happened to you doesnt mean its never happened to anyone else so you can stop being so defensive about it.
I have owned about as many ATI cards as yourself and I never really had any issues until AMD took over ATI, the driver team since that time has left a lot to be desired.
As for uninstalling drivers I always and I do mean always run both Driver Sweeper and Driver Cleaner Pro, I believe in a thorough driver cleaning before installing a new driver.
QFT :clap: I run equally thorough methods (even a registry cleanup with THREE different registry cleaners) to make sure no ATi remnants remain because of what hassle can be caused. Absolutely right about the ATi drivers sucking since AMD bought ATi. Prior to AMD buying ATi I never had any problems with their drivers - now I'm forced to look at 3rd party alternatives just so things work properly.
RaZz!
01-01-2009, 11:43 AM
the 8.12s work like a charm for me (as well as 8.7, 8.9, 8.10 and 8.11 did for me - i've never experienced any driver problems so far, running on win xp 32bit that is :)).
performance-wise i'd say the 8.12s are the way to go, they perform best in games so far, dunno about the 3dmarks, didn't test them during the different driver releases.
Benchmarks don't even matter. Only real games ;)
benko
01-03-2009, 12:38 PM
here is what 8.12+4870 1gb+q6600@4ghz can :)
http://www.max-save.org/images/5790543dvantage p11k.jpg
B.E.E.F.
01-03-2009, 10:16 PM
Performance is great. Only problem is with X-Plane 9. All sorts of weird errors with the OpenGL rendering engine.
8.12 works fine for me on my 4870x2 in all but 1 thing i use,
In the game ETQW's its makes all go weird some times IE make the sky go black, loose the leaves on trees, makes part of some buildings go dark and with the 8.11 drivers i could see through buildings but lagged out all the time.
At least it sorted the 400% GPU usage on start up hehe.
And Benko the picture you put up on cpu-z has been changed over the clocks cores bit its a darker colour hehe.
:D