SUNNYVALE, Calif.--AMD (NYSE: AMD - News) releases free software giving millions of ATI Radeon™ owners a new way to run demanding computing tasks faster than ever.
WHAT:
<blockquote>ATI Catalyst driver update 8.12 and the free ATI Video Converter utility are both available for free download now at
http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html.
ATI Catalyst 8.12 includes technology that unlocks the ATI Stream compute acceleration capabilities built into ATI Radeon™ HD 3870, ATI Radeon™ HD 3870 X2, and all ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 series graphics cards.
The free ATI Video Converter uses ATI Stream technology to give users of ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series and ATI Radeon™ HD 4600 series cards the ability to dramatically accelerate conversion of video from one format to another. This is especially useful when converting high-definition video files to smaller files suitable for playing on portable devices.
In addition to enabling ATI Stream, the new ATI Catalyst driver update also improves performance in a number of demanding 3D games. Games including Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Devil May Cry 4, Fallout 3, FarCry 2, Left 4 Dead, Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions – Colonies Edition, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, all see noticeable performance improvements over the previous version of ATI Catalyst drivers.²</blockquote>
WHY:
<blockquote>AMD is drawing on its unique combination of GPU and CPU expertise to improve the computing experience for a growing range of consumers, from expert gamers to everyday users of digital media. ATI Stream technology provides a new and superior way to speed up applications in the areas of desktop productivity, HD entertainment and gaming that have traditionally been the most computationally demanding.</blockquote>
WHO BENEFITS:
<blockquote>ATI Stream enables balanced platforms that use both CPU and GPU to run demanding computing tasks faster than the CPU alone. With the free ATI Video Converter utility from AMD, consumers with ATI Radeon HD 4800 series and ATI Radeon HD 4600 series graphics cards can now convert their standard definition and HD videos and play them on a variety of different devices, in some cases up to 17x faster than using the CPU alone.1</blockquote>
MORE INFORMATION:
<blockquote>Join AMD for a Webcast highlighting the ATI Catalyst™ driver update and free ATI Video Converter:
Date: December 10
Time: 9:30am PDT/11:30am CDT/12:30pm EDT
Site:
http://www.mogulus.com/amdunprocessed
About the Webcast: ATI Stream strategist Dave Nalasco will provide an overview of the ATI Catalyst driver update 8.12 and free ATI Video Converter utility. Join AMD live and participate in the Q&A or view the Webcast later on demand at
www.mogulus.com/amdunprocessed. Attendees will be able to follow up with AMD for links, images and information to use in their own blogs and other social media applications.</blockquote>
For more information about ATI Stream, please visit:
http://ati.amd.com/technology/streamcomputing/index.html
For the most recent media kit related to ATI Stream, please visit:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/0,,3715_15900,00.html
1. ATI Video Converter using ATI Stream technology converted an HD MPEG2 video at 1920x1080 resolution @ 24fps running 3600 seconds to an MPEG4 video at 320x240 resolution at 24 fps in 12 minutes, while iTunes 8.0.1 with WinQuickTimeMPEG2 pack converted the same source video to the same output specifications in 3 hours and 23 minutes, demonstrating a 17x speed up. System specifications: Intel Core 2 Duo QX9650 3.0 GHz processor, 6GB of Corsair CM2X1024-8500C5D 1066 MHz memory, Windows Vista Ultimate® 64-bit with Service Pack 1, ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 512MB. Performance of ATI Video Converter will vary based on system configuration, ATI Radeon product, source file and output settings used.
2. Performance based on comparison of ATI Catalyst 8.12 vs. ATI Catalyst 8.11. System specifications: AMD Phenom 9950 2.60GHz, 2GB DDR2-800 5-5-5-12, MSI K9A2 Platinum (790FX), Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit SP1. Measured game performance includes Crysis (+2-7% depending on the area of the game), Crysis Warhead (+2-3% depending on the area of the game), Devil May Cry 4 (+1-6% depending on the area of the game), Fallout 3 (+ 6-12% depending on the area of the game), FarCry 2 (gaming with ATI CrossFire enabled running no AA sees improvements of +20% on slower cards, and as much as 70% on faster ones; when AA is enabled +5-10% gains depending on the area of the game), Left 4 Dead (+2-4% depending on the area of the game), Lost Planet Colonies (+3-10% depending on the area of the game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (+5-10% depending on the area of the game, primarily on ATI CrossFire-enabled configurations).
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