ATI today released the Catalyst 5.6 drivers and also introduced the new Catalyst Mobile drivers for notebooks. Catalyst Mobility delivers the same full feature-set as desktop, along with all of ATI's mobile-specific power management options. The initial launch of Catalyst Mobility will support Mobility Radeon X700 and Mobility Radeon X800 with more products to follow in the coming months
The publicly available Catalyst 5.6 represents a number of firsts in graphics software including a real-time video preview with on-the-fly adjustments, monthly software upgrades for notebook PCs and plug-and-play HDTV connectivity. Addressing a range of market segments and user needs, Catalyst 5.6 delivers on a commitment to offer certified software with the highest levels of stability, performance and ease of use.
ATI has long been a pioneer and leader in video on the PC and with the release of Catalyst 5.6 this is taken to the next level. Now users can make simplified on-the-fly adjustments to their video quality and see the results instantly through a real-time video preview. The novice user benefits from a set up wizard that automatically detects and optimizes for the best video quality. Enthusiast users can access more advanced setup options to easily control features like de-interlacing, hue and gamma. In addition HDTV users have an improved user experience with a simplified connection wizard for plug-and-play HD connectivity. Video playback efficiency also sees a noticeable improvement with the addition of WMV9 acceleration.
Gamers also reap substantial benefits from Catalyst 5.6 with sizable performance improvements in some of today's most popular games including Doom 3, Chronicles of Riddick and Halo.
Additional benefits in Catalyst 5.6 include All-in-Wonder support for Windows MCE 2005 and a new Linux installer for simpler and more intuitive driver installation for open source uses.
The drivers can be downloaded at ATI and an objective review of the new Catalyst 5.6 drivers can be found at HardOCP
ATI Catalyst 5.6 drivers - and Catalyst Mobile for notebooks
Posted on Thursday, June 09 2005 @ 17:05 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck