New Radeon Drivers

FUCKING ATI!

So I did the whole bit, new driver, new capture driver, new MMC, new DVD... I installed everything in that order, right after uninstalling everything in the reverse order. Haven't actually tested any games with the new drivers (haven't actually played any games on my PC in the past year, or thereabouts), but as far as the MMC/DVD goes... here's a brief history I've had with that on my P3 clocked to speeds between 643 and 733 (depending upon the motherboard):

MMC/DVD 7.0 (shipped w/Radeon): Recorded full-res 720*480 MPEG-2 without frame drops in Win2k (clocked to 643), but not in Win98; played same files back smoothly in Win98, not in Win2k; audio lagged behind video if one tried to seek within an MPEG-2 file (any res) in Win2k, worked fine in 98. Played DVD's smoothly; outputted AC-3 through the All-in-Wonder's built-in coax S/PDIF output, but would not pass through AC-3 to the sound card's S/PDIF in Win2k (supposedly an OS limitation), and since I've stopped using Win98 at this point, the fact that it works in that OS means little to me. Supported only DirectX 7.

MMC/DVD 7.1: Activated "adaptive deinterlacing" on live TV sources (which looks like shit on film sources... where's our real-time inverse 3:2 pulldown?!). Now couldn't record full-res MPEG-2 in Win2k without at least 15-20% frame drops (clocked to either 643 or 733). Played full-res MPEG-2 files more smoothly in Win2k, but at 100% CPU usage, and would fluctuate between smooth and choppy while playing. Audio still went out of sync after seeking. Still played DVD's smoothly, but would either crash, hang or blue-screen with S/PDIF output enabled on most DVD titles (Mission: Impossible 2 and Galaxy Quest immediately come to mind), while some titles - oddly enough - worked perfectly everytime (Boogie Nights: Platinum Edition, I believe?). Still wouldn't pass through AC-3 to the sound card's S/PDIF, even with Service Pack 2 (which was supposed to have fixed that "OS limitation"). Supported only DirectX 8, so I couldn't exactly downgrade to the previous version without formatting and reinstalling (something for which I had not the time, nor was I in such a position to do so... something which remains the case to this day, though hopefully I'll have a backup built soon).

Now, with this latest release, the TV software won't even OPEN! You click the shortcut, nothing happens. You try running it from the command line with the proper /TV+ parameter, nothing happens! Suffice it to say, I have no way to know if full-res MPEG-2 recording is again functional (all signs point to "no"). Full-res MPEG-2 files play MUCH more smoothly now in Win2k, and only about 25% CPU usage (clocked to 733). Audio still goes out of sync after seeking an MPEG-2 file. Still played DVD's smoothly, and hasn't yet crashed with S/PDIF enabled (though I've only tried Boogie Nights), but it no longer outputs anything through EITHER S/PDIF output - AiW's or sound cards... and the option to use the sound card is even built into the UI now, as opposed to the registry hack required prior. Supports only DirectX 8.1.

Once again, I am fucked by the shitty support to which I've become accustomed from ATI. Hopefully, the MSI GeForce 4 Ti4400 will work more smoothly. (Hopefully I'll actually pick one up for my new system, whenever I (hopefully) get around to putting it together.) (Hopefully, I'll be laid off soon.)

I believe my Geforce 4 4600 had 2 All-in-wonders and a Radeon for breakfast.

I've had a Radeon 8500 since October. It is teh suck. Each new driver release just hoses every important Windows file all to hell. And after each new install, I get to look forward to a nice 25 minute uninstall-reinstall-reboot game.

Methinks the radeon is like stuffing 5 lbs of shit into a 3 lb bag. They need help.
Hello GeForce$ (!)

interesting....

the latest drivers before these were amazing and rock solid

i just hate having to re install the tweaker programs every time i install new drivers

ill check these out later today when i feel like doing work >=\

Buddy of just benchmarked his card, installed the new drivers, then benched again.

"Noticable preformance increase" were his words.

I'm installing an 8500 this weekend...

w00! and new capture drivers! GO ALL IN WONDER!

Drive My Radeon!