Test System Setup

As we have already said we will test the performance of ATI Catalyst 5.12 drivers compared  with version 5.11 using Radeon X700 and X800 GTO based video cards by Sapphire.

Also it would be interesting to compare the performance difference when using alternative drivers. In our case we have chosen last Radeon Omega Drivers version 2.6.87. As regards the test system configuration, here it is:

• CPU – AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0 GHz);
• mainboard – MSI K8N Neo4 (nForce4 Ultra);
• memory – Corsair ValueSELECT 2 GB Memory Module Kit (2 x 1 GB DDR400);
• video cards:
  • Sapphire Radeon X700 128 MB (400/500 MHz);
  • Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO 128 MB (400/700 MHz);
• OS type – Windows XP SP2;
• drivers:
  • ATI Catalyst 5.11;
  • ATI Catalyst 5.12;
  • ATI Catalyst 5.13 Beta;
  • Radeon Omega Drivers 2.6.87.

The Test

Just before the publication of present article ATI has released the new beta-version of its Catalyst drivers numbered 5.13 Beta. As you everybody know there are only 12 month in a year. So we believe that the current release will become version 6.1 when the final come out. Besides we want to warn you that there are only tests for Radeon X800 GTO using Catalyst 5.13 Beta drivers. And now lets see the results.

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

3DMark 2001SE is an old benchmark, but it is still used by the reviewers. Besides it can help to assess the performance in old DirectX 7 and DirectX 8.1 based applications. As for the test we see minor lead of... Catalyst 5.11! The difference is really small, but it is clear. Maybe the updated code in versions 5.12 and 5.13 affected on the results. Today we need the most performance in DirectX 9.0 games. And DirectX 7/8 is a past.

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

When we move to more up-to-date tests, which support Pixel Shader 2.0 and other fashionable technologies, the best results are shown by Radeon X800 GTO paired with Catalyst 5.12 and 5.13 Beta. Especially we can see the difference in high resolutions with 4xAA mode enabled.

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

Doom 3 and Quake 4 are based on the same game engine. So the proportional difference should be the same. As we can see there are no any difference when using Radeon X700 card. But in case of Radeon X800 GTO Catalyst 5.12 takes a lead.

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

Half-Life 2 demonstrates the same performance for all version of drivers.

Radeon X700

Radeon X800 GTO

FarCry is the only game where we can see the real difference between the drivers software. And it is very surprising that an older version comes to the top of the mountain. But this is truthful mainly for lower resolutions like 1024x768 and 1280x1024.

Conclusion

The conclusion is the following: when using the new driver with the previous generation of GPUs there are no any real performance gains. Especially it is more fairly for the low-end solutions, as our Radeon X700. As we write in the introduction, only the last generation gets all the benefits. So if you are lucky owner of something like Radeon X1600 or even Radeon X1800 you should try to download the drivers and check if there the performance increase.