AMD updates the Catalyst release schedule; pre-DX11 hardware updates 4 times a year

caveman-jim · Apr 23, 2012, 04:12 PM

This afternoon we received an email from AMD explaining their new Driver Support model for older hardware:

AMD will be moving the AMD Radeon™ HD 2000, AMD Radeon HD 3000, and AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series of products to a new driver support model. We will continue to support the mentioned products in our Catalyst releases, but we’re moving their updates to a quarterly basis, whereas our AMD Radeon HD 5000 and later products will continue to see monthly updates. The Quarterly Catalyst releases will focus on resolving application specific issues and critical updates.

The reason for the shift in support policy is largely due to the fact that the AMD Radeon HD 2000, AMD Radeon HD 3000, and AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series have been optimized to their maximum potential from a performance and feature perspective.

The 8.97 based driver, released in May 2012 will be the first driver for the AMD Radeon HD 2000, AMD Radeon HD 3000, and AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series under the new support model; it is an extremely stable and robust driver branch for these products and will be the baseline for our quarterly updates.

Our main development and testing efforts will now be focused on the AMD Radeon™ HD 5000 and later products. This is the best use of our resources, as the AMD Radeon HD 5000, AMD Radeon HD 6000, AMD Radeon HD 7000, and future products have the greatest potential for further performance and feature enhancements.

Also with regards to Windows 8 support for the AMD Radeon™ HD 2000, 3000, 4000 Series of products; the In-the-box AMD Graphics driver that ships with Windows 8 will include support for the AMD Radeon HD 2000, 3000, and 4000 Series, and it will support the WDDM 1.1 driver level features. The AMD Catalyst driver for Windows 8 will only include support for WDDM 1.2 support products (AMD Radeon HD 5000 and later).

kn00tcn · Apr 23, 2012, 05:38 PM

coincidentally an 8.97 'win8' leak happened & it's looking interesting

poohbear · Apr 24, 2012, 08:37 PM

makes total sense. why update this old hardware every month when most of the updates don't even apply to them? better to focus on the new stuff and let those with 4 year old cards get quarterly updates.

Danny Nissan · Apr 25, 2012, 08:56 AM

Your card is 4 years old next year. Youre okay with it going legacy by then? What if you had two 5870s?

caveman-jim · Apr 25, 2012, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Nissan

Your card is 4 years old next year. Youre okay with it going legacy by then? What if you had two 5870s?

Most, the overwhelming majority, people upgrade every 24-36mo. Few people upgrade every 12-18mo., and fewer still under that, but similarly at the other end of the curve, upgrades at 48-60mo at scarce.

In September of 2013, when the 5000 series is 4 years old, we might be in a different position; I don't think this decision indicates a written in stone policy decision.

AMD have to support their APU's as well as discrete graphics AIB's, and those APU's use the same graphics hardware as the 5000 series. This might push the support for that series of graphics products out a lot longer.

Clockwork · Apr 25, 2012, 10:42 AM

I still have a 4890 and honestly haven't felt the need to upgrade. It performs vastly better than what I get out of a console, and that's good enough for me.

I'm not too happy that we won't see Catalyst controls.

(I'm running the Win 8 CP)

poohbear · Apr 25, 2012, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Nissan

Your card is 4 years old next year. Youre okay with it going legacy by then? What if you had two 5870s?

i'll upgrade by then, but regardless if they give me a new driver every 4 months i'd still be happy. I don't update my driver every month, only if it addresses a game i play regularly, so no biggie.

LivDoug · Apr 25, 2012, 12:55 PM

I was planning on upgrading my 4870x2 over the next couple months, after this news I dont think ill be sticking with amd any longer. I have always been loyal. But my current card basically being shunned by them when it still work great for most every games on the maeket today. I was looking forward to the 7970, but if they stick to their guns on this(im sure they prob will). Nvidia will have my business from here onout

seeker010 · Jun 1, 2012, 09:43 PM

Linux as well? or is Linux support still going to be EOL'd as reported?

caveman-jim · Jun 2, 2012, 12:36 PM

Linux support isn't EOL AFAIK.

Apr 23, 2012, 04:12 PM	#1	Advertisement (Guests Only) Login or Register to remove this ad
caveman-jim Deposed King of Rage3D Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 49,000	AMD updates the Catalyst release schedule; pre-DX11 hardware updates 4 times a year This afternoon we received an email from AMD explaining their new Driver Support model for older hardware: AMD will be moving the AMD Radeon™ HD 2000, AMD Radeon HD 3000, and AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series of products to a new driver support model. We will continue to support the mentioned products in our Catalyst releases, but we’re moving their updates to a quarterly basis, whereas our AMD Radeon HD 5000 and later products will continue to see monthly updates. The Quarterly Catalyst releases will focus on resolving application specific issues and critical updates. The reason for the shift in support policy is largely due to the fact that the AMD Radeon HD 2000, AMD Radeon HD 3000, and AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series have been optimized to their maximum potential from a performance and feature perspective. The 8.97 based driver, released in May 2012 will be the first driver for the AMD Radeon HD 2000, AMD Radeon HD 3000, and AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series under the new support model; it is an extremely stable and robust driver branch for these products and will be the baseline for our quarterly updates. Our main development and testing efforts will now be focused on the AMD Radeon™ HD 5000 and later products. This is the best use of our resources, as the AMD Radeon HD 5000, AMD Radeon HD 6000, AMD Radeon HD 7000, and future products have the greatest potential for further performance and feature enhancements. Also with regards to Windows 8 support for the AMD Radeon™ HD 2000, 3000, 4000 Series of products; the In-the-box AMD Graphics driver that ships with Windows 8 will include support for the AMD Radeon HD 2000, 3000, and 4000 Series, and it will support the WDDM 1.1 driver level features. The AMD Catalyst driver for Windows 8 will only include support for WDDM 1.2 support products (AMD Radeon HD 5000 and later).

Apr 23, 2012, 05:38 PM	#2
kn00tcn zero-zero Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 4,643	coincidentally an 8.97 'win8' leak happened & it's looking interesting __________________ AMD/ATI Catalyst Driver Profiles OpenGL startup crash fix #1 / fix #2 (for < radeon 6000 cards?) better crossfire for Section8 Prejudice, Hydrophobia, UDK

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Apr 24, 2012, 08:37 PM	#3
poohbear Radeon Evergreen Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Toronto & Seoul Posts: 1,865	makes total sense. why update this old hardware every month when most of the updates don't even apply to them? better to focus on the new stuff and let those with 4 year old cards get quarterly updates. __________________ 4790k @ 4.6GHZ \| Noctua NH-D14 \| 16GB (2x8gb) Crucial Ballistex @ CL9 \| Asrock Z97 OC Formula \| Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 \| 250gb Samsung 840 Evo & 240gb OCZ Vertex 3 MI & 2TB WD Black \| Auzentech Forte 7.1 \| Seasonic 760wt Platinum \| DELL U2711 @ 1440p \| Corsair 300R \| Win 8.1

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Apr 25, 2012, 08:56 AM	#4
Danny Nissan high quality troll Join Date: May 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 4,041	Your card is 4 years old next year. Youre okay with it going legacy by then? What if you had two 5870s? __________________ ASUS PG279Q \| ASUS Strix GTX 1080 Ti OC 2025MHz/12.2GHz \| Intel i7 3770K 4.7GHz [Noctua NH-U12P SE2] \| 2x8GB G.Skill TridentX DDR3-2400 10-12-12-31-1T \| Fractal Design R4 \| Be Quiet! Straight Power CM E9 580W \| ASUS Maximus V Gene \| SteelSeries Rival 310 \| Qpad MK-50 \| Sennheiser HD-555 \| SupremeFX III \| Samsung 850 Evo 250GB + 840 Evo 250GB \| WD Caviar Black 1TB \| Windows 10 Professional iPhone 8 Plus

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Apr 25, 2012, 10:42 AM	#6
Clockwork Radeon Arctic Islands Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 14,811	I still have a 4890 and honestly haven't felt the need to upgrade. It performs vastly better than what I get out of a console, and that's good enough for me. I'm not too happy that we won't see Catalyst controls. (I'm running the Win 8 CP)

Clockwork's System Specs
CPU	Core 2 Duo E7500
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Memory	2GB DDR800
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Operating System	Windows 7 Ultimate

Apr 25, 2012, 12:55 PM	#8
LivDoug Newbie Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 4	I was planning on upgrading my 4870x2 over the next couple months, after this news I dont think ill be sticking with amd any longer. I have always been loyal. But my current card basically being shunned by them when it still work great for most every games on the maeket today. I was looking forward to the 7970, but if they stick to their guns on this(im sure they prob will). Nvidia will have my business from here onout

Jun 1, 2012, 09:43 PM	#9
seeker010 chaotic evil Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 7,734	Linux as well? or is Linux support still going to be EOL'd as reported? __________________ Abort, Retry, Fail?

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Jun 2, 2012, 12:36 PM	#10
caveman-jim Deposed King of Rage3D Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 49,000	Linux support isn't EOL AFAIK.

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