AMD sets ATI Radeon owners on the fast track

[PBS Poll-435]

AMD sets ATI Radeon owners on the fast track
by Tony Austin
Sunday, 16 November 2008


AMD has announced that it plans to release a free ATI Catalyst driver update that instantly unlocks new ATI Stream acceleration capabilities already built into millions of Radeon graphics cards, offloading tasks from the CPU so as to accelerate system performance.

In the new announcement, AMD said that in December plans to release for download a free ATI Catalyst driver update that instantly unlocks new ATI Stream acceleration capabilities already built into millions of ATI Radeon graphics cards.

ATI Stream is a set of advanced hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processors (GPU), working in concert with the system’s central processor (CPU), to accelerate applications beyond just graphics.

GPUs make applications run better,” said Patricia Harrell, director of AMD’s stream computing group. By means of parallel processing, this results in better balanced platforms capable of running demanding computing tasks faster than ever.


http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21721/1127/

[Canuckistanian]

1. Sooo... why didn't they provide this feature at the beginning?

I'd be pissed if I bought a new graphics card and couldn't use it's full potential until the company decided it was a good time to allow it.

[PBS Poll-435]

2. Driver issues, I believe

One hand wasn't talking to the other.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. iMacs uses the ATI, Radeon HD2600 graphics card

I wonder if the new driver update will improve that card?

[Initech]

4. Both my Mac laptop and my PC use ATI cards. Sweet!

[Mnpaul]

5. Damn, I was just thinking about that

I was wondering if it was possible to use the GPU to convert video files for my Sansa View. Cool.

[Shardik]

6. Good on AMD

Their stock is down to $2.40 right now and is a heluva buy IMHO.

I've been using AMD for a decade now and am using their 9950 Phenom true Quad in two of my computers since they came out.

They still offer the best bang for the buck.

[PBS Poll-435]

7. They turned an operating profit last quarter and they get slammed.

AMD turned the graphics world upside-down with their latest products.