Beta requires Radeon 9800 XT driver upgrade?

[TDeacon]

It has been suggested that some of the AH2 anomalies I have seen with recent betas are due to old video drivers.  I have a 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT in a 6-month-old Dell 8300 PC.  

1)  Anyone know if these drivers likely need upgrading?

2)  Anyone have details on how to do so?  Apparently need to uninstall old drivers first and run special utility?  

Any help would be appreciated!!

[wrag]

Actually I've done fine just uninstalling the  control panel and then installing the new graphics drivers and then installing the new control panel etc.

Got dial-up so, I download each seperately.  I don't use the hydravision.

Notice an ATI uninstall utility but have never found access to it??????

[dracon]

TDeacon & wrag

Correct!  All that really needs to be done is to uninstall the ATI control panel and the drivers.  Simply install the new.

I suggest using the CAT 4.2's.  They have been not only the most stable but the fastest as of late.  Of course mileage may vary.  To take things a step further I suggest the Omega Drivers here: http://www.omegacorner.com/index_ati.html  A word here!  Omega simply takes the ATI CAT's and modifies them for a balance of both Performance and Quality.  Omega is a member of ATI's Beta Driver Team.  Not a just a tester, a Builder of Beta drivers!

Advantages:  Omega builds all his drivers to Uninstall the old while installing the new.  He has a Custom control panel that does not need to be installed seperately and there is no seperate entry in Add/Remove.  The "glut" has been removed from the drivers.  Three other very handy utilities come with the driver and can be selected.  Multires for on the fly resolution changes.  Radlinker a proggie that allows you to customise each game and DriverCleaner 3, a proggie that totally wipes out ALL old drivers.

Hey, hope this answers the Q's and helps ya out

[Skuzzy]

The Catalyst 4.3 drivers appear to work fine with Aces High II.

If you are not sure what version of Catalyst you are running.  You can go the the driver properties in DXDIAG or the System Device Manager and look at the last 4 numbers of the version number.

It will start with a 6, and will be followed by ATI's Catalyst major number (4 for example) and then the minor number (3 for example).  In this example it would be Catalyst 4.3.
The last number is an ATI internal revision number.

[dracon]

Skuzzy,

Your opinnion then, is that the 4.3's are a better choice for AH2 then the 4.2's?

When I used the 4.3's in AH 1 the textures were a bit better but I seemed to take a 10-15% FPS hit.  I had not tried them in AH 2

Regards,

[flakbait]

I'm running the Cat 4.3 drivers with Dx9b and only have some Z-buffer issues. It makes some parts of the game look ugly, otherwise it runs just fine.



-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High

[Skuzzy]

Not an opinion so much.  It is what I have loaded on my system (ATI8500) and they seem fine.  I know there are issues with Catalysts drivers prior to 4.0.
4.2 may work very well.  I have not tried them.  If you are using them and not having any troubles, then don't change unless you want to.

[airmess]

I've posted this issue in a former message. I'vetried out all of what you've mentioned but still have the same problem (see screnshot) "trasparent squares in views".

This happens only in AH2. In AH1 and all other applications is use there's no such effect.

What i tried:

reinstalled  VIA drivers v. 4.51
reinstalled  Catalyst drivers 4.5
ASUS MB Bios v. 1006
Montitor drivers for Acer AL2021 (LCD) actualized

Temperature of Case (Motherboard, CPU etc.) all below 30 Celsius

What could i try else ... ?

airmess

[dracon]

Ok thanks Skuzzy!

The 4.2's are very stable and fast.  No current Video issues.  ATI 9600XT

[Rolex]

Unfortunately, post-Beta26 versions are unplayable with the latest drivers available for Win98SE...

DirectX screenshot >>

[Skuzzy]

Something else is wrong Rolex.  Under W2K and XP the 8500 works fine with the Catalyst 4.3 drivers.

I have an 8500 in my system.  Not the fastest card on the planet, but the game is playable, after making some adjustments to the graphics settings in the game.

[Rolex]

Catalyst 3.8 are latest available for my OS. Perhaps that's the problem? I'll stop cross-posting on threads. Sorry about that.

[TDeacon]

Thanks for the good information, guys.  

Does anyone know if these procedures will work for a 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 XT on a Dell (which is what I have)?  

On their website the ATI drivers "approved" by Dell have their own strange naming scheme and appear to be packaged with an installation utility.  No mention in the "instructions" on uninstalling first.  For this reason I am considering bypassing the Dell ATI driver upgrade procedure.  I am trying to evaluate the risk involved in doing this.

[MOSQ]

Originally posted by Rolex
Catalyst 3.8 are latest available for my OS. Perhaps that's the problem? I'll stop cross-posting on threads. Sorry about that.

Rolex,
I just checked the ATI site, they have the Cat 4.3 for WIN 98.

[SlapShot]

airmess ...

I would follow Dracon suggestions.

Go to omegacorner and get his drivers. Latest omega drivers are a Cat 4.5 level.

Uninstall the ATI Control Panel.

Uninstall the ATI drivers.

Use DriverCleaner 3.

Install the omega drivers.

Have you softmodded your 9800 ?