• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

ATI Catalyst 10.6 Drivers

No problems here with 10.6

I am MOSTLY in the "no problems" boat.

I noticed a 5 FPS loss in AVP compared to the 10.4s, BUT, I saw a slight GAIN in JC2, so a wash to me.

The only other "weirdness" is Crysis won't seem to launch anymore. I am going to re-install fresh on that one and try again. Not like I really play that anymore, anyways... :D
 
After installing 10.6 i got random BSODs of different kinds.
After fresh install of windows 7 x64 i STILL got the same probs!
All drivers and bios latest version.

Went back to 10.5 only to start suffering from GSODs again for the first time in months.

What gives? Time for an RMA?
 
I suggested this on the AMD Forums and it might work for those with the following:
- Black screen freezes when switching between two different power states (2D to 3D to hardware accelerated video)
- Enlarging cursor

I came to the conclusion that the problems coming up are from PowerPlay itself.

When the card is switching between different speeds, hence different power states, from a high clock to a lower clock and vice-versa, the drivers (OR hardware) tend to have an issue of switching between each of the four power states properly.

Example: (from personal experience too)
- Watching Youtube (Flash) with hardware acceleration then switching to a 2D program, cursor enlarges. atikmdiag shows up in Events Viewer.

- Playing a 3D game then switching to a movie that uses DXVA (MP11 or MPC-HC), system freezes and a black screen appears with only audio playing. atikmdiag shows up in Events Viewer.

- Playing a 3D game then switching to a 2D application, cursor enlarges. atikmdiag shows up in Events Viewer.
​
Disabling AMD External Events service in Services stops the black screen freezes but it also BSODs the entire system instead if PowerPlay, again, has an issue.

So, the solution I came up with is to use RBE (Radeon BIOS Editor) and change the speeds for both GPU and memory across all four power states. The speed to set it at is the same speed as the highest clock of your card currently. In other words, keep the same clock speeds and voltage across the power states. This of course defeats the purpose of power saving on a video card.

For example, my 5770 HAWK is 875/1200 max. I set it a little lower to 825/1100 with 1.1v instead of 1.2v.
State 1 - 825/1100/1.1v
State 2 - 825/1100/1.1v
State 3 - 825/1100/1.1v
State 4 - 825/1100/1.1v
​
With all 4 power states with the same core and memory clock, and same voltage, PowerPlay will not have issues switching between them.

I have no idea why this is in technical terms, but since I've done this my system has been very stable now.

I have listed on AMD's forum every solution I have tried so far:
- Buy a new 5770 HAWK
- Buy a 620W PSU
- Re-install Win 7 x64
- Use driver sweeper and re-install drivers
- Change PCIE latency
- Change system memory (RAM) voltage
- Change from Balanced to High Power in Power settings in Windows
​
None of them worked. Literally. And, I've had problems since 9.12 all the way into 10.4 Preview, and into 10.5 until I figured out it was a problem with the video card switching between different power states.

If PowerPlay is hardware, then ATI will need to seriously consider fixing these issues in the 5000 series. This is because from my experience since I've gotten the 5770 and trying every friggin' solution that various forums have suggested, the 5000-series is very unstable if it cannot properly switch between different power states when going from 2D to 3D mode and back.
 
[SOLVED]
Just another data point for this thread. 10.4 to 10.6 upgrade was causing a BSOD system_service_exception. I have a 5970 so it seems to count as a CF card in relation to this problem. Other people seem to be able to just install over the old drivers (as I've done every time until now), I wasn't able to.

I got a BSOD, unbootable system. Recovered from restore point. Tried 10.6's again. Same issue except now my restore point won't work. I had some Windows security updates at the same time. So I eventually got back a bootable system from a really old restore point and let the Windows security updates go in. Now I'm running 10.4 with my OS updated. Took a manual backup, system image restore backup (huge full backup). Read on this forum about upgrade and driver sweeper. I didn't use that method because I wanted to try the "least path" first.

I uninstalled 10.4 per madcap_magician's link to the ATI KB article. Rebooted because the KB says too if ATI software is still listed (the manager was). Installed 10.6 express (as I always do). Rebooted after 10.6 install. Win7 came up fine.

Except now I've got the ATI cold bug again. Have to edit the profile to raise clocks....brb

Update: Ok the custom 2d profile I created is saved under C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\ATI\ACE\Profiles\ so the driver uninstall didn't wipe it out. I just reactivated the profile under ATI Overdrive and it bumped the clocks up (I'm using GPU:400mhz and Mem:1000mhz). Interesting, I don't remember the GUI updating the clock values right away in 10.4. I wonder if they fixed that little UI glitch in 10.6.
 
Last edited:
It's the first time I have problems with ATI drivers in 2 years! Those 10.6 drivers were giving me headaches.

1) Watching Youtube video with latest 10.1 Flash Player get me a BSOD code 116 each time! Each time, any video! Disabling Hardware Accelation seems to help a bit, but still got some random BSOD.

2) 10.6 totally broke King Arthur The Role Playing Game combat for me. Can't play the game even after a fresh install with 10.6. 10.5 are working fine.

3) Plant vs Zombies (lol!) is crashing on my daughters computers, both with 2X 4870 in Crosffire. 10.5 are ok.

So I had to go back to 10.5 on my 3 computers, but I still have random Youtube crashing. :(
 
Straight up BSOD on reboot with these drivers. Can't even get into windows without going into safemode and my restore point failed. Will probably have to re-install windows unless I can remove the 10.6 drivers somehow. Sucks =/
 
It's the first time I have problems with ATI drivers in 2 years! Those 10.6 drivers were giving me headaches.

+1 Catalyst 10.6 have given me nothing but problems. Its the first time I have complained about a driver set that has broken my system. :(
 
well i do and it works perfectly. no flickering, no random shutting off, in fact i have no issues at all and keep temps at 36C when idling. i can post pics if you want proof. o and i have all areo effects turned on

i need pics of desktop at 3840x1024 or higher, along with pics of CCC overdrive tab and msi afterburner showing current gpu clockspeeds.

if you truly have this working, you are the first person on the planet to have it working
 
Except now I've got the ATI cold bug again. Have to edit the profile to raise clocks....brb

Update: Ok the custom 2d profile I created is saved under C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\ATI\ACE\Profiles\ so the driver uninstall didn't wipe it out. I just reactivated the profile under ATI Overdrive and it bumped the clocks up (I'm using GPU:400mhz and Mem:1000mhz). Interesting, I don't remember the GUI updating the clock values right away in 10.4. I wonder if they fixed that little UI glitch in 10.6.

What is the ATI "cold bug"?
 
After I upgraded I lost all ability to OC my 4850 through CCC. I havent gone back to 10.4 yet to see if it restores functionality though :(
 
While I am not CERTAIN it was the 10.6s, I had just done a fresh install of Win7 64 ULT, after nuking both my SSD and data drive to start clean again.

I had installed the 10.5s initially, and decided to install the 10.6s, against my better judgement, "ATIs way". (without the driver sweeps, just uninstall, re-install through Catalyst Install Manager).

Well, half way through the install, it froze. Not the computer, just the installer. I waited for many minutes, and it was stuck, so I eventually re-booted. Bang, BSOD XXXF7 is back, along with all KINDS of bugs and weird windows issues.

My PC is BORKED, big time. Even after a new format/install, I am having some issues, so it may be my SSD- but still, weird coincidence. Everything was ROCKING before this. UGH. :mad:
 
While I am not CERTAIN it was the 10.6s, I had just done a fresh install of Win7 64 ULT, after nuking both my SSD and data drive to start clean again.

I had installed the 10.5s initially, and decided to install the 10.6s, against my better judgement, "ATIs way". (without the driver sweeps, just uninstall, re-install through Catalyst Install Manager).

Well, half way through the install, it froze. Not the computer, just the installer. I waited for many minutes, and it was stuck, so I eventually re-booted. Bang, BSOD XXXF7 is back, along with all KINDS of bugs and weird windows issues.

My PC is BORKED, big time. Even after a new format/install, I am having some issues, so it may be my SSD- but still, weird coincidence. Everything was ROCKING before this. UGH. :mad:

You and I are in the same boat :mad: Tried for about 4 hours to recover my stuff but it's permanently borked. Lucky me I have MozyBackup backing up all my data......
 
So where can I find legit 10.4a drivers? ATI only has 10.4 listed on their site and I cant seem to find another site hosting 10.4a :confused:

Should I just go with 10.4? Im kind of pissed that I lost my OC ability :(
 
the ati cold boot issue is where the pc wont boot up if your graphic's card tempertures were too low. mostly affected water cooling systems, but could happen on some air cooled as well
 
All fine here, although looking at this thread suggests I'm rather lucky. Gonna look before I leap onto 10.7
 
Installed 10.6 on a fresh install of Windows 7 with my current 4870X2. I was getting driver recoveries when watching flash powered content like YouTube, Gametrailers etc. Games would BSOD when tabbing in / out and exiting.

I downgrade to 10.5a and get basically the same problems, minus the flash problems.

So I had to go back to 10.4 and now it's working perfectly, game performance back up to snuff and no more BSODs.
 
Absolutely no problems here once I got 10.6 installed. Playing some newer games like BF:BC2 as well as some good old KOTOR and I can't complain. Have never run into a GSOD, BSOD or anything while doing any kind of gaming on any catalyst driver since I made the upgrade from my 8800GT. *Knocks on Wood*
 
I installed 10.6 over 10.5 win 7 64bit, no issues as far with a single 5850.
 
After installing 10.6 i got random BSODs of different kinds.
After fresh install of windows 7 x64 i STILL got the same probs!
All drivers and bios latest version.

Went back to 10.5 only to start suffering from GSODs again for the first time in months.

What gives? Time for an RMA?

Is your CPU overclocked? Is your ram overlocked? It doesn't necessarily have to be tied to the drivers and/or the card?
 
OpenGL games like Doom 3 have major issues with these driver. Graphical glitches like z-fighting.

I'm also getting blinking on my Displayport monitor, this doesn't happen with the 10.4's ever.
 
Powerplay's implementation is fucking horrible. The idea is nice- lowering clocks during little usage, but when the clocks change it is damn noticeable. My system hangs for a few seconds when switching states. Doesn't seem like powerplay likes games ran in windowed mode either, as gpu usage jumps around like crazy. Not only that annoying issue, every time I load up a youtube/flash video, or start up a game, my system hiccups. I didn't have this problem with 10.5, however, I had screen flickering with dual monitors.
 
I have a feeling the new Firefox has been contributing to a lot of crashing of youtube videos. The new FF isolates the flash plugin with a new plugin-container.exe. Never had crashes before the new updates. 10.6 seems to have compounded the issues for me. I know it's all powerplay related though. Sigh, it's getting harder to defend ATi's drivers when situations like this keeps happening.
 
I have a feeling the new Firefox has been contributing to a lot of crashing of youtube videos. The new FF isolates the flash plugin with a new plugin-container.exe. Never had crashes before the new updates. 10.6 seems to have compounded the issues for me. I know it's all powerplay related though. Sigh, it's getting harder to defend ATi's drivers when situations like this keeps happening.

This was definately a problem for me. After Firefox updated I got BSOD's with everything Flash related. I disabled the Mozilla Default Plug-in, and disabled hardware acceleration in the player itself, and all my problems have gone away...
 
The performance from 10.6 is great...dunno why I'm seeing such a change because the patch notes don't say I should.

Oblivion has crashed on me a few times though :(
 
Switched back to 10.5 and all problems went away. Got failed to render errors in windowed mode games with 10.6 along with system hangs. I really hope 10.7 takes care of all these problems.
 
For some strange reason, anything past 10.4 gives me a shutter effect in BC2 and F3 (like a tiny rubberband effect almost, but even in singleplayer) and sadly the 10.6s are no different :(

Back to 10.3b and all is well again.
 
They suck. They mess up older openGL games, esp quake 4 (a game I do play actually). I'm back on 10.5's.
 
They suck. They mess up older openGL games, esp quake 4 (a game I do play actually). I'm back on 10.5's.

Yup, I saw the same thing. The 10.6's also suffer from the Gray Screen of Death when running a lot of hardware accelerated flash.

I'm really starting to lose faith in ATi's driver department. The 10.7's better be epic.
 
New ATI user here after using NVIDIA since GeForce 256...

I just built the box in my sig (i7) and have 10.6 installed on a fresh W7-x64 install. XFX 5850 with 3x H233H Acer monitors. This means I'm new to ATI drivers in general.

The problems I'm having are: When my displays go into standby and come back up, the display on an MSI Displayport-DVI Active adapter sometimes doesn't come up unless I cycle the power on the monitor. (I complained to myself for a day over the damn card having a DP rather than another HDMI connector but... yeah.)

The other problem is flicking on my secondary displays after I close a browser that has been playing Flash-based videos.

Are these traits of the driver or the hardware, and if the driver what version # should I be using? I remember NVIDIA just having crap driver versions at times and there were certain ones to stick to, I assume the same goes for ATI.
 
On the 10.4a drivers my secondary displays flickered whenever Windows rendered an Aero animation, but all the displays powered up.

I'm back on 10.6, and of course when I booted the DP display didn't power on by itself.
 
On the 10.4a drivers my secondary displays flickered whenever Windows rendered an Aero animation, but all the displays powered up.

I'm back on 10.6, and of course when I booted the DP display didn't power on by itself.

Have you tried 10.3a and 10.5a?
 
10.6 totally dicked up my computer. Blue screen crashes trying to get into Windows. Went into safe mode, couldn't uninstall using the ATI utility. Used driver sweeper to uninstall, then installed 10.5, now seem to be back to normal. 10.6 is bad.
 
10.6 totally dicked up my computer. Blue screen crashes trying to get into Windows. Went into safe mode, couldn't uninstall using the ATI utility. Used driver sweeper to uninstall, then installed 10.5, now seem to be back to normal. 10.6 is bad.
That's actually a Windows bug, not an ATI bug. There is a hotfix for that.
 
Back
Top