ATI Issues Fix for Grey Screening 5800 Series
As promised, ATI and AMD have issued a fix for a previously reported problem that causes grey or colored lines appearing on screens and in some cases crashing.
Users of 5800 series cards will be glad to know that ATI has released a hotfix for intermittent grey screen and vertical line corruptions that randomly appear while watching movies, playing games or when the computer is sitting idle.
The hotfix applies to Windows 7 32bit, Windows 7 64bit, Windows Vista 32bit, Windows Vista 64bit, Windows XP, Windows XP x64 and Windows XP Media Center.
Click here to download the hotfix.
As of yet there is no word as to why some owners of 5700 series cards are seeing the same problem.
Click here and here to read more about the problem
UPDATE: ATI has said hotfix applies to both the 5800 series and the 5700 series.
UPDATE2: ATI now says they're still working on a hotfix for the 5700 series cards. The hotfix released yesterday applies only to the 5800 cards. They're still working on a fix for the 5700 series.

Does this mean they have no way of solving the problem?
Or does this just mean there is a new Bios version being prepared that solves the problem along with a decent software solution integrated withing Catalyst. I konw Hotfixes are just a temporary remedy, but the word hotfix includes the word "fix" and therefore it should.. er... fix the problem and not just alleviate it.
This raises the concern if they are not just tinkering with voltages and clock speeds to try and avoid returns on those cards and thus prolong their life. I wouldn't think so because if that is the case they probably won't last the entire warranty period anyway, but it is weird that they don't say what causes the problem and how the hotfix fixes it.
Also, where did Tom's get the update that says the hotfix also applies to 5700 cards ? The hotfix page doesn't mention that.
Didn't realize there was trouble with that, that's troubling. could you give more specifics about the problem?
Expect for the part where nvidia isn't known for buggy drivers while ATI has had that rep for quite a long time.
If this was nvidia you'd be flaming nvidia for not doing things right instead of thanking ATI on fixing something that should have never been a problem.
food for thought
It's pretty well documented over on AVSForum and it's been brought up on ATI's own forums (although you'll learn that nobody related to the actual company cares enough to check the ATI forums).
Basically... If you set audio above 16 bit/92KHz or 24 bit/48KHz and play any unprotected (err, non-DRM, PCM) audio while you have windows set to a 5.1 configuration, the channels go crazy (front goes to back and L+R go to center, etc.) and you get massive (the kind that blows speakers) disortion. This problem is brought on anytime you open a new window or do any kind of multi-tasking. Slight distortion is also present on 2 channel, 24 bit/192KHz settings, but you don't get the channel problems.
I don't believe this is hardware related since 24 bit/192KHz audio works fine when you're playing a Blu-Ray and bitstreaming audio. Multi-channel PCM also work pretty well if you keep it below the above mentioned settings. Keep in mind that PCM works fine with the 4XXX series of video cards (I just upgraded and have tested it extensively with a 4870). This seems to be a problem related specifically to the way PAP is implemented in the new cards. ...on AVS, people seem to believe it's a problem with the Powerplay feature of the new 5XXX series. Who knows? Unfortunately the latest date on the driver is November 13 and they don't seem to be in a hurry to fix this issue.
Anyone remember black screen freezes/resets on 8800 cards under Vista. Yes over 9 months with no fix(even then it took many drivers for a good fix). I guess both companies suck equally.
We asked ATI and a spokesperson informed us that the hotfix was also for 5700 cards.
Anybody saying that nvidia hasn't had buggy drivers is either really lucky, doesn't game alot or is in denial. And as far as saying that Nvidia "isn't known for their buggy drivers" is just a testament to advertising, short term memory of the American people (or any other country apparently) and the skill of covering up issues.
I suppose everyone has forgotten or didn't hear about the , what were the numbers?, 37% or so of all windows Vista crashes in the first 6-8 months after release of the os.
Personally I think that Nvidia is just alot better at lying and their fans are alot more stubborn
As I remember, people were having problems with purble place, not crysis