In addition to the OpenGL 2.1 API, ATI's FireGL V7600 also supports DirectX 10, making it completely Vista compatible. However, for now, we recommend taking a wait-and-see approach with Vista. While ATI has done its homework where drivers are concerned, the software industry still has a ways to go before the same thing can be said about applications. If you have no choice in the matter and need to use Vista, check beforehand if the applications you intend to use have been certified for Microsoft's newest OS. That said, bear in mind that the situation with regard to Vista may change greatly in a matter of months on the software side.

After installing the drivers, we initially thought they lacked a configuration option, namely the specific settings for important applications such as Maya, 3D Studio Max, Pro/Engineer, and so forth. Upon closer inspection, we realized why we couldn't find it: for the first time, ATI integrated a feature it calls AutoDetect. As the name implies, this feature automatically detects what application is currently running and adjusts the settings accordingly. Thus, the tedious manual selection of settings for each and every application is now a thing of the past.

Catalyst Control Center with settings for adaptive antialiasing.

All 3D settings are combined in one menu item of the driver.

Additional 3D settings for OpenGL as well.

Color correction options in the driver.