AMD Releases Catalyst 12.1; Previews Catalyst 12.2 Drivers

AMD quietly released a new set of graphics drivers last week just at the tip of the weekend. If you missed them, consider this a reminder that the Catalyst driver suite now has a dozen versions in its history.

Those awaiting stable drivers can now download the Catalyst 12.1 drivers that feature application profiles and video UI improvements. These new features first rolled out in the form of a preview driver released mid-December.

If you insist on living on the edge, AMD also released an even more advanced 12.2 preview driver set. The main improvements come to those using Eyefinity:

• Additional resolution support:   Users can now choose from a larger set of resolutions when running AMD Eyefinity
• Dynamic Configuration Changes:  Switching between different display configurations will occur automatically when physically plugging/un-plugging displays
• HydraVision™ enhancements:  The Windows® Task bar can now be moved and resized based on users preference
• Profile Manager improvements:  Increased support for Display Groups (including 5x1) and Extended configurations within the Profile Manager

Gamers will also appreciate the new version as it fixes a number of bugs when running on Windows 7.

• Call of Duty IV no longer displays random corruption when in DirectX® 9 more and the Edge Detect filter is enabled.
• A black screen is no longer occasionally displayed when running Portal 2 in 3D mode.
• All 3d Anti Aliasing settings are now correctly listed in the Vision Control Center.
• Morphological filtering settings are now correctly listed in the Vision Control Center.
• Civilization V no longer experiences random crashes when run in DirectX® 10 and DirectX® 11 modes.
• Enabling the ‘Edge Detect’ filter in Resident Evil 5 or Just Cause 2 no longer generates a random application crash.
• Battlefield 3 no longer hangs when MSAA is enabled.
• Saints Row III no longer experiences random hangs.
• Rage no longer experiences intermittent hangs when Crossfire is enabled.
• Dragon Age 2 textures no longer flicker when run in DirectX® 9 mode in Crossfire configurations with vsync enabled.
• Crysis Warhead and Battlefield Bad Company 2 no longer experience random crashes when Crossfire is enabled.
• Texture flickering is no longer experienced when playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 in DirectX® 11 mode.

You can download the Catalyst 12.2 preview drivers here.

_{Read more from @MarcusYam on Twitter.}