After several posts into their forums, it is now the time for AMD to launch their most awaited driver (bug-fixes concerning to Steam Linux client) that comes in their 3rd instalment of Catalyst 13.2 beta. So, if you had problem with Serious Sam 3 or Team Fortress 2, now you can actually feel the ultimate gaming experience. Yet, there are many things remaining to be fixed, but this driver it was most awaited by many… many… people out there. Especially for us, Ubuntu users.
Check the log…
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Feature Highlights of the AMD Catalyst™ 13.2 Beta Driver for Linux
- [370476 ]: Resolves a Team Fortress 2 performance issue with Ubuntu 12.04/12.10 and AMD Radeon™ HD 7000, 6000 Series GPU. Up to 300% performance improvement
- [369298 ]: Resolves a Serious Sam 3 launching and corruption issue with Ubuntu 12.04/12.10 and AMD Radeon™ HD 7000, 6000 Series GPU
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AMD Desktop Product Family Compatibility
AMD Radeon™ HD 8900 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
AMD Radeon HD 8800 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series
AMD Radeon HD 8700 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6600 Series
AMD Radeon HD 8400 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6500 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6400 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6300 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6200 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7600 Series
ATI Radeon HD 5900 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7500 Series
ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7570 Series
ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7500 Series
ATI Radeon HD 5600 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7400 Series
ATI Radeon HD 5500 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7300 Series
ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7000 series
ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
AMD Radeon™ HD 7600A Series
AMD Radeon HD 6600A Series
AMD Radeon HD 7400A Series
AMD Radeon HD 6350A Series
AMD Radeon™ E6760
AMD Radeon E6460
AMD Radeon™ HD 7600G Series
AMD Radeon HD 7600D Series
AMD Radeon HD 7500G Series
AMD Radeon HD 7500D Series
AMD Radeon HD 7400G Series
AMD Radeon HD 7400D Series
AMD Radeon HD 7300G Series
AMD Radeon HD 6500D Series
AMD Radeon HD 6700G Series
AMD Radeon HD 6400D Series
AMD Radeon HD 6600G Series
AMD Radeon HD 6300D Series
AMD Radeon HD 6500G Series
AMD Radeon HD 6400G Series
AMD Radeon HD 6300G Series
AMD Radeon HD 6200G Series
AMD Radeon™ HD 7900M Series
AMD Radeon HD 6500M Series
AMD Radeon HD 7800M Series
AMD Radeon HD 6400M Series
AMD Radeon HD 7700M Series
AMD Radeon HD 6300M Series
AMD Radeon HD 7600M Series
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7500M Series
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5700 Series
AMD Radeon HD 7000M Series
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5600 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6900M Series
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5500 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6800M Series
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5400 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series
AMD Radeon HD 6600M Series
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According to AMD, there is a potential performance boost up to 300% improvement ONLY for Radeon HD 7000, 6000 series. However, I tested the game with my Radeon 6950 and I didn’t notice a 300% boost. The overall experience is updated, indeed, but I can’t see this 300% boost the AMD claims in their website. I will make some test with Radeon HD7000 as soon as possible and then come back. Good news don’t stop here because there is another thing about this driver release. For the first time (if my memory serves me right) AMD offers you support for their upcoming GPUs: AMD Radeon 8000 series GPU also known as Oland family. According to TechPowerUp “the Radeon HD 8870, could offer performance comparable to today’s high-end GPUs. The HD 8870 is clocked at 1050 MHz with 1100 MHz PowerTune Boost frequency; while the HD 8850 is clocked at 925 MHz with 975 MHz boost frequency. The memory of both SKUs is clocked at 6.00 GHz, yielding 192 GB/s memory bandwidth. The chips hence have 256-bit wide memory interfaces”.
[button color=”red” link=”http://www2.ati.com/drivers/beta/amd-driver-installer-catalyst-13.2-beta3-linux-x86.x86_64.zip”]Download Catalyst[/button]