AMD Catalyst™
Performance, Innovation, and Stability
AMD's award-winning ATI Catalyst™ graphics and HD video configuration software delivers unprecedented control of performance and visual quality with ATI Radeon™ graphics processors. Certified by Microsoft® Windows® Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL), ATI Catalyst drivers for Windows Vista® and Windows® XP operating systems deliver stable performance and push the limits of innovation with advanced user-oriented features.
Precision controls for power users. Tweaks for gamers and video enthusiasts. Simple wizard-assisted setup, easy multi-monitor configuration, and ultra reliable operation for working professionals. New user or seasoned expert, ATI Catalyst puts you in charge of The Ultimate Visual Experience™.
Industry-leading performance
- ATI Catalyst updates are focused on improving graphics performance, including enhancements for popular Direct3D and OpenGL game titles.
Innovative and exciting features
- ATI Catalyst includes the ATI Catalyst Control Center™, delivering innovative features and unprecedented control of performance and visual quality with ATI Radeon graphics.
Robust stability
- ATI Catalyst drivers for Windows Vista and Windows XP are Microsoft WHQL-certified, and include rigorously tested Linux drivers to deliver the industry's most stable and reliable graphics performance.
ATI Catalyst: under the hood
ATI Catalyst delivers a full software solution for PCs running several operating systems including Microsoft® Windows Vista®, Microsoft Windows® XP, and Linux®, and supports ATI Radeon™ GPUs including:
- ATI Radeon-based Desktop graphics cards
- ATI Mobility Radeon graphics processors for notebook PCs
- AMD Chipsets with integrated ATI Radeon graphics onboard
The ATI Catalyst software engine is comprised of three primary software components:
- ATI Catalyst Control Center™ - ATI Catalyst software application and user interface for setup, configuration, and accessing features of ATI Radeon products.
- Unified Graphics display driver - ATI Catalyst software enabling other PC programs and devices to use advanced graphics, video, and features of ATI Radeon products.
- Video Capture driver - ATI Catalyst software for recording and "capturing" digitized video from external sources onto your PC's disk drives using ATI Radeon products.
ATI Catalyst and OpenGL
AMD's OpenGL driver for ATI Catalyst offers many benefits to OpenGL workstation users, gamers, and developers. Featuring advanced next-generation driver architecture, the OpenGL ATI Catalyst driver improves graphics quality and stability, and enables hardware-independent optimizations for superior driver performance.
ATI Catalyst and Windows Vista
With Microsoft Windows Vista, the ATI Catalyst driver powers a new graphics architecture, application programming interface (DirectX®10 and DirectX®10.1), and graphics driver model (Windows Display Driver Model-WDDM). Windows Vista's WDDM graphics driver model offers a number of significant improvements over the previous driver model with Windows XP. Vista's WDDM delivers significantly improved stability and security, and enables the high performance 3D acceleration offered with Windows Vista's Windows Aero user interface.
AMD: The leader in Windows Vista driver support
The acknowledged leader in Windows Vista driver support, AMD has consistently released a new WHQL-certified ATI Catalyst every month since Windows Vista began shipping in January 2007. This close partnership with Microsoft has given AMD a significant lead in graphics development for Windows Vista, earning high praise from Microsoft for AMD's commitment to quality, features, and performance for Windows Vista:
"…From day one, AMD has played a key role in helping us design and validate the new driver model at the heart of Windows Vista. That knowledge has led to the development of extremely stable, feature-rich high-performance software drivers and hardware that really showcase the full power of the new Windows operating system."
- Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft