Driver Update: AMD Catalyst 13.8 Beta 2

AMD has released a new beta of its Catalyst drivers. There is only one download and it is suitable for Windows 7 and 8, for both 32bit and 64bit environments. That immediately explains the size of 234MB. The driver supports both desktop and mobile GPUs from the Radeon HD5000 series and is especially interesting for people who play the latest games. Support for Frame Pacing has been added in the 13.8 beta release, among other things, which should prevent stuttering of the image in a Crossfire setup. Beta 2 mainly contains bug fixes.

Feature Highlights of The AMD Catalyst 13.8 Beta2 Driver for Windows:

• Saints Row 4: Performance improves up to 25% at 1920×1280 with Ultra settings enabled
• Splinter Cell Blacklist: Performance improves up to 9% at 2560×1600 with Ultra settings enabled
• Final Fantasy XIV: Improves single GPU and CrossFire performance
• Van Helsing: Fixes image quality issues when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the AMD Catalyst Control Center
• Far Cry 3 / Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon: Resolve corruption when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center
• RIPD: Improves single GPU performance
• Minimum: Improves CrossFire performance
• Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Improves CrossFire performance
• CrossFire: Frame Pacing feature – includes improved performance in World of Warcraft, Sniper Elite, Watch Dogs, and Tomb Raider
• Doom 3 BFG: Corruption issues have been resolved

Known Issues of The AMD Catalyst 13.8 Beta2 Driver for Windows:

• CrossFire configurations (when used in combination with Overdrive) can result in the secondary GPU usage running at 99%
• Enabling CrossFire can result in the PCI-e bus speed for the secondary GPU being reported as x1
• Bioshock Infinite: New DLC can cause system hangs with Frame Pacing enabled – disable frame pacing for this title to resolve

The following downloads are available:
AMD Catalyst 13.8 beta 2 for Windows 7 and 8 (32&64bit)
AMD Catalyst Mobility 13.8 2 beta for Windows 7 and 8 (32&64bit)