Package Content
The AMD Catalyst software suite / AMD Vision Engine Control Center 11.6 contains the following:

• AMD display driver version 8.861
• HydraVision for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7
• Southbridge/IXP Driver
• AMD Catalyst Control Center version 8.861 / AMD Vision Engine Control Center version 8.861.

Important ! Caution !

• The AMD display driver and the AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center can be downloaded independently of each other. However, for better stability and performance AMD recommends that both components be updated from the same AMD Catalyst release.
• The AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center requires that the Microsoft® .NET Framework SP1 be installed for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Without .NET SP1 installed, the AMD Catalyst Control Center / AMD Vision Engine Control Center will not launch properly and the user will see an error message.

Notes.

• When installing the AMD Catalyst driver for Windows operating system, the user must be logged on as Administrator or have Administrator rights to complete the installation of the AMD Catalyst driver.
• These release notes provide information on the AMD display driver only. For information on the ATI Multimedia Center, HydraVision, HydraVision Basic Edition, Remote Wonder, or the Southbridge/IXP driver, please refer to their respective release notes found at: http://support.amd.com/.
• AMD Eyefinity technology gives gamers access to high display resolutions. As pixel count grows, the graphics horsepower required to drive the displays at a reasonable frame rate can increase dramatically. Depending on the game and system configuration, users may notice texture corruption and reduced frame rates when running games in multi-monitor Eyefinity modes.
• Windows Driver Model (WDM) drivers are no longer bundled in the AMD Catalyst software suite. The WDM drivers install bundle can be downloaded independently through the AMD website

• Windows 7 32-bit version
• Windows 7 64-bit version
• Windows Vista 32-bit version
• Windows Vista 64-bit version
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Windows XP Media Center Edition
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Highlights of the AMD Catalyst 11.6 Windows release includes:

New Features:

• AMD Steady Video
• Steady Video is currently an AMD exclusive feature based on AMD APP Technology
• By applying advanced algorithms behind the scenes, users do not have to deal with shaky or unstable video ever again!
• Capabilities scale with hardware and are end user controlled
• Image Stabilization brought to YouTube!
• Decode Acceleration of MPEG-4 part 2 content
• AMD has enabled decode acceleration of MPEG-4 part 2 content in Microsoft video player applications (through MFT support) for all AMD Radeon 6000 Series

Performance Enhancements
Performance highlights of the AMD Catalyst 11.6 release includes:

• Performance gains in Crysis of up to 7% on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series single card configurations.
• Performance gains in F1 2010 of up to 8% in DirectX 11 mode on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series products in single and Crossfire configurations.
• Performance gains in Far Cry 2 of up to 5% on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series products in single and Crossfire configurations.
• Performance gains in HAWX of up to 8% on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series products in single and Crossfire configurations.
• Performance gains in the Unigine OpenGL tests of up to 10% on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series single card configurations.

Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System
This section provides information on resolved known issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 11.6 software suite for Windows 7. These include:

• Flashing titles are no longer displayed when playing F1 2010 in a Crossfire environment.
• Video playback no longer intermittently displays a black screen when using Windows Media Player.
• Graphics and Gaming scores are now correctly computed in the Windows Performance Index.
• A BSOD error is no longer generated randomly when Crossfire is enabled/disabled after video/LCD overdrive settings are changed on HD 6900 series products.
• Crossfire is now correctly enabled when playing The Witcher 2 on HD 6800 series products. (when used with AMD Catalyst 11.5 CAP 5 release)
• Screen tearing is no longer randomly seen when playing Riddick 2 at high performance settings and with Crossfire enabled.
• The game Kings Bounty now renders correctly.
• The game Empire Total War now no longer displays random flickering and in-game buttons display correctly.
• Google Earth now performs smoothly in OpenGL mode.
• Crossfire is now correctly enabled when playing Cars 2 on HD 6900 series products.
• Sid Meyers Civilization V no longer displays intermittent graphical corruption when played in DirectX 10 mode in a Crossfire environment.
• Heaven 2.1 running in DirectX 11 mode no longer displays intermittent graphical corruption in a Crossfire environment.
• Crossfire is correctly enabled when playing LEGO : Pirates of the Caribbean on HD6800 and HD 6900 series products.
• Poor performance is no longer experienced while Playing Heroes of Newerth and when the cursor is moved to the top right or bottom right corner of the screen.
• Mouse cursor corruption (in the upper right portion of the screen) should be resolved

Resolved Issues for the Windows Vista Operating System
This section provides information on resolved known issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 11.6 software suite for Windows Vista. These include:

• The screen no longer briefly flashes green while changing screen resolution and playing a BluRay title using PowerDVD 10.