AMD Catalyst 12.10 WHQL & 12.11 Beta 3 Benchmark

As you may already know, a number of tech sites (Guru3D, Anandtech, ComputerBase) released a bunch of tests results for the 12.11 Beta that show good improvements across the board. But there’s a small catch, all these gains will be seen only with GCN GPUs aka HD7000 Series. So if you’re a HD7000 Graphics Card owner, you’re in luck. The drop of monthly WHQLs has finally payed out.

HD5000 and HD6000 Series Graphics Cards owners should not despair. I don’t know if there’s any truth behind this but rumor has it (don’t quote me on this) that AMD isn’t doing so well, financially speaking. Their Q3 sales/profits numbers have dramatically dropped. Is a good driver able to save them? I don’t know but it’s a big step in the right direction. More incentives for green users to jump boats.

With 12.9 Beta 3, AMD released the 12.10 WHQL, which will be included in this benchmark. A lot of you asked which one of these two is the best for pre-HD7000 GPUs. Let’s find out.

On another matter, I’ve been thinking of including Windows 8 (alongside Windows 7) in these benchmarks. Most of you want that so I’ll comply. I still have a few issues with Win 8 that need to be resolved before doing it but it’s definitely on the “must do” list.

Prior to installing a driver, a sweep was done in safe-mode using Treexy Driver Fusion.

All tests were ran 3 times.

• Arma II: Operation Arrowhead – v1.62 – Very High Settings @ 1920×1080 – Benchmark Scenario 01
• Batman Arkham City – v1 – Extreme Settings @ 1920×1080 – FXAA (Medium) – DirectX 11 Normal Tessellation – Cobblepot Intro and Thugs Fight
• Battlefield 3 – Ultra Settings @ 1920×1080 – 4xMSAA – Multiplayer on Strike at Karkand (32p map, Large Conquest), US Deployment -> B Flag
• DiRT Showdown – Ultra Settings @ 1920×1080 – 8xMSAA – Benchmark Mode
• Mass Effect 3 – Highest Settings @ 1920×1080 – Mars Archives Cinematic
• Max Payne 3 – 1.0.0.55 – Highest Settings – DX10.1 & DX 11 (High Shadows;2xMSAA) – Chapter X Intro
• Sleeping Dogs – v1.5 – Extreme Settings @ 1920×1080 – Benchmark Mode
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – v1.7.7 – Ultra Preset – 1920×1080 – 8xAA – 16xAF – Tested in the area East of Rorikstead
• Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty – v1.5.2 – Highest Settings @ 1920×1080 – 4vs4 Replay with pre-caching, 8x speed
• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition – v3.2 – Ultra Settings (Ubersampling Off) @ 1920×1080

Table of Contents:

Page 1 – Introduction
Page 2 – Results
Page 3 – Conclusion

Page 2 – Results