Thread: Anandtech News

Later today AMD will be releasing the first preview for their Catalyst 12.1 driver set. AMD has been going through preview/beta drivers at a rapid pace in the last couple of months – we’ve seen 3 different 11.11 preview drivers in as many weeks – and as 11.12 nears, AMD is preparing for what 2012 and the Catalyst 12.x series will bring. It may sound like hyperbole to say that 2012 will be the biggest year yet for AMD’s Catalyst driver team, but it’s the truth. Graphics Core Next will be the biggest GPU architecture change for the company since R600 (2900XT) nearly 5 years ago, bringing with it a great deal of backend driver work that needs to be done, while the frontend team has their own goals and aspirations.
At the same time it’s going to give AMD the chance to close the book on 2011. 2011 brought with it some great developments out of the Catalyst team such as significant performance boosts for both Cayman (6900 series) GPUs and CrossFire across the board, while other groups delivered on more consumer-facing features such as SteadyVideo to go along with the launch of the Llano APU.
But 2011 also brought with it some technical debt and some reputational debt, all of which needs to be paid in 2012. AMD outright blew the launch of Rage by posting a faulty driver, Battlefield 3 in CrossFire mode did not work out of the box (i.e. without microstutter) even with nearly a month-long public beta and AMD’s close relationship with DICE, and CrossFire support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took the better part of a month to reach Radeon HD 5000 series owners. Not to kick the Catalyst team while they’re down, but for all that went well for them in 2011 they failed in other areas where they could least afford it. Thus 2012 becomes all the more important for AMD as they need to erase their debts from 2011.
Erasing those debts starts today for AMD, with the release of the Catalyst 12.1 preview driver. 12.1 won’t be the driver that buys AMD redemption – I think 11.11c is more important in that respect – but it is the driver that sets the pace for the year. And quite frankly it’s the driver that’s going to buy AMD a lot of goodwill, even if it only brings with it a few changes.

Custom Application Profiles As Implemented By NVIDIA

Of those few features I’m going to immediately dive in with what I think is the headline feature: custom application profiles. Ever since NVIDIA introduced custom application profiles so many years ago I have been a firm believer in their importance for GPU enthusiasts. While most games have been good about implementing anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering controls, that’s about as much progress as they’ve made. With the introduction of driver enhancements like Adaptive/Transparancy anti-aliasing, coverage sample/EQ anti-aliasing, tessellation clamping, and the widespread use of multi-GPU, the idea that you can set & forget your drivers on a global level has become antiquated. These features deserve to be used, and custom application profiles are the most efficient way of using them.
For more than 4 years now I’ve asked AMD for this feature – in meetings and in articles – but it hasn’t been something where we’ve seen eye-to-eye. AMD made some progress in 2010 with the introduction of Catalyst Application Profiles (CAP) to distribute out of band profile updates, and while CAP was a big step forward for AMD, the C I was looking for was custom. Tools like Radeon Pro have filled the gap in the meantime, but it’s never the same thing as having such functionality built into the driver itself, especially when 3^rd party tools will never have the reach of 1^st party tools.
With Catalyst 12.1 AMD is finally taking application profiles to their logical extension by allowing for custom application profiles, and I couldn’t be happier. As is the case with NVIDIA, AMD is allowing users to create new application profiles and to modify the application profiles distributed through drivers and CAP updates. This not only includes settings traditionally available through the driver, but for the first time AMD is opening up CrossFire – you can now force various CrossFire modes by using a custom profile.

Breaking things down a bit, if you have used NVIDIA’s custom profiles in the past then you should find the functionality nearly the same. All of AMD’s control panel settings can be saved to a custom profile which will then be used alongside the game the profile is for. For example this allows for forcing MSAA in Starcraft II or clamping tessellation factors in HAWX 2 without the need to set (and then unset) these features at a global level. If you’re an image quality purist, and particularly if you’ve spent a significant amount of money on GPUs to achieve this, then the value of custom profiles cannot be understated.
As for multi-GPU users, they will be the other significant group to benefit from custom profiles. Previously if you wished to force CrossFire on an unsupported application you needed to rename the executable to match a game AMD had a profile for, and then hope that specific CF mode worked. With custom profiles AMD is enabling several different CF modes: default (which uses whatever CF profile AMD has defined for the game), AFR Friendly (forced AFR), Optimize 1x1, and Use AMD Pre-define Profile, which allows a custom profile to have a CF mode from another game mapped to it (similar to NVIDIA’s SLI compatibility bits). Even disabling CF on a per-profile basis is an option here, though we found that it suffers from the same quirk that NVIDIA’s implementation does: the second GPU is decoupled but CF isn’t actually disabled, so games that can detect CF (such as Crysis) will follow their AFR friendly render paths as they still see CF enabled.

At this point all of the necessary functionality is present and accounted for, and in our tests we’ve found it to work without any hitches. AMD is finally at parity with NVIDIA in providing this small but crucial feature.
With that said, while AMD has done a great job implementing the functionality of custom application profiles the interface could use some further work. The whole implementation still feels like it’s been shoehorned into AMD’s existing 3D Applications Setting panel; AMD doesn’t sufficiently separate the concept of global and custom profile settings, as you use the same control panel to make changes to both types of settings. It’s possible (and likely) that you’ll accidentally set your global settings at least once when trying to save a custom profile.
Furthermore whereas NVIDIA uses application detection to pre-populate a list of profiles, AMD has no such detection. In order to create a profile you need to first select your settings in the 3D Application Settings panel and then save those settings to a new profile, a process that involves hunting down the executable of the game. Of course NVIDIA’s detection system isn’t perfect and you’ll have to follow a similar process at times, but if you have a large Steam library you’ll appreciate not having to drill down through several directories to find the right executable for each game.

Once a custom profile has been set however, AMD actually has a second panel that lists all of the custom profiles and their settings, and allows you to delete them. Note that this is just a listing of custom profiles, so pre-defined profiles continue to remain hidden. Custom and pre-defined profiles play well together for the most part, although if you create a custom profile for a game that already has a pre-defined profile AMD will warn you that the custom profile will override the pre-defined profile.

Gallery: AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview


Overall if you’re a previous NVIDIA user who has missed custom application profiles you should be quite content with AMD’s latest addition. Otherwise if you’ve never had the opportunity to use custom application profiles before then you’re in for a treat.
Rounding out the changes to the Catalyst Control Center, along with the addition of custom application profiles AMD has also made some minor tweaks to the Video Color and Video Quality control panels. There’s no new functionality to speak of, but they have been tweaked to simplify their use.

Finally, outside of the CCC AMD has also added a couple new features to their driver, along with some specific performance enhancements. 3D users will find that quad-buffer (gaming) 3D finally works in conjunction with CrossFire, while TV users will find that AMD now supports frame-packed 3D over HDMI at 1080p30, on top of their existing support for 1080p24 and 720p60. A quick check of the HDMI specification lists frame-packed 1080p30 as an optional (secondary) resolution, but it’s there for the TVs that support it. Meanwhile for performance AMD is still hard at work on Skyrim; 6900 series users can look forward to up to 10% better performance in Skyrim when using MSAA alongside CrossFire.


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Last month OCZ introduced the Octane, its first SSD based on the now in-house Indilinx Everest controller. The drive did reasonably well in our tests and was priced competitively with similar 6Gbps solutions from Micron and Samsung. The only unknown is reliability at this point but we're taking a wait and see approach to Everest and Octane to answer that point.
While we wait for more user reports of Octane compatibility and reliability, OCZ is releasing its second drive based on the Indilinx Everest controller: the Petrol. Still a 6Gbps SATA drive, Petrol drops IMFT synchronous NAND in favor of cheaper non-IMFT asynchronous NAND (somehwat similar to the Agility 3 vs. Vertex 3, although both of those drives used IMFT NAND).
The slower NAND drops peak performance a bit but it should also help hit lower price points. OCZ hasn't released much info about the Petrol lineup (including pricing) other than to say that it will be available in the coming weeks. I've compiled a table of what we do know below.

OCZ Indilinx Everest Lineup
	Petrol	Octane 1TB	Octane 512GB	Octane 256GB	Octane 128GB
NAND Type	Non-Intel Async MLC	25nm Intel Sync MLC	25nm Intel Sync MLC	25nm Intel Sync MLC	25nm Intel Sync MLC
NAND	64GB - 512GB	1TB	512GB	256GB	128GB
User Capacity	-	953GiB	476GiB	238GiB	119GiB
Random Read Performance	Up to 35K IOPS	Up to 45K IOPS	Up to 37K IOPS	Up to 37K IOPS	Up to 37K IOPS
Random Write Performance	?	Up to 19.5K IOPS	Up to 16K IOPS	Up to 12K IOPS	Up to 7.7K IOPS
Sequential Read Performance	Up to 400MB/s	Up to 560 MB/s	Up to 535 MB/s	Up to 535 MB/s	Up to 535 MB/s
Sequential Write Performance	Up to 400MB/s	Up to 400 MB/s	Up to 400 MB/s	Up to 270 MB/s	Up to 170 MB/s
MSRP	TBD	TBD	$879.99	$369.99	$199.99

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Prior to this year's IDF, Intel told its partners that Ivy Bridge would be available in a quad-core mobile variant with a 35W TDP. This was particularly exciting news as it meant OEMs could design even smaller quad-core notebooks, potentially even getting four Ivy Bridge cores into something the size of a 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The most recent Ivy Bridge roadmap leaks however haven't mentioned anything about a 35W quad-core part. Kristian hypothesized that the missing 35W CPUs may be OEM only and we might just have to bide our time before they show up. Today, VR-Zone identified a handful of unlisted OEM-only mobile IVB parts that may be the elusive 35W quad-cores we've been looking for. The Core i7-361x series (3610, 3612, 3615 - QE/QM suffixes) are all supposed to run at either 2.1GHz or 2.3GHz (down from 2.6 - 2.9GHz with the standard 45W parts) and feature a 6MB L3 cache. The significantly lower base clock is normally indicative of a lower TDP, which lends credibility to the theory that these are the missing 35W parts. Despite the lower base clock, turbo is supported at up to 3.1GHz or 3.3GHz depending on the CPU.
We're still waiting to see an official-looking Intel document confirming this, but given VR-Zone's track record with Intel roadmap leaks I'd say this is a promising start.
Source: VR-Zone via CPU World



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The Humble Indie Bundle team today launched the pay-what-you-want Humble Indie Bundle 4 just in time for the holidays - the bundle included WIndows, OS X, and Linux versions of Jamestown, Bit.Trip Runner, Super Meat Boy, Shank, and NightSky HD, while people who contribute more than the average payment (currently sitting right above $5) also get Gratuitous Space Battles and Cave Story+. Buyers can split their payment as they wish between the game developers, the Humble team, and the American Red Cross and Child's Play charities.
Since the first Humble Indie Bundle was posted last May, pay-what-you-want bundle of indie games have become exceedingly common - counting special bundles featuring specific games or developers, there have been seven Humble Bundles since the first one, and that doesn't even take into consideration bundles from folks like IndieRoyale and GamesAid.
These bundles are unquestionably great deals for gamers, who can get $100 worth of games for a hundredth of that price if they'd like, and it gives developers a chance both to foil piracy without using DRM and reach audiences that might not normally buy their games. I do sometimes worry that these bundles have the potential to undercut indie developers not included in them, and that they may reduce the pool of people willing to pay full price for the games - however, if these potential downsides exist, I haven't heard any evidence of it yet.
Once purchased, the games can be downloaded from the Humble Bundle site or via Steam. A gift order option is available for thrifty holiday shoppers.
Source: Humble Bundle



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Users of Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service now have another way to access and share their files - Microsoft today released SkyDrive apps for both Windows Phone and iOS devices, which are intended to complement SkyDrive.com's existing mobile interface.
The apps allow you to view all of the files and folders in your SkyDrive and those that have been shared with you by others. In both apps, you can view documents and pictures, create and delete folders, delete files, email links to files and folders (giving recipients either read-only or read-and-write permissions to the file), and download and upload pictures. Moving and renaming files and folders does not appear to be possible on either platform, however.
On Windows Phone, you can use other apps (like Office or Pictures) to achieve better integration with SkyDrive than on iOS - for example, the iOS version gives you no option to download or edit Office documents even if you have apps installed that will work with them. Ideally, I'd like to see options for opening files in other apps - for example the Dropbox iOS app, which serves a similar purpose, will offer to open Word documents in Pages if it's installed. Still, this app should prove useful to heavy SkyDrive users on either platform, and along with OneNote and the Xbox Live app it suggests that Microsoft is slowly committing to making nice-looking, useful apps for a major competitor's smartphone.
Both apps are available for free in the Windows and iOS app stores, and 25GB of SkyDrive storage is available for free to anyone with a Windows Live ID.
Source: Inside Windows Live



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When you start dipping well below an MSRP of $99 for an enclosure, you'll see manufacturers having to make compromises in the design and build quality in order to keep the price down. That's not unusual, and it gives the opportunity for smart engineering to come to the forefront in a bid to maximize value at minimal expense. We've seen a lot of exciting cases at $99 and in that neighborhood, but Rosewill's Ranger can be had for just $69.99, putting it in direct competition with crowd favorites like Bitfenix's Shinobi. Rosewill offered superior value with their full-sized Thor v2; can they repeat that success at half the cost?

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If you're looking for a new case, Antec is setting side a pair of its Eleven Hundred model cases for two lucky AnandTech readers. The Eleven Hundred features three tool-less 5.25" drive bays and six tool-less 3.5" bays in addition to all of the grommet lined routing holes you've come to expect from Antec. Check out the gallery below for more shots of the case.

Gallery: Antec Eleven Hundred


Read on for entry details!


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We've seen Qualcomm's development platforms before, first with their dual-core MSM8660 platform, and most recently with the MSM8960 platform. Last month, on The Engadget Show, Qualcomm revealed that, in addition to the MSM8960 phone platform, they have a tablet developer platform called Liquid. And that developer tablet has now been updated to Ice Cream Sandwich. Obviously, you and I don't have access to this hardware, but it's a good sign that Qualcomm is well on its way to preparing an Ice Cream Sandwich port for their next generation SoCs. As important, though, there's word that work is progressing for their lower tier SoCs, signaling that today's Snapdragon devices will see their upgrades in due time.

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Mango was a great update to Windows Phone 7, and brings Microsoft closer and closer to feature parity with its competition. But sales don't come close to matching that of Google's or Apple's offerings. Nokia's partnership with Microsoft finally bore fruit in October with the introduciton of the Lumia 800 and 710 models. The 800 was an N9 look-alike sporting Mango in lieu of Meego, complete with its gorgeous well-crafted body and AMOLED screen. The 710 was a bargain device, sporting similar internals to its more expensive stablemate, but with a plastic body and LCD screen. And until now, neither has been available in the US.
Today, however, T-Mobile and Nokia announced that the 710 will be avaialble for $49.99 on-contract on January 11th. Performance among Windows Phone devices is generally similar, with the top spec constrained to a single-core 1.4 GHz Qualcomm SoC, and the 710 is no different. The LCD screen comes in at WVGA (800x480); the rest of the specs are typical low-end Mango, 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of NAND. There's no microSD expandability, and imaging comes from a 5 MP sensor. Nokia's primary addition to Mango is their Nokia Drive navigation software, and pre-installed software is copious, but hopefully easy to uninstall. We can't say we're not disappointed that the stunning Lumia 800 isn't being revealed, but at $50 and with equivalent performance, this should still make a good case for itself.




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Hoping for some Galaxy Nexus LTE news? Sorry, no such luck. It was mentioned in the PR for the Xyboards we reported on last week, but we now have a release date. The white variant of the Droid RAZR will be joining the ranks of Verizon's Android smartphones tomorrow, with an on-contract price of $299.99, matching that of its brother, and the expected price of the Galaxy Nexus LTE when it finally reveals itself. Any other VZW news comes across our desks and we will let you know.



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