• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.
  • The forums have been upgraded with support for dark mode. By default it will follow the setting on your system/browser. You may override it by scrolling to the end of the page and clicking the gears icon.

Valve, AMD Team Up to Provide Gamers with Easy ATI Catalyst Driver Updates on Steam

i don't get why this is being done. it isn't like a buying decision will come down to whether or not they can update drivers using steam...
 
Easy Rhino said:
i don't get why this is being done. it isn't like a buying decision will come down to whether or not they can update drivers using steam...
Click to expand...

No, but a lot of technical issues are resolved with driver updates, which is something that normal computer users probably don't think of. Hopefully nVidia will hop on to something like this and make it much easier for everyone to update their drivers. Valve is just freeing up some of their tech support it looks like.
 
brandonwh64 said:
let us know laughingman, although i have never had a issue with driver on ATI (THANK GOD!), i dont want it to start now or i will revert back to and earlier version. right now i have to goto work so TTYL guys
Click to expand...

No issues with the drivers. They fix that pixel left beyond glitch in BFBC2 when buildings are destroyed, but make the light dim for vehicles more apparent. Not really distracting, but noticeable in vehicles that had no issues. Improved frame rate around large explosions as well.

Install for the drivers through steam, works perfectly fine.
 
I too am updating from 10.8's to 10.9's and will be hitting up BC2, will post back with results!

Easy Rhino said:
i don't get why this is being done. it isn't like a buying decision will come down to whether or not they can update drivers using steam...
Click to expand...

People are lazy, to be able to click on a program that always opens at start and tell it to do it's thing is easy, already seen 1 guy in this thread say that this seals his deal on his next GPU purchase. Won't be a huge thing, but it's the little things that count.

**EDIT**
Updated drivers, comp screen went black, stayed black for 5min, had to manually restart the comp, says I have 10.9's now, and I tried checking for updates again and says they are up to date, so hopefully it installed everything.
 
Last edited:
The Steam install is kind of funny. You don't have to shut down any apps or uninstall anything or reboot. It works great. Installs driver as if it was a Game Patch.
 
crow1001 said:
Lol can see it now, " steam notification-catalyst driver update available " 24 hours later " steam notification-catalyst driver hotfix available " you know it's true...:laugh:
Click to expand...

W1zzard said:
also people would blame steam for: start steam .. steam has installed an update to steam and needs to restart .. steam has detected a driver update and needs to restart your computer ... steam has installed a driver update and needs to restart your computer .. please while updating mafia II
wtf i just wanted to play for a few minutes
Click to expand...

:roll: This is exactly the first two things I was thinking.

Mindweaver said:
This just sealed the deal on my next card being an AMD Radeon! I like it!
Click to expand...

:laugh:

crow1001 said:
lool sarcasm??

You're basing the next GFX purchase on steam and the fact it will now notify you when new drivers are available..:laugh:
Click to expand...

Easy Rhino said:
i don't get why this is being done. it isn't like a buying decision will come down to whether or not they can update drivers using steam...
Click to expand...

I think Mindweaver is more right than anyone is willing to admit. Anyone spent any time over on the Steam forums. It really makes my head hurt some times. The logic Mindweaver noted goes right along with it. Though Rhino, I would say this is really just a side effect but mentioned in passing as a side effect.
 
what i found funny i got offered the updated ATI drivers before steam was updated.
 
me too
 
It didn't offer me anything, anyways just got done with BC2, and the load times were much improved from 10.8's. And 10.8's use to start slowing the game down the longer I played, 10.9's played like butter the entire time, props to Steam/AMD on this one, worked great.
 
i guess i would give this a try if i had an ati card.
 
This is kinda cool but I don't like the part where steam gets more money.
 
TheLaughingMan said:
Second, I have 10.8a because Windows 7 update manager recommended the update. This means there will be 3 things harassing me about updates whenever they are released and I don't think I will like that.
Click to expand...
that is why I always download graphics driver manually... :ohwell:

I have Windows Vista and GTX280, so for me it gives me some driver back from april... :wtf:
while in the mean time there were several WHQL drivers...

however, since my GTX280 is getting old, I guess this "april" driver is OK, but hey... I like my drivers up to date... :D
 
stupido said:
however, since my GTX280 is getting old, I guess this "april" driver is OK, but hey... I like my drivers up to date... :D
Click to expand...

I follow the saying, "don't fix what isn't broken". Been a few times where everything worked great, then I got new drivers and it all went to shit. I usually only upgrade if a really new feature comes out, or if my current drivers are having issues. My 10.8's were disappointed so I upgraded and was very happy.
 
1Kurgan1 said:
I follow the saying, "don't fix what isn't broken". Been a few times where everything worked great, then I got new drivers and it all went to shit. I usually only upgrade if a really new feature comes out, or if my current drivers are having issues. My 10.8's were disappointed so I upgraded and was very happy.
Click to expand...
I heard this before but never happened to me... :rockout: yet... :D
 
Not working for me : [
 
It worked fine for me (4870) but admitdly i only tryed it for the sake of trying it, as for me the only major reason to update my drivers is if they contain a performance update to a game i play or fix a problem i have and neither of those usually apply to me.
 
How do they get the install to apply without a restart? Thought something was wrong until I checked with GPU-Z to see that I was actually updated to 10.9...
 
As ever with these things, there's more to it than meets the eye. You can be sure that AMD & Valve are thinking of themselves much more than they're thinking of us. As W1zzard said, what's wrong with an auto update function built into the drivers?

From Valve's point of view, I think it helps to entrench their platform as the one of choice over all the others, so they get more revenue from the game publishers, who will tend to go with them more than others.

Also, watch out for the "Apple App Store" walled garden effect that so many people despise, including me. Steam is effectively an app store and can and does control what it deems acceptable for publication - and can revoke products from your library too, which would tend to cause a bit of a public relations storm like Amazon's... In the end for me, it's the least intrusive DRM system I've seen and the only one I can live with. I point blank will not allow securom or similar crap on my computer, to the point where I'll simply not buy the game if it insists on this type of DRM.

From AMD's side, I guess it entrenches the idea that "AMD graphics cards are betta!" over nvidia. I'm not really sure exactly what they get out of this deal, so any suggestions welcome.
 
AMD been partnering and making headlines lately :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top