Like I said in my previous entry, I’ve installed ATI Catalyst 8.12. The manual fan speed control function did show up as promised. Now, I’ve complete control over my fans. As expected, the fan was set at ~26% during idle with automatic settings enabled. I dragged the slider to 50%, and easily, the graphic cards sounded like a helicopter with twin rotors powering up under my desk. I immediately reduced the speed to 40% and the whirring noise fell to within acceptable levels.
Now dig this: the temps fell to an astounding 52°C! Now that’s an accomplishment!
I’ve set up 2 profiles, one for gaming and the other for mundane computing tasks. With the gaming profile activated, the fans will boost to 40% of their rated maximum speed. While with the latter, I’ll let the cards manage themselves using the auto mode.
Beside the usual claims about performance gains (that seldom come true), I’ve noticed that ATI has added a CrossFireX feature in this driver update. Alright fine, it’s may not be qualified to be called a feature. But nonetheless, with it on, a CrossFireX logo will appear at the top right hand corner of the display whenever the Control Centre detects that CrossFireX is activated. Like I mentioned, it’s not exactly a practical attribute. I guess it just makes dual GPU users feel smug about owning cutting-edge technology.
ATI has also called this driver update the biggest yet. Primarily because it has made its Avivo Video Converter freely available for users. However, a recent article by ExtremeTech has dubbed this converter as ‘still in its developing stage’ and not ready for prime-time. If I recall accurately, real-world testing has shown that Avivo is a speedy converter but quality issues proved to be its biggest downfall.
That’s all for this topic people. Till the next ATI driver update!
T’ang
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