With Windows 10 set to launch at the end of the month, AMD is getting a head start by releasing version 15.7 of its Catalyst Software suite, which features support for AMD’s latest technologies. Version 15.7 comes with full support for Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10 operating system, and it’s the first WCCL-certified driver released this year.
Catalyst 15.7 includes display driver version 15.20.1046, which AMD said is designed to support advanced features that the OS offers, such as streaming Xbox One content to Win10 devices, responsive resume, and of course Direct X 12. HEVC decoding is also supported on Caveri APUs which feature a hardware decoder.
Catalyst 15.7 doesn’t just offer Windows 10 features; the new driver is supported by Window 7 and 8.1 as well, and a number of new features have been unlocked for all supported operating systems.
Frame Rate Target Control (FRTC) is now available on all R7 and R9 GPUs above the R7 260, including the latest Fury GPU. This technology first appeared in AMD’s Kaveri APUs earlier this year and is mainly used to reduce power consumption. Gamers can set the frame rate target they wish to achieve, and the GPU will throttle once it hits that level so as not to waste unnecessary power.
Catalyst 15.7 also unlocks Virtual Super Resolution (VSR) for many other GPUs. This technology was also introduced with Kaveri and until now was only available on those APUs. The latest Catalyst driver supports R7 260 and up, and Desktop A-series 7400K and better APUs. VSR can be used to render your gameplay at a higher resolution than the monitor being used to display. AMD said this delivers a crisper image than the native resolution.
Catalyst 15.7 has improved CrossFire support, as well. AMD has made profile enhancements for each of following games, and each title now supports FreeSync displays while in Crossfire.
- Battlefield: Hardline
- Evolve
- Far Cry® 4
- Lords of the Fallen
- Project CARS
- Total War: Attila
- Alien: Isolation
- Assassin’s Creed® Unity
- Civilization: Beyond Earth
- FIFA 2015
- GRID Autosport
- Ryse: Son of Rome
- Talos Principle
- The Crew
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Dying Light
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
AMD’s Catalyst 15.7 package is 286 MB and can be downloaded from the company’s website today.
