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Last week, AMD made a big end of 2014 splash with the launch of its new Catalyst Omega driver and it looks like it has certainly paid off as word has come down to us straight from AMD that the new driver has been downloaded over two million times in its first week.
The Catalyst Omega driver brought a slew of new features to the table for AMD users, including Virtual Super Resolution (VSR), allowing users to render games at a higher resolution and then downsample it. 5K monitor support is also a big one, particularly now that the 5K iMac is out in the wild and we have monitors from the likes of Dell in the pipe line.
It is clear that AMD has put a lot of effort in to this driver launch, which also brings future support for FreeSync technology on certain GPUs, with Samsung being the first to launch monitors supporting the tech next year. Frame Pacing has seen improvements and AMD has been working on new video upscaling tools as well.
We have a full run down of the AMD Catalyst Omega driver, courtesy of our very own Leo Waldock, HERE. You can download it for yourself, HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Congratulations to AMD on their new driver launch, two million downloads in one week is quite the milestone! Have any of you guys been using the new Omega driver? Are you happy with it?
Yep works awesome =]
My GTX 980 Classified is better than any single GPU card AMD has so…
my 600$ 2x290x trix destroys yr 600$ 980.with this driver its just got better way to do that. :p
lol.. until you try to run resolutions 4k and up.. :-/
Installing it now for my 6670… It’s still nice to see that they’re releasing new drivers for fairly old models 🙂
Not really? At 4k the 980, hell even the 970 still beats the 290x
The 970 is also cheaper, has better drivers, features, and much lower power consumption..
works pretty fine with my card. 3D rendering with OpenCL gained a lot, quite as much as a physical upgrade ! ( from 14% to 20% depending on the case)
sure doesn’t. don’t try to pretend showing some half-ass done benchmark in some fairly unoptimised game. the 970 is not the hell of a card that nVidia try to pretend. R9 290X got the specs right for very high resolution, because that’s where more units will be needed. period.
I upgraded yesterday after i sold my old system with Sapphire R9 290, i had nothing but trouble with that card… heating, a jet sound (stock cooling) that i had to run a 3rd party program to make it work above 20% fan speed (MSI Afterburner for that matter).
now i have 2 Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Windforce in SLI, and performance, heat, cooling sound and Visuals are so much imroved…
I will never, ever try an AMD card ever again…
And i was an ATI Fanboy from the ATI 9800 Pro back in 2002.
My upgraded system (From Gigabyte P67-DS3-B3, i5 2500K, 8GB DDR3, R9 290) is now:
Gigabyte Z97-SOC
Intel i7 4790K running on 4.0Ghz (Stock, not overclocked)+ CoolerMasters Hyper 212 Evo
Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Windforce 4GB GDDR5 (comes with higher clock speed then Stock GTX980) in SLI = Ready for 4K
Asus PCI-E Xonar D2X 7.1 Soundcard.
Kingston HyperX blue 4x4GB (16GB) DDR3 1600MHz – CL9
2x Kingston 120GB SSD running in RAID 0
2x WD 500GB in RAID 0
1x WD 1TB in RAID 1 for the hole System (backing it up).
Seasonic 860W Active PFC 80+ Platinum.
And alllll of that, is a present from my sister… 🙂
So yours is bigger. Good for you. I bet you are playing with it all the time. You know. Ubisoft games and stuff… :p
Welcome my green brotha XD
Nope. I don’t play Ubisoft games anymore and I even got Far Cry 4 for free with the card…
Thank you 🙂
I dropped ati/amd Radeons because of Driver performance & quality.
I also dropped Radeons for lack of features that didn’t have the equivalence to
Shadowplay, PhysX, Vision 3D ect… The only real features Radeon offer that Nvidia also has is there eye infancy that nvidia can do with SteroSurrond or what ever its called again
Is she married? :p
Anyway, never say never. Good choice the 970’s and that’s from an AMD fan (of course I do have Nvidia cards, I just prefer AMD as a company).
“Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Windforce 4GB GDDR5 (comes with higher clock speed then Stock GTX980) in SLI= 8GB of GDDR5 = Ready for 4K”
256bit bus is ready for 4k? I think everyone here that read what you write already know you really don’t know what the shit is your are spewing
well u can barf as much as you want… but i ran Far cry 4 between high to Maximum settings with resolution of 3840×2160 on a Samsung U28D59D.
it ran on average of 45-70 fps, and on 1080 all maxed and it runs between 51-120+ fps…
4GB GDDR5 because SLI doesn’t stack vram…
http://www.techspot.com/review/917-far-cry-4-benchmarks/page4.html
1 FPS difference and that is before the Omega drivers – I’m sure that extra 200 quid you paid for it was well worth it; especially when you consider how old the R9 290X is now in comparison.
You sir are correct, and i shall fix that
My single r9 290 (non X) was able to run far cry 4 at 4K 3840×2160. running ultra no AA or motion blur at similar performance to you. I bought that card for £250 currently now running a r9 295×2 for £470 maxed out games (Far cry 4 running without crossfire for now until a driver update to enable it) BF4 ultra no AA = 80-140fps (all other game never drops below 60fps)
well my R9 290 had Hiccups in Far cry 4 running on high 1920×1080, not to mention the lack of featers i was missing… i’m well aware that its mainly of driver compatibility (the frame drops)… with AMD and Nvidia.
but i had similar drivers problem with the R9 290 in many other games.
AMD is on the rise…
The only single GPU card out there that can handle 4k at all is the gtx 980 ftw and Classified.
that optimization is atrocious
I didn’t pay ANY “quid” for it… Stuff is priced better in the states.
Also, even the 970 kicks the 290Xs ass. What makes you think that the 290X can even come close to the 980 Classified?
It’s a great driver, but they still don’t support Adaptive V-sync! I don’t understand why, it has been working for years on the outdated RadeonPro (called Dynamic V-sync there). It would be quite a big deal since not many people will have FreeSync monitors.
There’s still a 200 dollar difference between the two cheapest versions of the R9 290X and the 980. The link I provided above proves that the R9 290X still out performs the 970 and is on par with the 980; you may also notice that Far Cry 4 is optimized for Nvidia and I’m pretty sure it uses Nvidia gameworks – making it even more impressive that it was on par with these two cards, all while not using the omega drivers which increase AMD card performance.
I’m no fanboy and I would gladly go for either brand, but you seem to be in love with Nvidia judging from your posts; but who knows, I could be wrong.
Numbers don’t lie and I only look for the best price:performance ratio.
@ Stephan Chase Morsanutto if u r trying to say 970>290x then um sorry to say that after 14.9.2 beta driver 290x is hitting back to 980.now 980=290x. even with sli vs crossfire 980 cant have the victory now.cant blv? hardocp tested stock 980 sli vs stock (clock) 290x cross on different games. review did on monday , October 27, 2014. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/10/27/nvidia_geforce_gtx_980_sli_4k_video_card_review/3#.VJJF-SuG95I
aw rly? can u see this? stock 290x s kicking ass of stock 980s.my 290x trix can reach 1200/1500 easily so your 980 classified even if oced to 1400/188 stil a 290x wid 1200/1500 can kick it’s ass. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/10/27/nvidia_geforce_gtx_980_sli_4k_video_card_review/3#.VJKVMiuG95I
the stock 980 can almost hit 1600MHz. even at stock clock speeds the 980 still outperforms the 290x, thats the funny part.
you realize how much more power even a single 290x uses compared to even a 780 right? The 980 (Maxwell) uses close to nothing compared to the 290x’s, and then you go and use two of them? the price to performance ration isn’t worth getting two 290x’s over a 980 Classified… if you really want better performance than the 980 Classified without spending double the price the 970’s are STILL a better choice because they still outperform the 290x’s while using jack shit for power AND for the same price as the 980 Classified.
Well my son, you shall rest in heaven now for your humble soul xD
u still dnt knw the difference between hit n stabilty.980 can hit 1600 but u cant do it for gaming for all time.highest possible safe oc for 24/7 is 1400 for 980.where a1200 mghz 290x will gve u the same performance.just like u saw on the link i mentioned stock 290x was equal/beating 1216 mghz 980.so a 1200 mghz 290x will hit the same performance of yr 1400 mghz 980.funny right?
NICEE 😀 😀
just like i said with new diver 290x is hitting back 980
Dude, I run at least 1580 in games on my 980 Classified all the time without crashes and I’ve been able to run a Unigen Heaven Benchmark in 1440p MAX settings at 1605MHz OC all the way without crashing. You obviously don’t have the card nor can you spell for shit. You being an easterner, it’s easy to tell that you won’t be getting your hands on one of these any time soon because shits super expensive over there. I know what I can run because I HAVE the card, so don’t try and tell ME what I can and can’t run.
i have 980 also of my friend so dnt try me what u can run for how long.obviously u shdt tell dis i dnt have the card.yes with lcs i can hit my 290x x over 1270.so yr 980will have a serious shok even u oced that. i feel yr frustration dude. a 300$ 290x is beating yr 600$ 980.http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/dragon_age_inquisition_vga_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,8.html
n by the way ive 2x 290x trix @ same price of yr 980 : XD
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10392393_10204970844332674_3002582132647685281_n.jpg?oh=ebdf8c3eaddc9c04b9efdf29d989c3cf&oe=550760D8&__gda__=1426864423_71956f6a99654ae582d4db62afbf5ecbhttps://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10392393_10204970844332674_3002582132647685281_n.jpg?oh=ebdf8c3eaddc9c04b9efdf29d989c3cf&oe=550760D8&__gda__=1426864423_71956f6a99654ae582d4db62afbf5ecb
You know what, Until you learn how to spell, I’m not going to respond to you. Fuck, you’re an AMD fanboy anyway so…
better u learn how to “spend”.um nt a fanboy just not a fool like u who will buy a 600$ shitt where i can destroys that poor 980 with a pair of 290x no matter amd,nv or samsung even if its banana tree i’ll buy that which will give me best price performance.i can feel yr pain when u turn on dsr n lower the settings. i get 50 fps on all ultra on 4k in bf4. i wish u cd even dream that.
hue hue hue
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/call_of_duty_advanced_warfare_vga_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,7.html
I said nothing about using crossfire or SLI on the cards; I still think both of these options are pointless as they use extra unnecessary power and aren’t very efficient as games aren’t very good at handling multiple GPU solutions.
I don’t mind the extra power usage of the 290X as it is cheaper and is on par with the 980 and still outperforms the 970. The most recent benchmarks for the latest games have proven this. I would rather have a single 290X that runs just as well as a 970 and 980 for half the price.
Actually in most tests the 970 outperforms the 290x and the 290x get rekt by the 980.
Also, the 290x is only about $20 cheaper than the 970 which is measly.
Haha, Dragon age is just one game which you probably cherry picked. Also, the game blows anyway.
This is desktop gaming who cares about power( now if this was a notebook or laptop yes)rocking 3 290s and have not seen any increase in my power bill and hell if I did I just change out one of these 100 watt bulbs to a 15 watt fluorescent bulb K power drew fixed.
So, you’re comparing new gen Nvidias to last gen AMDs? The 3xx cards are the rivals to the 9xx cards! Are you retarded? You’re telling me that the 380, 380x, 385, 385x, 390, 390x, and the 395×2 won’t handle 4k? Stop being such a Nvidia fan bitch.
Glad they still care for old models. HD 6570 is still supported 😀
2x 980’s would destroy 2x 290x’s… EASILY.
yea, no they arent.
the funny part is u still live in 1942.try to search latest game dude.or may be its too hard for you to see that after a few driver updates 290x matches 980 on stock clock even at oc they are equal n some times 290x beats it.with almost half of the price of a 980.
hahaha not only drgaon age i think u herad the name of nextgen graphics game ”
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare” :p
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/call_of_duty_advanced_warfare_vga_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,7.html
oh! what about a nv sponsored game? :p
http://www.techspot.com/review/917-far-cry-4-benchmarks/page4.html
n yes another nv sponsored gpu hungry game ”
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor”
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Middle-earth-Shadow-Mordor-Performance-Testing/4K-Testing-and-Closing-Thought
ya in yr dreams.after new driver update 2x 290x destroys 2×980. wnna enjoy that? hue hue hue
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/10/27/nvidia_geforce_gtx_980_sli_4k_video_card_review/3#.VJQwZl4D0B
n yes i’ll get 4 290xs with the price of yr 2x 980 :XD
ah another new game alien isolation :p
http://www.techspot.com/review/903-alien-isolation-benchmarks/page4.html
Civilization: Beyond Earth
http://www.legitreviews.com/civilization-beyond-earth-gaming-performance-benchmarked-amd-versus-nvidia_152260/3
Don’t show favouritism. It’s bad for you. Only time will tell…
smoke some more crack bud lol i have a 290 and its 5K so story up
Yea, this is full of shit.
A driver update doesn’t replace the hardware vast superiority.
Whats wrong with favoring the obviously superior product. It’s pretty hypocritical of any of you to say that because I’m sure you all do that stupid “PC Master race” or “Praise GabeN” bullshit.
NEVER. I repeat NEVER go 4 way sli or crossfire. The 3rd card barely helps much less the 4th card.
ahahahah.i dnt know to laugh at u or pity u.uve any idea bout hardware supremacy? what u think 980 is far superior than 290x? my noob friend The GTX 980 has a 126 MHz higher core clock speed than the Radeon R9 290X, but the Radeon R9 290X has 48 more Texture Mapping Units than the GTX 980. As a result, the Radeon R9 290X exhibits a 31.9 GTexel/s better Texture Fill Rate than the GTX 980. This still holds weight but shader performance is generally more relevant, particularly since both of these GPUs support at least DirectX 11.
as u r.if uve balls prove them wrong noob.im not a baby like u who will cry all the day without any proofs.show me 290x cross vs 980sli with latest driver review.where 980 has supremacy.dont give shitty 1000 years ago’s review link.gieva shot wid a new review with new drivers.
bcz u didnt even see a 4 way cross setup in yr whole life :3.that doesnt mean yr wet dreams will come true.
#GrammarNotResponding… No idea what the FUCK you’re trying to say bro. Learn english you stupid arab.
i can feel yr frustration n will pray for yr salvation.this is how looser ppl like u reacts. :p
still no problem i can teach u about hardwares.dnt feel shame to ask me ! XD
n by the way noob um nt arab. whatever i am way better than u.who have no idea about hardwares despite try to exercise some very basic lesson publically.
Lol go read through my comment history. I have never show any favouritism. Life is sad for dumb people…
Don’t bother praying. it has no effect on reality… you’ll just be talking to yourself.
You aren’t literate either.
haha i love to put u down again n again.tbh i can see yr tears for yr overpriced shit 980. no matter its 980 or 980ti is the same for u as u r illiterate about hardwares.
Yea, I can’t read what you’re saying… Don’t bother replying because I’m disabling notifications.
thx for sahring yr opinion.Please, keep talking. I always yawn when I am interested :3
You’re so dumb your IQ and shoe size are the same.
Cool story
The R9 290 is the worst money I have ever invested in my PC…
After a Week with my new 970’s…
AMD is done for me.
This is how you need games lookingrunning, and how your PC should run – quite like it’s not there, and on max load for hours and I don’t go above 71c when everything is maxed out, FPS is above 120 constantly.
Even Far Cry 4 is more stabalize now and i dont go below 85 everything maxed out…
if any of u had AMD/ATI Card all their life… you dont know what your missing… like comfort, i dont need to have monitors on my screen to see how much heat my card produce and what the Fan speed are, and the fan noise from AMD stock cooling is rediculouse in comparison…
no one can convince me now to go back to AMD… i dont even care if they will get more fps, that card gave me a fucking P.T.S.D. from AMD. the amount of time i had to invest in, so everything will run “Smoothly” is idiotic. (nothing ever ran like it should, and everything needs my interfirence with a bit optimizasion.)
the only reason i’ve done so is because of the money i wasted on that card, and good riddence…
fir your info i had 6800gt,8500gt,9800gt ,880gts gtx 260,gtx570 sli,gtx 580.things you mentioned ur doin monitoring yr temp,fanspeed bla,bla.r u ok? over 90% decent gpu users use afterburner for oc/fanspeed/temp monitoring no matter its nvda,amd or pussy cat.any smart user will do that.n what u told r9 290 is the worst money uhave ever invested? seriously? going from r9 290 to 970 is the fooolish upgrade ive ever seen for that extra money.i have both mv n amd trust me nv is just hijacking yr money like apple.did u see recent game benches? n u knw out most recent 10 games in 8 games 970 is matching 290 in below 4k n beaten in 4k.if u dnt trust me then see call of duty aad,shadow of modor,ryse son of rome,civilization,farcry 4,allien isolation dragon age.numbers dont lie man.srry to say that.
fir your info i had 6800gt,8500gt,9800gt ,880gts gtx 260,gtx570 sli,gtx 580.things you mentioned ur doin monitoring yr temp,fanspeed bla,bla.r u ok? over 90% decent gpu users use afterburner for oc/fanspeed/temp monitoring no matter its nvda,amd or pussy cat.any smart user will do that.n what u told r9 290 is the worst money uhave ever invested? seriously? going from r9 290 to 970 is the fooolish upgrade ive ever seen for that extra money.i have both mv n amd trust me nv is just hijacking yr money like apple.did u see recent game benches? n u knw out most recent 10 games in 8 games 970 is matching 290 in below 4k n beaten in 4k.if u dnt trust me then see call of duty aad,shadow of modor,ryse son of rome,civilization,farcry 4,allien isolation dragon age.numbers dont lie man.srry to say that.
fir your info i had 6800gt,8500gt,9800gt ,880gts gtx 260,gtx570 sli,gtx 580.things you mentioned ur doin monitoring yr temp,fanspeed bla,bla.r u ok? over 90% decent gpu users use afterburner for oc/fanspeed/temp monitoring no matter its nvda,amd or pussy cat.any smart user will do that.n what u told r9 290 is the worst money uhave ever invested? seriously? going from r9 290 to 970 is the fooolish upgrade ive ever seen for that extra money.i have both mv n amd trust me nv is just hijacking yr money like apple.did u see recent game benches? n u knw out most recent 10 games in 8 games 970 is matching 290 in below 4k n beaten in 4k.if u dnt trust me then see call of duty aad,shadow of modor,ryse son of rome,civilization,farcry 4,allien isolation dragon age.numbers dont lie man.srry to say that.
‘I have no idea of what the FUCK you’re trying to say, brother. Learn English, you stupid Arab.’, that’s English. Sooo, you’re blaming religion for everything that’s wrong with this world in a different comment and here you’re saying that you hate Arabs, for no apparent reason whatsoever? Well, aren’t you a hypocrite.