Catalyst 8.6 introduces the following new features:
OpenGL Adaptive Anti-Aliasing Custom Filters support
This release of Catalyst introduces Adaptive Anti-Aliasing Custom Filters support for OpenGL applications for the ATI Radeon HD 3000 Series, ATI Radeon HD 2000 Series of products. Using the Edge Detect Custom Filter, users can enable 12X and 24X Anti-Aliasing. Selecting 4X Anti-Aliasing plus selecting the Edge Detect filter delivers the equivalent of 12X Anti-Aliasing. Selecting 8X Anti-Aliasing plus selecting the Edge Detect filter delivers the equivalent of 24X Anti-Aliasing.
OpenGL CrossFireX (QUAD) support - 3 or 4 GPUs in CrossFire mode
This release of Catalyst introduces CrossFireX QUAD support for OpenGL applications. Users with any combination of a ATI Radeon HD 3870, ATI Radeon HD 3850, and ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics accelerators running with 3 or 4 GPUs will be able to run in CrossFireX QUAD mode (when used in a CrossFireX compatible PC). Users are also able to run in CrossFireX QUAD mode while running in extended desktop mode on the Windows Vista desktop.
Catalyst Install enhancement - No reboot required after
Catalyst upgrade install
This release of Catalyst introduces an enhancement to the Catalyst installer. Users are no longer required to reboot their system after Catalyst has finished installing (as long as the installation is an upgrade from a previous Catalyst install).
Performance Improvements (See Release Notes for details)