Catalyst 14.3 Beta Linux Driver Fixes OpenGL Performance Issues

AMD has released a new Windows and Linux Catalyst proprietary graphics driver. The Catalyst 14.3 Beta for Linux doesn't advertise any new features, but it comes with some bug-fixes.

While no new hardware support or features are listed, the resolved issues will be a delight for some AMD Catalyst Linux users, especially Radeon Linux gamers.

The reportedly resolved issues are the defunct Nexuiz game's Linux performance being lower than in Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. There's also a fix for the X.Org Server crashing when playing AVI video files in VLC or Parole players.

Still being reported as open issues for the Catalyst 14.3 Beta v1.0 driver is stuttering and poor performance when playing an OpenGL game for several minutes on Ubuntu, system hang when hot-plugging a stereo display, corruption and a system hang when running Unigine Sanctuary with certain settings, and enabling the overlay causes screen corruption, among other issues.

More details on these bug-fixes can be found via the AMD.com Linux driver beta page. Later this week I'll be meeting with AMD at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco so stay tuned for more exclusive news on Phoronix at that time.