AMD extends support to Microsoft Windows 7 in ATI Catalyst 9.3 Unified Driver

AMD has released Windows 7 driver support as part of the latest ATI Catalyst 9.3 unified graphics driver. The company says ATI Catalyst 9.3 represents the industry's first unified driver installation package to incorporate Windows 7 support, including Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.1 compliance.

This release brings with it a host of benefits for developers currently testing and updating applications using the Windows 7 beta release.

The combination of Windows 7 and ATI Radeon graphics permits developers to fully utilize the DirectX 10.1 API used by Microsoft to design the Windows 7 Aero desktop. Graphics with hardware support for the DirectX 10.1 API, currently available in ATI Radeon HD 3000 and ATI Radeon HD 4000 series products, can deliver the full Windows 7 Aero desktop PC experience, including support of new features such as Aero Peek and Aero Shake, both designed to improve navigation of the Windows 7 desktop.

“AMD’s expertise in visual computing shines through in the combined experience of Windows 7 and ATI Radeon graphics,” said Anantha Kancherla, group program manager responsible for Windows graphics, Microsoft. “With today’s release of a Windows 7 unified driver, AMD once again demonstrates its ability to deliver performance and cutting-edge driver support.”

Matching ATI Radeon graphics with Windows 7 can deliver high-fidelity graphics as well as unsurpassed image enhancements such as support for the Direct2D API introduced in Windows 7, giving third-party applications the ability to improve everything from ClearType text rendering to hardware-accelerated vector graphics.