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I bought a Rage Fury upon its retail release to replace a G200. It was the most problematic piece of hardware I've ever had to deal with. I know this is no longer the case, but when the board was first released, and for months afterward, it was a complete mess.
The board had shipped about three months late, and I figured most driver issues were resolved. I couldn't have been more wrong. The drivers that shipped with the board were just awful.
The uninstall procedure endorse by ATI at the time--use the (absolutely useless) unistall option/select yes everytime you were prompted to overwrite a file--did not work at all. Hundreds of new users had this little exercise trash Windows and force a reinstall. The update was a bit more stable, but both the OpenGL and D3D tabs in ATI's advanced controls software, and all 3D functionality, disappeared. (Eventually, a procedure involving the manual removal of drivers and registry entries was announced, and, apparently, after several months, ATI fixed the problem altogether.)
ATI tech support claimed at the time that you had a choice: the more stable drivers or 3D functionality. This was ridiculous as the tabs and 3D were restored with a registry edit.
And the lockups. For months people put up with the most ridiculous lockups. Not in-game mind you, but when running a number of Windows functions: Notepad, Windows Explorer, the software installation wizard, etc.
ATI released the TV-Wonder board on the heels of the Fury. Despite claims to the contrary on the box, it was completely incompatible with the Fury's drivers.
Driver updates followed driver updates, and with every new release, ATI fixed one thing and broke another. And the lockups continued.
New drivers were leaked, one presumes from ATI employees, and would turn up on web sites in France and Russia. Things got so bad, fans began rewriting ATI's updates to optimize and stabilize them, and then posting them on the web. (Lightspeed2000 and the Rage Underground)
I'm just scratching the surface of the comedy of errors Fury owners put up with after the board was finally released. The G400 drivers, at this stage of their development, are in a lot better shape then the Fury's were at a similar stage. There's just no comparison.
Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net
The board had shipped about three months late, and I figured most driver issues were resolved. I couldn't have been more wrong. The drivers that shipped with the board were just awful.
The uninstall procedure endorse by ATI at the time--use the (absolutely useless) unistall option/select yes everytime you were prompted to overwrite a file--did not work at all. Hundreds of new users had this little exercise trash Windows and force a reinstall. The update was a bit more stable, but both the OpenGL and D3D tabs in ATI's advanced controls software, and all 3D functionality, disappeared. (Eventually, a procedure involving the manual removal of drivers and registry entries was announced, and, apparently, after several months, ATI fixed the problem altogether.)
ATI tech support claimed at the time that you had a choice: the more stable drivers or 3D functionality. This was ridiculous as the tabs and 3D were restored with a registry edit.
And the lockups. For months people put up with the most ridiculous lockups. Not in-game mind you, but when running a number of Windows functions: Notepad, Windows Explorer, the software installation wizard, etc.
ATI released the TV-Wonder board on the heels of the Fury. Despite claims to the contrary on the box, it was completely incompatible with the Fury's drivers.
Driver updates followed driver updates, and with every new release, ATI fixed one thing and broke another. And the lockups continued.
New drivers were leaked, one presumes from ATI employees, and would turn up on web sites in France and Russia. Things got so bad, fans began rewriting ATI's updates to optimize and stabilize them, and then posting them on the web. (Lightspeed2000 and the Rage Underground)
I'm just scratching the surface of the comedy of errors Fury owners put up with after the board was finally released. The G400 drivers, at this stage of their development, are in a lot better shape then the Fury's were at a similar stage. There's just no comparison.
Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net
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