We twa hae run about the braes, And pu'd the gowans fine. - Robert Burns
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AMD will distribute drivers over Steam
GAMERS TOO BUSY fragging their mates to realise that new drivers for their graphics cards are available will now have them delivered to their desktop thanks to Steam.
AMD has announced that it will be distributing its ATI Catalyst drivers through Valve's content distribution network, ensuring that gamers will be kept up to date with Chimpzilla's latest graphics software developments. The firm says that its upcoming Catalyst 10.9 drivers will be the first to be distributed through Steam.
The move is a logical one for the firm as many of its driver updates either contain fixes or offer performance increases in various games. After a stuttering start, Steam has become the default content delivery network for games, with many developers using it to flog their wares. Apparently acquiring AMD's drivers will be a simple one-click affair on Steam, meaning gamers spend less time faffing around and more time fragging.
Peter Ross, AMD's senior marketing manager of gaming product marketing said "Gamers using ATI graphics will not only be kept posted on the latest available drivers for their hardware, but with every update they'll know that they’re getting the overall best possible gaming experience AMD and Valve can provide."
It'll be interesting to see if Nvidia follows a similar route, as it too has been a vocal supporter of Steam. The ability to download important driver updates easily through a centralised application should make PC gaming a little more accessible for those who might be used to remaining within the controlled confines of consoles. µ
Tags: AmdNumb thumbs
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Of course You can still DL the drivers off the Website. Not everyone is a Gamer, not everyone has access to steam, not everyone wants Steam on their system. Its better to download drivers and install at your leisure. what happens when they release summat that banjaxs a few games, via steam, instead of 100's of people complaining, it'll be millions, possibly.
Its a good idea however I hate steam. The steam software is buggy, tends to be bloated, can spontaneously fail (just stops working). If I have to sign in to Steam to get my drivers Ill switch to nvidia.
However, if they STILL allow me to goto Amd's website and manually download the files - then... its a very good idea for those that dont know how to update their own drivers and since so many are on Steam its a good for both. More traffic to steam, some impulse buys.. but I hope I can also goto Amd's website to get them or Im going to be upset.
I don't know why windows update doesn't do this... Oh well I usually update them manually every few months.
@Mike, no it's not overkill. Your average PC gamer probably installs their AMD driver (probably off the CD in their box).
Your "power user" knows about updates because they manually go to the site or because they read tech now.
But both types of users benefit if Steam alerts or offers an update in realtime. Even a power user is only checking monthly or weekly, but Steam offers the update same day
Why does a free video driver need to be made through steam, and why steam vs ATI's site? If I put a game on my system and say, 'oh crap the graphics are pants I guess I better update my driver' why is steam better than ATI?
Is this just another hook to get people to spend more time on the Steam site and maybe make an impulse buy?
now that someone has come up with this idea it seems so obvious that it should have been done ages ago. Congratulations to whoever proposed this.