ATI drivers - broken scaling

[Mussels]

Since people cant seem to make it to the end of this post without having to say something, i'll say it at the TOP.

The problem with the scaling has been determined. Its a refresh rate issue blocking the tick box from appearing - nothing to do with my monitor drivers, directX10, or any other issue. Its nothing more than a BUG blocking a TICK BOX from appearing. Using a workaround with modded drivers you can make the tick box appear, and then it all works fine - even on the original drivers.

This still hasnt solved the problem with AMD's forums being ran by a douchebag.


I originally posted this on the ATI/AMD forums but after proving an admin called Spyre wrong, i got banned from their forums and my IP address blocked.
I can still view their forums through a proxy, and i can login and view posts using a second account.

So, i decided to post this somewhere they cant block me, and let this issue be known.

Issue: Since approx catalyst 9.4, Scaling options in the CCC have been disabled/broken.
The scaling option is there so that when you play a game in non-native resolution, you get black bars instead of a stretched image.

Solution:
Turn on GPU scaling in the CCC. Oh yeah, you cant anymore.

here is a screenshot of a sticky in their forums by spyre, in relation to this.


Two points come to mind here.

1. What use is this option, if your desktop res has to be at non-native resolutions in order to make it work? The entire purpose was for GAMES that didnt support it, such as games before widescreen was popular.

Why hide the option, until the desktop resolution is lowered? it honestly makes no sense.

2. Oh and yeah, the reason i got banned. he's wrong.



You'll notice this is not set to 1920x1080, and that the apply button is greyed out, meaning i AM running at that resolution. Look over at the CCC... oh hot damn, the button is greyed out.

Notes:
1.The screen has a custom name because i had to make a driver without interlaced refresh rate support in order to get DX10 games running properly. They default to 30Hz on standard drivers, another ATI issue thats been swept under the rug.
I can provide screenshots (and photos) of other resolutions and other monitor drivers if neccesary.

2. This may or may not apply only to HDMI screens. I am using an ATI branded HDMI adaptor that came with the card, in order to get HDMI audio.

3. This is on windows 7 x64. with catalyst 9.7 beta. I also had the same issues with catalyst 9.5 on windows vista. I can provide screenshots of this if needed.

Anyone who isnt banned feel like posting over there, and asking for clarification on this issue? Feel free to link to this thread.


Edit:

Since some people seem to be a little confused here, here is a summary:
I posted a problem on the AMD forums about a feature that didnt work. I was told it did, and replied back that it doesnt work on HDMI for me. I was then banned. MY ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT I WAS BANNED FOR DISAGREEING WITH THEIR ADMIN/MODERATOR.

Update: We've narrowed the problem down to screens that default to something other than 60Hz at their native resolution. Mine does 59.96Hz, some people with problems do 75Hz.

another edit: problem is confirmed to be the non-60Hz issue. You can make a modified driver in rivatuner that forces your screen to 60Hz (you can set a "minimum" refresh rate to stop it going to 59Hz, 75Hz users may be screwed) - if youre on a resolution that supporst 60Hz and RUNS at 60Hz (not defaulting to 59Hz the second you close the window) - then scaling options appear.

It seems like ATI has simply screwed up the code so that it only works at a 60Hz refresh rate - i pity people with 100Hz or 200Hz screens.

[LifeOnMars]

Mussels are you one of those, say it as it is Aussies? Your opinions, backed by the detail and sincerity in stating them, never ceases to amuse me. Here's to one of TPU's best moderators

......and yes, you are right.........again

[Mussels]

i'm just pissed that someone with that authority would ban users with no warning or notification and spread false information. Its incredibly unprofessional and one hell of a good reason to convince me to not buy AMD cards again.

I'm sure they ban people and hide these issues in order to make things quieter, which is why i'm doing what i can to expose this - someone important enough to be a forum administrator for a massive company like AMD needs to be responsible, respectable, and have conduct that is above reproach - i have seen none of these, and it disgusts me.

[LifeOnMars]

Yes I agree, I just like the tone of your posts, they have resonance. Hope this goes some way to them addressing the problem.

[Reefer86]

again another reason why i just dont trust Xfire or Sli. they are still both hassle and imo in their infancy.

What i dont understand is why it only works in lower then native resolution surely this defeats the point as i allways run my monitor in native resolution.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Reefer86

again another reason why i just dont trust Xfire or Sli. they are still both hassle and imo in their infancy.

What i dont understand is why it only works in lower then native resolution surely this defeats the point as i allways run my monitor in native resolution.

its not crossfire related at all.

And yes, it does defeat the purpose.

[Reefer86]

ah my bad. Sometimes i wish i could have a usb slapping device. so i could bitch slap the wankers that reside around some forums.

I had the same issue with a moderator when i made constructive criticism about a Mod for Bf2 after i was completely abused by a mod for my thoughts, i replied and put the nob in his place about his general attitude and abuse for someone discussing the mod in their 'FEEDBACK' section. Guess what i got banned cos he got a bitch slap for being an idiot. o how the internet makes people change into power hungry arsholes.

people > internet > anonymous!? > power Hungry/like being boss > Maybe bullied at school = ARSEHOLE

[mtosev]

what an idiot. i dont know how they can have people like that as moderators.

[mikek75]

Maybe you have something with it being HDMI related, cos both on 9.6 and the leaked 9.7 WHQL I have GPU scaling available at native res... Connected via DVI at 1920x1080. This is on Cat 9.6 btw

[Mussels]

I'm pretty sure it is HDMI related myself - thing is, it worked fine in previous drivers.

Wait a minute, yours isnt greyed out - you must be running at lower than native res! *cough*

[largon]

Mine is not grayed out at native res with 9.4 in XP 32bit.
All scaling methods work 100%, on desktop and in games.

Problems with beta drivers on a beta OS with hacked monitor drivers?
Oh noes.

Final deduction is free for all.

[temp02]

If you ask me, I think they still haven't implemented this function (GPU scaling) correctly in Windows 7 and until they do they just disabled that option to "avoid" problems.

[EviLZeD]

Mines isn't greyed out but I noticed for me and read in few other forums ever since cat 9.5 with it enabled I just get a black screen in most games when in full screen mode windowed mode works fine so basically I have to disable it anyway for now or revert to older drivers.

You shouldn't of got banned for proving someone wrong thats pretty poor on their part.

[qubit]

Originally Posted by Mussels

I originally posted this on the ATI/AMD forums but after proving an admin called Spyre wrong, i got banned from their forums and my IP address blocked.
I can still view their forums through a proxy, and i can login and view posts using a second account.

What total w*nkers.

With my NVIDIA driver I can't set centred mode and am always stuck with some stretch crap - clicking Apply just brings the option back to nvidia scaling. It either stretches to fill the screen and screw up the aspect ratio, or it maintains it. Either way you get a horrible display at non-native. I'm using the Samsung 2233RZ that only has only one input, DVI.

Yet, in UT2004, it will sometimes scale and other times not, but the desktop always scales. WTF?!

Nice to know that ATI is just as broken. /sarcasm

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by largon

Mine is not grayed out at native res with 9.4 in XP 32bit.
All scaling methods work 100%, on desktop and in games.

Problems with beta drivers on a beta OS with hacked monitor drivers?
Oh noes.

Final deduction is free for all.

+1 for failing to read the first post, where i say the problem exists in vista on cat 9.5 as well.

[imperialreign]

so, then - the issue doesn't appear at all on XP?


I'll check both my OS installs later after I get home, never noticed it before - but if there's a problem with straight dual-link DVI connection, I'll be sure to drop a few lines over at AMD.

[AsRock]

Originally Posted by imperialreign

so, then - the issue doesn't appear at all on XP?


I'll check both my OS installs later after I get home, never noticed it before - but if there's a problem with straight dual-link DVI connection, I'll be sure to drop a few lines over at AMD.

I've had no issue's like that with scaling in windows XP or Win 7. How ever i have had scaling issue's in game.

1st one was with arma 2 in Win 7 were the scaling would be ignored once Arma had been started and would have the black bas around the screen but when i went back tot he desktop the problem was gone ( don't happen in XP x64 with Arma ).


Now the problem is with the updated version of Trine 1.03 were in windows it be fine but as soon as the game runs black bars are back. Trine demo 1.0 does not do this and they are currently trying to help me with this issue.

Although NEVER had the issue in windows and only in games.

[Mussels]

I'm pretty sure the problem is related to HDMI, but narrowing it down and confirming DVI is trouble free would be a good idea.

If NO ONE was experiencing this issue, they'd hardly be bothering to put up stickies at the AMD forums.

[DRDNA]

Mussels , I feel your aggravation with the AMD forum ! I have never liked the way they run their forum...I have always enjoyed TPU better ( THE BEST ) .I also feel we have better technical skill too.I have an account there and hardly ever post there. To many know it alls!When in reality they know nothing worth hearing(most of the time).

[Mussels]

i;d have no problems with this, except that instead of helping me they post a solution thats completely irrelevant (not one person has said that solved their problem yet) and deleted all my posts!

sweeping problems under a rug is not fixing them.

[Cheeseball]

Have you tried setting your refresh rate to the absolute standard (e.g. 60Hz) for all those resolutions? I found out that my scaling doesn't work (especially 640x480 or 1024x768) if I don't set my native resolution (1440x900) to the standard 60Hz.

[human_error]

On my HTPC (passive HD4550) and 9.6 cats with vista ultimate 64 i have scaling options enabled through HDMI (native resolution running), although this is with a dedicated HDMI port and not using the HDMI dongle (don't know if they interface with the GPUs differently).

I've had trouble with the ATI forum mods before, they have a very stalinist approach to moderation which is in stark contrast to the ATI support team you can contact via email who are usually very helpful (like putting you in contact with CCC engineers if they can't fix a problematic bug which they did for me in Feb this year).

[95Viper]

I agree Mussels, They tend to sidestep any issue and crush those who question them.

I read some of their forum threads, but will never join.

If you have a problem which does not fit into their scripted answer, then they will look into it and get back to you - WHEN THE SCRIPT IS RE-WRITTEN - or a NEW driver comes out to fix a problem. Most of the fixes or work arounds come from other forums or sites and are posted by thier members.

I really enjoy TPU, because of the people here. MOST are understanding and give people a chance, because they know everyone ain't experienced or perfect.

TPU is run like the owners and staff, really do care and want to enjoy this hobby and/or business.

I recommend it to all I know;that would enjoy the experience and knowledge of TPU's members, staff and Mods. And,not be treated as sludge, as a lot of forums do.

Thanks, to all.

[Mussels]

well i just did some testing:

XFX HDMI adaptor: no scaling
ATI branded HDMI adaptor w/ audio: no scaling

Radeon HD3200 w/ native HDMI (cat 9.6): no scaling - also, black bars present on screen at all times. The "scaling options" slider (with over/under scan) for HDMI screens did not appear.

[human_error]

Originally Posted by Mussels

well i just did some testing:

XFX HDMI adaptor: no scaling
ATI branded HDMI adaptor w/ audio: no scaling

Radeon HD3200 w/ native HDMI (cat 9.6): no scaling - also, black bars present on screen at all times. The "scaling options" slider (with over/under scan) for HDMI screens did not appear.

Hmm very odd, my HTPC is on Vista vanilla (no sp's) as sp1 bluescreen loops the rig - re-installing vista now to try and get upto sp2, i'll look to see if i suddenly lose my scaling options with either of the service packs.

I have full gpu scaling options and the overscan/underscan controls on the 4550, i may be able to do further testing on my 4870x2 with a HDMI tv when i get some time later, i'll report back if i do.