YADR...(yet another driver release) Here is one interesting note from the "read.me"-Direct3D driver efficiency has improved considerably. Significant performance gains are noted in multiple "CPU-bound" cases, including 3DMark2001, Aquamark 3, Comanche4, Dungeon Siege, and Unreal Tournament 2003 and 2004. Typical improvements are in the 1-5% range. CPU-bound? FS2004? Hmmmmmm...could be.Cheers,btPS...YMMV

Havent these been out for about a month?But you are right they are very very good - also in FS9.I've been using the 4.9 beta's for couple of weeks now and they are awesome - also helps alot of the broken OpenGL parts in Doom 3 :)The beta's are available at guru3d.com by the way ;)

My bad - I didnt realize ATI had gone backwards in version numbers and only now released the 4.8's, who would have thought that lol. Sorry bout that :)

I ran some tests on the new Cat. 4.8. I removed my old UNIAN drivers based on 4.7 and installed the ATI 4.8 drivers clean. During this process, I also ran the before and after using my own special "CPU-bound" testing situation (runway 27 at Simflyer's KORD in the 2D cockpit of PMDG 737-800 during winter snow textures and partly sunny weather with Ultimate Traffic set at 85% and sound off). I noticed about a 3-4 percent gain in FPS. Low, mid, and high end framerates all increased. For example, midrange FPS increased from 21.3 to 22.1. Not a lot but hey, I'll take a frame per second (almost).The more subjective measure are a mixed bag. I'm pretty sure the takeoff roll seemed smoother and more consistent frame rate wise. Heavy banking also seemed smooth. However, I thought (not sure here) that I noticed a decrease in IQ. Specifically, the ATI "parallel line" problem seemed more pronounced (e.g., more aliased), especially when looking at scenery from a distance. My setup: ATI 9800 Pro 128, AMD-64 3200+, K8V (VIA K8T800), 1 Gig. PC 3500 RAM, Win XP SP1, DX 9.0c, 1280 x 1024, 32 colors, AA=4x, AF=8x, Quality, Texture and Mipmap at high quality, no vertical sync.

Any other positive or negative reviews of the 4.8's to help me decide whether or not to load them?Best,Joel