Asus K53TA-BBR6 Laptop: AMD Quad-Core A6-3400M 1.4GHz APU, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x68 LED, 1GB Radeon HD 6550, WiFi N, 6-cell Battery, Win 7 Prem $450 + Free Store Pickup (expired)

I. Graphic Drivers:
A. Latest ASUS Chipset Drivers Out: Version 12.29.2011 (Asus chipset version V8.903.0.0000 correlates with AMD Mobility Radeon 11.11 drivers. 12/2011 was the last time it was updated by Asus.)

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download K53TA [asus.com]

B. "Best" AMD Mobility Radeon Drivers Out? Version AMD 13.4whql (13.3beta3,13.2beta6&7 are all ok), (12.7beta thru 12.11 beta are also fine!), 12.4 mixed with 12.2 (see below), 12.1 / 12.1a & 11.12 (oc of dGPU is possible in all drivers since v11.12!)

C. Latest AMD Mobility Radeon Drivers Out: Version AMD Catalyst 13.5Beta2, 13.4 WHQL , 13.3 Beta 3, 13.2 Beta 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 /13.1 Official WHQL (2-2-12), 12.10WHQL/12.11 BETA 11 (12-4-12), AMD 12.9 BETA (9-13-12), AMD 12.8 WHQL (7-27-12),AMD 12.7 Official BETA (6-26-2012); AMD 12.7beta (6-25-12)&(6-12-12)

Directly from AMD site [amd.com]
or
AMD Catalyst 13.5 BETA 2 (12.102.3.0 April 16) [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.4 (12.104.0.0 March 28) Official WHQL [guru3d.com] & 13.4 CAP1 Profiles [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.3 BETA 3 (12.100.17.0 March 18) [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.2 BETA 7 (12.100.17.0 February 26) [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.2 BETA 6 (12.100.17.0 February 18) [benchmark3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.2 BETA 5 (12.100.17.0 February 2) [benchmark3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.2 BETA 4 (12.100.17.0 January 29) [benchmark3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.2 BETA 3 (12.100.17.0 January 28) [benchmark3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 13.1 AMD Official WHQL (9.012.0 Dec 19) [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.11 BETA 11 (9.01.8 Dec 4) [guru3d.com]

note: AMD 13.5 official beta 2 & AMD 13.4 WHQL : Do not use 13.5b2 because LCD display gets disabled permanently when in LCD power save mode; so you must reboot to get screen back.(see SymGunnerz post); Other stability issues may exist (guru3D) in 13.5beta2 despite some performance tweaks and gains.
13.4 is expected to be more stable & game performance should be similar to 13.3b3.. (13.4 Cap1 profiles are also available, uncertain of improvements.) Overall, Game performance has improved on most of the latest games without breaking the performance of older games.>see my post and others [notebookreview.com].

note: AMD 13.3 official beta 3--Many drivers within days of each other-most recent one fixes openGL but the overall driver is aimed at improving FarCry3, Tomb Raider and Sim City 5. But I have no idea if this driver is better or worse than 13.2 betas on all games...I'm guessing that the best driver for general all around game performance has been 13.2 beta 6 based on guru forums, but I could be wrong and YMMV for our specific laptop. ....waiting on more feedback for latest driver.
note: AMD 13.2 official beta 7, 6, 5,3,4-YMMV; Beta6&7 are optimized more for Crysis 3. Beta6 may have better performance than 7 especially with single gpu configuration based on guru forums>>see post here [guru3d.com]. Beta 5 is better than prior drivers for new games like Far Cry 3 but older games may vary from driver to driver Betas.>>thanks to SymGunnerz.. 13.2 Betas are slightly better than 13.1. Crysis 3 is supposed to play better with latest Betas. waiting on more feedback ....AMD 13.1 WHQL- some bug fixes like switchable graphics settings not opening in CCC but one report of new bugs like "double icons and no popup when u click ccc icon on system try, app profiles problem, BSODs, catalyst stoped working" [notebookreview.com], and HDMI audio bug may arise in betas 5 & 6 if you are connected to an external monitor via HDMI while updating; [guru3d.com] but no one has reported this problem in our Asus laptops. So overall a slight improvement over 12.11beta... waiting on more feedback ....

note: AMD 12.11 Beta11 -- Generally positive feedback eg. maybe smoother gameplay than 12.9beta>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8909399 ;Improves performance & smoothness in Far Cry 3 with proper in game settings (eg. GPUBuffer2,PostFxLow)
And few visual issues & no idle clock problems>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8912885
Some people report broken switchable graphics but many have no problems.>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...d-418.html

note: SEE ARCHIVE NOTES BELOW in Section IX for OLDER Drivers: 12.10 and earlier.

note:After installing new drivers, there may be a Black Screen Hang when restarting. You must manually force shutdown and reboot again. Graphic drivers should still be installed ok.--this was experienced by many people.

note:When installing new drivers turn off all antivirus and security software and choose an express install. It is optional to use drive sweeper or
ATIman uninstaller. If graphic drivers are not installing properly, then it may be necessary to use above programs to allow a clean install.

New Driver updates and CAP profiles are always changing the performance of games. So don't count latest drivers out; Gamers may always prefer the Latest Drivers with latest CAPs on newest games.
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D.KEEP UP WITH LATEST AMD GRAPHIC DRIVERS HERE:
http://benchmark3d.com/drivers
http://forums.guru3d.com/forumdisplay.php?f=46

Discussion on CAPs (AMD Catalyst Application Profiles) see sticky here>>http://forums.guru3d.com/forumdisplay.php?f=46 & 12.11 CAP2 details [guru3d.com]

BENCHMARK GAME ANALYSIS - Finding The Best Driver for a Game [benchmark3d.com] (@ ultra 1080p settings)
Latest PC Games/Release Dates [ign.com] (which will lead us to update drivers)
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E. Graphic Card Hierarchy / Rankings or Rating Charts:
Graphic Card Hierarchy [tomshardware.com]
Comparison of Laptop Graphic Cards-Notebookcheck [notebookcheck.net]
Radeon 6650m (6600/6700 series ddr3) documentation [notebookcheck.net]
Graphic Card Passmark List [videocardbenchmark.net]
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II. Other Discussions/Owner Lounges of K53TA BBR6:

k53ta-best-deal-ever-could [notebookreview.com]
k53ta-owners-lounge [notebookreview.com]
Japanese version wiki [fc2.com]
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III. REVIEWS:
REVIEW 1 OF K53TA LAPTOP [google.com]
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 08/04/2011
REVIEW 2 OF LAPTOP [notebookcheck.net]
REVIEW 3 OF LAPTOP [pcper.com]
Video Review-by htwingnut [youtube.com]

Newer Bios 214 & another Bios MOD 214 has been made allowing SSD hard drives to be unlocked at faster speeds eg. SATA3 6gbit >>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8630217
Note: SSD INSTALLATION GUIDE>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8515244

note: Bios MOD 212 below is now unnecessary for openGL fixed mode games/apps ever since AMD radeon drivers 12.7beta (and maybe earlier 12.6, etc). So if you have Bios Mod212 you don't have to use Fixed Switchable graphics.

BANDING HAS BEEN FIXED! (see below for BIOS 206 and later)

BIOS MOD 212! FIXED MODE Switchable Graphics WORKS! - Select discrete GPU Graphic Processor Manually: OpenGL Games can now be Played using dGPU (6650M) with modded Bios and latest AMD Radeon catalyst drivers (see below for BIOS 212 modded)
or go here>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8386767

note: [BUG REPORT] this Bios works better with 12.1 and later. On older 11.12 I experience BSOD. But on 12.1 drivers, PC hangs on shutdown during the session you made a switch between modes. On 12.3 drivers there is no hanging on shutdown during the session you made a switch.
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Official ASUS Link: http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Ver...nce/K53TA/
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Can be overclocked to give performance similar to SandyBridge Core i5, beating SandyBridge Core-i3 (see below for overclocking instructions).
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Latest & Past DEALS & Similar Alternatives:
eBay - Refurb/used Asus K53TA BBR6 [ebay.com] $300ish to $500ish (only search for 6720g2 or 6650m specs)

AMAZON $500+ - ASUS K53TA-A1 [amazon.com]--usually priced too high
$450 New ASUS K53TA-A1 A6-3400M 1.4GHz, 6G, 500G, Radeon HD 6720G2 Graphics, 15.6" BRAND NEW [cheetahdeals.com]--most recent seller--(out of stock)
Newegg Refurb $420 [newegg.com]Deal discussion [overclock.net]---(out of stock)
Tigerdirect $400-500 -(ususally OOS) Refurb Asus K53TA BBR6 [tigerdirect.com]--(out of stock)

ALTERNATIVES:
Samsung 15.6 Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.4GHz; Iveybridge i7 "Radeon 7730m (at the level of GT 640m) 1366x768 $599.

Lenovo 17.3" Intel i5 3210M(2.5GHZ) + 2GB GT 635M $550 + FS--recent in stock 12/2012 deal; 15.6" version [newegg.com] $580 +FS

Acer 15.6" Intel i5 3210M(2.6GHZ) + 2GB GT 730M Win 8 500GB HDD, 4GB ram, USB 3.0 [newegg.com]$600 + FS--oos?

Acer 15.6" Intel i5 3210M(2.5GHZ) + 1GB GT 630M Win 8 500GB HDD, 4GB ram, USB 3.0 [newegg.com]$550 + FS--oos

eBay HP Pavillion A8 3500M radeon 6750M dual graphics Refurb/used on ebay [ebay.com]$400ish-$550

Lenovo Outlet Deal (Recent 2-2013)$488>>http://slickdeals.net/f/5819648-L...ittent-OOS
Lenovo 15.6" Intel i5 3210M + GT 630M $479.99 AR ('OLD' Labor Day weekend sale only)

Acer 15.6" AMD A10 4600M + Radeon 7670m 750GB HDD, 6GB ram [newegg.com] $599.99 + FS

Lenovo G780 Intel 3rd gen i5 3210 + GT 630m [newegg.com]$630 17.3" 1600x900 2xUSB 3.0

Acer AMD A8 4500m + Radeon 7670m 15.6" 500GBHDD [newegg.com] $499-$530 Dec2012-Jan2013 (currently oos)

BHphoto $579 Acer i5 17.3" 6850M [bhphotovideo.com]--price went up
Newegg ~$450-550 - Lenovo A6 3420M 6650M [newegg.com]--(discontinued/out of stock)
Tigerdirect [$379 After Coupon in 6/2012; currently $399.97 AR + 5%cashback] - Acer A6 3420M 15.6" HDMI Radeon 7670M 320GB HD [tigerdirect.com] or SD thread--B&M & OOS online; SD thread2
Tigerdirect $549.97 ($500 for a week) - Acer i5-2450M 17.3" HDMI Radeon 7670M
Tigerdirect $530+$10shipping+tax - Refurb HP A8 6750M HP pavillion dv6-6135dx [tigerdirect.com]--(out of stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6834215663

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Features:
Has one USB 3.0 port (blue connector) and two USB 2.0 ports. Also HDMI and built-in mic/webcam.
The touchpad is multi-touch (i.e., you can use two-finger scrolling, gestures, pinching to resize pictures, etc.)

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For Pictures:
http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Ver...nce/K53TA/
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Revi...849.0.html
http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...stcount=85
Wallpaper Backgrounds:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8350337
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RAM CHIP:
It uses a 1 4GB Samsung DDR3 RAM PC3-10600. Just have to get another ram and put it in. 2 slots, 1 empty slot. -runtohell121
http://img194.imageshack.us/img19...01924z.jpg
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Laptop Speaker Software
Sonic Focus install program can be found in folder
C:\eSupport\eDriver\Software\Audio\Realtek\[Compal]_ALC269_SM_Sabine\Win7_32_Win7_64_6.0.1.6373\ASF3G UI\ASF3SF.exe
Sonic Focus can be used to adjust/finetune speakers and is installed by default

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TESTIMONIALS
Best Buy Customer Reviews archives [scribd.com]
Just picked up and it's a 6720G2, a x-fire combination of 6650 and integrated GPU...

Quote from phinominal : Pulled from : http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6720G2.57274.0.html "The AMD Radeon HD 6720G2 is the combination of a integrated AMD Radeon HD 6520G APU processor graphics card and a dedicated entry level AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card in CrossFire combination. It is called AMD Dual Graphics or asymmetric CrossFire and uses AFR (Alternate Frame Rendering) to render different frames on the two graphic cores."

Quote from GoldenTiger : Benchmarks for the 6720G2, unfortunately it only functions under DX10/11 and typically results in little boost even then, while dragging down (beyond single-GPU levels) performance for DX9 titles (it can be disabled to use the discrete GPU only which is faster): http://www.tomshardware.com/revie...959-9.html (yeah I know it's tom's but it has the numbers).

[Rankings based on 8/2011] -->(new rankings in parenthesis as of 1/2013)
The Dual Graphics GPU Mode of 6720G2 is ranked at #97 (#147)
The dedicated GPU 6650M is ranked at #103 (#151)
The integrated GPU 6520G is ranked at #178 (#265)
This is compared to the Sandybridge series Intel HD3000 ranked at #206 (#295), and Intel HD2000 ranked at #248 (#342); The Latest Intel HD4000 ranks 222.
(The smaller the ranking number, the better)

Notebookcheck's ranking of GPU's: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobi...844.0.html

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*****Sample game performance (from this laptop & others like it with same specs)
YES, it will play this game, and that game. It will play every game.

Diablo 3 (open beta) [youtube.com] The Elderly Scrolls SKYRIM [youtube.com] Mass Effect 3 [youtube.com] Need For Speed Run [youtube.com] COD 4 [youtube.com] Minecraft [youtube.com]
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 [youtube.com] Assassins Creed Revelations [youtube.com] Left 4 Dead 2 [youtube.com] World of Warcraft [youtube.com]
Crysis 2 [youtube.com] Battlefield 3 [youtube.com] Battlefield Bad Company 2 [youtube.com] Resident Evil 5 [youtube.com] Assassins Creed Brotherhood [youtube.com] Diablo 3 Beta [youtube.com] Deus Ex Human Revolution [youtube.com] Grand Theft Auto 4 [youtube.com] NBA 2K 12 [youtube.com] GTA 4 vid 2 [youtube.com] Starcraft II [youtube.com]

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Entering BIOS - Hit F2
6517 3DMarks: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Pr...lang=en-us -runtohell121

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IV. LATEST BIOS:
Location of official Bios download>>6/2012*BIOS MOD 214! has been made allowing SSD hard drives to be unlocked at faster speeds eg. SATA3 6gbit >>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8630217
Note: SSD INSTALLATION GUIDE>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8515244
SSD Before and After example comparisons>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni32LwycSNk (improves by atleast twice the speed)

5/2012*BIOS 214 No difference in gaming performance from prior Bios. Latest Bios tends to be on newly purchased laptops.

3/2012 *BIOS MOD 212! - unlocked manual selection of fixed dGPU >>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8386767
-- FIRST TIME ALLOWING OPENGL APPS & GAMES TO RUN Off the discrete GPU (6650M) similar to INTEL Nvidia Laptops.

1/2012 *BIOS 212 has just come out but not much has been noticed different; however changes in new catalyst drivers may become evident in the future with the help of this BIOS version (eg. disappearance of Varibright option in CCC Power/PowerPlay options.) (unknown at this time).

9/2011*BIOS 207 soon followed and is also available, but no changes were noticed except a possible faster idle fan speed or greater fan speed as the CPU is overclocked. So Bios 206 or 207 is fine for banding fix.

8/2011 *BIOS 206 Banding fix is out !!


Download new bios, unzip file, use flashing tool from Start menu

Start > all programs > asus utility > winflash
and load the new k43ta.206 and reboot.

make sure you got the battery plugged in just in case.
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V. Overclocking CPU:
Undervolt while overclocking using K10Stats
K10 STAT undervolt/overclocking Example Settings
K10 STAT DOWNLOAD Link [google.com]
Guide1: K10 STAT [blogspot.com]
Guide2: setting K10 STAT for startup [blogspot.com]
Optimization Guide by HTWINGNUT applies to HPdv6 and much of the same relevant information for K53TA dual graphics [notebookreview.com]

Alternative overclocking cpu programs: Pschk v341 [notebookreview.com] extra info on pschk [notebookreview.com]
Fusion Tweaker [google.com]
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VI. Overclocking GPU:
GPU Overclocking Instructions (thanks atoneapone):
0) Install Sapphire Trixx and MSI Afterburner.
1) Uncheck "Disable ULSP" in Sapphire Trixx settings.
2) Then edit the registry, [with HTWINGNUT manual registry fix download-for Disabling ULSP] from this thread>>
http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost7861621
3) Restart COMPUTER
4) Check "Disable ULSP" in Sapphire Trixx settings.
5)Then get MSI Afterburner...but before you launch it edit the MSIafterburner.cfg file in notepad, find the "Unofficial Overclocking EULA" line and copy/paste exactly this:

I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it

6)In the MSI config under "Unofficial Overclocking Mode", there is also a field next to it for a 0 or 1. --to enable overclock, change the value to 1.
7)You only need MSI AFTERBURNER to overclock. Trixx is not necessary to overclock. Under MSI Afterburner program, OC it to 650 and 1000 and save it to a profile and apply. Try overclocking any other speeds (eg. anything lower than this is safest; higher speeds are done at your own risk.) It has also been mentioned by others that Trixx is unnecessary to be installed to setup MSI afterburner overclock in the above steps. But the above method worked for me & since it's such a small program it doesn't hurt.

**Note1: For 12.11 and later 13.xx drivers you need newer oc ati dll files placed in Windows system folders>>ATI dll Latest 13.xx OC driver files [filecloud.io] or ATI dll Latest 13.xx OC files [zippyshare.com]
**Note2: For 12.1 thru 12.7 drivers you need oc ati dll files placed in Windows system folders and/or MSI folder.>>ATI dll files [filecloud.io] or ATI dll files [zippyshare.com]

Quote : instructions for dll files I. atipdl64.dll - to - \Windows\system32\ atipdlxx.dll - to - \Windows\SysWOW64\ REBOOT REQUIRED! II. You can also copy both files into MSI Afterburner main folder. It may work too.

REFERENCE SITES:
MSI Afterburner DOWNLOAD Link [msi.com] {also allows monitoring of usage & temps of GPU 1(6650m) and GPU 2&3(6520g)
Saphire TriXX DOWNLOAD Link [sapphireselectclub.com]
AMD System Monitor Link [amd.com]
CPUID Monitor Cpu Temps Link [cpuid.com]
HWinfo Monitors Cpu&GPU stats Link [hwinfo.com]--monitors everything
CPU Z Link [cpuid.com]--identifies Cpu & memory specs
HP dv6z overclock optimization guide [notebookreview.com] --some of the information here can also be applied to K53TA dual graphics laptop!
--If you still cannot overclock after above instuctions due to not being able to disable ULPS, then manually change registry values--->thanks to HTWINGNUT for registry value changes.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost7861621
--Htwingnut explains by disabling ULPS, more power will be consumed reducing battery life:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost7864103
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VII. Posts regarding issues / subjects (thanks Bothanspy):

#347 asus drivers
ELAN touchpad driver
502 - ram option
833 - banding bios fix
927 bloatware recommendations
937 bios - banding
1007 graphics drivers or this Wiki First Topic!
1011 "" ""
1039 ram
1074 ram cover removal
1094 - ram recommendations
1102 - ram limitations
1187 catalyst driver
1241 - Fresh Win7 install notes
Power Brick 90W 19V 4.74Amp AC ADAPTOR [notebookreview.com]
http://vip.asus.com/eservice/techserv.aspx <<< Email asus tech support if you don't like the graininess in darker color shades. They might fix it.

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VIII. Disassembly guides/Cooling Mods for Asus Laptop (For those who are daring to make cooling modifications or LCD screen replacements;
do at your own risk since it may void your warranty!):

ASUS K53TA DISASSEMBLY AND COOLING MODS [notebookreview.com]
Cooling Mod pictures in video [youtube.com]
Extra Cooling mod ideas p1 [notebookreview.com] p2 [notebookreview.com]-thanks Link626

Actual K53TA disassemble guide with pictures!! [notebookreview.com]
How to disassemble Asus K series notebook >> Inside my laptop [insidemylaptop.com]
LCD SCREEN REPLACEMENT video [youtube.com]

HINGE Weakness/ Problems related to Opening and Closing Screen- How to Fix: Bottom Part replacement may be necessary and possibly extra hinge parts:
Bottom Case (K53TA) Part number: 13GN7110P020-1
K53BY-1A LCD HINGE L Part number: 13GN5710M010-1
K53BY-1A LCD HINGE R Part number: 13GN5710M020-1
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IX. ARCHIVE OF PAST OLD GRAPHIC DRIVER Notes :

AMD Catalyst 12.10 (9.002.0 September 27) AMD Official BETA [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.9 (9.001 Sept 13) AMD Official BETA [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.8 (8.982.0 July 27) AMD Official WHQL [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.7 (8.981.2.0 June 26) AMD Official BETA [guru3d.com]
AMD 12.6 WHQL (6-11-2012), AMD 12.4(4-25-2012); and AMD 12.3 (3-28-2012); AMD 12.2 (3-7-2012)
AMD Catalyst 12.6 (8.980.0 June 11) AMD Official WHQL - Guru3D.com Forums [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.4 (8.961.0 April 25) AMD Official WHQL [benchmark3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.3 (8.951.0 March 8) AMD Official WHQL - Guru3D.com Forums [guru3d.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.2 official WHQL [benchmark3d.com]
AMD Support & Drivers [amd.com]
AMD Catalyst 12.1 (8.930.0 December 5) AMD Official WHQL - Guru3D.com Forums [guru3d.com] --AMD mobility 12.1
AMD Catalyst 12.1a (8.930.10 January 2) AMD Official BETA - Guru3D.com Forums [guru3d.com] --AMD 12.1a official beta drivers
12.1 CAP PROFILES (scroll to bottom of post) [notebookreview.com]

note: AMD 12.10 -performance has been reported similar to 12.9Beta>>http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost...ostcount=4 waiting on more feedback ....
note:AMD Catalyst 12.9 Official Beta - CCC may not show up unless older drivers are properly uninstalled first. Some performance improvements with dual gpu was noticed esp Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 on other laptop setups--But uncertain how much improvement on our K53TA. source of info>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/g...-20-a.html
UI has changed a little according to review; they're now calling switchable graphics "enduro technology">>http://benchmark3d.com/amd-cataly...-benchmark
note:AMD Catalyst 12.8 WHQL --12.8 installs fine. But may give sleep/hibernation problems & potential graphical corruption may be more frequent with this release. Game performance seems same as 12.7beta.>(thanks to feedback on notebookreviews.net)>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8790689
note: AMD Catalyst 12.7 (8.981.2.0 June 26) Official BETA ***** Now fixed mode is unnecessary so running openGL apps with high performance and dgpu is now possible! No need to switch manually anymore. also stuck sticky gpu clocks 100/150mhz are no longer an issue. Thanks LINK626!>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8664373
(note: some game benchmarks have been done with 12.7beta and they are good successor drivers to eg. 12.4, 12.2,12.1. Maybe not the very best at every game but most games generally run close to their best possible benchmark. I personally found best benchmarks of BatmanAC on 11.12, but all following drivers were only 3-4FPS slower, so not a big deal. Newer games probably perform better with later drivers 12.4,12.6, 12.7beta.)
note: AMD 12.6 WHQL installed ok but only after some trial & error of clean installing >>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8664007
note: AMD mobility 12.6 BETA---(Noted to mess up one person's system. Drive sweeper and reinstalling 12.4 helped them. Unless anyone else has different results, maybe it's best to stick with 12.4 or older driver.)

note: AMD Mobility 12.4 driver [benchmark3d.com] may have the best performance in games when set in DYNAMIC mode (in BIOS MOD 212) or not using BIOS MOD 212 at all.
But if using BIOS MOD 212 with Fixed mode (manual selection of dgpu), then Performance in this driver will be broken. The dgpu (6650m) can't detect a game that is running, so it won't ramp up the clock. It's stuck in 100/150mhz. And system may go to a crawl and lag like a slow computer. Thanks to user Link626 for testing this out [guru3d.com]!
WORKAROUND 1>>Mixing graphic driver from 12.2 with ccc from 12.4 drivers (thanks Link626!) [notebookreview.com]
Workaround 2 >>maybe not all issues are squared away but performance may be best on games>>Mixing graphic driver from12.4 with ccc from 12.2 (thanks SymGunnerz)

note:12.4 drivers "another new bug has been found": the vision control center that comes with it causes bsod or garbled screen freeze if you OC the cpu, and then lose electricity, then get electricity back. Also freezes if you OC, and in battery mode, when you change power option to High performance. A possible workaround: run CCC as admin once, and turn on all the power control stuff inside CCC. Seems to solve the freeze/bsod. Big Thanks to Link626 for finding this out recently! 5/22

note: AMD 12.3 is Buggy if OCing CPU. PC Hangs on Shutdown when K10stat or fusion tweaker is used and turbo boost (B0) is on.
This may be a bug in later AMD drivers. This occurs regardless of using new Bios Mod for selecting Fixed dgpu mode or not.
WORKAROUND = Turn Off Turbo Boost (B0) in K10stat when powering off PC or don't use K10stat at all for OCing CPU
Discovered by LINK626, thanks!>>>http://forum.notebookreview.com/8...t2899.html

note: AMD 12.3 gpu BUG - you may experience a stuck high idle speed of dGPU (6650M GPU clock) and have higher temperatures. http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=360731 (Uncertain of a fix? hopefully later drivers will address this issue.); So just revert back to 12.2 or 12.1 drivers to avoid the clock speed problems.

note: Loss of functionality like Overclocking of GPU with MSI Afterburner or TRIXX occurs in AMD 12.2 & later drivers. But function can be returned in AMD 12.2 and later drivers if you replace the missing atipdlxx.dll file. here:>> http://benchmark3d.com/amd-catalyst-12-3-whql or here:>> http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=359671

note:Starting from AMD 12.2 &12.3: DO NOT enable AMD Overdrive or use Power4Gear or else cpu speeds will be locked at lower speeds regardless of choosing High Performance and it will result in poor game performance! >>http://forum.notebookreview.com/a...ost8428291

note:From 12.2 drivers onward, Skyrim was noted to have pixelation artifact problem when AA was set on...wait for fix in later drivers. In 12.4 drivers, Skyrim artifact problems may have been fixed.

note:AMD 12.1 gpu BUG (if using NEW BIOS MOD 212): PC will hang on shutdown once during the session you change to manual selection of dgpu or selecting dynamically (based on application needs). It will not hang on shutdown after successive bootups unless change is made again. If shutdown hangs, hold power button down for 2+ seconds to force illegal shutdown.

note:AMD 11.12 drivers have been noted to be very good, but better performance in newer games may be seen in later drivers. (I liked 12.1 & 11.12 more than 12.2; When using NEW BIOS MOD 212, the 12.xx series was more stable than 11.12 (no BSODs). (12.1 & 12.3 seem the best as of 4-1-2012.)

note: 11.8 Drivers In August 2011, they were among the best performance drivers, but presently in Jan/Feb 2012, the 11.12 Drivers have provided the best performance--see at top!

ATI Catalyst 11.8 FINAL drivers can be found here: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthre...?p=4071730 Downloading from AMD will not update drivers for some reason!
ATI Catalyst 11.8 PREVIEW drivers found here: http://downloads.guru3d.com/AMD-C...-2760.html

note: ATI Catalyst Application Profiles deliver support for Crossfire in many games and can be found here: http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/pages/crossfirex-app-profiles.aspx"]CAP PROFILES for latest AMD drivers [amd.com] (you need to match proper CAP profiles with GPU driver version)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/h...e.html#cap

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