No additional Windows 7 support for some older cards
Following the recent launch of the HD 5000 series (and DirectX 11), ATI is taking a moment to rearrange their driver priorities. Today they listed a slew of cards that will not be receiving fresh driver updates. The following cards have been relegated to 'legacy' driver status:
ATI Radeon 9500 Series
ATI Radeon 9550 Series
ATI Radeon 9600 Series
ATI Radeon 9700 Series
ATI Radeon 9800 Series
ATI Radeon X300 Series
ATI Radeon X550 Series
ATI Radeon X600 Series
ATI Radeon X700 Series
ATI Radeon X800 Series
ATI Radeon X850 Series
ATI Radeon X1050 Series
ATI Radeon X1300 Series
ATI Radeon X1550 Series
ATI Radeon X1600 Series
ATI Radeon X1650 Series
ATI Radeon X1800 Series
ATI Radeon X1900 Series
ATI Radeon Xpress Series
ATI Radeon X1200 Series
ATI Radeon X1250 Series
ATI Radeon X2100 Series
If you have one of these video cards, and worried about Windows 7 compatibility, rest assured -- you don't have too much cause for concern. While Windows 7 support is not 'official' for these aging cards, you still should not have any trouble using the recent Vista Catalyst 9.8 drivers without too many problems in Win 7.
If you are miffed that your card has been deemed a 'legacy' product, a good way of dealing with the situation is taking it as a great excuse to justifying spending money on a new gaming graphics card.