I've just worked out that there could be a problem with my ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB. An application is using the graphics hardware to resize an image to fit the screen, but it's not really sharp enough. If I configure the application to do this in software instead, it looks better.

I have been aware of this issue for over a couple of years, but have only just discovered the workaround. I have tried changing settings within Catalyst Control Center, but it makes no difference to the hardware rendering quality. To be honest, I'd be surprised if any of the settings I see are relevant.

I am working in Adobe Bridge CS6, but it was the same with CS5. My OS is Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, and the Catalyst drivers are currently 12.8 (but have used several older versions).

Can anyone suggest a way of improving the hardware rendering? Or do I need to get a new graphics card?

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=453&threadid=161234&enterthread=y

Intel I7 960 @ 3.87ghz *Intel DX58SO *HIS HD6970 2gb *Corsair TX650M *2x4gb Corsair XMS3 *WD Black 1TB *Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit *Gateway HD2401 24" 2ms 1920x1200  ***Asus N71Jq laptop *Intel I7 720QM Processor *Mobility Radeon HD5730 1gb *8gb Ram *Windows 7 64bit  ***Acer 5750 laptop

* A clear conscience is usually a sign of bad memory *

Correct me if I'm wrong ... what I get from that link is that hardware rendering is a time saver but not necessarily the best way of doing something.

In that case, why are the vast majority of people using Adobe Bridge not complaining about poor results with hardware rendering (the default setting)?

I'm guessing that some aren't as fussy as I am, but I have seen some screen shots which look fine. So are they using better graphics cards?

I saw one example today of a Radeon HD 5770 on a Mac which looked fine. He was using Hardware Rendering. Surely there's not much difference between a 5670 and a 5770? Isn't the main difference is in the O/S and the driver?

Yeah... It's the drivers that matter when it comes to image quality.  I wouldn't expect there to be many differences based on the hardware.  The focus when developing a driver for a mainstream consumer video card, like your 5670 is usually on performance and support for the latest gaming APIs, like DirectX.  Image quality often comes in second to that.  With the "professional" cards that's supposed to be reversed with accuracy and image quality being placed first, but I've never personally used one of those.  They're even more nose-bleed expensive than gaming cards are these days.

Newer cards may appear to have better image quality, but that's probably also a driver thing.  As time goes on, and hardware gets faster finding a good balance between speed and accuracy in rendering gets easier... or at least that's the way it's supposed to work. 

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Alot would depend on your processor, which you failed to list. The easy way is to disable it in IE9 > tools > internet options > advanced > check 'use software rendering'...and see if it helps. The hardware rendering as a general rule will be slightly faster than software, but software rendering will be sharper/clearer/etc. Also, you might re-set your cleartype settings.

Intel I7 960 @ 3.87ghz *Intel DX58SO *HIS HD6970 2gb *Corsair TX650M *2x4gb Corsair XMS3 *WD Black 1TB *Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit *Gateway HD2401 24" 2ms 1920x1200  ***Asus N71Jq laptop *Intel I7 720QM Processor *Mobility Radeon HD5730 1gb *8gb Ram *Windows 7 64bit  ***Acer 5750 laptop

* A clear conscience is usually a sign of bad memory *

Okay, will do.

It sounds like a lot of money to use decent hardware rendering, which ever way you look at it, so I'll stick with software rendering for now. Thanks for the advice!

BTW it's a Core2 Duo o/c at 3.55GHz, FSB 533GHz, 4GB Corsair RAM, on an Asus P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45/ICH10R)

Yeah, it usually does... If you're part of an FX company that has a render farm of 30 machines cranking out scenes for a movie, that's one thing.  In cases like that, the speed increase offered by hardware rendering can really make a difference.  For everyone else, software rendering does just fine.

I wouldn't be surprised if software rendering became more popular in general.  With all the programmability in modern GPUs, and with CPUs and GPUs starting to blur together, doing everything through a fixed function API like OpenGL or DirectX doesn't make as much sense now as it used to.

Do not meddle in the affairs of archers, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
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Troll Hunter

The opinions expressed above do not represent those of Advanced Micro Devices or any of their affiliates.