A few years ago I use to work as an OpenGL developer for a gaming company, and one thing I remember was ATI releasing cards that claimed to support new OpenGL features. The game engine would check the API to see if the feature was supported, and the drivers would report that they were enabled.

The truth, the drivers didn't support the features. The game engine would crash, and after contacting ATI (at a high senior level). I found out that ATI would often release cards, claiming to support new 3D features, but hadn't yet implemented the features in the drivers. In order to place the OpenGL X.X version supported on the box, they marked those features as supported in the API, so the drivers were reporting false data back to the 3D applications.

Months later, they would release drivers that actually implemented the features. ATI would argue, that technically the chipset could perform the feature, but they hadn't finished implementing it in the driver before the card was released.

This kind of practice by ATI made it impossible for 3D applications to trust the API when reporting what features the card supported.

When I say I prefer NVidia, it's because they don't do this kind of stuff. When they release a card, and claim it supports a new 3D feature, that support comes in the box. You don't have to go download new drivers months later after the card has come out.

It seems that in my case it has turned out on the contrary: ATI in the driver have written functions which aren't supported by my video card. Means, it is necessary to download not the new driver, but a new video card
Not so long ago I heard history that Nvidia's video cards overheated because of an error in the driver. Both those and others are forced to hurry up - such are market laws, and they are not exactly humane…

Holy crap!
I just install last Catalyst 11.1 and Houdini works on 100% !!!

oh thanks for letting us know. I'll give it a try next week, AFTER I'm done this current project

Yes, Houdini (11.0.595) really works with Catalyst 11.1, BUT… Premiere Pro CS5 causes display driver crash on start (I get message: “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”). You ask: at what is here Houdini? The answer is that Premiere works normally until Houdini has been launched. It is no matter closed Houdini or not before Premiere launch. Now Premiere (and Houdini) don't works until system reboot. With Catalyst 10.9 such phenomenon was not watched. Those who use the Premiere check it up please.

I has just found out that if the Premiere has been launched by the first after system boot further Houdini doesn't hinder Premiere's operation.

This problem is completely solved with Catalyst 11.2 (Houdini 11.0.658)