HD 4870 X2 review

[Ancient76]

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,653537/Reviews/Radeon_HD_4870_X2_reviewed/

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/screenshots/medium/2008/07/crysis_1680_dx10_noAA_17.png

"The microstuttering is gone.” That's what has been heard on the internet lately. But here it hasn't - although it got better with some of the more prominent examples. UT3 is running smooth all the time and we can't record any frame drops. In Crysis the situation was noticeably improved in DX 9 mode, but the lineup of frames is not as smooth in some situations as it is with a single GPU. Crossfire fails at the DX 10 mode - there are lags and the fps rate is low.

In 3DMark Vantage the first bumpy situations appear in the Extreme preset. Race Driver Grid delivers microstuttering if the frame rate drops below 50 - the subjective frame rate lies between 30 and 40. NfS Carbon and Half-Life 2 (dt.) produce microstuttering at frame rates below 40 fps. Playing at this frame rate feels like it does on a single GPU that delivers about 20 fps.

The reports about the disappearance of the problem that have been published might be caused by the impressive overall performance of the HD 4870 X2. microstuttering is, depending on the individual characteristics, noticed at about 40 fps - but not by everyone. To force the X2 into such situations you have to use a resolution of at least 1,920 x 1,200 and activate 8x FSAA. 24x edge detect CFAA is another way to get the card to her knees. There are almost no games that are not lagging at 20 to 30 fps while a single GPU still delivers a playable performance, still.

I expected this.

[Xion X2]

So.. they had a 4870X2 losing to an 8800 Ultra in Crysis. :lol: And they were running the 8.5 driver for the 4870 and 4870X2? There's an 8.8 out now. That was a pre-release driver they're using. Even then, there's no way a 4870X2 should ever lose to an 8800 Ultra in Crysis unless Pee Wee Herman is at the benchmark controls.

Over here on more recent drivers the 4870X2 beats the 280 by 20% in Crysis. Resolution is 1920x--that's the only difference:
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15105/5

[mullet]

It sounds like they are really trying to make it have microstutter. Some noticed it some didn't. I am sorry but 40FPS is sad its called a slide show. People should always set there resolution and settings to where there minimum FPS is above 60FPS. I never understood people that say 30 to 40 FPS is playable maybe its me but anything below 60FPS to me is nasty on the eyes.

[Imbroglio]

still waiting for actual frame rendering numbers and none of this "dUd35 mic20stUttz @ 20fP5 l0ll1l1ll!!1"

[slaWter]

Guys this in not a review, it's the same preview posted a few weeks ago. Just look at the date ;)

[K007]

lol...8.5 drivers and date...

[Ancient76]

Guys this in not a review, it's the same preview posted a few weeks ago. Just look at the date ;)

My mistake :)

And they were running the 8.5 driver for the 4870 and 4870X2? There's an 8.8 out now. That was a pre-release driver they're using

Yes, but new drivers won't fix any microstuttering.

[BioHazZarD]

Nonsense review.

[Medion]

Yes, but new drivers won't fix any microstuttering.

Using Catylist 8.5 on this series is inappropriate. They should have at last used the 8.7 officials, or the 8.8 betas. That would offer a huge performance gain, and possibly alleviate the microstuttering to a degree.

It sounds like they are really trying to make it have microstutter. Some noticed it some didn't. I am sorry but 40FPS is sad its called a slide show. People should always set there resolution and settings to where there minimum FPS is above 60FPS. I never understood people that say 30 to 40 FPS is playable maybe its me but anything below 60FPS to me is nasty on the eyes.

A consistent 30 or 40fps is fairly smooth, it's just not a good framerate for games with a fast pace (racing) or requiring quick mouse movement (FPS). The only time I notice the difference between 30 and 60fps is when the game is running at 60, but drops to 30 suddenly. But 30 constant is very smooth.

[Heinz68]

My mistake :)

Yes, but new drivers won't fix any microstuttering.
Well the new driver should at least make the crossfire working in order to call it microstutterring.

3 days after this preview the same site published microstuttering article, posted in this thread (http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=116965).
Most likely to get some extra hits or they have an agenda.

From the article
Crossfire is not working properly and therefore the framerate is low - let's call this macro stuttering. In addition to this macro stuttering there is an irregular frame distribution, known as - surprise - micro stuttering.

The reason for Crossfire to work improperly is a driver bug of course.

After this they included Crysis bad looking microstuttering video running at around 10 FPS.
So what was it micro or so called macro stuttering? Anyway at this speed any single GPU card would show stuttering. So what were they trying to prove?

[Serrasalmus]

pffft what tard did this review!!!!

[CaptNKILL]

It sounds like they are really trying to make it have microstutter. Some noticed it some didn't. I am sorry but 40FPS is sad its called a slide show. People should always set there resolution and settings to where there minimum FPS is above 60FPS. I never understood people that say 30 to 40 FPS is playable maybe its me but anything below 60FPS to me is nasty on the eyes.

I agree.

I can squeeze by at 30-40fps but 60+ is the only thing I'll consider "smooth". In most games I'll turn the settings down if I'm not getting at the very least 50fps most of the time.

[Blacklash]

Much better reviews will be out next week.

[Vanzagar]

Change the title, close the thread or combine with existing preview thread please...

[zer0]

close this thread guys pls.

[Heinz68]

I agree.

I can squeeze by at 30-40fps but 60+ is the only thing I'll consider "smooth". In most games I'll turn the settings down if I'm not getting at the very least 50fps most of the time.
It reminds me of this reply posted at ExtremeSystems. (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3196474&postcount=312)
If I was to buy a 4870x2 and force it to run at 40fps, I'd be better off using that money as toilet paper.

[mullet]

Yeah the last one out flush the toilet and turn the lights off. Peace out yooo.

[CaptNKILL]

It reminds me of this reply posted at ExtremeSystems. (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3196474&postcount=312)

I feel the same way he does.

I didn't spend $600 on my 8800GTX to "play" games at 2560x1600 with 128xSSQZXAA at 20fps. I'm definitely a framerate\smoothness wh0re over all other things.

[cvearl]

I feel the same way he does.

I didn't spend $600 on my 8800GTX to "play" games at 2560x1600 with 128xSSQZXAA at 20fps. I'm definitely a framerate\smoothness wh0re over all other things.

I feel exactly the same way.

Even with the 4870, I CAN play Mass Effect at 1680x1050 4xAA Maxed with Ultra settings and vSync but there are some areas where I drop into the 40's and I am sensitive to those dips. Some don't care but I do.

So I drop the Ultra to High in the options. Not quite as many pores in characters faces but ALWAYS at 60fps and dizzyingly smooth.

I usually spend the first 10 minutes with a game finding that > 50fps sweetspot.

The only one that I cannot do it well with is Crysis. I played on all high 1680x1050 no AA with framerates in the 30's and hitting low 40's and just lived with it because all medium was in the 40's with small spikes into the 50's but to stay over 50 at all times would mean mixing low and medium settings. Not worth it. Getting Crysis to sit between 50 and 60 fps at all times is an excersize in futility and it looks so fugly when you achieve it. :( Very un-optimized. :thumbdwn:

C.

[imakandi]

And they were running the 8.5 driver for the 4870 and 4870X2?

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,653537/Reviews/Radeon_HD_4870_X2_reviewed/?page=2
Catalyst "8.7 Beta" (v8.52, HD 4870 X2)

[FlashFreeze]

It's a phenomenon known by some of the old time SLI/CrossFire users nothing new that suddenly these guys found out that no one else knew about. Ask SH64 or jakUp also I can confirm that it is true. I had two SLI and one CrossFire setup so far.

Low framerates that are borderline playable on single GPU, feel choppy and slow on multi-GPU setups i.e. you may be able to play a game at 20-25 frames on a single GPU without major problems but same game with the same settings on a multi-GPU setup at 20-25 fps feels a lot slower. It's just the way multi GPU setups are atm nothing really specefic to ATI or nVIDIA imo.

So bottom line is that I think with a multi-GPU setup, ideally you don't want to hit under 30 or 25 frames per second.

[Ancient76]

Using Catylist 8.5 on this series is inappropriate. They should have at last used the 8.7 officials, or the 8.8 betas. That would offer a huge performance gain, and possibly alleviate the microstuttering to a degree.



A consistent 30 or 40fps is fairly smooth, it's just not a good framerate for games with a fast pace (racing) or requiring quick mouse movement (FPS). The only time I notice the difference between 30 and 60fps is when the game is running at 60, but drops to 30 suddenly. But 30 constant is very smooth.

I agree :)
But what about new games and microstuttering? I don't need 4870X2 to play less demanding games. Crysis is a different story.

New review - http://www.tech-industry.co.rs/articles/review/234/

[Xion X2]

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,653537/Reviews/Radeon_HD_4870_X2_reviewed/?page=2
Catalyst "8.7 Beta" (v8.52, HD 4870 X2)

On the Crysis graph it says 8.5.