Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisRay
A single GPU does offer a more consistent frame time pattern than a multi GPU at the "Same" framerates.
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I don't think anyone was arguing against this, either. Shocky didn't say the "same" framerates, though; he said at LOWER framerates, and it was he who I was replying to:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Shocky
Look at [H]'s latest Slalker performance review comparing the GTX280 and HD4870X2, the HD4870X2 got better benchmark results but the framerate wasn't consistent enough, the GTX280 even with a lower average framerate offered a more consistent experience.
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And that just isn't true most of the time.
We also should be careful to distinguish what we're talking about. There is a difference in what "frame time"/frame delay is and "framerate." Frame delay, as Chris and many others know, defines this "microstutter" or response variation that many claim exists on multi-gpu setups and doesn't on single-GPU. For multi-GPU, the frame time or frame delay is a very key component in how smooth your framerate appears on-screen.
And this is where I think our opinions differ a little from reading Chris Ray's last post. I don't believe, at least from an ATI perspective, that there is a huge gap in frame time / frame delay between a single/multi-gpu solution of this gen. For example, in looking at the consistency between single/multi-GPU when going the ATI route, a 4870X2 offers more consistency in frame response times than a 4870 does in both DMC4 and Call of Juarez at high settings. You can see both the 3870 and 4870 fluctuating wildly in comparison:
DMC4:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...etimegeral.png
CoJ:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...ger/graf-2.png
Notice especially the peak.. how much higher the variation is on the single-gpu solutions (3870 = black; 4870 = red; X2 = green):
One possible argument against this would be something that I think Chris hinted at. My interpretation is that he's saying if you take a multi-GPU solution with two low-end GPUs that are performing around the same (within a few %) as a single GPU that the single GPU will have a lower frame response time, and that is probably true. I believe that a 280 would offer a better overall experience than 4850 Crossfire, for example--in the titles that scaled within a few percentage points of each other. But I think the gap has been lessened quite a bit this gen and is overexaggerated by just about everyone.