GTX 960 Frame rate Fluctuation?

HahnSolo

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Jul 11, 2014
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Ive seen a few benchmarks of the card, and the benchmarks look promising. The card also has good temperatures and very low power consumption which would work with my psu. My only issue with it is in some of the benchmarks the minimum and maximum fps were waaaaaaay to different. Also the card lacks the standard for med-range cards 256 bit memory bus and has only 2 gigs of RAM, both of which would cause big fluctuations. From any people with the card or have experience with the card, is frame rate fluctuation a big issue with it?
 

Blood Gulch

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The most important thing is average FPS. If the minimum fps and the average fps aren't very different, then fluctuations aren't an issue. I advise looking at more benchmarks and comparing average fps to minimum fps. Even if the minimum fps is significantly different than the average of maximum fps, keep in mind that even 1 dip would be included in the benchmark, so take all the results with a grain of salt. If fluctuations are an issue, you should turn the game settings down to keep a steady fps.
 

HahnSolo

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I've looked at probably looked a half a dozen benchmark tests and a few reviews of the card. I like to get a good idea of what i'm putting $200 into. Most of the benchmark tests only put down the average fps, which was actually really great, but a few tests had the minimum and maximum differences of 50+ fps. I don't want to be playing a game, turn around, and lag down 30 frames or more. There are two things that entirely ruin a gaming experience for me, and that is screen tearing and fluctuation. The 270x seems to have slightly worse fps in most games, and sinks in more power, but usually holds a steady frame rate for the most part. I'm kind of torn between the two.
 

Blood Gulch

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Think of it like this, max fps isn't the same as average fps. The difference between those 2 doesn't matter, because there are some graphically unintensive moments in games where your fps shoots up because it's not a demanding scene. Average fps is still the most important aspect of smooth gaming. I can definitely see your concerns though about the minimum fps. To help you better, what resolution do you game at, and what is the hz of your monitor?
 

Blood Gulch

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Wow that's some really low minimum fps. However, I've gamed with a mid range gpu (gtx 660) on BF4 before. I recommend that you don't play above high settings, and you won't get big fluctuations. Honestly, the biggest drops were noticeable, but they never lasted more than 1.5 seconds. For mid range gaming, I would recommend the AMD R9 280. It performs a little better in some areas, but has a bigger power draw.
 

HahnSolo

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Power Draw is kind of an issue. I only have a 450 Watt PSU. Its a reliable brand with a lot of Amps on the 12V rail but I don't want to risk crashes and such. The 960 should be fine but the 270 or 270x are risky.