Question about motherboard crossfire

[halogamer2145]

I recently ordered two Sapphire 7870 OC's for crossfire. Everything has a good framerate, but the problem is that even with the latest drivers, I notice micro stuttering. After doing some research it seems like people dont seem to be having the same problem as me. I'm taking a guess and saying it's because my motherboard has 16x/4x PCI. Right now, I am looking at: http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970%20Extreme4/?cat=Specifications

In the specifications it says: 3 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (PCIE2/PCIE4: single at x16 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4), or dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4) ; PCIE5: x4 mode)

I am confused by what it's saying. If I buy this motherboard will it improve the micro stuttering i am having? My current motherboard is the ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO.

Single card enabled in Bioshock Infinite at 60fps on Ultra settings:

Crossfire:

 

[unksol]

It could.be the x4 slot and I would never crossfire on one. But AMD cards.have huge stutter issues with crossfire right now. Some Pepe see it, some don't. I'd suggest vsync or a frame limiter and wait for the driver fix

 

[ur6beersaway]

That board will run 8X8 @dual crossfire, while ok, what you want is full 16X16 @dual crossfire and there are many boards that have that. Ex. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266R
16X4=bottleneck.
Also are you running 13.4 wqhl driver or 13.5 beta.http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

 

[halogamer2145]

It could.be the x4 slot and I would never crossfire on one. But AMD cards.have huge stutter issues with crossfire right now. Some Pepe see it, some don't. I'd suggest vsync or a frame limiter and wait for the driver fix

When I limit the frames to 100, it runs smoothly, but then there's a lot of screen tearing. Right now I'm trying to decide if investing in another motherboard will be worth it.

 

[unksol]

It could.be the x4 slot and I would never crossfire on one. But AMD cards.have huge stutter issues with crossfire right now. Some Pepe see it, some don't. I'd suggest vsync or a frame limiter and wait for the driver fix

When I limit the frames to 100, it runs smoothly, but then there's a lot of screen tearing. Right now I'm trying to decide if investing in another motherboard will be worth it.

Your going to have tearing of you don't limit them to something reasonable. I meant 30 or 60 depending on the game. Some multiple of the refresh rate. Or enable vsync. Unless you have a 120Hz monitor 100FPS is pointless and over 60 will cause tearing. Even of you do have 120Hz, 60 is where it should be set to try and deal with the issue because you're not going to hit 120.

 

[halogamer2145]

That board will run 8X8 @dual crossfire, while ok, what you want is full 16X16 @dual crossfire and there are many boards that have that. Ex. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266R
16X4=bottleneck.
Also are you running 13.4 wqhl driver or 13.5 beta.http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

I was previously running the 13.4 and just updated to the beta drivers. I still have the same amount of micro stutter. Will a new motherboard provide a significant improvement or should I just return these cards? It's a shame because they are really powerful, but the micro stutter makes everything useless.

I just realized that I've only been testing one game, Bioshock Infinite, I tried Just Cause 2 and the results seem much better. I think it may just be a driver issue with Bioshock.

 

[ur6beersaway]

Drivers were worth a try, thanks, But full 16X16 @dual lanes are what will resolve the bottleneck. IMHO

 

[halogamer2145]

Drivers were worth a try, thanks, But full 16X16 @dual lanes are what will resolve the bottleneck. IMHO

Thanks for the help. This board has 2 16x lanes right? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057XQMHA/?tag=210kspsite1-20

 

[ur6beersaway]

Yes Sir, amazon, while great, always suck on details of what one really needs to know.(computer wise)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266
Full 16X16 @ dual. sweet board.

 

[halogamer2145]

I just wanted to upadate the thread. I got the new motherboard today and installed everything. It seems like the microstutter was greatly reduced!
Bioshock Infinite on old motherboard:

New motherboard:

The microstutter is still there, but it seems to be much better than before.
Thanks everyone!

 

[ur6beersaway]

13.6 beta driver release was 4 days ago. BUT we can leave well enough alone. just sayin...