Rethinking buying 7950... (micro-stutter)

[cryptonium76]

After a long time of just using fraps for benchmarks there is now frame rating. This has shown to the public that AMD has micro-stutter even with single cards. I have been seriously thinking about buying a 7950 due to it's price/performance. Am i wrong to do so?

Anyone with a 7000 series card out there it would be nice to hear from you, anyone with Nvidia who switched over i would also appreciate your input.

 

[ubercake]

I switched to Nvidia due to microstutter with 5850s. I started with 1, then 2, then 3 5850s. When I had 1 5850, I thought getting another would fix the issue (didn't realize microstutter was the issue with just 1 card!?) and then when I picked up a third, I realized there was no getting around it. I tried swapping the cards every which way thinking one of the cards had to be bad. Trying one at a time, two at a time, switching PCIe slots, etc... There was microstutter at every level. I was fed up with the performance when every time I'd climb into a tank in BFBC2 the screen would flicker like an old reel-to-reel movie in elementary school (dating myself there). FRAPS showed insane framerates, but the screen was still aflutter. At that point I figured Nvidia couldn't be worse. So I sold the 5850s through craigslist. I met the buyer in the microcenter parking lot and walked inside with my sales money and bought a GTX580. This turned out to be a great decision. There was no microstutter with a single 580. Then when I picked up a second a few weeks later for an SLI setup, there was still no microstutter issue. When the 680s were released, I sold the 580s and picked up two 680s. No microstutter again and they're still running great.

There are people out there that haven't used both solutions who will tell you both sides have their issues. I believed them until I was fed up. Here we are three years later and AMD is finally owning up to the problem I was complaining about years ago (on the AMD forums as well where I was thoroughly ridiculed at the time by other AMD forum members who probably never tried Nvidia cards).

You have to try both sides to realize what you're putting up with using AMD cards. AMD has, for the most part, made me an Nvidia fanboy.

If AMD clears up the issues with microstutter one day, I will definitely be shopping their cards again - just out of principle - since the upcoming Nvidia price structure seems to be approaching ludicrous levels.

 

[wanderer11]

I have a 7870 and don't have any problems. I get tearing in some games, but d3doverrider takes care of that. All my games feel smooth though.

 

[notea]

a 3rd party software - radeonpro can fix this by forcing V-Sync, but its a tedious process as you have to make a new profile for each game, get your avg frames using afterburner or FRAPS, put the target FPS = your benchmarked average
here's the link to Radeonpro

 

[wanderer11]

I tried radeonpro and couldn't figure out how to make it work. I made profiles, tried setting a global profile, launching games from radeonpro, etc. Nothing worked. d3doverrider does vsync much simpler. Unless you want the AA options there is no reason to use radeonpro.

 

[ubercake]

V-sync is not a solution for microstutter, but it will help with tearing. A 120Hz monitor is a better way to reduce/eliminate visible tearing because you no longer have to rely on V-sync. V-sync=input lag and when playing multi-player first-person shooters it's just not good. Most games have a v-sync setting in their video options menu. No third party product necessary.

Again, tearing is not microstutter.

 

[notea]

V-sync is not a solution for microstutter, but it will help with tearing. A 120Hz monitor is a better way to reduce/eliminate visible tearing because you no longer have to rely on V-sync. V-sync=input lag and when playing multi-player first-person shooters it's just not good. Most games have a v-sync setting in their video options menu. No third party product necessary.

Again, tearing is not microstutter.

well, im not saying that micro stutter is tearing, i just said that radeonpro can fix the micro stuttering on CFX cards by forcing V-sync
Read Micro-Stuttering: Dynamic V-Sync (AMD)- Toms Hardware

 

[cryptonium76]

With the 13.4 driver AMD reduced micro stutter for a few games. Should i take this as a hint that they'll work on micro stutter as a whole in the future. Should i get Nvidia now for a higher price or wait?

 

[ubercake]

Ok. Good article, notea. But to me, limiting a cards output to reduce undersired microstutter while introducing associated input lag is reason enough for me not to choose AMD.

 

[ubercake]

With the 13.4 driver AMD reduced micro stutter for a few games. Should i take this as a hint that they'll work on micro stutter as a whole in the future. Should i get Nvidia now for a higher price or wait?

I'd get Nvidia now. I wouldn't bank on a promise from AMD to fix an ongoing problem that's been around for years.

 

[cryptonium76]

Okay, you've changed my mind completely. I started to look at Nvidia's selection and pulled up this 670. Does it look good or is there a better deal somewhere that i'm missing?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

 

[notea]

Okay, you've changed my mind completely. I started to look at Nvidia's selection and pulled up this 670. Does it look good or is there a better deal somewhere that i'm missing?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

great card, friend of mine ordered it from amazon along with the optional backplate, you cant go wrong with this

 

[ubercake]

Okay, you've changed my mind completely. I started to look at Nvidia's selection and pulled up this 670. Does it look good or is there a better deal somewhere that i'm missing?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

The GTX670 offers almost identical performance compared to a GTX680 for $100 less. A lot of us who bought 680s when they were first released were quite angry when Nvidia released these 670 cards for this very reason. Almost no difference. Often 1-2 fps difference on full details at 1080p. Oh, (literally) the price we pay for early adoption!

 

[cryptonium76]

@Ubercake: That sucks, but your message was still reassuring nevertheless.

@notea: Also reassuring.

Thank you both for the input you've provided and with those last posts i am happy my judgement and common sense is still there.

 

[bystander]

AMD has done a lot of improvements on their single card setups with stuttering in the last few months. When you look at the latest benchmarks, AMD's single GPU setups seem to do well now, though it is possible that they are improving the stutter issues on a per game issue, which means lesser known games will still have issues, but I do not know if this is the case. I do know the first round of fixes was on a per game basis, so it still may be a concern. Just get the latest beta drivers if you do get AMD.

However, AMD's multi-GPU/CrossfireX setups still have real issues. There is some prototype driver being worked on that has fixed a few games that was used in a review, but it is not open to the public, and it is still not as good as Nvidia's setup, but it is a prototype, so there is still time to fix it.

All that said, if I were buying a multi-GPU setup today, I'd stick with Nvidia.

 

[thdarkshadow]

I dont have any issues with my card that i know of but i dont have a comparable nvidia card to compare to. Now i did have a 660 a while back and it seemed just as smooth but i dont notice the difference between 40 and 60 fps so dont take my word for it. I would suggest if you are worried and have the budget get the 670. Budget was why i got a 7950. Two free games i was buying anyways just sealed the deal.