The setup does not matter. If the cards only have a 256-Bit bus with GDDR3 then your'll run into the problem at higher resolutions. Same with 512MB memory not being enough for high res. SLI in any form will not affect these problems in any way.
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My mini review - GTX 280 vastly better than 9800GX2 for high res gaming
- Thread starter MR.B
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The setup does not matter. If the cards only have a 256-Bit bus with GDDR3 then your'll run into the problem at higher resolutions. Same with 512MB memory not being enough for high res. SLI in any form will not affect these problems in any way.
Interesting read Mr.B.
However I am one of those 'benchers' who do reviews and feel the need to at least defend MY methods (I can't vouch for Anandtech etc)and to make reviews as consitant a possible a timedemo needs to be run at least a few times (the more the better) and an average taken from those demos. Otherwse if there is no consitancy then there can be no fair analysis on how a card is performing from one to the other and the results will therefore be flawed and incomparable.
I recently did a review on Quad SLI (9800GX2 x2) with CrossfireX (3870x2 x2) as a comparison at both 2560x1600 and 1900x1200 with 4x AA/AF and I must confess I didn't notice a lot of the symptoms/problems you have described here. I can't comment on the difference between the GX2 and the 280 as I didn't have a 280 at the time to use but I never noticed the stuttering and FPS is much higher than what you have gotten it seems in Cod4 at least(unless of course you deem 100fps unplayable)!
However I am one of those 'benchers' who do reviews and feel the need to at least defend MY methods (I can't vouch for Anandtech etc)and to make reviews as consitant a possible a timedemo needs to be run at least a few times (the more the better) and an average taken from those demos. Otherwse if there is no consitancy then there can be no fair analysis on how a card is performing from one to the other and the results will therefore be flawed and incomparable.
I recently did a review on Quad SLI (9800GX2 x2) with CrossfireX (3870x2 x2) as a comparison at both 2560x1600 and 1900x1200 with 4x AA/AF and I must confess I didn't notice a lot of the symptoms/problems you have described here. I can't comment on the difference between the GX2 and the 280 as I didn't have a 280 at the time to use but I never noticed the stuttering and FPS is much higher than what you have gotten it seems in Cod4 at least(unless of course you deem 100fps unplayable)!
I never said the FPS
COD4 was playable for me at that res, but with no AA. And the micro stutters were rare like i said, and happened mostly on out door areas but even then were still quite rare. For the most part, the frame rate would be at over 50 FPS @ 2560x1600 with no AA and a little AF on the GX2, the rare stutters were mostly just an annoyance.
But once any AA was enabled it became too bad, but it would be ok with some AF though.
Did you try COD4 @ 2560x1600 with 2x or 4xAA + AF? On these settings it's no where near playable. I found once any AA is enabled with that game on that res you run out of memory. Even my 8800GTX handled it better at that res with some AA as it had enough memory for it.
I just wish i could find software that displays how much VRAM is being used by a game. As far as i know theres not any that work with Vista.
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MR.B,
I'll add my thanks as well for your time and effort keeping us informed.
I game at 1920x1200 and it's good to have a realistic expectation of how much improvement to expect.
Given the high price of the 280 atm I'm thinking I'll wait for the die shrunk version, which should run a tad cooler and require less power.
I'll add my thanks as well for your time and effort keeping us informed.
I game at 1920x1200 and it's good to have a realistic expectation of how much improvement to expect.
Given the high price of the 280 atm I'm thinking I'll wait for the die shrunk version, which should run a tad cooler and require less power.
timedemo's aren't always a good reference to actual gameplay and a lot of the games I have noticed this stuttering in have been games without any inherant benchmark.
For example I play LOTRO and the stuttering on a 9800GX2 was terrible but only in certain areas. The same behaviour could not be replicated on my 8800Ultra nor my GTX280.
P.S Crossfire just doesn't work in LOTRO and I have heared nothing from ATI about getting it too work.
For example I play LOTRO and the stuttering on a 9800GX2 was terrible but only in certain areas. The same behaviour could not be replicated on my 8800Ultra nor my GTX280.
P.S Crossfire just doesn't work in LOTRO and I have heared nothing from ATI about getting it too work.
I never said the FPS
For the most part, the frame rate would be at over 50 FPS @ 2560x1600 with no AA and a little AF on the GX2, the rare stutters were mostly just an annoyance.
But once any AA was enabled it became too bad, but it would be ok with some AF though.
Did you try COD4 @ 2560x1600 with 2x or 4xAA + AF? On these settings it's no where near playable. I found once any AA is enabled with that game on that res you run out of memory. Even my 8800GTX handled it better at that res with some AA as it had enough memory for it.
I just wish i could find software that displays how much VRAM is being used by a game. As far as i know theres not any that work with Vista.
Did you get any stuttering at a lower res ?
Yup - I did the whole review with 4xAA and 4xAf. I can't link to the review as our site has advertisors who compete with OCUK but google is your friend (XFX 9800GX2 Quad Sli) and the review is well worth a read (even if I do say so myself
.Heres my Cod4 results :
I'm not saying you are wrong as I do agree that the cards should come with more ram but you may have been having difficulties with your setup if you couldn't run Cod4 with AA tbh. These results were run on vista 64 ultimate (fresh install with SP1 + updates) and 175.16 drivers.
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i know a member who couldnt run cod4 with aa and he changed from a 3870x2 to a 9800gx2 and had the same problem
in the end a simple format worked and could run it with either card full
my 9800gx2 will run cod4 with full aa and af 100fps @ 2560x1600
in the end a simple format worked and could run it with either card full
my 9800gx2 will run cod4 with full aa and af 100fps @ 2560x1600
Hmm thats very weird. I did also try the GX2 on 2 new installs of Vista Ultimate x64 + SP1. And with atleast 4 different driver versions over about 3 months (including the drivers you used), plus the fact that my 8800GTX and 280 do not have these issues with COD4 at 2560x1600 res makes it even more weird if it was something to do with my system.
The only thing i can think of is that you tested it with a time demo and i tested the game on many different levels and played through it a little. Some places/levels had stutters more than others, some had none at all. So maybe the time demo you used was not as demanding as some other areas of the game?
Nope at lower res it was fine.
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Well I played online and measured it it with fraps over an hour or so of play over numerous maps and the average fps was pretty much inline with the time demos. Dunno what could have been your problem - strange.
Anyone got overheating probs
Long thread this, but it seems some people's 280's hit the 105 degree threshld in no time at all and either throttle or just turn off.
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=114925
Long thread this, but it seems some people's 280's hit the 105 degree threshld in no time at all and either throttle or just turn off.
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=114925
Then it is the memory running out as micro stuttering should happen at any res.
Finally received mine yesterday after a few days of City Link incompetance.
The price was steep I felt but well worth it I can't fault the performance, going from 8800GTX and running WoW (main game I play) at 1920*1200 it is a pretty major upgrade.
With the 8800GTX I could only really manage 1920*1200 with 2X AA and even then it would slow to a crawl in big raids with spells flying all over the place.
Running now 1920*1200 4xAA all detail full and I've not seen it dip under 60fps yet, I'm sure the GPU plays its part but the 1GB memory and 512bit seem to make a pretty noticeable difference, faster loading, less pop up, smoother gameplay (not as many pauses and stutters when going into new areas).
Overall I am very happy with it, the only complaint I can make is the noise it's definitely louder than 8800GTX but it's bearable and nowhere near as bad as some previous cards I have owned such as X1900 series.
The price was steep I felt but well worth it I can't fault the performance, going from 8800GTX and running WoW (main game I play) at 1920*1200 it is a pretty major upgrade.
With the 8800GTX I could only really manage 1920*1200 with 2X AA and even then it would slow to a crawl in big raids with spells flying all over the place.
Running now 1920*1200 4xAA all detail full and I've not seen it dip under 60fps yet, I'm sure the GPU plays its part but the 1GB memory and 512bit seem to make a pretty noticeable difference, faster loading, less pop up, smoother gameplay (not as many pauses and stutters when going into new areas).
Overall I am very happy with it, the only complaint I can make is the noise it's definitely louder than 8800GTX but it's bearable and nowhere near as bad as some previous cards I have owned such as X1900 series.