Tempted by some cheap GTX460 SLI action? Might want to check this out first before laying down your

[An Exception]

As said a pointless thread, it's common knowledge that xfire as well as SLI setups microstutter at low FPS so basically this thread is scare mongering. It's not as if this effects the majority of people that go 460 SLI unless you use surround and play crysis on max at the res in the vid.

Please stop trolling this thread unless your going to bother doing some research as to what micro stutter is and how it actually works, to then contribute something useful.

"SLI setups microstutter at low FPS so basically this thread is scare mongering"
News flash, it doesn't just effect low FPS.

 

[An Exception]

Actually, so long as you're not right on the threshold, then double-buffer vsync will completely "fix" microstutter.

This looks like a useful solution to it, but what's the hit on FPS like normally?

 

[An Exception]

I see stuff like on the video all the time on peoples' setups even those with single GPUs due to them loading so much crap in the background that something periodically interupts for a few ms.

Microstutter is blown out of proportion imo, most hardcore gamers will "feel" it if it does happen to a big enough degree but it rarely shows up like that unless you either under 15-16fps or have something setup wrong.

Rroff, I think the guy was using the same setup apart from the cards, and I doubt he suddenly loading some background tasks for when he tested the 460's.

 

[An Exception]

I never noticed any stutter running 2 460 1gb,s in Sli... Tried a good few games and was ok no stuttering. ??

What res?

 

[An Exception]

Thread title is misleading to attract attention, there is nothing the 460 SLI is doing wrong that can't happen on another ATI or Nvidia mulit-gpu setup, look at the vid below, maybe I should start a thread on how buyers should be aware of the 5970 as it will microstutter like hell at low FPS and a 480 is a smooth as silk, see where I'm going with this.

Raven for the last time, stop trolling this thread and generally behaving like a fanboy dishing out crackpot accusations, you just haven't got the IQ to pull it off.
Yeh the 5970 does micro stutter, but it's not about Nv Vs Amd it's about Multi Vs Single GPU, but you just posted up a benchmark showing the 480 at much higher FPS than the 5970 in heaven.
Hardly a fair test to compare Multi GPU Vs single GPU and the effects of micro stutter...

 

[An Exception]

So why didnt you detail the thread as general and not 460 specific? I see thread maker attention seeker.

Titled with 460's because everyone is talking about them being sooo good value with great scaling and FPS compared to GPU's like 5870/50's & 480/70's when in reality the later actually offers better REAL performance & therefore more value.
And of course they are the cards in the video...


Edit:

Costly mistake? Very unlikely.

Well it is if your having SLI issues with the 460's, but also because for less money a single GPU that cost's less would probably offer better performance due to the lack of micro-stutter.

 

[An Exception]

This, I see no complaints of stuttering with 460 SLI on here or anywhere else, so the thread title has no relevance other than to bait people. Picks a vid of youtube using a setup and res that 99% of 460 users will never use, who's to say that the 460's were not over their 1GB buffer thus casing hitching, here's a vid showing 460 SLI in action with crysis, butter smooth, fail thread.

Allot smoother, but I can still see it stutter.

Single card looks ok to me.
Still, a clocked 5850 should be smoother.

5850

[/QUOTE]

 

[An Exception]

Tbh i can see a tiny amount of stutter in that video.. If thats what all the fuss is about then i,m kind of shocked...Its hardly a deal breaker...... lol...

@60 FPS it's not that much of an issue sure but it's still present and get's much uglier when the FPS drops. Much better to get a faster single GPU that's smoother and cheaper like a 470 or 5850 IMHO.

 

[An Exception]

Agreed. It's old news that multi GPU can have stuttering problem comparing to single GPU, and the problem is not only limited to GTX460, but it affect the ATI cards too (if not more so), so he should stop trying to make it sound like a "Nvidia issue".

Also, using unrealistic high res settings example which nobody game at with that level of card to exaggerating the problem and giving subtle messages "Nvidia suck balls, ATI own its arse", he's just making himself seem like a troll/attention seeker. Going by his logic, nobody should bloody get a 5970 or CF5850/5870...unless he thinks ATI cards are immune to micro-stuttering problem.

WTF? Have you actually read my posts?
Look like I'v got a militant Nvidiot biting on the end of the line...

 

[An Exception]

You got nobody to blame but yourself wording the title like that, delibrate or not. Regardless of the content of the thread, it is troll brait it is as simple as that. Like a few people already mentioned, should have titled it as a general micro-stutter issue, than making it sound like a specific problem to the GTX460 SLI.

Regardless of your intention, the title and the video in the first post pretty much killing the meaningfulness/usefulness of this thread. No matter how good a presentation is, misleading title for the presentation would pretty much make it pointless.

It's not a mis-leading title, for the simple fact it's an issue that DOES effect 460SLI which is currently a very popular choice for the uniformed.
My first post mentioned the issue being with both SLI and CF setups so I think you and your pal Raven need to take a step back for a moment.

And please, try not to be so brand sensitive...

 

[An Exception]

^^^
No probs

 

[An Exception]

gtx 460 sli is better than single cards like the 5870/470/5850 even with the micro stuttering considered. you are not convincing anybody here.

Maybe your right about that and it makes no difference to me if anyone is 'convinced' or not lol, but I personally would take a faster single GPU over two slower ones any day of the week in order to enjoy smoother gaming minus the stutter + occasional poor scaling.

 

[An Exception]

Just curious...which is more likely...Nvidia invest time and resource working with game developers to make their hardware runs better on them, or make the games run poorly on ATI hardware? I'm not familiar with the law, but surely they could get into trouble if it was latter?

Umm asking that question is going start a big discussion and derail this thread.
I would suggest maybe starting a different thread if you feel the need, and doing some research before hand.

 

[An Exception]

Apparently all multi GPU micro stutter
I cant see it, very few people can.

Saying it is better to buy a 5850 rather then 460 SLI because of micro stutter was rather childish though and was blatantly done for a reaction...

Ironically I think the same about your post.

Enough people notice micro-stutter for it to be quite a large issue.
You will often hear people now say they won't touch multi GPU setups because of this phenomenon...
So if your one of these people who are perceptive enough to notice micro-stutter then yes you would be better off with a faster single GPU.

 

[An Exception]

Hmmm dont recall all these issue about micro stutter when everyone on this forum was saying to buy crossfired 5770's when the 5 series came out?

It's all down to Nvidia bashing. They may as well call this forum ATI overclockers...

What is it with Nvidia fans being so sensitive on this forum?
I'm pretty sure people have been talking about Micro-stutter for a while, so yes that most probably included the time when 5770's were the popular cheap 5870 alternative.

Don't know how the below thread slipped through the net.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18174436&highlight=5970+micro+stutter

 

[An Exception]

If what a lot of people are saying is true (And I agree) That microstutter is more noticeable at lower fps. Then what is the point in showing a comparison at a silly high res that lowers fps so far as to just exaggerate the issue ?

Umm, I think the original You tuber did the test at whatever settings it took to get 30FPS to compare what a single GPU looked like compared to SLI.
I think 30FPS was chosen so the effects of micro-stutter were easily visible on a small youtube video as some people may not know what they are looking for and miss it at 60FPS. Also 30FPS is a playable frame-rate on a single GPU so it's not an unreasonably low FPS to do the test with.
While micro stutter is still visible at 60FPS, it wouldn't be the most strait-forward FPS to shop someone on a small youtube video who doesn't know what micro-stutter looks like, if they haven't seen it previously.

I dont know what everybodys individual reasons are for going for a multi GPU setup, e-peen, eye candy, Higher FPS ? But for me it was for higher frames with decent levels of eye candy. and a second hand card was a cheaper upgrade than a brand new higher end model.


I respect what the op is trying to say here BUT really is it such a big deal ?

The big deal I suppose is the fact that people are buying up cheap cards to run in SLI thinking they are better performance than a single GPU priced in the same ballpark because they are getting 20% more FPS when in reality they are actually getting worse performance than a single GPU setup.
And the people who claim not to have any micro stutter are usually running systems that would run just as smooth with a single card anyway.

So in short the big deal is about waking up the sheeple blinded by the misleading FPS shown in reviews...

 

[An Exception]

Could you clarify this point please.

Twice as many recorded driver issues with regards to multi GPU's over single GPU's

 

[An Exception]

I am slightly confused by your reponse here.

What do you mean by 'Twice as many recorded driver issues'?

I am specifically querying the recorded part. Are we talking twice as many recorded by different users around the net or twice as many simply because there are two GPU's?

Well if you look at most of the threads screaming about drivers issues, the large majority of the time they are complaining about a problem that affects multi-GPU setups.
Maybe I'm wrong, but this is the impression I get, and which I thought was relatively widely known.

 

[An Exception]

So If microstutter is barely detectable as you say at frames of 60 and above ..........Whats the point in discussing it ?

The point as I have already said before is because it is noticeable EVEN at 60FPS (allot of games will dip below 60fps also) although to some more than others, and a faster single GPU won't give you ANY noticeable micro stutter even then playing at less than 60FPS, so which is the ideal option do you think?

Isnt the main point of going sli/crossfire to increase performance ?
Most multi gpu setups I would have thought run at frames higher than 60fps in most games, Mine does at least.

I all depends on what res you game at and what games you run at what settings.
SLI/CF increases raw FPS substantially but has unwanted side effects that reduce the benefit of the high FPS substantially.

Which GPU's would you pick to run a res of 1080p or higher?
2xGTX460 1gb
1xGTX480

Maybe the 460's would win in terms of Raw FPS but I would personally pick the 480 for a noticeably smoother and therefore better experience.

So which would you choose?

 

[An Exception]

^^^
Can you not see micro stutter in the below video that raven posted earlier saying there was no micro stutter with 460's?

While not massively distracting it is still visible at high FPS which I generally just find annoying but like others say not exactly a deal breaker, if you can't see it then you are immune to it and unable to perceive it unless at really low FPS.
Maybe it's because you have always used dual GPU setups that you have gotten used to it or something, who knows?
All I know is I went from always using single GPU's to SLI/CF (8800 & 4870) and have been disappointed with stutter every time, so much so I ended up removing the extra card and selling it on as it just wasn't needed and in my view made things worse.