ATI CAP 10.8a

[Wreckage]

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/26/ati_crossfirex_application_profile_108a_performance

Credit where credit is due. AMD has quickly responded (sort of) to problems with Xfire and BF/AvP

Fix is due soon, but here is a preview.

The issues holding back performance in these two titles has now been fixed thanks to the new CrossFireX Application Profile. This is what the CAP system was intended for; to provide performance and compatibility updates to CrossFireX without having to wait between driver versions. Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite worked out this way, with CAP updates coming about as frequently as driver updates. It has been months with these CrossFireX performance issues present, and we are only now seeing it get fixed. AMD needs to stay in tune with its customers a bit better in the future, because honestly, these CFX issues were even voiced in AMD's own forums months ago.

At any rate, this new CrossFireX Application Profile will be available online shortly, and you will want to grab it if you are running a CrossFireX configuration.

 

[Rifter]

I agree, good to know ATI is finally addressing the CF issues. When they get it up to SLI scaling levels then the multi GPU competition should heat up again, and will result in better prices for end users.

 

[Will Robinson]

Awww.you missed this bit....somehow...

Quote:
We are seeing a 70% improvement in pure performance, this is incredible.
AvP

Quote:
The difference isn’t as big as AvP, but it is certainly noticeable in-game. Here we are seeing a 44% improvement in performance in the average framerate.
About Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

As discussed here...
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2096576&page=4

 

[dguy6789]

Wow, a 70% performance improvement just from a driver update. Bravo, AMD.

 

[HurleyBird]

Either 'bravo', or thanks for getting off your asses and doing something

 

[lavaheadache]

Exactly

Either 'bravo', or thanks for getting off your asses and doing something

 

[edplayer]

check out this part:



Of course we asked for a statement from AMD about this issue and why it has gone unattended for so long. This was what Terry Makedon had to say:

"In our internal benchmarking we did not see CrossFireX scaling issues. With HardOCP’s initial articles on the topic of scaling we were alerted that something was not right. We immediately engaged with Brent and asked for information to be able to reproduce his results. It took some time for us to reproduce them and once that happened we had to give it to our performance tuning engineers to investigate. We truly did put the highest possible priority on it as we did want to ensure everyone had the best performance possible. What we did to resolve the scaling issue in the end was to tweak the driver to use the available CPU cores more efficiently (we were hitting a CPU limitation on that particular map you guys used)."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

So they didn't see CF scaling issues with their own internal testing. If this is true, some of the installed user base should have had a lot better numbers than the [H] results. Was this what people were claiming on hardware forums?

Also, they "immediately" engaged with Brent. How about their customers? What kind of action did they take when their customers made complaints about CF scaling? The article also had this:


It has been months with these CrossFireX performance issues present, and we are only now seeing it get fixed. AMD needs to stay in tune with its customers a bit better in the future, because honestly, these CFX issues were even voiced in AMD's own forums months ago.


I used to think that I would be fine with either AMD or Nvidia. Now, I am leaning more towards Nvidia for two reasons. Drivers and their partners. Drivers should be self explanatory. I used to see lots of AMD drivers suck threads and people would always jump in and they don't have that problem. The last ATi card I used was the 9600XT. I had no problems with it. But seeing so many of those threads makes you wonder. Them claiming they couldn't replicate the issue and taking immediate action makes me think they are lying.

And for partners, ATi has no "premier" partners. Some people think that XFX is that one because they offer double lifetime warranty. What do people ususally say when they have rma's with XFX, problems. Compare that to EVGA. You have peace of mind when dealing with them.

 

[BD231]

Why do you think *BOTH* ATI/nVidia go through the trouble of releasing drivers so frequently Ed??? Customer engagement? Since when do companies promote their problems to their customers Ed??

You're the reason all those stupid threads are floating around in the first place, people getting all emotional over hardware. Shut up man.

 

[edplayer]

are you high, drunk or both?

 

[BD231]

The only toxin I've imbibed today is your post.

 

[coolVariable]

are you high, drunk or both?

or dumb?
Now if AMD would only address issues such as 29/59 frequency switching in video and AHCI performance problems with their own drivers we would be good.
Both of the above have been know for ... years?!?!?!

 

[badb0y]

Ed, Are you trying to convince us or yourself? Or do you want a pat on your back and be told that 'You are absolutely right'?

When it comes to the discussion of drivers you have to be very careful because both companies have fucked up before. So saying one company is better than the other is completely subjective.

EVGA is the best graphics card company to buy from but saying ATi has no premier partner is retarded. Before XFX jumped ship many people considered them a premier partner. What changed?

 

[edplayer]

What do you think I'm trying to convince you of? I said the last ATI card I used gave me no problems. I also said that seeing so many "ATi drivers suck" threads over the years makes me wonder.

Take that with this recent "we can't duplicate the problem" claim that ATi made. If ATI couldn't duplicate the problem, that means that many users would have gotten significantly higher Crossfire results than what Kyle posted (because their drivers would have been working correctly). Is that true? I'm asking because I don't usually follow crossfire threads.

And for what changed at XFX, I don't know, I don't work there. I do know that if you were to watch xfx/rma threads and evga/rma over at Hardforum, you would see a large shift towards unsatisfied customers with xfx. The reason I brought up hardforum is because you have a lot of people talking about their rma experiences there. You don't get that here at Anandtech

 

[edplayer]

I just noticed that I wrote this:

What do people ususally say when they have rma's with XFX, problems.

that is wrong. I should have written that I see a lot more complaints about how XFX handles rmas vs EVGA. I have no data to make me believe any percentage of rmas at xfx is handled well or not. If I read about it once or twice, I wouldn't pay attention to it. But seeing it often enough and it sticks in my mind. It doesn't matter to me what claims they make on the box, but how they actually follow through. That is why I don't consider them a premier partner.

 

[Will Robinson]

The only toxin I've imbibed today is your post.

+2 Classic rejoinder :biggrin:

 

[nemesismk2]

Either 'bravo', or thanks for getting off your asses and doing something

I agree

 

[Zargon]

any tired this and verify'd you can actaully play BC2 w/o a CTD?

 

[Compddd]

I'm glad I switched my 5870 out for a GTX 480

 

[pcslookout]

Wow, a 70% performance improvement just from a driver update. Bravo, AMD.

You hardly see that everyday. Even if it is only in a few or one game. Still nice.

 

[konakona]

10.8 has introduced a new bug of HDMI connected HDTVs losing scaling settings on reboot. More of a minor annoyance as it only takes a few clicks to fix it, but still. Someone has thankfully made a lil app to combat this: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1272261 That worked for me, but I hope they get it fixed in short order.

 

[OCGuy]

Wow, a 70% performance improvement just from a driver update. Bravo, AMD.

It is that big of an improvement because the drivers were borked.

So it is more "performance where it was supposed to be" instead of an increase.

 

[Fenix793]

It is that big of an improvement because the drivers were borked.

So it is more "performance where it was supposed to be" instead of an increase.

Truth. They broke the drivers after 10.5 now they've fixed them and are claiming massive increases in performance. AMDs drivers have always been worse than nVidia's but the current situation is just laughable. I had purchased a second 5850 and power supply for going Crossfire this past weekend. The board/PSU arrived Friday, I read the HardOCP article on Saturday, and the 5850 was sold by today with the PSU RMAed as well.

If you want MGPU stay far away from AMD. I considered going green and getting 2 460s but with the 6xxx release looming I figured it would be best to wait it out.

 

[OCGuy]

^
I would love a multi-GPU setup with 5850 box, but it is a SLI board (750i) and I am 99% sure I cant Xfire even with the 2 16x lanes.

I would put up with the driver issues for the time being. If it goes to 10.9 without BFBC2 working right, I would be pissed though.

 

[coolVariable]

10.8 has introduced a new bug of HDMI connected HDTVs losing scaling settings on reboot. More of a minor annoyance as it only takes a few clicks to fix it, but still. Someone has thankfully made a lil app to combat this: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1272261 That worked for me, but I hope they get it fixed in short order.

I am glad that I did not update then.
And BTW - they still have not fixed the "black screen" from standby problem with HDMI connected displays (the whole EDID issue).

 

[NumericalMethods]

^
I would love a multi-GPU setup with 5850 box, but it is a SLI board (750i) and I am 99% sure I cant Xfire even with the 2 16x lanes.

I would put up with the driver issues for the time being. If it goes to 10.9 without BFBC2 working right, I would be pissed though.

Yes you can. It's just you will NEVER hear it advertised. Much the same as EVGA never make a song and dance about crossfire on their x58 & P55 boards even though you blatantly can.

Here it is on a 740i board, courtesy of Asrock...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g1GtsiZ4go