Multi-GPU setups, CrossFire and SLI both, tend to have some issues that make the higher performance that we see not quite felt like we should. The perceived motion of frames can judder, lag and it isn’t quite as smooth as we might like. As we expect and want. AMD is working diligently on creating frame pacing technology that can help control that latency and make gameplay much more smooth. Far more than usual.
AMD and Frame Pacing are now friends, sort of
This is something that AMD has been working towards since they released the famed 7990, trying to control the issues that caused it to be a less than desirable experience. Now you can enable frame pacing in multi-GPU setups for DX11 and DX12 within their newest driver, and it seems to have a real-world difference. Frame times are vastly lowered compared to it being off, lowering by as much as 30ms in some instances.
Games that have more random sequences see less of a benefit, though it’s certainly there. In real terms this means it doesn’t feel like a choppy mess and more accurately represents the actual FPS you’re able to push out. In synthetic benchmarks there’s a marked difference, with a much tighter control of frame time.
This is something that has always made the CrossFire experience especially disadvantageous and avoided, even. Work such as this will help to restore confidence in the multi-GPU landscape, especially as DirectX 12 and Vulkan seek to make it a much different and more accessible for gaming. Not to mention the role it’ll have in VR, if differentiated in design. Check out the blog and the video above to see what they’ve done.
Source: AMD