AMD has claimed that its delayed driver patch to fix frame-pacing issues on Crossfire Eyefinity setups will finally be arriving in January.
Frame-pacing is a means of addressing an issue in multi-GPU systems known as micro-stutter, in which a seemingly high frame-rate can be ruined by small variances in the delay between individual frames. The result is something the brain interprets as stuttering or juddering, despite high frame-rates which should offer a smooth gaming experience. It's a problem serious enough for AMD to have released a driver update in August designed to even out the delays between frames.
Sadly, that update came with a few restrictions - the biggest of which was that it supported only a single display with a maximum resolution of 2,560x1,600. As a result, gamers playing across multiple monitors using AMD's Eyefinity technology - the very gamers most likely to have splashed out on multiple high-end graphics cards, in fact - were left with no fix. AMD promised that it would address this with a second update in November, but it's now December with no sign of frame-pacing support for Eyefinity - or even just 4K-resolution monitor - users.
AMD hasn't forgotten its promise, however. Speaking to AnandTech, the company has promised that despite a schedule slip the next phase of the frame-pacing driver update will be arriving in January with full support for Eyefinity setups. It has not, however, provided any details as to how it has achieved that support - and the site warns that it could come with a performance impact, leaving users the choice of sub-par frame-rates or micro-stuttering on their otherwise high-end gaming rigs.
AMD has not provided a firm launch date for the next frame-pacing patch, but is thought to be looking towards the end of January in order to concentrate on the release of its Kaveri-based accelerated processing units (APUs) at the start of the month.
Frame-pacing is a means of addressing an issue in multi-GPU systems known as micro-stutter, in which a seemingly high frame-rate can be ruined by small variances in the delay between individual frames. The result is something the brain interprets as stuttering or juddering, despite high frame-rates which should offer a smooth gaming experience. It's a problem serious enough for AMD to have released a driver update in August designed to even out the delays between frames.
Sadly, that update came with a few restrictions - the biggest of which was that it supported only a single display with a maximum resolution of 2,560x1,600. As a result, gamers playing across multiple monitors using AMD's Eyefinity technology - the very gamers most likely to have splashed out on multiple high-end graphics cards, in fact - were left with no fix. AMD promised that it would address this with a second update in November, but it's now December with no sign of frame-pacing support for Eyefinity - or even just 4K-resolution monitor - users.
AMD hasn't forgotten its promise, however. Speaking to AnandTech, the company has promised that despite a schedule slip the next phase of the frame-pacing driver update will be arriving in January with full support for Eyefinity setups. It has not, however, provided any details as to how it has achieved that support - and the site warns that it could come with a performance impact, leaving users the choice of sub-par frame-rates or micro-stuttering on their otherwise high-end gaming rigs.
AMD has not provided a firm launch date for the next frame-pacing patch, but is thought to be looking towards the end of January in order to concentrate on the release of its Kaveri-based accelerated processing units (APUs) at the start of the month.
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