4870X2: Savior for Multi-GPU Setups? [Updated]

Tom's Hardware (China) have scored another scoop by leaking some of the information from the R700 (now officially known as the 4870X2) press kit. One of the footnotes mention the street date as the 12th of August. Note that this is the (Sparta) 2GB model, other configurations and their street dates are unknown. Interestingly the Vantage Extreme score & the TFlop figure listed was 6920 (30% faster than GTX280) and 2.4 TFlop (157% faster than the GTX280) respectively.

The real interesting bit of information missing was on the technology side. You now know that Sampsa Muropaketti has already recieved his (p)review 4870X2 sample, he has confirmed today that the major issue plaguing multi-GPU configurations known as micro-stuttering is no longer present. In case you are wondering what micro-stuttering is, dont worry. AFR, the most commonly used rendering mode in multi-GPU configurations works by having one GPU render one frame, while the other GPU renders the next one. In theory this looks perfect but the fundamental problem of poor inter-GPU communication leads to the frames being displayed on the screen with inconsistent latencies. We highly recommend you to this excellent article at PCGH, they also have a video of micro-stuttering in action. (Great job Raffael)

With improved inter-GPU communication, looks like AMD has finally solved this issue. In times of fierce competition, innovation like this is what stands out the tallest.

Update: Seems like the issue is still present as tested by Raffael here, but is only noticed when the frame-rate dips into the lower 20s.

Stumble it!