AMD Dual Graphics Analysis: Better Benchmarks; Same Experience?

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AMD's Dual Graphics technology gives APU owners the ability to add a discrete GPU to their platforms for better performance. We take a close look at the results, both in terms of frames-per-second and experiential smoothness, thanks to captured video.

Results: BioShock Infinite

Lastly, BioShock Infinite represents the latest developed with Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Does Dual Graphics yield a frame rate boost in this AMD-sponsored title?

Indeed, it does. The Radeon HD 6670 DDR3 in Dual Graphics mode approaches Radeon HD 7750 performance, according to the averages measured by Fraps.

Charting out the frame rates over time reveals that only the Dual Graphics solutions and Radeon HD 7750 stay above 30 FPS for the vast majority of the benchmark.

The frame time variance definitely reflects additional latency with Dual Graphics enabled, but even the worst-case numbers aren't terrible. We've seen gamers react to situations where variance was later measured at 5 ms, so this is in that realm. Of course, the video will tell us what we're actually experiencing.

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Despite the big difference in average frame rates, the A10-6800K (at 21.4 FPS) is almost indistinguishable from the Radeon HD 6670 DDR3 in Dual Graphics mode (at 37.3 FPS). The Radeon HD 7750 (at 42.6 FPS) is obviously far smoother than Dual Graphics, even though its average frame rate is only a little higher.

106 Comments Comment from the forums
  • beta212
    Hmm, IDK, I feel like there is definitely a performance boost in certain games that are just bordering on playability. That said, if you want really good graphics, why not buy the Athlon with disabled GPU cores? Same goes for the intel P series. Just add a discrete card.
    Reply
  • 17seconds
    "That's just not right."

    If I had just paid good money for a new graphics card for Dual Graphics, I'd be feeling pretty well cheated out of my money right now.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    The drivers tested in this analysis are a tiny bit too old, just before the Crossfire Frame Pacing fix was released.

    Could we see this performed again with Catalyst 13.8?

    Reply
  • cleeve
    11356019 said:
    The drivers tested in this analysis are a tiny bit too old, just before the Crossfire Frame Pacing fix was released.
    Could we see this performed again with Catalyst 13.8?

    See page 2:

    "You'll notice that we're using the Catalyst 13.6 Beta 2 driver instead of Catalyst 13.8 Beta, which adds a frame pacing feature for smoother, more consistent output. AMD tells us that the new driver does not affect Dual Graphics configurations. It only works with multiple discrete GPUs. Rest assured that the configuration we're presenting is as up to date as possible."

    Reply
  • Calculatron
    Despite the bad news, I think this article was just what a lot of people needed. It helps clears up a lot of confusion and hearsay about AMD Dual Graphics options, like the being able to enable the Radeon HD 7750, or if GDDR5 makes any difference or not. More importantly, it shows how important software optimization is for product performance, and hopefully AMD strives to eliminate similar issues in the future.

    As this issue unfolds, I hope there are as informative follow-ups to accompany them. Good job!
    Reply
  • joytech22

    Ah - my apologies.. Thanks for the response.
    Reply
  • rpgplayer
    Well, now I see that my Llano box I built for a media center 2 years ago will be completely rebuilt rather than getting an add in card. If AMD's next gen APU will use the FM2+ boards as well I may go that route. If not, I'll probably wind up dumping AMD all together and go with an Intel rig.
    Reply
  • edwd2
    thanks for the clarification
    Reply
  • killerchickens
    Can frame pacing be forced?
    Reply
  • If only AMD spent more of their time and their resources on software optimization rather than on those competition-bashing ads. Seeing some silly ads or reading about some flip/flopping (I now get paid by a different overlord) salesman, bashing Intel or nVidia products, does not instill the confidence in buying AMD products, specifically their APUs and (professional) GPUs. I really do want to buy your stuff AMD; less marketing more software development...pleeease.
    Reply