ATI Crossfire setup - Possible solution to microstutters

Hi all, this post is for anyone already having or planning in getting Crossfire setup. From personal experience with 2x HD4870 cards ever since I bought them I was on occasions experiencing these dreadfull microstutters related to dual GPU setups. Be it due to bad driver support or maybe even OS causing it, I think this installation procedure helps if not eliminate these microstutters (I've done this about 2 weeks ago and so far have not had one instance of my framerate jumping up and down (above V-Sync limited 60Hz) like crazy, causing stuttering. So if you haven't tried it already do this:

Download latest Catalyst package (or any driver version you preffer and/or you feel is best for your card, also to use Catalyst Control Centre you will need installed MS .NET Framework 2.0 prior) then...

1. Uninstall your Catalyst software via Add or Remove Porgrams in windows Control Panel

2. Shut down your computer and take out secondary video card (don't just unplug the power and CF cable, take the card out completely)

3. Start your PC again, this time boot into Windows Safe Mode

4. Once in Safe Mode, do a search for all files and folders (tick system and hidden files/folders also) starting with "ati" (in search window type: ATI*) and delete them all.

5. open registry (start/run menu and type "regedit" and hit enter). Look into all these and delete what ever registries are in ...../Video folder

a) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/Video

b) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet003/Control/Video

c) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Video

d) HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/VIDEO

*if folder is already empty that's fine

6. Once registry is cleaned, restart computer and boot normally into windows. Cancell the popups that asks you to update driver for newly detected hardware and install Catalyst Display Driver and Catalyst Control Panel.

7. Reboot again after installtion is complete and make sure driver is installed properly and all is good.

8. Now shut down your computer and install second video card, but do not connect Crossfire cable yet.

9. Start windows again and let windows automatically install drivers for the second card.

10. Once second card is installed shut down computer again, this time connect Crossfire cable, and face connector labeled J1A to main card and connector J2A to second card.

11. Start windows again, Catalyst will auto detect Crossfire being available and will prompt you to enable it... you enable it and you're done.

Process is bit lengthy especially since it's not that straight forward when changing driver version, since you have to open the case, unscrew the card, disconnect the power cables.... yada yada yada... but I hope it solves this problem for you as I believe it did to me.

EDIT: it's been just over 2 months that I've been installing Catalyst drivers in this way and not once did this microstuttering occur so I am of opinion installing Crossfire setup this way does help.

This means who buys dual chip cards might be screwed contrary to what they said about it being better for solving microstuttering. :D

Yeah, dual GPU solutions are not headache free, but at least after I started installing drivers in manner described in first post, so far I have not been getting microstutters with my CF setup, and it makes me lot happier.