Annoyingly, when I turn on "VSync", the game seems to skip frames all the time. I tried plugging in an Xbox controller and pushed the RS so it would continue rotating, and I could easy see the game seemed kinda choppy when (but not limited to) rotating.

To make a (rather poor) example, if smooth is: ------------- then the stutter was: ---′---′---′

With VSync disabled (completely off), the stuttering goes away.

For me, I'd rather have the screentearing and zero input lag, than the frameskipping but without screentearing and with tons of input lag.

Anyone knows what's up?

Driver: ATi Catalyst 11.8 + "atioglxx.dll" from ATi Catalyst 11.10 Preview 3 (only that file put into the game directory, keeps framerate at constant 60 instead of 30-40 without it)

Try my guide (see my signature). There are parameters there you could play with until get you a smooth performance. I once started like you too. I'm now running the game w Vsync on at 1024 resolution, high texture cache but no AA and my game is smooth.

My performance is fine, the only negative is the tear lines which I dont find to be that annoying. Not as annoying as the input lag from VSync, so I'll just keep it off

I have the same problem. I ran the Verify Game Cache and it kept telling me something was missing. I just uninstalled and now I am re-installing. I have the new Preview 3 AMD drivers and if this doesn't work I am calling AMD and having them walk me through what settings are needed for perfect frame rates. If it comes to that call, I will post the results.

So basically they are saying that the stuttering is still an issue and they are still tweeking the 11.10 drivers. There will be a final 11.10 driver on Oct. 30th (maybe sooner) and they are working on a Rage profile cap to make it run on Crossfire.

*sigh*

Sorry I can't help with that. It seems to be an ATI problem. Even without the tweaks, Vsync didn't bother me much --- it was the texture problem. (The stuttering was there yes but with/without Vsync, it was the same for me.) Good luck and I hope the both of you will find a fix soon.