My experience with them has been only on thin plywood and tileboard used as subflooring. I prefer sinkers ( common nails with a heat activated glue on them) for framing.
Anular ring nails come in different sizes for different jobs, they are anulated so that when you knock them in they stay put. You would use say a 60 - 70mm round headed anulated nail to fix down 18mm flooring grade chipboard to floor joists and as they hold so well they also help prevent floor creaks. Its the same principle when plying over a t&g floor prior to laying tiles or laminate you just have to use smaller nails.