SLI Tests

This section will provide an overview of single card vs. SLI performance. For SLI testing, two different brands of the 8600GT were used; an eVGA SSC model and a BFG model. The cards have different speeds, the eVGA runs at 685/810/1500 (GPU/Mem/Shader) and the BFG runs at 565/700/1243. Since SLI runs as fast as the slowest card, the BFG was installed in PCIE slot 1 and all tests were completed at 565/700/1243. Additionally, all SLI comparisons will be ran at overclocked settings (3240Mhz/450Mhz).

3DMark 06 Benchmark:

The first 3D benchmark test for SLI is among the most common in the enthusiast world, Futuremark 3DMark 2006. To be comparable to other users’ systems, all settings remain at default, including the resolution which is 1280x1024.


Results: Here the power of dual 16x SLI slots is shown with a nice improvement with the addition of a second card, the 3DMark score almost doubles, a 75% improvement.


World in Conflict Benchmark:

For these tests, resolution is set at 1680x1050, Detail is set to Medium, all other display options remain at default settings.


Results: In a gaming benchmark that simulates gaming situations, the improvement when going to SLI is also apparent. When adding a second 8600GT, FPS improves 69%.


Call of Duty 4 Benchmark (FRAPS):

For these tests, resolution is set at 1680x1050, Water Detail is set to Normal, Mode Detail is set to Normal, and all other display options remain at default settings.


Results: An improvement in FPS is noted for Call of Duty 4 when adding a second graphics card; however the improvement is more modest than the previous two tests at 36%.