NVIDIA SLI Performance Preview with MSI's nForce4 SLI Motherboard
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 29, 2004 5:06 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Doom 3 Performance
This benchmark requires no introduction - currently the most stressful game on today's GPUs, Doom 3 performance is the perfect area to look at the benefits of SLI.
Starting at 1024 x 768 we see that despite the low resolution, the GeForce 6800GT got a nice 46% performance boost from SLI. The performance improvement is much greater on the slower 6600GT as it is more GPU limited at 1024 x 768 than the 6800GT, weighing in at just under 72%.
Here the performance of two 6600GTs is equivalent of a single GeForce 6800GT.
As the resolution goes up so does the performance benefit from SLI. The 6800GT moved up to a 68% performance improvement, while the 6600GT only inched up to a 78.2% gain. The 6800GTs in SLI configuration actually make 1280 x 1024 with 4X AA smooth as butter under Doom 3.
At 1600 x 1200 we see some huge performance gains from SLI: 75.3% and 85% from the 6800GT and the 6600GT respectively. It's clear that SLI makes even the highest resolutions with AA enabled quite playable.
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bob661 - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
I think some these guys are mad because the motherboard that suits their needs won't be considered "the best". For some, it's an image thing. If it isn't, then why do you care that SLI is even available? Just but the HF4 Ultra. Then there some that come here just to piss people off.bob661 - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
Two GPU's on one card is more expensive and there would proabably be some heat issues.Pete - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
Whoops. NV43 has only four ROPs, while NV40 has sixteen. So SLIed 6600GTs still have only half the ROPs as a single 6800GT. Mah bad.Tides - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
SLI is meant for one thing, HIGH END. It's like spending 800 on an Athlon FX. Before now the option wasn't there, now it is. What's the problem?Pete - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
Thanks for the preview, Anand (and MSI). One note:"At 1280 x 1024 we see something quite unusual, the 6800GT gains much more from SLI than the 6600GT. The 6800GT received a 63.5% performance boost from SLI while the 6600GT gets "only" a 45.7% improvement; given the beta nature of the drivers we'll avoid hypothesizing about why."
Not enough RAM? 12x10 4xAA is getting pretty RAM-intensive, no? That's one of the reasons I'm not that excited about SLI'ing two 6600GTs to the level of a 6800GT, but without the extra breathing room afforded by 256MB.
Two questions for you, too, Anand:
(1) The 6600GT is 500MHz core, 8 pipe, 4 ROP, 500MHz 128-bit memory. The 6800GT is 350MHz core, 16 pipe, eight ROP, 500MHz 256-bit memory. All else being equal, I'd have thought the SLI'ed 6600GTs would way outperform the 6800GT because they have the same specs and a 40% higher core clock. Is this just a matter of some efficiency lost due to SLI overhead?
(2) Is there a way to tell if the cards are rendering in "SLI" or AFR mode, or even to force one or the other? I'd be curious to know which helps which app more.
justauser - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
I don't get it. Why not just put two GPUs on one 16x card. This bridge thing is so hokey.Tides - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
Better yet don't buy the SLI version of the mobo, there ARE 3 versions of NF4 boards afterall.Tides - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
Why are people complaining about an additional feature on motherboards, that you are no way forced to use? It's like having 2 agp slots on a motherboard, it's ROOM FOR UPGRADE. What's wrong with that?xsilver - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
I think the performance boost is viable, only you need to know when to buy6600gt SLI is close to a 6800gt in most benchies and in the ones that aren't may be due to driver issues rather than performance... however 2X 6600gt does not equal 6800gt in price, but in say 12months time will a 6600gt + the price of the old 6600gt = or be less than the price of a 6800gt originally?
The new mainstream product in 12 months time should still perform less than a 6600gt in SLI
Think of it as getting as good card on "layaway" (am I saying this right? im not in the US :)
The other viability is of course having 2X 6800GT and saying I've got the best performance money can buy.... again you should not be superceded within 12-18 months
haris - Friday, October 29, 2004 - link
This is a horrible move by Nvidia. Several people have already stated so because of some of the main problems: Heat, noise, power requirements, and SLI may only work if the driver supports that specific game/engine. It might work out great for them since they will be able to get people to pay for two cards instead of just getting a more powerful single card solution which will work just as well if not better in every game. For most people, by the time they would be ready to upgrade a low-mid range card, it would probably still be more cost effective to just buy a new card.I love the performance boost as much as the next guy/girl, but I still think that this is just plain stupid.