Amazing SLI Scaling: Do Two GeForce GTX 460s Beat One GTX 480?

Name: Hardware Config And Test Settings - Amazing SLI Scaling: Do Two GeForce GTX 460s Beat One GTX 480?
Author: Thomas Soderstrom

by Thomas Soderstrom July 27, 2010 at 1:00 AM

118 Comments

Hardware Config And Test Settings

Test System Configuration
CPU	Intel Core i7-980X (3.33 GHz, 12 MB Shared L3 Cache) Overclocked to 4.00 GHz at +100mV, 160 MHz BCLK
Motherboard	Gigabyte X58A-UD9 BIOS F3 (05/28/2010), Intel X58 Express, LGA 1366
RAM	Kingston KHX16000D3ULT1K3/6GX (6 GB) DDR3-2000 at DDR3-1600 CAS 7-7-7-21
GTX 460 Graphics	Sparkle GeForce GTX 460 1 GB (x2 for SLI) 700 MHz GPU, GDDR5-3600
GTX 480 Graphics	Sparkle GeForce GTX 480 1.5 GB 700 MHz GPU, GDDR5-3696
Radeon Graphics	Diamond Radeon HD 5870 1 GB 850 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4800
OS Hard Drive	Western Digital Velociraptor WD3000HLFS, 300 GB 10,000 RPM, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB cache
Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Power	OCZ-Z1000 1,000 W Modular ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold
Software
OS	Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
GeForce Graphics	ForceWare 258.96
Radeon Graphics	AMD Catalyst 10.6
Chipset	Intel INF 9.1.1.1020

Sparkle was kind enough to supply one GeForce GTX 480 and two GeForce GTX 460 graphics cards. Each card includes a mini-HDMI to standard HDMI data cable, a DVI-I to VGA adapter, driver CD with various freeware, installation guide, and two power adapter cables.

Support for up to seven graphics cards makes the X58A-UD9 this reviewer’s choice for multi-card graphics tests. Less expensive X58-based solutions would have also been adequate for two-way SLI testing, since the chipset supports two x16 cards at full bandwidth.

We brought back Intel’s Core i7-980X to satisfy popular demand, even though none of today’s games can properly access more than four CPU threads. SLI does allow some games to push a few CPU cores to their limit however, so we overclocked ours to 4.00 GHz.

Diamond’s Radeon HD 5870 provides a second reference point for anyone who would like to compare Don Woligroski’s comprehensive CrossFire analysis to today’s limited SLI tests.

Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Aliens Vs. Predator Benchmark	Alien vs Predator Benchmark Tool Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA
Crysis	Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: Highest Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Quality, 4x AA
DiRT 2	Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat	Call Of Pripyat Benchmark version Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x MSAA
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark Vantage	Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores

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Summary

About the author

Thomas Soderstrom @hardware_tom

Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.

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118 comments

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welshmousepk

I had given up on Nvidia this gen, but somehow they have pulled off the impossible.

I'm seriously considering picking up two of these...
Lmeow

Wow. GTX 460 SLIs smoked the GTX 480 the whole way through... (you'd really think it'd be the other way - seeing as those GTX 480s don't exactly run 'cool' ) without breaking a sweat.

The only reason to get a GTX 480 now is if your motherboard doesn't have dual PCI-E x16 slots/support SLI or you want to SLI GTX 480s later on.

Good job nVidia - real comeback.
lutel

To buy or not to buy GTX 460 - that is the question which will be easier if you give decent review of GTX 460 boards, with one 5850 focused on noise (take a look at silentpcreview methodology) and overclocability.
scrumworks

welshmousepkI had given up on Nvidia this gen, but somehow they have pulled off the impossible. I'm seriously considering picking up two of these...

Or you can wait couple of months for Southern Islands that makes everything nvidia has look dated.
"With an MSRP of $250 and a Web price around $230, the GeForce GTX 460 was already known to be a great mid-priced performer"

Is that Canadian pricing I see, because in America GTX 460s go for $199!.

For $250 you get a GTX 460 factory overclocked from 675 mhz to 800MHZ! and with 1GB of ram, not 768mb! 2 of which are 90% as fast as a Ati 5970, for $200 less!
Maziar

Great review.
I am amazed by the 90% performance boost over a single GTX 460.
Although it has more power consumption than 1 GTX 480,but its a great cost-effective option for those who can't afford the 480 but need similar(or better) performance
andrewcutter

scrumworksOr you can wait couple of months for Southern Islands that makes everything nvidia has look dated.

to wait is a continous exercise you can only look at now at the time of buying...:D
hardcore_gamer

great article..gotta love toms
andrewcutter

I might be mistaken but is this sparkle card a bit more power hungry. the power requirement seems to be a bit high for 460.:(
dragonfang18

But you lose the power to upgrade... At least I can still save up for another 480 down the road when I need an upgrade.
hardcore_gamer

unfortunately gtx460s only support 2way SLI..I would like to see 460s with more than one SLI finger.
Crashman

stm1185"With an MSRP of $250 and a Web price around $230, the GeForce GTX 460 was already known to be a great mid-priced performer" Is that Canadian pricing I see, because in America GTX 460s go for $199!. For $250 you get a GTX 460 factory overclocked from 675 mhz to 800MHZ! and with 1GB of ram, not 768mb! 2 of which are 90% as fast as a Ati 5970, for $200 less!

768MB cards need not apply: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-gf104-fermi,2684.html

AndrewCutterI might be mistaken but is this sparkle card a bit more power hungry. the power requirement seems to be a bit high for 460.

Do the subtraction, what is it 163W full load and 21W for the card itself? Then subtract 10% loss at the power supply.

dragonfang18But you lose the power to upgrade... At least I can still save up for another 480 down the road when I need an upgrade.

Yes, GTX 480 SLI is mentioned in the conclusion as the best reason to buy the GTX 480 right now: Most people who would like to do a future SLI upgrade have that in mind when the buy a card.

hardcore_gamerunfortunately gtx460s only support 2way SLI..I would like to see 460s with more than one SLI finger.

You think perhaps the performance we just saw might be the reason why Nvidia only wanted one SLI connection on these cards? They wouldn't want to totally kill-off GTX 480 sales.
lenoxlv

2x 5850 > 2x 460
Shivetya

Pretty amazing scaling... wish there were a little more variety in SLI-capable AM3 motherboards. Obviously that's wouldn't improve AMD's graphics card sales, but it'd be great for consumers...
hardcore_gamer

CrashmanYou think perhaps the performance we just saw might be the reason why Nvidia only wanted one SLI connection on these cards? They wouldn't want to totally kill-off GTX 480 sales.

yea..but 4 of these puppies in SLI can even blow away the asus ares...:D
andrewcutter

LenoxLV2x 5850 > 2x 460

source : new egg
cheapest 5850,s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102884 2 will cost 570 $
cheapest 460,s (1 GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333 2 will cost 460 $.
so the price diff is abt 110 $. Is the performance numbers so great that it can justify the price diff?
DjEaZy

... they maybe should make an GTX 460 x2....
Tamz_msc

This is what I was expecting since they were released.
blackpanther26

still uses more power than the ATI radeon 5970.
Chris_TC

AndrewCuttersource : new eggcheapest 5850,s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102884 2 will cost 570 $cheapest 460,s (1 GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125333 2 will cost 460 $.so the price diff is abt 110 $. Is the performance numbers so great that it can justify the price diff?

Um, thanks to SLI scaling the 460s should actually be faster than the 5850s. This is a very easy decision.
lradunovic77

Looks like GTX480 > HD5870 for a good amount, and considering how bad crossfire is Nvidia is a winner big time.
Lewis57

That motherboard Looks huge to me. Anyway nice article and this has made me restore faith in nVidia and I am going to get a GTX 460 instead of a 5850 and perhaps SLI them further on down the field. Thanks Tom's.
feeddagoat

Its very tough to value these cards vs relative competition. For example im using an HD4870 in a board with only one PCI-E x16 slot. If I want eyefinity/surround do I go

HD5870 straight
GTX460 SLI and get a new motherboard
HD5770/HD5830 crossfire and get a new motherboard

The great thing about the SLI option is it gives access to Physx and 3D (don't have 120Hz monitor so not major) but most importantly I like folding when not gaming and the new driver for 4xx series cards is suppose to be pretty good. The best option for penny saving and getting performance for folding and gaming tho is second hand GTX260 SLI. Either way SLI is needed for surround and with performance like this from dual "mid range" cards Its a hard argument to get the 470/480 unless you plan to SLI down the road.
I just want the 5850 to come down in price already, £190 WILL BE THE SWEET SPOT!