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Gaming Benchmarks
Alien: Isolation
We're not surprised that the Origin PC EON17-SLX claims first place in Alien Isolation, even against the formidable Acer Predator 21 X. It gets a 13% boost.
That second GTX 1080 provides an additional 76 frames, or 26% more performance, compared with the single GPU on the Eurocom unit. The Origin's multi-GPU scaling is more impressive than that of the Acer, which only provides 16% more performance than the Tornado F5.
At UHD, the additional CPU power of the Origin laptop makes less of a difference as the emphasis shifts even more toward the GPU. The performance gap between the Origin and the Acer closes to 7%, or a mere 9 frames.
Ashes of the Singularity
[NOTE: Previously, we didn't test the Acer Predator 21 X or MSI GT73VR Titan SLI with multi-GPU support in Ashes of the Singularity, so their scores are omitted from the results]
Ashes of the Singularity provides an excellent challenge with a hefty platform-based workload. The Origin pulls the frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold at FHD, scoring 18% higher than the Eurocom unit, which falls just shy of the 60 FPS mark.
UHD punishes the frame rate, although not by much, surprisingly. The EON17-SLX delivers 54.3 FPS, or about a 25% performance degradation. This places it just close enough to reach 60 with minimal changes to the graphical settings.
Meanwhile, the Tornado F5 falls just above 40 FPS, or 31% lower than it performed at FHD. The gap is considerably wider.
Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock Infinite presents another platform-taxing workload, and as such, the EON17-SLX punches far ahead of the competition thanks to its desktop-class processor and two GTX 1080s; the Acer laptop falls 20% below the Origin.
Comparing the Origin and the Eurocom laptops, we see that the second GPU gives a 37% performance edge at FHD.
The i7-7700K CPU becomes less relevant at UHD, although it still grants the EON17-SLX a 14% performance boost over the Predator 21 X. On the other hand, gap between the Eurocom and Origin laptops grows significantly to 47%.
DiRT Rally
Just like our last few titles, DiRT Rally rewards balanced platform strength, and the Origin and Eurocom perform well thanks to their powerful CPUs. The i7-7700K grants the EON17-SLX 13% more performance over the Acer, whereas the Acer’s second GTX 1080 only provides an additional 10% over the Eurocom. The performance gap between MSI's Titan SLI and Tornado F5 is even slimmer. Ultimately stronger graphics horsepower is the better performance indicator in this game.
For example, at UHD, the i7-7700K makes less of an impact. Even the Titan SLI earns a greater lead over the Eurocom.
Grand Theft Auto V
If Ashes couldn’t bring the EON17-SLX to its knees, then perhaps Grand Theft Auto V can, Not quite. GTA V hosts a handful of benchmarks with varying degrees of complexity, with the Vinewood Sign scene being the most strenuous because of how it renders distant objects. Even the Predator 21 X can barely maintain 60 FPS here, but the Origin laptop does fine at FHD.
Unfortunately, the Origin loses its massive lead when we ramp up the resolution. In most scenes, it maintains over 40 FPS, which is serviceable if you turn down anti-aliasing. However, the Vinewood Sign scene pulls the framerate down to 35 FPS, almost in line with the Predator 21 X. We won’t be seeing stellar performance on a maxed out GTA Vat UHD any time soon.
GRID Autosport
GRID Autosport demands adequate CPU performance, much like many of our previous titles. In fact, multi-GPU setups hardly provide a worthwhile improvement, at least at FHD. The EON17-SLX only outperforms the Tornado F5 by 11%, which is rather unimpressive.
Higher pixel density calls for more GPU resources; the performance gap nearly doubles at UHD. In the grand scheme of things, this 20% scaling (with multiple GPUs) is still unimpressive.
Hitman
Hitman performance at DX11 doesn't seem to reward multiple GPUs, despite supporting them. The Titan SLI and Predator 21 X suffer the most and the EON17-SLX performs on par with the Tornado F5.
UHD illustrates a similar picture, with the mobile processor-based laptops playing second fiddle to Eurocom and Origin. A GTX 1080 with a desktop processor provides just enough performance to maintain 60 FPS, but a second GTX 1080 gives the Origin laptop on additional boost.
Metro: Last Light Redux
Metro: Last Light Redux provides a good change of pace because of its demands of the GPU. Both dual GTX 1080 configurations provide roughly 39% scaling over a single card.
Neither is capable of 60 FPS at UHD, however. The EON17-SLX’s performance falls by 72%, landing it below 60 FPS. The i7-7700K proves to be its saving grace, however, because the Predator 21 X experiences an even greater performance hit.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raidertells a similar story, but it has an even heavier workload than Metro. A single GTX 1080 provides enough horsepower to maintain 60 FPS, while the EON17-SLX and Predator 21 X breeze past easily. Scaling isn’t as great, with a second GTX 1080 adding only 24% more performance.
The UHD tax also punishing here. The Origin experiences a 59% frame rate loss. GPU scaling rises to 44%, as every ounce of GPU resource is needed to stay above water.
The Division
The Division’s benchmark workload is similar to Metro’s; it’s GPU-intensive, but not to the extent of RotTR’s benchmark. All of our systems deliver 60 FPS with ease. The EON17-SLX’s i7-7700K has a negligible impact on performance.
Quadrupling the resolution reduces the Origin’s frame rate by 55%, where it just clinches 60 FPS.
Thief
We return to a platform-based workload using Thief. Balance is the key here at FHD, where the Acer Predator, MSI Titan SL, and Eurocom Tornado all finish in a virtual tie, with the Origin EON17-SLX rising slightly above the crowd by about 12%.
Bumping up the resolution to UHD widens the gap between the Eurocom and the MSI laptop, and the Acer becomes a bit more competitive. Clearly GPU is playing a much stronger role here at 4K.
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