Get Quad SLI Before It Is Hatched

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Test Setup And Benchmark Results

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System Hardware
Processor(s)AMD Athlon 64 FX-602.6 GHz, 1.0 GHz Bus, 1 MB L2 cache
PlatformAsus AN832-SLI PremiumNVIDIA nForce4 SLI, BIOS version 1205
RAMCorsair CMX1024-4400Pro2x 1024 MB @ DDR400 (CL3.0-4-4-8)
Hard DriveWestern Digital Raptor, WD1500ADFD150 GB, 10,000 rpm, 16 MB Cache, SATA/150
NetworkingOn-Board nForce4 Gigabit Ethernet
Graphics CardsXFX GeForce 7950GX2 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) GDDR3 570 MHz Core 700 MHz Memory (1.4 GHz DDR)Sparkle GeForce 7950GX2 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) GDDR3 570 MHz Core 700 MHz Memory (1.4 GHz DDR)Nvidia Reference GeForce 7900 GTX 512 MB GDDR3 675 MHz Core 820 MHz Memory (1.64 GHz DDR)PowerColor Radeon X1900XTX 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz Core 775 MHz Memory (1.55 GHz DDR)
Power SupplyPC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1,000W
System Software & Drivers
OSMicrosoft Windows XP Professional 5.10.2600, Service Pack 2
DirectX Version9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Platform DrivernForce 6.70
Graphics Driver(s)ATI - Catalyst 6.6 WHQLNVIDIA - Forceware 91.29 Non-WHQL (7950GX2 Only)NVIDIA - Forceware 84.21 WHQL
Other Systems
Falcon Northwest Mach VAMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Overclocked to 3.0 GHz), 2 GB RAM, 2x Nvidia GeForce 7900GX2 (Quad SLI)
Monarch Hornet RevengeAMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (2.8 GHz), 2 GB RAM, 2x EVGA UberClock GeForce 7900GTX (SLI)
CyberPower PC Ultimate SLI QuadAMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (2.8 GHz), 2 GB RAM, 2x Nvidia GeForce 7900GX2 (Quad SLI)

3DMark05

3DMark05 does not seem to be fully optimized in the 91.33 driver for Quad SLI with the GeForce 7950GX2. It loses to traditional SLI configurations, and even to a single GeForce 7950GX2 with the 91.29 non-WHQL driver. A single Radeon X1900XTX and GeForce 7900GTX are not far behind the scores. At 4x antialiasing and 8x anisotropic filtering the gap over the single cards grows, but not by much. Interestingly, the original GeForce 7900GX2 in Quad-SLI in the CyberPower Systems Ultimate SLI Quad does about the same as the beta GeForce Quad-SLI drivers. The story is clear : the drivers are not yet advanced enough, as the Monarch Hornet with its Uber-clocked EVGA GeForce beats the Quad systems handsomely.