The games of our benchmark suite reacted very differently to SLI. For example, Age of Empires III, Fable and Serious Sam 2 actually ran slower with the supposed 3D double graphics card hitter. On the other hand, the remaining games benefited from the SLI configuration. Interestingly, Age of Empires III also reacted negatively to the higher clock speed of the ASUS GeForce 7800 GTX Extreme.
In four games, the single GeForce 7800 GTX proved itself superior to the SLI setup of the older GeForce 6800 Ultra. The two were tied for the lead with two other games. The GeForce 6800 Ultra SLI solution only took a slight lead in F.E.A.R. Meanwhile, the GeForce 7800 GTX SLI configuration was the most powerful--and the most expensive--in the group.
Differences: Single Card Vs Dual Card SLI
| Age of Empire 3 | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 220.8 fps | 180.4 fps | -18.3% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 94.0 fps | 83.6 fps | -11.1% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 80.7 fps | 73.8 fps | -8.6% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 57.4 fps | 55.3 fps | -3.7% |
| Fable - The Lost Chapters | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 210.9 fps | 187.8 fps | -11% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 155.1 fps | 134.4 fps | -13% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 125.3 fps | 117.7 fps | -6% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 76.4 fps | 80.7 fps | +6% |
| Quake 4 | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 438.5 fps | 520.7 fps | +19% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 307.0 fps | 433.3 fps | +41% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 268.9 fps | 414.1 fps | +54% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 198.4 fps | 304.0 fps | +53% |
| Serious Sam 2 with HDR | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 194.3 fps | 175.7 fps | -10% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 130.6 fps | 131.0 fps | 0% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 121.2 fps | 115.8 fps | -4% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 63.8 fps | 54.8 fps | -14% |
| Serious Sam 2 | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 103.2 fps | 99.1 fps | -4% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 84.2 fps | 79.6 fps | -5% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 79.7 fps | 76.9 fps | -4% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 59.8 fps | 67.8 fps | +13% |
| Black & White 2 | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 145.5 fps | 210.6 fps | +45% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 89.5 fps | 148.7 fps | +66% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 79.1 fps | 136.6 fps | +73% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 73.3 fps | 81.1 fps | +11% |
| F.E.A.R. | Single Card | SLI (2 cards, parallel) | Performance Gain / Loss (%) |
|---|
| Geforce 7800 GTX (256 MB) | 270.0 fps | 377.0 fps | +40% |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra (256 MB) | 206.0 fps | 285.0 fps | +38% |
| Geforce 6800 GT (256 MB) | 180.0 fps | 268.0 fps | +49% |
| Geforce 6600 GT (128 MB) | 103.0 fps | 152.0 fps | +48% |