Performance in First-Person 3D Shooters

Call of Duty: World at War

Starting from version 1.3 we use the game’s integrated benchmarking options together with a custom demo record. Unfortunately, this method does not report the bottom frame rate.

The multi-GPU systems included into this test session are premium-class solutions and should be compared at display resolutions of 1920x1200 and higher. When the resolution is lower, these platforms are obviously redundant.

The Radeon HD 4870 X2 tandem wins the popular gaming resolutions but produces so much noise and consumes so much power that we would prefer the Radeon HD 4890 3-way CrossFireX for practical purposes. As for single-PCB dual-core products, the GeForce GTX 295 is the overall leader as it is quieter and somewhat faster than the Radeon HD 4870 X2.

Crysis Warhead

It is different in games running on CryEngine 2: you need the most advanced and expensive cards and multi-GPU configurations in order to get a playable speed in them even at 1680x1050. If you want to enjoy the highest graphics quality settings, that is.

The single-PCB products are not quite good at that task. The GeForce GTX 295 stops short of the desired 25fps and you need a GeForce GTX 285 SLI tandem or an appropriate 3-way SLI configuration in order to keep the frame rate above that level. The 3-way SLI platform ensures a larger reserve of speed but also produces much more noise. We don’t think it is a good solution especially as it cannot maintain an acceptable bottom speed at 1920x1200, either.

As for ATI’s products, their playability is limited to 1280x1024. Note that the Radeon HD 4890 3-way CrossFireX subsystem has a low bottom speed. It must be having problems synchronizing its three GPUs.