Call of Duty 2

The GeForce 7800 GTX SLI platform boasts a total of 48 pixel pipelines, but its memory is slower than the graphics memory subsystem of the RADEON X1800 XT CrossFire, which also has efficient memory controllers into the bargain. This is why ATI’s solution takes the lead in 1280x1024 resolution, leaving the others far behind, and then yields over 70fps in 1600x1200. Both the multi-GPU subsystems perform close to their theoretical maximums, NVIDIA’s SLI being as high as 100% efficient in 1600x1200!

When we switch over from 4x FSAA to 8x Super AA the RADEON X1800 XT CrossFire remains on top thanks to its fast memory and high pixel shader performance, and 68fps in 1024x768 should be enough for any demanding player. In Super AA 14x mode the performance results were exactly as in Super AA 8x mode. It can indicate that the 14x mode is more power hungry (the difference between the 4x and 6x modes in really tiny for RADEON X1800), but at the same time that there are, theoretically, some performance issues.

Doom 3

Strengthened with a new driver, the CrossFire platform is no slower than the SLI one, and the multi-GPU technologies both permit to play Doom 3 comfortably in all resolutions with enabled 4x FSAA. But take note that the single GeForce 7800 GTX 512 follows closely behind the leaders and two such cards linked in a SLI configuration would most probably be beyond any competition here.

The GeForce 7800 GTX SLI is only sufficient for 1024x768 while the RADEON X1800 XT CrossFire makes the currently most popular resolution of 1280x1024 playable, too. We could not test a SLI configuration of two GeForce 7800 GTX 512, but we again suspect that it would be even faster here.

It’s hard to imagine an owner of a system with two RADEON X1800 XT to have a monitor that wouldn’t support resolutions over 1024x768, but we should note that 14x Super AA is quite permissible with that resolution and doesn’t entail a catastrophic performance hit. There’s only 15fps difference between 14x Super AA and 8x Super AA, but the antialiasing quality is better, although you can hardly spot it with a naked eye, especially in the gloomy interiors of Doom 3 . The GeForce 7800 GTX SLI offers you its 16x SLI AA mode, but 42fps in 1024x768 looks to be too low a frame rate for a 3D shooter with first-person view.