How we test
| Graphics cards | HIS Radeon HD 5970 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB in SLI | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | BFG GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB | BFG GeForce GTX 285 1,024MB | EVGA GeForce GTX 275 896MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £550 | £310 | £225 | £880 (estimated) | £440 (estimated) | £350 | £275 | £199 |
| Shader model | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Stream processors | 3,200 | 1,600 | 1440 | 960 | 480 | 480 | 240 | 240 |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 725 | 850 | 725 | 700 | 700 | 576 | 648 | 633 |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 725 | 850 | 725 | 1,401 | 1,401 | 1,242 | 1,474 | 1,404 |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 4,000 | 4,800 | 4,000 | 3,696 | 3,696 | 2,016 | 2,484 | 2,276 |
| Memory bus width (bits) | 256 x 2 | 256 | 256 | 384 x 2 | 384 | 448 x 2 | 512 | 448 |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (3.20GHz, 8MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1366 - Turbo Boost on) | |||||||
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | |||||||
| Motherboard BIOS | 0703 | |||||||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.1.1.1025 | |||||||
| Memory | 6GB Crucial DDR3-1,067 CL7 | |||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 7-7-7-20 1T @ DDR3-1,066 | |||||||
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | |||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | |||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB SSD | |||||||
| Graphics driver | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.13 | ForceWare 197.13 | ForceWare 197.13 |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | |||||||
Software
| Benchmarks | DiRT 2 v1.1, London map
-
ultra quality Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X v1.2, internal benchmark: DX10/10.1 - high quality Far Cry 2 v1.03 - very high quality Crysis Warhead v1.1.1.711 - train map - enthusiast quality Battlefield: Bad Company 2 v523648 - FRAPS-recorded benchmark Power-draw Temperatures |
|---|
Notes
Benchmarks were conducted at 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,200, and 2,560x1,600, where applicable, with decent degrees of image quality.We expect to see the real benefits of SLI as we benchmark at 2,560x1.600. Bear in mind that this is just an indication of where NVIDIA's top-of-the-range SLI performance is right now. We'll have a fuller review with appropriate comparisons from ATI in due course, and that's the time we'll include our HEXUS.bang4buck metric.
