COD: MW2, plus multi-GPU scaling analysis
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has established itself as one of the most popular titles in recent history. The game is set to maximum detail and a 30-second section is FRAPS'd whilst we frag a whole load of enemies.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 brings us back to banging on that now-familiar drum, that is, practically perfect scaling at GPU-bound settings. Both the HD 6850 XF and GTX 460 SLI 1GB are excellent performers, questioning the need to invest in a GeForce GTX 480.
Numbers game
Wrapping up the numbers, here's a table that illustrates multi-GPU gains. The numbers in the table refer to the percentage scaling, at 2,560x1,600, when compared to a single card. Perfect scaling is indicated by a 100 per cent rating.
| Bench | HD 5850 XF | HD 6850 XF | GTX 460 SLI |
| 3DMark | 76 | 88 | 91 |
| Unigine | 96 | 100 | 89 |
| AvP | 100 | 97 | 91 |
| Call of Duty | 89 | 94 | 91 |
| Just Cause 2 | 74 | 96 | 94 |
| Mafia II | 49 | 67 | 86 |
Adding them up and obtaining an average, Radeon HD 5850's across-the-board improvements are in the region of 80 per cent, while two Radeon HD 6850s produce over a 90 per cent increase over a single card. Meanwhile, the GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB duo cranks out an identical 90 percent.
The Radeon HD 6850's scaling would be closer to 95 per cent without the Mafia II issue that we're currently investigating.
