Benchmarks: Gaming
This is what happens when two Titan X graphics cards are strapped together. Scan's 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI is the first system to ever score over 30,000 3DMarks in the HEXUS labs and there's frankly a ludicrous amount of firepower available to the user.
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Intrigued to know how the system compares to your own 3DMark Time Spy scores? Scan's powerhouse raises the bar with a score of 16,828 and it didn't flinch in the Time Spy Stress Test with a pass rate of 97.6 per cent. Bragging rights aplenty.
But hold on a minute, it's not all good news on the graphics front. We've tested four modern titles at various resolutions on a 4K monitor and the results highlight the potential pitfalls of SLI gaming. Performance in Dirt Rally and Rise of the Tomb Raider is excellent, but Hitman and Total War: Warhammer are off the pace as neither game benefits from the second GPU.
With DX12 the onus has shifted to the developer to optimise for multiple graphics cards, and there's always a question mark over whether or not the game you want to play will offer meaningful SLI support. To put the numbers into perspective, we re-tested all four titles at a 4K resolution with SLI disabled. With just the one Titan X, Dirt Rally returned 93.0fps, Rise of the Tomb Raider managed 79.6fps, Hitman hit 81.5fps while Total War: Warhammer returned 69.3fps.
When SLI is working as it should, performance at 4K increases by as much as 80 per cent, however in some games performance doesn't increase at all - for enthusiasts there must be few things as disconcerting as a Titan X sat around twiddling its thumbs. Definitely something to ponder, yet if your preferred games do support SLI, a dual Titan X build is an awesome fit for a 4K, 120Hz display.
