PCGH: 780i and triple-SLI reviewed

[Fr3ak]

Last week, Nvidia payed us a visit with a 680i and a triple-SLI configuration with 3 Ultras (see this thread for benchmarks and information: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/....php?t=169204). Luckily we received a 780i board to do our own testing. The EVGA board used is based on the reference Nvidia design.

The features of the board are pretty much equal to the 680i specs, with one exception: 780i has 3 PCI-E-x16 lanes, both physical and electronical. For whatever reason only 2 of the slots are PCI-E 2.0, the third slot is only a 1.1.

In January there will be a 750i out, featuring 2 PCI-E-x16 slots with 8 lanes each and PCI-E 2.0, as well as variants for AMD platforms.

Now to the testing:
We used the following setup:
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850
2,048 MiByte PC8500 5-5-5-15
3 Nvidia Geforce GTX
Forceware 169.25
Be Quiet Dark Power 1000W
Windows Vista 32 Bit

You may ask, why Vista? Because triple-SLI only works with Vista so far.

Games we tested:
Call of Duty 4
Unreal Tournament 3
Both games in 1,680x1,050, 4x FSAA/16:1 AF and 2,560x1,600, 4x FSAA/16:1 AF.

I am trying to do some 3D Mark benching right now, but from what I noticed, 780i is no different from 680i. It takes some time to get everything up and running. A lot of fans are needed too, in order to run the system for more than half an hour without freezing.

Link to the picture galerie: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/?menu=...mage_id=749126

Direct link to the benchmark results: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/?menu=...&show=original

(Click into the picture to enlarge it, "nächstes Bild" means next picture)

Source: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/?article_id=625181

[hecktic]

interesting... and this is the evga 780i board?? (preliminary model ofcourse)

[naokaji]

yup, its a evga board, based on reference design. its mentioned pretty much at the top of fr3ak's post (but missing in test setup list)

[C0ncrete]

Cost to performance ratio is clearly a positive sign for consumers here :S

[Origin_Unknown]

what a horrible looking board

[Rovtar]

not worth if you ask me..
max 5fps increase somehow sucks. i can gain more with decent config...

[hardrail]

Yea, extra $450 for 5 max FPS... No thanks.

[Eastcoasthandle]

Yea, extra $450 for 5 max FPS... No thanks.

But you can overclock it...I hope...

[hecktic]

the higher gains in fps I hear only happen on the crazy resolution sizes in the 2500+ for monitors 24"+

not sure if this is true but hey if it is then its the right time since many games are going to natively support these kind of resolutions now anyways...

[hardrail]

I don't think it's a smart move to release Tri-SLi for GTX's and Ultra's only.

Hopefully the mid-range 98xx series GPU's will support it.

[Fr3ak]

Check out the benches in that resolution then

Direct link to the benchmark results: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/?menu=...&show=original

(Click into the picture to enlarge it, "nächstes Bild" means next picture)

[drifter]

i have a similar setup and a 680i board. overclocking my Ultras to 660/1600sh/2250mem on a 3.6 dual core gave me the same results in 3dmark06 as at stock (gpus). i guess i need to OC my cpu more... i have my setup watercooled except for the third ultra, i'll have to watercool the last gpu to push it a bit further. with stock cooling 660-675 is hot enough.
BTW, have been running my setup since yesterday many hours in a row without a hickup, tri sli seems very stable, but performance is prety close to that of 2way SLI, i guess since my setup is mostly watercooled i'm not affected by "heat" issues affecting other users.i have 6 high-very high (2x180cfm 4x80) cfm fans and a 250mm side fan.

[Gunslinger]

Looking forward to getting a third GTX as well as this board. I have a QX9650 waiting for the mb, and I also play COD4 at 2560X1600. It will be nice to turn all of the eye candy on and not just the resolution.

[xVeinx]

Would the fan lose it's ability to cool because of the video card that is likely to be placed in the first PCI-e slot? If the NB really needs that much cooling, then you would need a clear path to expell the hot air, otherwise your just running a fan for no reason. Moreover, the placement means you would likely be blowing that hot air right on the back of the PCB where your GPU core is likely to be. That can't be good for performance/lifespan of one's GPU...

[Supertim0r]

the chipset cooling is UGLY

[naokaji]

those benches basically say: "dont buy tri sli if you dont own a 30" monitor"....

[Baleful]

So what exactly is that 2nd chip by the NB? That looks like a NIVO chip from a GTX. Is watercooling the chipset gonna be possible? And how hot does that 2nd chip get? Would it even need to be watercooled? That's gonna suck if watercooling isn't possible w/ this, b/c that stock cooler looks like it sucks.

[hecktic]

The features of the board are pretty much equal to the 680i specs, with one exception: 780i has 3 PCI-E-x16 lanes, both physical and electronical. For whatever reason only 2 of the slots are PCI-E 2.0, the third slot is only a 1.1.

how is this when newegg says all 3 slots are x16 at 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188024

[KALISPIMENTA]

Hummm i get 80-120 on a single GTX with the same settings ,also don't forget to mention that this mobo supports the new 45nm cpus,and yes only 2 are PCI E 2.0
(http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/132-CK-NF78-A1.pdf)

[Hyperhorn]

Well done
Triple SLI is way off being remuneratively:
1. Price... you know what it is about
2. Performance: Just look at the MinFPS. I don't want 130fps average, but at least ~60fps constantly. SLI is often better, we have seen that around a year and a half ago: Quad SLI
3. Energy efficiency: Well, heater is not necessary furthermore.
4. Total latency is also higher...

Nevertheless interesting for 3D Mark.

[dinos22]

ROFL about heater comment hahahah

hey at least they launched it in winter time hahahah