Amazing SLI Scaling: Do Two GeForce GTX 460s Beat One GTX 480?

[justjc]

I can't help but wonder why you specifically have chosen benchmarks that isn't represented in your 2010 Gaming Graphics Charts (High Quality).

Would it really be that terrible if we had the chance to compare the results, of this review, to those of the similar priced Radeon HD 5830 cards in Crossfire found in the charts?

As it is now we get no clear answer to the question about which dual cards would be best to spend ~$400 on.

The disappointment doesn't get smaller when I look at the first GeForce 460 review and see how close the two were. This could be the chance to answer the question about what currently is best in dual card configurations, SLi or Crossfire.

 

[misha87]

that means that the 460 should be like the 465 instead it beats the 465

 

[Gucio]

GTX 460 twin cost u USD 460, I think Nvidia named it GTX46o for a reason................hmmm................

Hahaha and here GTX 480 costs 480€

 

[Soulreape]

Damn, I wish I had bought myself an SLI motherboard and 2 of these puppies now, anyone know the 12v Power Requirements on these ?

 

[jennero]

Any see that they used games that are SLI tolerant. The 480 is the best single card solution you can buy. Why not benchmark Mass effect 2? Why because it is terrible in SLI. I had a GTX 295 for awhile and I got rid of since I hated using Nhancer for every little thing. 480 is the way to go. Just because SLI has been around for 5 years doesn't mean that games even use it. Starcraft 2 run bads with it on All points bulletin. See the point.

 

[mortesv]

Amazing - the rumored 490 is supposed to have two cores similar to the 460 in one card.

Just imagine two 490s in SLI...

 

[jennero]

Amazing - the rumored 490 is supposed to have two cores similar to the 460 in one card.

Just imagine two 490s in SLI...

Is the 490 the one that is going to have two core 480s?

 

[JD13]

Mind you that two 460's both have 1 GB of RAM each where the single 480 card has 1.5Gb of RAM. Would the same results hold true if the 480 had a full 2 GB of RAM? Does the 460's play sound through the HDMI without extra audio cabling, my single 480 does...

 

[Guest]

it's all ok if you don't mind microstuttering...

 

[hixbot]

yes its about time toms revisited the problem of microstuttering. it's still a big issue. one of the reasons proffesional gamers won't use sli/crossfire.

 

[affi75]

Quote:

Well don't forget that there is many Geforce users and probably more coming that uses 3DVision, where many of these "realistical" configurations won't work.

To limit it to one example, looking at average framerates, only the SLI configuration will give you minimum 40fps in 3D with AA, even at the lowest resolution tested. Yes the 480 alone is almost there (79fps in 2D) but we are talking about both current and older games here, so upcoming games will soon turn this into a problem.

This has been overlooked in almost every Geforce/SLI-card tests I have seen at this site. Several test conclusions has even stated that there is no point buying SLI or triple-SLI if you're using less than 2560x1600 max detail/AA/AF. That is certainly not correct. Even if one, like I do, uses only a 1680x1050 display, SLI or not is definently a make or break for many games if you want to play in 3D.

As for this test, the GTX460 is certainly an excellent performer, and a must-have for 3D gamers. For only 2D gaming, there can be several cards and combinations that will work more than sufficiently, especially if you are willing to lower the settings a bit. You know, we usually lower settings even when using SLI to get the minimum framerate up to a comfortable level.

A.J.

 

[nebun]

why go cheap...trust me two or even three way sli with gtx480 is faster, lol

 

[PudgyChicken]

Right before I bought my GTX 480 I thought to myself "Hmmm... Would 2x gtx 460 beat this?" So I farted around the interwebs and didn't see anything about it. So I went ahead and bought the 480. Tomshardware I love you but I hate you for making this article two months late

 

[egmccann]

[citation][nom]scrumworks[/nom]Or you can wait couple of months for Southern Islands that makes everything nvidia has look dated.[/citation]
Yeah, but if that's your attitude, you'd never get anything built. The newest/better/more efficient is ALWAYS coming out a "few weeks/few months" from now.

 

[Destroysall]

Man, this makes me want it even more!

 

[randomhero1090]

Glad I picked up a GTX 460 1gb. I'll be buying a 2nd soon. Guess i'll need a bigger monitor as well

 

[nebun]

my question is: does a 480sli beat a 460sli? i bet it does

 

[redraider89]

Another Nvidia sycophant love fest. Where is the article asking do two AMD 6850s beat one AMD 6990, or similar article? ....crickets That is because there the Tomshardware staff must be Nvidia slaves.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]Redraider89[/nom]Another Nvidia sycophant love fest. Where is the article asking do two AMD 6850s beat one AMD 6990, or similar article? ....crickets That is because there the Tomshardware staff must be Nvidia slaves.[/citation]No, it's because two 6850's can't beat a 6990, but I suspect you're just a plant from some Nvidia forum.

Assuming you really are as ill-informed as you pretend to be, you could have read this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-3-way-scaling,2865-12.html

And of course, more AMD-slanted reading, for those who actually know how to read:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-3-way-scaling,2865-12.html