Gigabyte GTX 460 OC SLi Review

Today we are concentrating on SLI performance – we have focused on several GTX460 cards in the past. With recent price drops a GTX460 SLI configuration is well within the financial means of a dedicated enthusiast gamer. We have seen these Gigabyte boards selling for £175 inc vat, a very reasonable price indeed.

Our system today is built around one of our fastest KitGuru test beds based on an overclocked Intel 6 core 970 processor. We will test today at 1080p, 1920×1200 and 2560×1600 when applicable. We don't like completely focusing on 2560×1600 because a very small percentage of gamers own one of these panels (under 1%).

Processor: Intel Core i7 970 CPU @4.33ghz (Validation here)

Cooling: Coolit Vantage
Memory: GSkill Trident 2000mhz DDR3 (6GB)
PSU: Corsair AX850
Motherboard: MSI X58A-GD65
Hard Drive: OCZ Agility 2 120GB
Case: Lian Li PC 8FIB
Monitors: LaCie 730 30 inch LED screen & Panasonic 600hz Viera TV

Comparison cards:
MSI Cyclone N460GTX 1GB
GTX465 Reference
GTX460 Reference
HD5850 Reference
HD5830 Reference
HD5870 CrossfireX

Catalyst 10.9
Forceware 260.52

Technical Equipment:
Keithley Integra unit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)

Software:

Fraps Pro
Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.1
3DMark Vantage
Crysis
Resident Evil 5
Aliens V Predator
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Far Cry 2

All the latest bios updates and WHQL drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru test all games across five closely matched runs and average out the results to get an accurate median figure.

Our minimum frame rate game graphs have three main zones. These are sampled over a specific 30 interval period of time and then mapped into a chart. These are handy reference guides to detail worst case performance of the product being reviewed.

Over 30fps is the zone most people want at all times, this means perfectly smooth frame rates with no hitching.

Between 30fps and 25fps is the KitGuru ‘Playable’ zone, although some people might notice occasional stuttering in specific scenes.

Under 25fps is classed as the KitGuru ‘Danger Zone’ which means that the game experience will be less than impressive. Settings and/or resolution would need lowered to help smooth out the frame rate.

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