In the game tests on page 2 we saw that we were closing in on the GPU wall. Raw CPU speed didn't help much more as the GPU was fully stuffed with polygons. Time to lift that bottleneck and include a 2nd GTX 480 GPU in the tests. Let's see if the AMD platform is still able to match the competitors and it's previous processors. The CPUs remain overclocked to deliver enough speed to the dual GPUs. Sadly I don't have access to a bigger than 24" monitor. So no extreme high resolution gaming, 1920 x 1080 was the native gaming resolution tested. This will probably will be another discussion point.  Yet it can clearly show the strenghts and/or weaknesses of a platform.

Futuremarks 3DMark 06 hardly scales by adding a 2nd GPU with the AMD lineup. The Intels score an impressive 9-10K extra, while the Thuban scales a bit better then the FX CPU. Both AMD CPUs were tested on the Crosshair V with 9911 bios. Take note that the 1090T will be even more efficient on the older ASUS 890FX boards. Not a good showing of the FX in 3DMark 06. Something newer now with a Vantage run.

The Vantage score was a real surprise to me. The Thuban still outperforms the FX "8" core CPU , the latter running at 600Mhz higher clock speeds. Interesting enough is the good CPU score set by the FX 8150, yet the GPU score is way below the 1090T. At first I thought I had a few bugged runs (results are the average out of three). So I reinstalled the 1090T and redid the Nvidia drivers. Sadly for the FX the same outcome. Is this an indication for games to stay way from the Bulldozers when using multiple GPU setups ? Let's run a few more tests...

Mafia II still runs better on the older overclocked technology. At stock clocks this game was pretty evenly matched accross the different stock CPUs. Though with the added CPU clockspeed and the extra GPU we see a healthy increase in FPS ( from 61 to +100 ), but the 1090T and Intels are pulling away from the FX.

Lost Planet II shares the same experience. Close to doubling the framerates from stock setups with a single graphics card. The SandyBridge 2600K is in a class of it's own here. Crysis II tested on hardcore mode next...

Crysis II benefitting from the extra GPU big time. All platforms giving tremendous power to the GPUs. Yet again bulldozer trailing the rest....

Far Cry 2 known to be a great scaling engine with extra CPU and GPU speeds. Close game again between the two AMD CPUs, the Intels remain untouchable. Racing F1 cars on Monte Carlo shedding a different light on the FX ?

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F1 2011, does not benefit in our test version from the 2nd GPU. (EDIT : This is apparently is driver issue related as testing with a newer driver gives better results on all platforms ) with the newer driver So results remain pretty evenly matched.Time to give Dices latest First Person shooter some extra GPU power by adding a 2nd GTX480. While with a single GPU the average FPS were rather close, this time it shows a totally different outcome. We crancked up the game detail to the preset Ultra setting, yet due to monitor limitations, the resolution stays put at 1920 x 1080. Even though the AMDS manage fluid framerates, the raw power of the Intel design gives far more minimum FPS. Naturally if a bigger or dual monitor setup is used things will get more GPU bound again.

In Dirt 3 we drove around the Aspen track several times to see how the different platfroms reacted to the added GPU power. Very high FPS all round and finally a good FPS increase over the 1090T.