Product Reviews

Over the past few months we've tested several gaming PCs that use nVidia's SLI technology. SLI allows two graphics cards to work in tandem to produce remarkable 3D graphics. We've been particularly impressed by PCs that use two nVidia GeForce FX 6600GT cards, giving all the power of the top-end GeForce 6800 range at a lower cost.

Gigabyte's latest graphics card uses the same technique, but with only one card. The 3D1 has two GeForce FX 6600GT graphics processors, each with 128MB of memory, and operates them in SLI mode to produce the same effect as two 6600GT cards.

The results are impressive. The 3D1 scored 14,068 in our 3DMark03 test and ran our standard Doom 3 test at a staggering 70.1 frames per second (fps). With the screen resolution turned up to a huge 1,600x1,200 it still whistled through the test at 30.1fps. It ran Far Cry at 62.6fps at a resolution of 1,280x1,024 with detail set to Very High, and managed 54.36fps with the resolution set

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to 1,600x1,200. It scored an impressive 5,813 in the next-generation 3DMark05 test.

This sounds like great news for gamers on a budget who want the power of an SLI system without the expense of a new dual card-capable motherboard. Unfortunately, it isn't. Although the 3D1 uses just one x16 PCI Express slot it needs a motherboard capable of logically dividing that x16 slot into two eight-lane chunks, one for each chip.

The 3D1 is sold in a bundle with Gigabyte's GA K8NXP-SLI, which is the only motherboard to support its dual-core technology. With the 3D1 installed in one of the two slots our test PC booted into Windows and detected the 3D1 as an SLI card. This arrangement looks wasteful, though, as one PCI Express slot sits vacant on the motherboard.

We also tried to install the 3D1 into a non-SLI compatible motherboard, the Gigabyte GA K8NXP. With this setup the 3D1 was detected as a single 6600GT card, and performed around half as fast as it did when running in SLI mode.

If the 3D1 could run in any standard non-SLI motherboard it would allow users to upgrade to SLI without having to disassemble their PC and install a new motherboard. As it is, you still need to overhaul your PC to add SLI, even with this single-card setup. Where the 3D1 and K8NXP-SLI bundle comes into its own, though, is value. It's a bargain compared to the £390 you would pay for two standard GeForce 6600GTs and a Gigabyte SLI motherboard. For upgraders who want superb graphics performance and a new motherboard all in one, it's the perfect package.