GeForce 320.00 Beta Performance Analysis – Part 2 – GTX 690 and 680 SLI

Test Configuration & Driver Release Notes

Test Configuration

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7 3770K (overclocked to 4.5GHz); Turbo is on.
• EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard (Intel Z77 chipset, latest beta 03-12-13 BIOS, PCIe 3.0 specification; CrossFire/SLI 16x+16x using Plex chip.)
• 16GB Kingston DDR3 Kingston HyperX “Beast” RAM (8x2GB, dual-channel at 2133MHz; supplied by Kingston)
• Noctua NH-DH14 CPU cooler, supplied by Noctua plus 7 case fans.
• Nvidia GeForce Titan, 6GB, reference clocks, supplied by Nvidia
• Nvidia GTX 680 (2GB, 1006/6008MHz, reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia
• GTX 690 (2GB, reference clocks and also +91MHz to simulate GTX 680 SLI)
• Onboard Realtek Audio
• Genius SP-HF 800A speakers, two pairs in 4.0 Quadraphonic configuration, supplied by Genius
• Two identical 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 hard drives configured and set up identically from drive image; one partition for Nvidia GeForce drivers and one for ATI Catalyst drivers
• Cooler Master Platinum Pro 1000W PSU, supplied by Cooler Master
• Thermaltake Overseer RX-I full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake
• Philips DVD SATA writer
• HP LP3065 2560×1600 thirty inch LCD

Test Configuration – Software

• Nvidia GeForce Beta 320.90 and WHQL 314.22. High Quality; Single-display Performance mode; Prefer Maximum Performance
• Windows 7 64-bit; very latest updates
• Latest DirectX
• All games are patched to their latest versions.
• Vsync is forced off in the control panels.
• Varying AA enabled as noted in games; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied; 16xAF forced in control panel for Crysis.
• All results show average frame rates
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
• Windows 7 64, all DX9 titles were run under DX9 render paths, DX10 titles were run under DX10 render paths and DX11 titles under DX11 render paths.

The Benchmarks

• Synthetic
  • Vantage
  • FireStrike (and FireStrike Extreme)
  • 3DMark 11
  • Heaven 4.0
  • Valley 1.0
  DX9
  • Left 4 Dead 2
  • Serious Sam 3 BFE
  • Alan Wake: Ameican Nightmare
  • The Witcher 2
  • Borderlands 2
  DX10
  • Crysis
  • Far Cry 2
  • Just Cause 2

   

  DX11
  • BattleForge
  • Alien vs. Predator
  • STALKER, Call of Pripyat
  • Metro 2033
  • F1 2012
  • H.A.W.X. 2
  • Lost Planet 2
  • Total War: Shogun II
  • Crysis 2
  • Dirt 3
  • Batman: Arkham City
  • Battlefield 3
  • Max Payne 3
  • Sleeping Dogs
  • Sniper Elite V2
  • Hitman: Absolution
  • Assassin’s Creed 3
  • Crysis 3
  • BioShock: Infinite

Lets look at the release notes from Nvidia regarding the GeForce 320.00 beta driver before we head to performance testing.

Release Notes Highlights for GeForce 320.900

Please see the GeForce 320.00 Release Highlights as well as summarized in Part 1.

Let’s head to the charts and see the performance comparison in 26 games and in 5 synthetics and check the driver progress with the GTX 680 and the GeForce Titan since we tested last in February:

Nvidia’s Titan arrives to take the performance crown – 36 Performance Benchmarks