To test performance we compared the MSI to the Asus A8N32 SLI Deluxe and a regular nForce 4 SLI board; the Asus A8N SLi Deluxe.
Sandra All three boards performed identically in Sandra. Any difference is well within the test's margin for error.
F.E.A.R As the nForce 4 SLI X16 chipset is clearly a gaming focused product, the rest of the benchmarks will be game-based. F.E.A.R is a spooky and entertaining title that really requires a beast of a machine to get the best out of. We disable soft shadows because they hugely impact performance and look awful.
The difference between the boards is negligible, though the A8N32-SLI Deluxe does come out around a frame below the K8N Diamond. Both x16 boards are measurably quicker than the Deluxe. Why there is such a marked difference in single card setup we cannot explain. Perhaps the newer X16 drivers had something to do with it.
Quake 4 Not the most original title, but its engine is sure to be licensed by lots of other developers so performance in this test is important.
This time it is the MSI's turn to play catch up, as in Quake the Asus is somewhat faster by a few frames. Both X16 boards are at least 10 fps faster than the regulae nForce 4 SLI chipset A8n in SLI mode, though this margin reduces in single GPU mode.
Oblivion Oblivion is almost certainly the best ever exploration focused RPG ever, and has some of the most breathtaking visuals yet seen on the PC. We enabled HDR and took the settings to the maximum playable settings.
Oblivion is hugely GPU limited even with a pair of 7900GTXs in SLI, but the MSI does come out a frame faster than the Asus, and several frames quicker than the older nForce 4 SLI board.
Splinter Cell Still one of the best looking games on the PC, Splinter Cell really benefits from a dual-video card setup.
Once again we see a pronounced difference between the two chipsets, though the MSI and Asus board perform almost identically.
The MSI is certainly an impressive performer, and wins the lion's share of our gaming benchmarks. Clearly MSI has got the best out of nVIDIA's latest Socket 939 chipset. We wonder if the superior Creative audio managed to tip the balance of performance the MSI's way in the majority of tests by way of lower CPU utilisation.
