Digital Storm's Enix Gaming System Reviewed
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The latest version of Futuremark's synthetic 3D gaming benchmark, 3DMark Vantage, is specifically bound to Windows Vista-based systems because it uses some advanced visual technologies that are only available with DirectX 10, which isn't available on previous versions of Windows. 3DMark Vantage isn't simply a port of 3DMark06 to DirectX 10 though. With this latest version of the benchmark, Futuremark has incorporated two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, in addition to support for the latest PC hardware. We tested the graphics cards here with 3DMark Vantage's "High" and "Extreme" preset options which use increasing levels of detail (and higher resolutions). As always, tests were looped 3x. |
The 'Performance' preset shows the Shift and the Enix within striking distance of each other.
The Extreme setting tells a very different story. The Origin Genesis' quad GPUs are very nearly the match of the Enix's 580s, but not quite their equal.
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The latest version of Futuremark's synthetic 3D gaming benchmark, 3DMark11, is specifically bound to Windows Vista and 7-based systems because it uses the advanced visual technologies that are only available with DirectX 11, which isn't available on previous versions of Windows. 3DMark11 isn't simply a port of 3DMark Vantage to DirectX 11, though. With this latest version of the benchmark, Futuremark has incorporated four new graphics tests, a physics tests, and a new combined test. We tested the graphics cards here with 3DMark11's Extreme preset option, which uses a resolution of 1920x1080 with 4x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic filtering. |
We incorporated results from recent GPU reviews to offer more than a comparison between the Enix and the Genesis. The Genesis easily outpaces a single GTX 580, but the Enix's performance is outstanding. At this preset, however, CPU performance is weighed more heavily—the Enix's 4.8GHz quad-core is extremely potent.
Processor speed accounts for just five percent of the 3DMark 11 score at Extreme settings, making this a purer test of GPU performance. The gap between the Origin and the Enix is noticeably smaller here, falling from 27 percent in the performance test to 17 percent here. The Enix with its dual GTX 580s still takes top honors overall, however, even when compared against AMD's brand-new Radeon HD 6990.
