Hybrid vs Native Dual X16 SLI: Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus vs Abit IN9 32X-MAX
So we have finally arrived at the heart of the matter. The real reason why we are here. To find a solution to the question that this article set out to answer. Can we get NVIDIA nForce 680i level SLI gaming performance at a NVIDIA nForce 650i price? The answer may surprise you.
For these two final benchmarks, we have equipped our test systems with two NVIDIA GeForce 7900GTs configured in SLI mode. As with the previous benchmarks, all the components on our test systems are at stock speed and using default settings.
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Amazingly, ASUS' hybrid "NVIDIA Dual x16 SLI" chipset beats the nForce 680i SLI based IN9 32X-MAX in both of our SLI gaming tests. However, the P5N32-E SLI Plus' lead is negligible in both cases, only differing from the Abit's score by about a frame per second. The point, however, isn't that the P5N32-E SLI Plus barely won. It's that it did so with a cleverly designed hybrid chipset that is capable of nForce 680i SLI level performance, with 680i SLI amenities, whilst still retaining a nForce 650i SLI price.
